Education, Education, Education!!

Consumers cannot rely solely on the merchant to educate them about potential allergens in a product. If you as a consumer are roped in by the buzz word 'hypo-allergenic' then you will assume that it will not contain nuts, gluten, or whey, right? But you ARE allergic to bananas or citrus or yeast, correct? Guess what is in your handy dandy new hypo-allergenic product? Yeast, dehydrated banana or plantain peels that are a part of the merchants 'proprietary blend' that they don't have to list on the label. The onus is on the consumer to ask if any of your known allergens are in a product before you purchase.


Me, myself, I try to ask each potential customer for their list of allergens and then I provide a product that has not been manufactured with any utensils that have touched stated allergens. One of my most faithful customers has a laundry list of allergies from bananas to grapeseed oil. Almost none of my non-synthetic products can be used by her. I keep a running list of allergies and when I produce something that she likes but cannot have I warn her. Back in 2006 I gave a peppermint foot soak to a pregnant co-worker because she was complaining about her feet. What she and I didn't know is that peppermint causes swelling the extremities of a pregnant woman and can also stimulate uterine contractions. Thankfully, she just swelled. Lesson learned. After that I decided that I never want to offer any product to anyone that could potentially harm them. The co-worker wasn't upset because she didn't know and neither did I. Had she lost her baby I would have been beside myself with guilt. I can't even begin to imagine how she would have felt. That was a turning point for me. I vowed to never again sell something to someone face-to-face without at least asking if there are any allergies that I should be aware of.


I am listing a few essential oils that should NEVER be used (shower gels, lotions, massage oils or bath oils) if you are pregnant and are wanting to keep your baby.


Celery
Carrot
Basil
Bay Leaf
Listea Cubia
Lemongrass
Marjoram
Parsley
Peppermint
Safflower
Saffron
Peppermint


I was asked if eating these in moderation was safe. My reply was "ask your OB/GYN what is safe for YOU". There is a reason why manufactures caution consumers to ask their doctors before consuming concentrated herbs, spices and essential oils. Thankfully, I posted this in one of my Facebook pages and a pregnant member stated that she was going to take a bath tonight with several of the listed oils. Potential crisis aborted. Educate yourselves.