Essential oils are natural, and powerful. All plants are amazing gifts from earth, however essential oils are akin to an entire field of lavender shoved into a bottle. This makes them ultra potent, but is also why you dont want to go slathering them around everywhere undiluted. It’s wasteful, and also too much of a good thing (in the case of essential oils) is definitely a bad thing!

I’m of the opinion that if you’re using essential oils (including in room sprays and as a ritual oil) you should not use them when your pets or young kids are in the room. If I’m mixing oils I wash my hands before hugging my daughter or giving my cat some cuddles, but it’s good to know what oils are usually ok to use around our small loved ones.

For small kids, there are a few essential oils that are generally considered safe – super diluted and not used all the time. This is of course only if your tiny human is not allergic to it, and doesn’t have any medical or other issues. Which is why when my daughter was tiny I avoided all oils (which is weird for me, I use them for everything!) until she was a bit older and I’d chatted to the midwife and plunket. Your best bet is to avoid oils in the first year of life unless you’ve spoken to a qualified aromatherapist and/or medical professional. Anyway, here are the oils generally considered safe, if it’s not on the list it’s probably not safe!

Lavender oil

Chamomile oil – Roman and german

Eucalyptus Radiata – absolutely NOT eucalyptus globulus, radiata is ok but the other one is totally different.

Carrot seed oil – I can’t say I’ve ever made a blend with this but I’ve used blends with it lol.

Mandarin oil – I’m a bit wary of this one though… I can’t tell you why, I just don’t understand as I haven’t researched the chemical make up of it lol.

Frankincense – there are different types of frankincense oil and they’re considered generally safe.

Safe dilution varies by age but 0.1% is a good start. Babies under 1 month it’s pretty much a don’t expose them to any unless you’ve sought appropriate advice. I can’t go into how to safely use essential oils on your babies because that’s something that should be done for each individual child in a consultation with a qualified professional. Instead, you can use the above list to have a general idea of what oils YOU can use around tiny humans!

Did you notice peppermint oil isn’t on the list? I was surprised too – it’s actually NOT considered generally safe for young kids as it can cause or excassibate breathing problems. Weird, because it’s often touted as a solution to breathing issues in young kids – but imho it’s not worth the risk.

If you’re breastfeeding – there are essential oils you’ll want to avoid as well, but I personally stuck to the above list when bubs was tiny because she was so close to me, so often, that I didn’t want to expose her to anything else.

Pregnancy – again, you’re really limited. Sorry. It was a big shock for me to stop using all my oils lol. The list above for super young kids is the same for pregnancy, but with a few extras like ginger, spearmint, lemon and rose. Weaker dilutions, and use as little as possible. But please do your own research if you’re pregnant and consult a qualified professional – this little list is more intended as a snap shot.

So if you have a pregnant friend who’s about to visit and you’ve been diffusing something with clary sage or peppermint oil, it’s safer if your pregnant friend isn’t in that room till all the oils have left. If you’ve been diffusing lavender and your friend isn’t allergic, then you can assume it’s probably safe. I would still turn off the diffuser though.

Pets! 99% of oils are NOT pet safe. And if they are, the dilutions and ratio is very different to what we as full grown humans use. So if you’re diffusing orange oil and you want to cuddle your cat, please please please keep the cat out of the room. Or if you’re using a room spray with essential oils, please don’t spray it near your dog’s smelly bed.

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk. Lmao.

I feel like a bit of a kill joy writing this, especially because I LOVE using oils and they can be super powerful. In my magic, I use ritual oils all the time and often on my crystal bracelets. I’ll sniff them to help me align more with the intention I’m manifesting, and I bathe with them. But I’m also very aware that I can’t use my protection blend soap while I’m showering with my daughter. So please check with a qualified person before using oils around your kids or pets.

Brightest blessings 😊

Amy