Allergy Questions, Allergies and other reactions to oils

[Morrighana]

yesterday I put All night long (also Voodoo blend) and although it didn't actualy burn, everywhere i applied it left red hot circles.

 

 

That made me wonder.....

 

*whispers* should it be applied somewhere else than on the skin        

 

I am thinking along the lines of Viacreme?

 

And NO, i am not going to try, it's just a question!

:D:D

[TygherRayn]

yesterday I put All night long (also Voodoo blend) and although it didn't actualy burn, everywhere i applied it left red hot circles.

 

 

That made me wonder.....

 

*whispers* should it be applied somewhere else than on the skin        

 

I am thinking along the lines of Viacreme?

 

And NO, i am not going to try, it's just a question!

LOL!

 

Oh, quinkel darling .. you crack me up!

[Ctrlfreak]

Eclipse bit me - there's a picture in the review of it.

[lorajc]

When I first started using BPAL, they all burned my skin and made it red (I have sensitive skin).....However, I just kept using it and over time, my skin kind of got used to it. The only time I'll have irritation now is if I rub off something I didin't like and then apply something else. The rubbing off of the old oil must cause minor irritation and then reapplying the oil hurts more. I also get red and slightly burn when I apply oils with cinnamon in them, but I'm such a cinnamon lover that I just let it burn and be red for a while and then it calms down. I like my scent strong, so using a carrier oil is not an option for me; however, you may want to consider buying one of Beth's carrier oils to put your BPAL in and dilute it.

[Scylla]

That happened to me with Inferno, but not with Three Witches, oddly enough. I think it's the cinnamon.

[Mandarin]

Lemongrass, Benzoin and clove are also known skin sensitizers (possibly causing irritation). The lotion idea is a very good one. Or have you considered daubing some on a strip of paper and then pinning the paper to your bra? Scents the area, but doesn't touch skin.

 

I have sensitive skin too. I empathize.

[grrrlennyl]

all night long burned me, but it has cinnamon in it.

[minouska]

I got huge, burning welts wherever I applied All Night Long. I had to swap it away, because it was just too painful.

 

I tried Hamadryad yesterday, and it made my skin a bit red where I wore it, but that went away eventually. It wasn't as bad as the All Night Long. Does anyone know if there's cinnamon in that as well?

[allamanda]

Eclipse and Ulalume bit me, Mercury was *horrendous*, very rapid and violent skin reaction and that was on my lower, outer arm area so on pretty weathered skin. I know Eclipse contains cinnamon, am pretty sure Mercury also does but I have no problem wearing Chimera or Three Witches.

 

I avoid the cleavage area like the plague, but as others have suggested diluting the oils may work for you.

 

Has anyone else reacted to Ulalume??

 

ETA: Just remembered, Alecto bit me too.

Edited August 30, 2004 by allamanda

[babykitty]

Hmmm...Maybe your formula is actually "Follow Me Doctor-Boy"

 

I'd email the lab & ask them what the culprit might be so that you could avoid that ingredient in the future.

 

Something in Tintagel disagreed with my skin, but it wasn't too bad. Just a red whelp. I have more sinus issues than skin.

 

You may try it on a cotton ball in your bra or some in your hair.

[oubliette]

Received my second order of imps yesterday, and after a marathon sniffing spree of all 24 imps (I couldn't help myself!!  ) I decided to try Follow Me Boy first.  I applied it to wrist, neck and clevage as I usually do, and then something strange happened.  YEOW!!  I barely got the imp closed before I was running to wash if off of my clevage.  It burned like crazy, but only in that one spot.  Very strange.  Has anyone else ever had a burning sensation from any of the oils?  I tried doing a search on this subject without much luck.

 

Ack!!  I just wish I knew what notes are in "Follow Me Boy" so I could figure out what I might be sensitive to.  Ah, well.  At least I can still wear it on my wrist and neck, which is good, because it really is a lovely scent.  My unskilled nose is still trying to figure this beauty out before I review it. 

Sacred Whore of Babylon burns my skin. I'm thinking it's some kind of pepper? This is the only oil of 40 I've tried (including cinnamon blends) that does this.

[Belladonnastrap]

Eclipse burned my skin and so did Three Witches & Hecate. I'm thinking it's almond based oils I have issues with...I can wear Hellcat just fine and have no problems with that.

[Vicious Mistress]

I've found that if I wear the cinnamon scents on my wrists and behind my ears--maybe also in the hollow of my throat--I don't get the burning that I get if I wear them in the crook of my elbow or in my cleavage. I guess you just need to watch places that tend to stay warmer, or with skin touching skin.

[Northernminx]

Inferno bit me too but I haven't had problems with other cinnamon scents as of yet. I think it's a matter of degree (and I can deal with one or two issues in the huge pile I've tried as my skin is VERY sensitive and used to break out at the vaguest provocation of something unnatural.)

[hadaverde]

I've had a lot of warmth, sometimes straying into the milder edge of "burning" with all the blends containing cinnamon, but it's been far from intolerable. I have a bottle of cinnamon scent oil which I purchased elsewhere, pre=BPAL-- I think it may be diluted, too, as it is about 1/2-ounce and was extremely inexpensive -- and it is the most evil stuff that has ever touched my skin. It burned so badly that I ran to the bathroom within less than two minutes of applying it, and washed liberally with soap and water for many minutes, and after it had been removed I had welts that took a couple days to disappear.

 

It may just be that the amount of cinnamon in the BPAL blends I've tried is sufficiently diluted with other scents, hence I don't have as violent a reaction to it. Anything that has cinnamon in it also stays only on my wrists and in my hair, I don't put it on my neck, behind my ears, or in the cleavage area, as those spots are all more sensitive to the heat it produces.

 

Aside from cinnamon-containing scents, I don't seem to have any sort of skin reaction to BPAL oils, unless you count the fact that Snake Oil discolors my skin to create a disturbingly jaundiced-looking effect anywhere I apply it. Heh.

 

Those of you who are having reactions to Inferno and Eclipse -- do you have any nut allergies? Almond is a common component in both of those.

[Chantarelle]

Three Witches occasionally burns slightly in the crook of my elbow, but not on my wrists or chest. I think it's because the skin is thinner there. You might want to stick to more "outer" skin, or, like others have suggested, dilute with body lotion.

[_dark_cello_]

Inferno caused much, much pain. :D Oh how it hurt...so badly... (see avatar)

I've been very careful using any oil with cinnamon now. Most of them I can't wear on my skin. For some I can tolerate mild burning.

Edited August 30, 2004 by _dark_cello_

[supervillainess]

I tried Hamadryad yesterday, and it made my skin a bit red where I wore it, but that went away eventually.  It wasn't as bad as the All Night Long.  Does anyone know if there's cinnamon in that as well?

I didn't think there was cinnamon in Hamadryad, but when I wear it that's *all* I can smell. It was kinda a weird deja vu-ish moment later that day when I bought a used car and it smelled like cinnamon too.

 

But I can't wear any oils in my cleavage. I'd only tried Kali, Wanda, and O spread out over something like 3 different days, and I ended up w/ an itchy rash. My dermatologist explained once that the skin on your chest is just more sensitive, scars easily, and is an all-around pain.

[allidavie]

I would say that one out of every two oils that I try causes an immediate allergic reaction. My skin turns bright red on contact and burns and itches at the same time - it's painful enough that I have to wash it off and apply benadryl cream and take a benadryl all at once. I'll have to go through all of the ones that do this to me and see if I can come up with common notes, but I'm certain that one of them is cinnamon. I will probably wind up burning these in my oile burner or swapping them.

 

It really bums me out that this is a problem because I have to do a patch test of every oil before I wear it. So I can't spontaneously decide to try something new before I go to work!

 

ETA: I do NOT have sensitive skin. At least, I've only had this kind of reaction from one other product, ever (Lush's eye cream. But even that was OK on contact, it only became a problem when I woke up).

Edited August 30, 2004 by allidavie

[faerie]

why not try a bit of jojoba as a carrier oil to dilute it slightly?

[allidavie]

why not try a bit of jojoba as a carrier oil to dilute it slightly?

Do you think that would help? I'd been assuming, for whatever reason, that I was allergic to the oils and that no matter what the concentration it would be a problem.

 

I put Tarot: The World on last night. I loved the smell but my skin literally turned red the moment I applied the little wand-y thing. I'm kind of chicken about using it, and the others I have this reaction to, even with a carrier oil...

[_dark_cello_]

I'd get one of those little scent lockets so it's not touching your skin at all. Or run the wand through your hair.

[starrykitten]

O and Snake Oil cause pain and rashes. It's kinda too bad that those are such sexy scents, and then it's like "oooh, come hither, and look at my red blotchy chest that I can't stop scratching."

 

Maybe there should be a little blurb on the lab site about which oils are known to be most irritating to people with sensitive skin? Or tips for people about wearing them, so non forumites can still enjoy everything?

[Morrighana]

Maybe there should be a little blurb on the lab site about which oils are known to be most irritating to people with sensitive skin? Or tips for people about wearing them, so non forumites can still enjoy everything?

I seem to recall there being a warning on the Lab site about the blends being pure essential oils, and thus a potential irritant for sensitive skin. I can't find it now, but I know it's there somewhere.

[Countrymouse]

Thanks everyone for the great ideas. From now on if I want to wear any of my oils on my cleavage I'll do a little spot test first before I slather it on. Or add it to lotion and wear it that way. I'm also going to have to try scenting my hair. I would never have thought to do that, but it sounds wonderful.