Can you take essential oils internally/orally?
Ingesting essential oils for medicinal purposes or using them in cooking is potentially very dangerous and not something we would recommend. The human digestive system is used to processing trace amounts of essential oils in herbs and spices, and this is a safe practice; however, each essential oil is at least 100 times more concentrated than that found in an herb or spice, which can cause irritation and internal damage to the digestive tract.
This is why we never recommend using essential oils in this way. Our range contains quality essential oils, but the practice of oral use is not recommended.
We only recommend application to the skin, mucous membranes and inhalation. Oral administration in the oral cavity (mucosa), e.g. as a mouth spray, gargle, oil gargle, is still considered a cosmetic application and is (at a low dose) problem-free. This form of administration can help prevent the spread of unwanted germs in the mouth.
Sometimes essential oils are also used internally. However, you should have good specialist knowledge and pay attention to reliable sources when getting information about it. Internal use, for example swallowing capsules, should only be done under (aroma)therapeutic supervision and for a short, spa-periodic period of time.
Manufacturers or distributors of essential oils must declare their products and decide which legal basis they use to market their oils. There are different approval options and therefore different legal specifications for declaration:
– as a requirement for use in room aromatization
– as a cosmetic for use in skin care products, in oil rubs, as a bath additive, etc.
– as a food product for flavoring food and thus also for ingestion
We at MaKaSa choose the approach of proven specialists in the field such as PRIMAVERA - namely the use of essential oils for cosmetic products, as this is how we cover the most important application area for us, aromatherapy. Therefore, according to the legal basis, our essential oils are not suitable for ingestion.