A Rose By Another Name...

the weirdest thing about a lot of the common criticisms of millennials i see is that they all seem to boil down to:

Oh my god, food extract is not the same as an essential oil.

Like maybe my tone is hard to read, maybe it just comes off as really angry but it’s not, it’s fear and worry. I read posts and clutch my head in alarm going “no! No! That’s how people die!” And then I get exasperated because a bunch of people not formally qualified chime in with “um actually this is a lie” and it’s not, it’s really, really not.

I see this so often in the Mommy world. There was a lady not long ago in one of the mom groups who was really worried about her toddler. He’d had a persistent cough for weeks and the doctor couldn’t figure out why. Someone asked, well what have to tried to treat it with, so far? She said she was using a humidifier, honey, and eucalyptus EO in the shower every night.

Sadly I don’t wonder. I have a friend whose daughter died from a home made menthol oil chest rub. She wasn’t even ten yet, but her mom– a qualified aromatherapist– thought she’d be old enough to handle it. She went into respitory distress and died seizing in her mother’s arms on route to the hospital. It was one of the most harrowing stories I had to listen to during my holistic training. She stood up there, on this podium next to a bunch of ponzy scheme essential oil sellers who looked like they wanted the floor to swallow them, and said “I killed my child with good intentions”.

I apologize sincerely for bringing this long post back into your lives, fam, but I’m getting inundated with questions about what can the possible harm be if you dab a little neat peppermint oil on your child’s skin to help them with a little head cold, and this is the most succinct way I can put it.

are you ready for my favorite fact?

Bobcats and lynx will sit in cardboard boxes abandoned in the middle of the forest.

If someone is wearing makeup in the pool, don’t deliberately splash them. If someone has done their hair nicely, don’t mess it up. If someone in a t-shirt has scars on their arms, don’t ask them about it. If someone doesn’t want to get in the water, don’t push them. If someone still wants to wear jeans, don’t laugh at them for it. If someone has sweat patches, don’t point them out. If someone’s chest is obviously prominent, don’t stare. If you can see someone’s underwear/ binder, don’t comment on it. If someone is blatantly covering something up, don’t try to reveal it.