Okay folks, I know I've said this before, numerous times, but I feel like I need to iterate it again.
I keep seeing these long rants on "natural" body products' sellers pages, about how their stuff is made without "icky" chemicals, and how natural essences truly have some cosmic depth and amazingness that "chemicals" do not have, and how they are inherently better for you, for the earth, and everybody.
I often observe the words "safe" and "ethical" tossed around. Saying essential oils are safe because they are natural is like saying nothing in the animal kingdom can harm you, because it's part of nature. Nature is also full of deadly things, and things which can harm you, and I keep seeing people throw these substances around with wild abandon, gleaming with the satisfaction of being safe and natural. Also, the harvest of a number of extracts is far from ethical, requiring large volumes of rare and endangered plants, as well as the destruction of natural habitats to supply to the ever-growing demand.
Essential oils are NOT magical plant spirits in liquid form. They are complex mixtures of chemicals (yes, chemicals. You and I are also made of those "icky" things), some odorous, some not, that make up the volatile oil of that plant. It is really, really important to know safe practices for these, if you are producing consumable products for the public and selling them. The same caution that is taken with synthetic aroma compounds should be taken for essentials - and that includes not using things just because they smell nice. They are volatile compounds, many of which absorb directly into the bloodstream, very quickly.
The boom of the DIY body product/aromatherapy industry has made all of these natural compounds available to anyone, and I hope that people are taking the time to really research what they are mixing together in their hand-labeled bottles. I know there is a danger of this sounding like jealousy (I don't know why though, I use both natural and synthetic ingredients), or just bitterness in general, but I promise you, it is not. I just want to see makers and sellers in the home-based bath and body industry take serious precautions in terms of safety, before somebody gets hurt, and some of our freedoms, in this respect, are lost.