pure essential oils
Essential Oils and Blends
Essential oils get treated two ways and both are wrong. Either they are safe because they are natural, or they are unsafe and best avoided. Neither holds up. They are
concentrated aromatic extracts, distilled or pressed from plant material, and
physiologically active. Some are antimicrobial or anti-inflammatory, some are
best avoided in pregnancy or around infants, and most should never go on skin
undiluted.
How they work in DIY
In most recipes an oil either scents the product or does functional work,
antimicrobial or decongestant, often both. In a few, the all-purpose cleaner,
the mould treatment, the insect repellent, the oil is the active ingredient
rather than an optional extra.
Oils don’t mix with water. In water-based recipes you bridge that with a solubiliser
like polysorbate 20, or by dissolving them in alcohol first. In oil-based
recipes they disperse on their own. Use them sparingly, usually 0.5 to 3% of
the formula. More is not better: high concentrations can trigger sensitisation,
and once that happens you can react to that oil for good. Start low with any
oil you haven’t used before. The dilution tables are on the Reference page.
Bergamot and Bergamot FCF
Standard Bergamot contains furanocoumarins (mainly bergapten) that cause photosensitivity: on skin and then in sunlight, they can cause burns and
pigmentation changes. It is a real effect, not a theoretical one. Bergamot FCF
is the same oil with those compounds removed, so it keeps the aroma but is safe on leave-on skin.
We sell standard Bergamot as a single oil, fine for diffusing, room sprays and
cleaning, which is how Clarity, Bloom and Hush use it. The leave-on skin
blends, Ember, Light and Soothe, use Bergamot FCF instead. So if a formula
lists Bergamot FCF and you can’t find it in the singles, that is why: it is
used in formulation, not sold on its own.
Infant safety
Infant skin is thinner and more permeable, with a much higher surface-area-to-weight
ratio, so the same application is a proportionally larger dose. The rule is
simple: if a product stays on infant skin, it contains no essential oils. Hush
is the one blend made for this space, diffused or sprayed into the air only,
never on skin.
The single oils we stock
Each
of these is sold on its own, with a full profile and safety notes on its
product page:
Lemon. Bright and sharp, cuts grease. Phototoxic.
Sweet Orange. Warm citrus, one of the gentlest.
Bergamot (standard). Fresh and floral. Phototoxic, for air and cleaning use.
Peppermint. Crisp and cooling, very potent.
Eucalyptus. Fresh and camphoraceous, a cleaning staple.
Tea Tree. Crisp and purifying. Toxic to cats and dogs.
Cedarwood Atlas. Warm, woody base note.
Clove Bud. Warm and spicy, a strong irritant, use sparingly.
Ginger. Warm and spicy, for warming blends.
Lavender (angustifolia). Soft,
floral and gentle.
Rose Geranium. Rosy and green, for skincare.
Oils used in blends only
These are not stocked on their own. Each appears only inside a blend: Bergamot FCF in Ember, Light and Soothe; Cardamom in Ember; Fir Needle in Lift and Clarity;
Frankincense in Ember and Bloom; Lemon Myrtle in Bloom; Roman Chamomile in
Hush; Rosemary in Lift; Sage in Lift; Sandalwood in Ember; Vetiver in Ember.
The seven blends
The blends are the spine of the book, each a formula with a job of its own.
Fifty-four recipes use one of these seven, sorted across three brands by the
work they do.
The Botanic family, for TerraPure skin. Three moods of one botanical idea, all
using Bergamot FCF so they are safe on leave-on skin.
Ember
Deep, resinous and grounding.
Light
Bright, citrus-forward and clean.
Soothe
Calming, floral and skin-active.
The cleaning blends, for SafeHaven. Each built so its oils do real work in the
formula, not just fragrance.
Lift
Fresh, herbaceous and functional, the signature SafeHaven scent. Contains rosemary and sage, so avoid during pregnancy and keep away from infants.
Bloom
Floral and grounded, rose geranium leading with lemon myrtle. Built with standard Bergamot, for cleaning and room use, not leave-on skin.
Clarity
Crisp and citrus. Lemon, Bergamot and fir needle, chosen for cleaning. Built with standard Bergamot, for cleaning and diffusion only, not skin.
The calm blend, for Cradle & Collar. Made for the air rather than the skin.
Hush
Calm, gentle and restful. Lavender angustifolia leads, Roman chamomile anchors, with sweet orange, a little Bergamot and soft cedarwood. A room blend, for diffusing or spraying into the air, never on skin.
Around infants, let the air settle first. For spraying, mist the empty room and wait five minutes before bringing baby in. For
diffusing, run it in the empty room for fifteen to twenty minutes, switch off,
then wait another five to ten. Never diffuse continuously or with baby in the
room.