Are your natural children’s items hiding unsafe essential oils?
Every year I see more and more items pop up in stores claiming to be natural alternatives and completely kid-safe. But how safe are these items, and what essential oils are in them that might pose a threat to your young child? I have already written a post on this, but I felt the need to update this and add to it. I will go over some new items that I found, update on the old ones, and share some alternatives that I use and love for my family.
Please note that while some of these products might contain safe essential oils for younger children, they might have made the list because the way they are recommended to be used is unsafe or not recommended according to the American standards of aromatherapy. Also please note that this post is not intended to fear monger or to trash another company. However I often find that the aromatherapy standards and guidelines say one thing, and companies pushing natural products say another. It has become obvious to me that companies are banking on people’s desire to have more natural products, but failing to follow safety standards, especially regarding babies and toddlers.
Children’s Items with Unsafe Essential Oils
Creekside sniffle sticks: Similar to an aroma inhaler, these little sniffer sticks contain essential oils and promise to clear congestion in kids as young as 2 years of age. The issue here is that the essential oils used are Peppermint and Eucalyptus essential oils. Both are not recommended for children under the age of 3. Peppermint is recommended to be diluted topically to .5% for ages 3-6. Eucalyptus is recommended to be diluted to 1% topically for ages 3-6. It is noted that both of these essential oils are safe for diffusion ages 3+, yet this product is recommending use as young as 2 years of age. You can see the latest guidelines for these essential oils at the Tisserand blog here. It is also important to note that some people still prefer to follow the older guidelines on these oils and not use them until age 6 (peppermint) and age 10 (eucalyptus). The reason for these guidelines is that these oils are rich in cineole or menthol and can cause respiratory distress in young children.
Maty’s Chest Rub: Maty’s Chest Rub is a natural Vicks alternative, however, my issue is that this product contains eucalyptus essential oil and is recommended for use as young as 3 months. Once again, eucalyptus essential oil is noted to cause respiratory distress in young children and is not recommended to be used under the age of 2.
Frida Baby Bath Bombs: Honestly at this point, it's just getting repetitive. This also contains eucalyptus and is recommended for 2 and up.
Frida Baby Bath Drops: This one legitimately horrifies me, as this is an essential oil marketed FOR THE BATH FOR BABIES 3 MONTHS AND UP. I don’t know what is worse, the fact that they recommended just adding this to a baby’s bath, or the fact that it is recommending adding 10-20 drops to the bath. Folks PLEASE I am begging you, do not add essential oils to a child’s bath, and NEVER add essential oils undiluted to a bath. Also, this product contains- you guessed it- eucalyptus oil. While Frida does dilute this one with sunflower and sesame oils, it is still unwise to add essential oils to a baby’s bath, especially when one of those oils is eucalyptus oil.
Boogie Bath Salts: This product contains eucalyptus and is recommended for ages 6 months and up. I’m not a fan.
NatPat Breathe Easy Stickers: A sticker patch that contains eucalyptus and menthol that is recommended for babies. This does not specify at what age you can start using them, but I’m not a fan either way. In theory, this seems like a great idea but there still is the risk of respiratory distress when using a product like this.
Frida Baby Vapor Wipes: Peppermint and Eucalyptus in a wipe designed for babies? Ya, no thanks. I’m not sure why companies think this is a good idea.
Boogie Vapor Bubble Bath: This one is puzzling for me because yes, it contains eucalyptus and mint (assuming peppermint) but it also just says child for the age range. However, their own adverts show using this product with babies/toddlers clearly under 3 so I’m going to go out on a limb and say this isn’t safe for that age range.
Wellements Tooth Oil: This is a teething oil safe for babies (age range was 4 months+) and while that is all fine and dandy, essential oils do not ever belong in a baby’s mouth. Diluted or not. Just don’t do this, don’t use this. It’s all kinds of bad ideas and you're risking your child/baby ingesting essential oils. Just use Hyland's or Boiron's homeopathic teething remedies instead. Or a clove-infused oil, NOT clove essential oil or any other essential oil.
Wellements Chest and Foot Rub: This does not give an age range that I had seen but it is labeled for babies. Containing eucalyptus oil.
Rowe Casa Baby Teething Oil: This teething oil contains essential oils, and as I have said already, it is unwise to use essential oils in your baby's mouth. Yes, even if they are diluted.
Rowe Casa Baby Tummy Oil: My issue with this is that it is listed as “baby” tummy oil. While there is no age recommendation in the how-to-use section, this does contain peppermint which is not recommended for use on a child under the age of 3.
Zarbees Baby Soothing Chest Rub: Last we have another decongestant/chest rub with eucalyptus. Marketed towards babies. It is recommended on the packaging to use 2 months and up, eucalyptus is unsafe under the age of 3.
Babyganics DEET free natural insect repellent: This one doesn’t have an age recommendation but judging by the name and the fact it’s sold in the baby aisle I can only assume that it’s targeted towards babies and toddlers. My problem with this is that it contains Peppermint and Lemongrass essential oils. Peppermint contains menthol and can cause breathing issues in young children. It shouldn’t be used under the age of 6. Lemongrass can be a very irritating oil and shouldn’t be used topically on children under the age of 2. Nowhere does it say this or does it warn parents not to use this on young children or even babies.
Ever Spring Bug Spray: I feel like these keep getting worse. Yes, this one doesn’t contain peppermint, and I have seen parents opt for this one instead because of that fact but this doesn't make it any safer. Lemongrass is not to be used topically under the age of 2, on top of that Lemongrass is an irritating oil and has a topical max of .7% whereas in this formula it contains a whopping 1.49% of Lemongrass. While it isn’t specifically targeted towards babies, it does not have an age recommendation that I saw and even adults using this product could have issues with it since it exceeds the topical max recommended to avoid irritation and sensitization.
Young Living Seedlings Line: This line is too large for me to list individual products and quite honestly I doubt anyone would read the blog if I listed every product in this line. However, this line contains Ylang-ylang essential oil and is marketed towards babies. Ylang Ylang can be an irritating oil despite its calming effect and therefore should not be used topically on anyone under the age of 2, on top of that it has an incredibly low dilution rate of .8% and to be quite honest I highly doubt Young Living is following the dilution advice for specific oils. I would take caution with this line and not use it on anyone under the age of 2, despite what their marketing says.
Young Living Kidscents Toothpaste: I am not a fan of essential oils in a kid's toothpaste, we avoid fluoride in toothpaste for kids with the reasoning that kids swallow a lot of toothpaste. On top of that, they have eucalyptus oil in this toothpaste which is unsafe under the age of 10, and clove essential oil which is unsafe under the age of 2 topically. To me, this seems like it’s more of a risk when kids are prone to swallowing things. Eucalyptus can cause liver failure with ingestion, this is not something that I would be using myself, let alone for my kids.
doTERRA baby diaper rash cream: Alright so I don’t hate this one, it has kid-safe oils and they are the last ingredient so I can only hope the dilution is low. My only issue is I wouldn’t use this on young babies and would instead use it 6months+ but that is debatable in aromatherapy circles, with the general recommendation being 2+ as I said. If you use this, and your kiddo is doing alright honestly there isn’t a reason to change it up. Also, Carrot Seed and Tea Tree essential oils are great anti-microbial oils and make sense in a diaper product. I would try to contact doTERRA though and see if the dilution is somewhere between .2%-.5% as that would be the safest for use on babies.
doTERRA Baby hair and body wash: This one also isn’t that bad, I am still unsure about the dilution but it contains all kid-safe oils so I don’t hate it. Not a product that seems like it would cause issues, but like I said I wouldn't use it under 6 months and I would check what the dilution is.
California baby bug spray: I do not love this, it contains lemongrass which isn’t safe topically under 2 but this is targeted towards babies. They don’t give an extensive list of ingredients either prior to purchasing so I can’t say what else is in this or what specific species of oils they used, or even the dilution. I wouldn’t use this.
Badger anti-bug spray: I really do not like this one, containing oils like Lemongrass and Peppermint so this wouldn’t even be safe under the age of 3. It doesn’t have a target age group but with the marketing of all-natural people will assume it’s safe for babies.
Buzz Away Bug Spray by Quantum: Again, not my favorite. It doesn't seem like there is a bug spray on the market that is truly kid-safe. Peppermint and Lemongrass, at this point we know the drill. This is unsafe and can be a huge irritant.
Sky Organics Bug Spray: I just don’t like it, we can do better. I don’t have a lot to say honestly, all of these bug sprays are pretty dismal if I am being honest. Wouldn’t use them. Most bug sprays contain unsafe essential oils for babies and toddlers.A lot of these are just bad marketing, using essential oils that are not baby-friendly yet marketed towards babies. There is also no way to really know what the dilution of these oils is, as they don’t list the amounts used in the products. While these could be safe (barring the ones where they are telling you to apply them inside the mouth) for older children, I would recommend not using these for your babies and young toddlers. Most of these products could be really good if they were just marketed towards older children.
So what can we use instead?
I’m not going to make an entire post and not provide alternative products for these. These products are ones that I use with my family and we love them.
Boiron Teething Relief: A homeopathic alternative to essential oils, safe for all ages. This actually works, and you aren’t risking your baby’s mouth or digestive tract by feeding them essential oils.
Earthley Wellness Teeth Tamer: Another teething alternative that uses glycerine and distilled water infused with whole cloves and catnip. This one is super tasty and helps to curb that teething pain.
Plant Therapy Sniffle Stopper: If you do want to use essential oils, this one is safe for all ages. However, I do not recommend using essential oils with newborns (under 3 months), and the general recommendation is 2+ so that is what all the kid-safe essential oils from plant therapy will advise. If you want to use this with a baby (I would recommend 6 months+) you can drop 1-2 drops in the shower and let that run on hot in the bathroom to help steam the congestion out. Do this for about 5-15 minutes.
Earthley Wellness Lymphatic Cream: If you want a natural topical alternative to congestion balms try the lymphatic cream from Earthely. This is essential oil oil-free and safe for 6 months+, you can rub it on babes chest to help encourage the congestion to loosen up.
Earthley Wellness Cough b Gone: This is safe for ages 1+ and is an herbal tincture. Herbs help to act as an expectorant and loosen congestion, aiding the body in expelling it. This is a great way to help naturally aid those cold winter illnesses.
Saline drops: I don’t have a link for this, just use whatever brand that you love. Saline drops are a great way for all ages to help loosen up that congestion. Pair this with a snot sucker of your choice, and help even the littlest babies combat those stuffy days. Never underestimate the power of a little saline and snot sucker.
Earthley Wellness Infant Tummy Relief: This is safe for all ages and is an herbal tincture. Using gentle herbs such as catnip, fennel, and ginger root helps those little gassy tummies from aching. My kids love this and sometimes just ask for it because they want it.
Earthley Wellness Pest Aside: Earthley uses herbs in a balm rather than essential oils, so this is safe for 6 months+ and can help keep those pests off your little ones.
Earthley Wellness for body care: there are a lot of natural products Earthley offers from shampoos to face wash. Too many to list, so I will link their body care section and you can explore, but there are defintiely some great baby and toddler safe options that don’t contain unsafe essential oils.
I do not have any bath recommendations as it is generally recommended to not add things to a baby’s bath and there isn’t a good way to get a bath product without essential oils for a baby. Hopefully, this list has some new natural products that you will love, and no are no affiliate links in this post. However, definitely check out the Earthely Wellness Black Friday sale this coming Friday (they usually start it Thursday night and stuff goes FAST) for 20% off your entire order. This is the biggest sale of the year, and they only offer this big of a discount on Black Friday.
Thank you so much for reading, support means a lot. If you have any questions feel free to email me at holisticary@gmail.com or call/text me at 641-631-6355This blog post was meant to educate and entertain, it is entirely my opinion and not meant to treat or diagnose anyone or to be taken as absolute unwavering fact. Please seek proper medical care and advice. Some links might contain affiliate links, this is at no cost to you and helps the blog.