Lavender toxic?

reb562 · October 2012

So I went to the spa the other day to get a mommy massage. It's a regular spa place, so they had all kinds of oils and I was asked to pick one. I picked up the lavender oil and I was told to pick another one because research shows lavender is toxic for the baby???

I never heard of it before, but she refused to use it on me. I didn't bother to google it yet, but wanted to pass the word in case anybody is using Lavender.

Orange and Green · October 2012

I've never heard that it was 'toxic', but I've always heard that it's really bad for baby boys because it messes with their hormones.

kat1221 · October 2012

I have never heard that but just did a little research and it says it *might* cause uterine contractions when used neat (pure). Interesting!

danieleandwayne · October 2012

This is a pretty good blog article on the subject: https://roberttisserand.com/2011/07/lavender-oil-and-pregnancy/

Two quotes from the article:

"The Complete German Commission E Monograph for lavender lists L. angustifolia, both flowers and essential oil, as officially ?approved? and with no side effects and no contraindications. This includes internal use of 1-4 drops (20-80 mg) of the essential oil as a daily dose (Blumenthal et al 1998). The Commission E Monographs are generally regarded as the most authoritative source on the safety of herbal medicines."

"One in vitro study found that lavender oil had a very weak estrogenic action in MCF-7 breast cancer cells (Henley et al 2007). However, there is no evidence that lavender oil has any adverse effects on human hormonal activity. In another in vitro study, lavender oil inhibited the growth of MCF-7 cells (Zu et al 2010) suggesting that, while it may bind to estrogen receptor sites in the body, it is not an estrogen mimic, and so does not promote estrogen."

The article discusses both oils and ingested lavenders (flowers and oil).

dhreczuck · October 2012

I had never heard it could be toxic, I have lavendar sachets all over my closet and in my draws to keep away moths! Good to hear it's most likely not. I think there are so many things that could be toxic but only when used in extreme quantities,a little bit here and there isn't going to be harmful but I probably wouldn't rub a bottle of it on my tummy, just to be on the safe side

AddictedToLipBalm · October 2012

I work with essential oils frequently. Lavender is not toxic for babies. In fact, it is the one essential oil that I plan to put into the skin balm that I will make for my LO when she arrives. It is an antibacterial and it promotes healing.

Unless someone has an allergy / sensitivity to lavender, it is not harmful at all, especially when used in a carrier (such as sweet almond oil or shea butter) as opposed to being ingested or applied neat. Lavender also does not cause hormone disruption in baby boys when it's used properly in a carrier. If a baby boy is doused in straight lavender essential oil, then yes, that's not good, but if it's simply used to scent and add an antibacterial quality to a product, then no, there is no harm.

I'm curious to know what oils she steered you toward. There are others (such as peppermint and cinnamon) which may help stimulate uterine contractions, or other side effects such as rash, etc. There is a lot of misinformation out there on the internet, so it's best to ask your doc about things like this.

I hope this helps!

danieleandwayne · October 2012

Ahhh, Peppermint. I can read as many articles and hear as much advice from formerly pregnant women that swear by peppermint tea for morning sickness as I can find that say peppermint is bad in the 1st trimester because it stimulates uterine contractions.

Animeg2+1 · October 2012

Well, I certainly hope it wouldn't be toxic after birth, either, since I've seen a lot of baby products that include lavender for promoting calm/sleepy time in babies. Smile

Want a personalized experience?

Lavender toxic?

Re: Lavender toxic?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards