I invited Jen Novakovich, a cosmetic chemist, science communicator, and founder of The EcoWell to discuss the truth and safety of essential oils.

We discuss:

• Concern with marketing around essential oils
• Risk for using essential oils
• What to consider if you do use essential oils

 

Visit The Eco Well website at theecowell.com or listen to The Eco Well Podcast.

00;00;01;01 – 00;00;31;13

Jen Novakovich

In cosmetics. There is this push for natural and a push against synthetic fragrance. So people view Assange oils as their natural, quote unquote safe, which is contentious. May or may not be the case likely. Isn’t the safer alternative for the synthetic fragrance in your products, and people are so scared about the catchall phrase fragrance that they don’t know what’s in it.

 

00;00;31;15 – 00;00;41;06

Jen Novakovich

That’s a large topic that I’m happy to dig into more, but they feel safer with this essential oil that they view as safe.

 

00;00;41;08 – 00;00;59;03

Dr. Mona

Hey everyone, welcome back to the PedsDocTalk podcast. This podcast continues to grow because of you and your reviews. So make sure if you love this episode today that you write a review, call it our guest because it means so much to us and this platform for it to continue to grow. On this episode today I am welcoming Jen.

 

00;00;59;04 – 00;01;23;28

Dr. Mona

She is a cosmetic chemist, science communicator, and founder of the Eco Well, which is a platform that really debunks misinformation about skincare products and so much that is out there on skincare and cosmetics. But I’m just so excited to talk to her today about essential oils. So thank you so much for joining me today. Jen.

 

00;01;24;01 – 00;01;25;17

Jen Novakovich

Thank you so much for having me.

 

00;01;25;19 – 00;01;50;01

Dr. Mona

So this is a topic that is near and dear to my heart because as a pediatrician, so many parents want to talk about alternatives to traditional medicine. You know, for a while on Facebook groups and parenting groups, essential oils are like the cure all for a lot of people. And as a physician and talking to, someone who’s a cosmetic chemist and science communicator, there is obviously some concerns I have about that.

 

00;01;50;01 – 00;01;57;14

Dr. Mona

Now, before we get into the importance of this discussion, tell me more about yourself and your platform. Why you created eco. Well.

 

00;01;57;17 – 00;02;23;22

Jen Novakovich

Yeah, sure. And I will say I share these concerns about essential oils, which we’ll talk about. But yeah, my name is Jen. I am a science communicator and cosmetic chemist. I have, for close to a decade now, been working as an independent chemist for smaller brands to help them develop formulations for market and help them ensure regulatory compliance and navigate through safety substantiation.

 

00;02;23;25 – 00;02;49;04

Jen Novakovich

I have kind of niched myself in around sustainability substantiation, which sustainability substantiation, management and auditing. So that’s kind of what I do for my consultancy. And I also am a science communicator. I have a podcast of my own. I interview scientists from around the world about all things cosmetics for people who are really into the nitty gritty science, the details of your cosmetics.

 

00;02;49;04 – 00;02;59;19

Jen Novakovich

I know it’s a little bit of a niche. I also have, free panels on my website. I’m very active on Instagram. And yeah, that’s me in a nutshell.

 

00;02;59;22 – 00;03;19;27

Dr. Mona

I love it. It’s such an important thing because especially I know we’re not talking about quote unquote clean beauty on this episode, but there is such a modern movement on vilifying a lot of the products in skincare products, for children and for adults. And we just to talk about essential oils just on this episode, because of how important it is and how much I hear parents talk about it.

 

00;03;19;27 – 00;03;44;25

Dr. Mona

So what you do is super niche but super important. So thank you so much for joining me. And you know, we’re talking about the popularity of essential oils, but also some of the risks behind it. Why do you think they become so popular? I know you’re not obviously a physician or understand all this other stuff, but from your understanding, what has become like this essential oil, you know, being put on a pedestal, for so many treatments for people?

 

00;03;44;27 – 00;04;19;18

Jen Novakovich

Yeah. I think there’s two factors in cosmetics. So maybe I’ll start there. There is this push for natural, and a push against synthetic fragrance. So people view as oils as their natural, quote unquote safe, which is contentious. May or may not be the case. Likely. Isn’t the safer alternative for the synthetic fragrance in your products. And people are so scared about the catchall phrase fragrance that they don’t know what’s in it.

 

00;04;19;20 – 00;05;06;14

Jen Novakovich

That’s a large topic that I’m happy to dig into more, but they feel safer with this essential oil that they view as safe alarms that you have the growing trend of like the supplement sector. And people opting for natural remedies, a growing, trend for aromatherapy. And I really think what really catapulted the essential oil space was doTERRA and Young Living catching especially, like moms who had an audience within their communities to go and talk about essential oils and talk about purported health benefits.

 

00;05;06;17 – 00;05;38;26

Jen Novakovich

And like, there has been some shady things that have happened that really are not compliant to regulations, which is a large topic in there in itself. But now there’s all of these messages online from these MLM reps to the everyday person about essential oils will cure all will fix. I mean, I’ve seen it all. I’ve seen things go so far to say essential oils will cure cancer and things like that, but they’re just like up on social media.

 

00;05;38;26 – 00;06;03;04

Jen Novakovich

So that certainly was a part of the trend. So I would say those three points and obviously like there is also, growing body of evidence related to essential oils, there’s a lot of interest for the use of essential oils therapeutically. So that’s also a part of that. And I think it’s a really interesting space and research it’s really great to see.

 

00;06;03;06 – 00;06;11;18

Jen Novakovich

But alongside there’s also some shady things that have just elevated essential oils to what they are today. I will say also.

 

00;06;11;20 – 00;06;24;05

Dr. Mona

A bit tricky me, but you’re intriguing me, by the way, with this, with the shady stuff that’s happening, I want to know more. But yeah, like, you know. But you’re right. Like, oh, sorry to cut you off because I think it’s just such an important thing that we understand where it comes from and all the marketing behind it.

 

00;06;24;05 – 00;06;29;09

Dr. Mona

But, Yeah, I’m. If you want elaborate, you can. If not, no worries. But. Yeah, please go on.

 

00;06;29;12 – 00;07;02;29

Jen Novakovich

Well, the shady things that are happening that. Well, these products are technically, cosmetic products. So that means that they must comply to cosmetic regulations. And so the so brands cannot make therapeutic claims, otherwise it will render the products a drug. So saying something will cure cancer. Yes. Prevent cancer. I’ve seen people talk about cinnamon essential oil being like an alternative to metformin, things like that.

 

00;07;02;29 – 00;07;31;27

Jen Novakovich

I’ve seen it all like those are drug claims. And so the branded self shouldn’t put this information and any of their consumer facing literature. Now like these MLM wraps are also consumers. So there’s some really gray area because I’ve seen the literature from doTERRA and Young Living giving this information to the reps, and then they go out and put it out into the zeitgeist.

 

00;07;32;03 – 00;07;55;24

Jen Novakovich

So these claims are illegal. And so the reps are first accountable for the claims that they’re making related to the products, in the same way that if an influencer on social media is talking about a cosmetic product and making all these therapeutic claims, they are also on the hook if that like regulatory authorities can catch them and like hold them accountable.

 

00;07;55;27 – 00;08;20;02

Jen Novakovich

Realistically, it’s going to be more on the brands. So brands are also by having these claims out there by their MLM reps or influencers, but MLM reps in this case that are non-compliant to the regulations, they can be caught up and they could get into they could get into trouble for the claims that are illegal. So that’s the shady area.

 

00;08;20;02 – 00;08;25;02

Jen Novakovich

They are like full stop illegal. They should not be making these claims.

 

00;08;25;05 – 00;08;39;28

Dr. Mona

And I see that all the time. I mean, you’re perfectly right how the marketing kind of goes, which is scary for, you know, from the medical side is what you just said, you know, this is a cure for cancer. But not only are they saying, just say use another example like this is a cure for, you know, whatever.

 

00;08;39;28 – 00;09;00;12

Dr. Mona

This is my a cure for my child’s asthma. Just give me an example. Okay? And then they vilify other medicines that are actually stuff that pediatricians or, you know, a pulmonologist may prescribe and say, this is toxic for your child, but look at my product. This is something really great. Buy it here. Use this link. And I see so much of that marketing on social media.

 

00;09;00;12 – 00;09;18;08

Dr. Mona

I see so much of that sort of, you know, natural living. And they put a little emoji of like a leaf, you know, and I’m like, what is this natural living? I mean, we all we all kind of live in nature. I don’t, I mean, it’s such a movement. And again, these kind of buzzwords kind of with the clean beauty, which is what we mentioned earlier, that it’s like, are you really natural?

 

00;09;18;08 – 00;09;34;22

Dr. Mona

I mean, there’s no way unless you’re living in the woods and, you know, sourcing your own food and, you know, hunting, not everything is really natural. So it’s extremely frustrating because of the claims. And, you know, from a physician standpoint, like I said, I mentioned Facebook groups when they go on and talk about, hey, your child has the flu.

 

00;09;34;29 – 00;09;51;27

Dr. Mona

Yeah, don’t worry about you know, taking X, Y and Z or listening to your doctor. Here’s an essential oil to take. Now I will say, because I think it’s important, and I know we’re not going to talk about real benefits or anything because there really is no literature to support. Benefits of essential oils I have used essential oils in the past, but for nothing very serious.

 

00;09;52;03 – 00;10;11;10

Dr. Mona

I mean, I’ve used it as an insect repellent and I’ve used it as a pediatrician for children with anxiety that were older as a smell. Right? Like to smell it because it can kind of as a psychosomatic, sort of psychological placebo effect, kind of help with, relaxation. But it was never used for treating physical ailments or things like that, you know?

 

00;10;11;10 – 00;10;22;20

Dr. Mona

And that is what the concerning thing is, is that we don’t know, you know, and I think you can agree that there is no scientific literature, like you said, to support any safety or efficacy. Correct?

 

00;10;22;22 – 00;10;48;24

Jen Novakovich

Yeah. Well, I will say the evidence to support its use topically, and that’s the research that I’m most familiar with is limited. Yeah. There’s a few pieces of evidence here on there I just pulled up before jumping on to this. What I was late for, just to see what the level of evidence is right now. So there has been a study comparing benzoyl peroxide and tea tree.

 

00;10;48;24 – 00;11;19;03

Jen Novakovich

This was back in 1990s. So bear in mind this is quite old. And I was comparing 5% tea tree oil and 5% benzoyl peroxide and both had impact for reducing inflamed and non inflamed acne lesions. Now like a challenge is 5% is a very high usage for essential oils. And so when you’re using them at such a concentration then you run into risks of allergen to be an irritant.

 

00;11;19;03 – 00;11;46;05

Jen Novakovich

See. But this was back in 1990. And I haven’t seen that compelling of evidence since then. And then I’m also looking at, review, looking at the effect of lavender essential oil on wound healing. So there is a potential impact for improving wound healing now, like there’s also an impact with like allergy intensity and urgency. So there’s that.

 

00;11;46;11 – 00;12;26;22

Jen Novakovich

There’s also many other proven ingredients that have a lot more compelling research in my opinion. There is research on various essential oils. Right now I’m looking at lemongrass essential oils for, fungal treatment. Now, bear in mind these would fall under the umbrella of drugs. So like a lot more research needs to be done for them to, like make any of the claims, because the issue is like a lot of these studies are using high concentrations that wouldn’t be sustainable on a long term basis due to irritants and allergy issues.

 

00;12;26;25 – 00;13;10;03

Jen Novakovich

So there is a limited amount of research, but there are other ingredients with far more evidence to support them with a lot less from what I can gather, risks associated with them because by nature and we can get into this when we start to talk about risks. Essential oils tend to be irritating and like potential allergens like. Not to mention there are other risks associated with essential oils, but to answer the question, there is a limited amount of evidence, but in my opinion, not compelling enough to gravitate towards essential oils over more tried and tested ingredients.

 

00;13;10;06 – 00;13;26;01

Dr. Mona

Agreed. You know, I know I’m I’m bringing more of the medical aspect. And you’re bringing the science aspect, which I totally love, that we can bring this together. And I do have a lot of families who, like, truly believe that it helps with their child’s cough. Like they put it in the room as like a diffuser.

 

00;13;26;01 – 00;13;44;05

Dr. Mona

And with that comment, I think we can segue into risk. You know, one of the biggest things from a medical standpoint is we don’t know how a younger child’s respiratory system is going to respond to essential oils being diffused in an environment. So I have to always say to my families, I’m like, look, your child has young airway.

 

00;13;44;08 – 00;13;59;23

Dr. Mona

You say it’s a one year old. Just it’s a two year old. I don’t know if they’re going to respond well to an essential oil being diffused in the room. And that is a reality. Now, that is a benefit risk that the family wants to take. They do their own research, whatnot, but that is one of the safety risks I see.

 

00;14;00;09 – 00;14;15;26

Dr. Mona

For younger children especially. But also we just don’t know. We don’t know. There’s again, not enough information, especially for my children with asthma, parents wanting to do, you know, diffusing of essential oils in the room. I always say I’m like, look like, how will we know? I don’t want this to flare the asthma and go the other way, you know?

 

00;14;15;26 – 00;14;33;19

Dr. Mona

And then, you obviously don’t have your albuterol and other medicines that are tried and true that actually can really help. So that is one of my biggest things, but I would love to hear more about your concerns with risks. And you know what you hear about essential oils from the community in terms of concerns that we may see?

 

00;14;33;22 – 00;15;01;08

Jen Novakovich

Yeah, I like I wonder if it would make sense to take a couple steps back, which it may clarify why some of these risks are there. And talk about like firstly like what are essential oils and like what do they do in nature. So like what are essential oils. Well they’re like the aromatic volatile chemicals in aromatic plants, but they are like secondary metabolites that serve to protect the plant.

 

00;15;01;10 – 00;15;32;12

Jen Novakovich

And they vary from plant to plant, even within the same species, from region to region like environment environments. But environmental stressors, should, I say, to environmental stressors. So these influence the chemicals so they can best protect themselves. And that protection maybe things like making the plant toxic to predators like that is one of the ways. So like so they help protect the plant and they are protecting the plant.

 

00;15;32;12 – 00;15;58;08

Jen Novakovich

They are not necessarily going to be good for us. They might actually be with that. Like this essential oil, maybe making the plant toxic to predators. It may also have a similar impact on us. So just for that back end. So for the risks associated with essential oils, well we can start with inhalation like inhalation is a concern for us for children and for pets.

 

00;15;58;08 – 00;16;27;04

Jen Novakovich

This is a really big issue. People don’t realize that. Like you also have to be aware of what your pets are are inhaling and like pets can die from depending on the essential oil. So certain essential oils, depending on the aroma chemical profile, may be toxic and especially toxic to pets and kids. And it’s actually like kind of terrifying when I see MLM reps recommending eucalyptus for children.

 

00;16;27;20 – 00;16;53;14

Jen Novakovich

That’s ISO eugenol in eucalyptus is, toxic to children and like and so this is a reason why if you go look at Vicks VapoRub, they opted to like not have ice or eugenol. While it might be an adult option, I believe at some point it was it’s now more menthol based because ISO eugenol is like a neurotoxin to children especially.

 

00;16;53;21 – 00;17;15;19

Jen Novakovich

So like yeah, that is one example of a potential risk. And this is one that is studied. There’s so many compounds that may be under studied that we just don’t know okay. So that’s the inhalation concern. Personally I don’t use a diffuser. I don’t use anything like that because I have pets and I’m like I just don’t feel comfortable.

 

00;17;15;21 – 00;17;43;01

Jen Novakovich

I don’t feel comfortable exposing my pets to an unknown risk. Some essential oils may be fine, but honestly, I don’t know. I don’t know enough to feel confident that my pets will be fine. I don’t have kids, but I have pets. So yeah. Okay, so then you’ve got the topical risks. So essential oils, also like the aroma chemicals in them, are allergens and irritants.

 

00;17;43;04 – 00;18;08;16

Jen Novakovich

And maybe even worse, they might even be photo toxic. Many are like for a coumarin that are in citrus essential oils, they will make you photosensitive eyes, and you may even blister and have a more severe reaction. So these are like depending on the concentration that you’re using. These are risks that you’re exposing your skin to. Not to say that essential oils can’t be used safely.

 

00;18;08;23 – 00;18;44;08

Jen Novakovich

I don’t know enough. Oh, like I’ll just come back to the inhalation thing because I’m sure there’s some aroma therapist that is mad at me for saying what I’ve said. I don’t know enough about the aromatherapy aspect, but with respect to the skin irritants and allergens, the aspect like the risks will vary depending on the exposure. Yeah. So if you’re going to formulate a product with essential oil and use it at appropriate concentrations, and it varies depending on the essential oil and actually like just like an FYI for the cosmetics industry, we have a fragrance association.

 

00;18;44;27 – 00;19;19;17

Jen Novakovich

If RA is the acronym International Fragrance Research a may be association. I may be wrong, but the acronym is IFA. So they are international body with, like a whole slew of scientists that research fragrance and put together guidelines for industry, for various aroma chemicals, for best usage, to keep products safe and to reduce risks for various things because also like some aroma chemicals are also like carcinogens.

 

00;19;19;17 – 00;19;47;08

Jen Novakovich

So like to reduce the risks based off of the best available evidence. And so they put out guidelines depending on the my chemical and if an essential oil has said aroma chemical, then they have suggestions for ways to formulate essential oils into products to reduce risks, which then can be further safety tested for finished products. Now, this is the context of a finished product, and not in an essential oil that a user is going to be getting.

 

00;19;47;10 – 00;20;13;09

Jen Novakovich

A standalone essential oil. So like yeah, the essential oils can be safely formulated with the right precautions. But like this isn’t going to be something that, someone at home is going to do. This is going to be you are purchasing a product from a reputable brand who is following our guidance and has done the right things to ensure that the essential oils have been safely incorporated into the formulation.

 

00;20;13;11 – 00;20;37;00

Jen Novakovich

It’s very different when, well, first I’ll go to like the DIY maker stores that you may purchase products from who are just using too high of concentrations of essential oils not within it for guidance. Maybe they don’t even know who. Like what if it is. And so then they’re putting it at higher concentrations. And those higher concentrations is where you start to run into issues.

 

00;20;37;06 – 00;21;01;22

Jen Novakovich

And now you get people at home. They have just the standalone essential oil. And I think that is a huge risk because like these, to be safe to use, they should be effectively diluted. But people have no idea. Yeah. People have no idea what that looks like. And like the cosmetics industry refers to infra. And I’m like it’s very specific depending on the essential oil.

 

00;21;01;22 – 00;21;29;07

Jen Novakovich

Like how is, at home person going to navigate that? But when you’re putting them at higher concentrations on your skin, you’re just yeah, increasing your risks of irritation and other things because some of the aroma chemicals and essential oils are like, for example, carcinogenic and allergens. So of the top allergens in the cosmetics industry, they are from natural aroma chemicals.

 

00;21;29;09 – 00;21;32;01

Jen Novakovich

They can be found in essential oils.

 

00;21;32;07 – 00;21;34;08

Dr. Mona

And so like when you are.

 

00;21;34;10 – 00;21;55;19

Jen Novakovich

Putting essential oils, especially at too high of a concentration on your skin, some people put it directly on their skin. Need just like undiluted essential oil like you at home. Please don’t do that. Please don’t do that. And especially don’t do this to your children. Then you’re increasing the likelihood that you’re going to develop a skin allergy related to the exposure of this allergen.

 

00;21;55;27 – 00;22;21;24

Jen Novakovich

And you’re doing this to your child. You’re just going to set them up for potentially a skin allergy that they’re going to have for the rest of their lives. Maybe they might even get like, acute burn associated with essential oil. Like I see MLM reps talking about how they will put eucalyptus directly on the soles of their baby’s feet, like, please don’t do that.

 

00;22;22;00 – 00;22;28;20

Jen Novakovich

That is unsafe. And then we get into the recommendations of drinking as such.

 

00;22;28;21 – 00;22;29;18

Dr. Mona

Oh yeah.

 

00;22;29;18 – 00;23;00;21

Jen Novakovich

We don’t like there is not enough evidence. Yeah, there’s not enough evidence to support any, therapeutic effect, especially when you are the person formulating. I can see if you have some chemist who is referring to some guidance, scientific guidance to understand the like, how to safely and effectively use these materials. Okay, that’s one thing. But you at home doing this like we do not understand the immediate or long term risks.

 

00;23;00;24 – 00;23;13;21

Jen Novakovich

So like people will say, oh, I’m just going to put essential oils and water and then I’m going to drink it. And then like you’re not diluting your essential oils because like, think about when you mix oil with water, it does not dissolve together.

 

00;23;13;21 – 00;23;16;29

Dr. Mona

Yes. It doesn’t make that oil. It’s just like undiluted. Yeah.

 

00;23;17;06 – 00;23;37;16

Jen Novakovich

Same goes for the essential oils. So you’re just what it’s going do you when you drink it it’s going to be attracted to like which is the fatty mucous membrane in your throat. So you’re just like potentially exposing yourself to this risk that may lead to like a throat and like how much would that suck? But also you just don’t know the risks, especially long term.

 

00;23;37;16 – 00;24;08;03

Jen Novakovich

So like, why are you doing this? And then also why are these wraps recommending it. So there’s that. And then also like two additional risks outside of the fact that like inhalation topical and internal, we don’t really understand sufficiently, in my opinion, to safely use these materials, particularly if it’s us that are incorporating it. There is a real danger to at home people who don’t have the knowledge having these materials.

 

00;24;08;06 – 00;24;37;10

Jen Novakovich

But then there’s the fact that there is a huge issue with adulteration. Yeah, from a variety of issues, especially like sustainability issues, people don’t realize they’re there are dire issues for sustainability for many of the central oils that are quite popular today. And so to alleviate those pressures, companies will adulterate and the quality control for many companies could be far improved.

 

00;24;37;12 – 00;25;06;02

Jen Novakovich

The second thing is the variety in chemicals, depending on the plant, depending on the region it’s from. And so we’ll say we have a really great understanding of this one specific essential oil that’s not going to apply to that same species grown somewhere else because there’s so much variability depending on the environmental pressures. So yeah, hopefully I’m not coming across as fearmongering.

 

00;25;06;04 – 00;25;26;17

Jen Novakovich

But I do think that it’s really not great that people at home have essential oils, that this is accessible to them because there are these risks, and these risks aren’t well communicated. And the people who are selling these products just like don’t know what they’re talking about. And then also like the great unknowns based off of the lack of evidence.

 

00;25;26;19 – 00;25;50;16

Dr. Mona

Well, that is exactly the concern is that we don’t have enough information to say and agree with what people are saying from the marketing standpoint, right? Like if things were better regulated in the essential oil market and I you’re agreeing that there should be better regulation because there’s so many little shops and little organizations that are creating and coming out with the essential oils, but we don’t know, are they educating on how to properly use it?

 

00;25;50;16 – 00;26;09;09

Dr. Mona

Do they even know how to properly use it, or are they just, you know, pulling things out of there? You know, where we don’t know those things. Like you’re basically trusting a label that you don’t know what’s actually in it. Like, that’s what I kind of see when something’s not highly regulated, like the essential oil market, is that I’m just just using the Young Living as an example.

 

00;26;09;09 – 00;26;29;20

Dr. Mona

Right. You’re trusting young living. You’re trusting what people are saying. But do you know what’s actually in it? And also do they have the research to back it up like they probably don’t safety for children? How much do you put in a carrier oil? Like, you know, if you use essential oils, usually you mix it like you said with some sort of coconut oil or some sort of oil, not water.

 

00;26;30;01 – 00;26;47;16

Dr. Mona

And then you put it on your skin. You do not ever put it on directly, just, fresh, like you mentioned, for a risk of irritation. But do they know how to dilute it correctly for a child? No. Like, we don’t know, because there hasn’t been any testing on children. And I, I’m assuming. So I haven’t seen any recently or ever.

 

00;26;48;00 – 00;27;06;03

Dr. Mona

So you can correct me if I’m wrong, but that, to me is the concern that I think parents have. Like, I don’t think this came off as fear mongering at all. I think this is very important information in the safety world. As a pediatrician, I do believe that parents can make their own choices, but be informed. I think this conversation is extremely informative.

 

00;27;06;03 – 00;27;21;03

Dr. Mona

Like I don’t use essential oils on Orion, even though I’ve used it on myself in the past for, like I said, insect repellent that it had. But I don’t use it much now that he’s, you know, in my life. And like you said, like with your pet, right? We don’t use it much in the last three years.

 

00;27;21;10 – 00;27;49;04

Dr. Mona

Because I’m like, I don’t really know the safety and efficacy for him. I don’t want to overwhelm his respiratory system. And so that is a choice that I make. Now, the problem I see from, you know, social media and being a physician, is that where people are getting the information, right? So many people are getting information from the wrong places, like we’ve talked about earlier, people who are saying that this is unsafe, but my essential oil is the cure all is going to fix this.

 

00;27;49;09 – 00;28;14;08

Dr. Mona

This is what fix my child’s eczema. And this is what fix this. I’m like, I don’t know if that sounds right, you know, and I see so many non medical science people touting the benefits of essential oil. And that concerns me. Like you can say, hey, look, there’s a risk here. There’s a risk here. I need you to understand that there is a risk with all of the things that we’re talking about in a market that’s not regulated, kind of like the supplement industry.

 

00;28;14;08 – 00;28;36;22

Dr. Mona

We can have a whole conversation about that, probably, but it’s important to understand that you are really using this, understanding the risks. And if that’s worth it to you and you really feel like it helps, go for it. But it’s something that you really have to think about. And the problem with modern parenting is that so much of what we do is what other people are doing, especially on social media.

 

00;28;36;22 – 00;28;56;29

Dr. Mona

So everyone’s so easily influenced by influencers not to be repetitive with the word of like saying, oh, this is what really works, and I don’t. Maybe I’m not following the right people or the people. Are I employing the right people? But I’m not seeing as much of the promotion of essential oils on social as I did five years ago.

 

00;28;56;29 – 00;29;12;04

Dr. Mona

I don’t know if you agree, or maybe we’re just not following the people who promote it, but five years ago I would say that it was very heavy, like Young Living, like I saw it everywhere, but now I’m not seeing it as much. Do you see that? Or maybe we’re just not following the people that are promoting it.

 

00;29;12;06 – 00;29;25;25

Jen Novakovich

Yeah, I will agree. I haven’t been seeing it as much, although I have seen that sales have gone upwards through. Okay. And there we go. Okay. So like especially in the early days of the pandemic, there were so.

 

00;29;25;25 – 00;29;26;17

Dr. Mona

Many people.

 

00;29;26;17 – 00;30;05;24

Jen Novakovich

So many people that were talking about the use of essential oils for, oh. Firstly, like as like Covid production. So, it’s like, yeah, there’s that. But then also to make sanitizers, which is also like hugely, hugely problematic. I know that, both doTERRA and Young Living hand sanitizer recipes that their reps were going around and then going around talking about how toxic sanitizers are now, like actually them putting out these recipes that were endorsed by doTERRA is also like all legal now because.

 

00;30;05;24 – 00;30;06;23

Dr. Mona

The like then.

 

00;30;06;26 – 00;30;37;14

Jen Novakovich

They are wrapping up what they’re saying as a drug claim and sanitizers are regulated as drugs. Yeah. And also there are specific formulations that are demonstrated to work and therefore are approved. Yeah. But I will say I haven’t like this has actually kind of surprised me this conversation because it has essential oils past like fragrance safety for skincare has kind of fallen off my radar in the last especially year.

 

00;30;37;14 – 00;31;09;16

Jen Novakovich

I would say I never see it on social media. I never really see the doTERRA in young living reps that were always in my feed. But what my theory friend says is the changes in social media algorithms for like the algorithm, and how it is kind of funneling everyone into their own echo chambers. So I do think that both of us are in our own echo chamber of like minded people, which like, honestly, is probably healthier for us.

 

00;31;09;16 – 00;31;18;08

Jen Novakovich

But it means that we’re not reaching these other people and they’re not reaching us. Well, it may feel good to not.

 

00;31;18;08 – 00;31;19;08

Dr. Mona

Have these people.

 

00;31;19;08 – 00;31;36;02

Jen Novakovich

In our on our feed. Yeah. Getting mad or saying stuff that may be really concerning and like, keeps you up at night thinking about. I do think that they’re still there. I just think that the algorithm is kind of hiding them from us.

 

00;31;36;04 – 00;31;55;24

Dr. Mona

That makes sense. No, I agree, and I was I asked the question, I was like, maybe I just don’t see them because I also don’t follow a lot of people on my professional page. So that would make sense. Which just, you know, and even in my Facebook groups, Facebook community, like my Facebook that I’ve had and I just recently went back on to just look at everything, I was like, oh, I don’t see as much of it.

 

00;31;55;24 – 00;32;22;11

Dr. Mona

But you’re right. I think it definitely is just, who we’re listening to. And this is a really important conversation because everyone has been kind of asking, like essential oil thoughts like, what do you think? And I again, I’ve said it before, I do believe that there are concerns that we have to be very open about. And you mentioned a few many actually, one of the biggest ones is the respiratory concern as a physician and also people just putting it directly on the skin, the irritation that can cause the skin absorption.

 

00;32;22;15 – 00;32;36;24

Dr. Mona

Like we don’t know how much of that is being absorbed into the thin skin of a child, similar to how we use other skin care products like sunscreen. Like we want to follow the directions, you know, but that’s all regulated. Like that is all like, you know, we look at all of that, but this is like, how do we know?

 

00;32;36;24 – 00;32;40;09

Dr. Mona

Like, I don’t know, you know. So I really appreciate this conversation.

 

00;32;40;11 – 00;33;10;22

Jen Novakovich

Yeah. This was my pleasure. Like, I would just say like, I am very conservative. If you want to experience essential oils, I would purchase from reputable cosmetic companies who formulate essential oils into their products, who comply to our guidance. That’s going to be very hard for you at home to be able to do that. So like opting for a finished formulation rather than purchasing the essential oil, I think that probably is a better route.

 

00;33;10;28 – 00;33;36;19

Jen Novakovich

While you may be able to go and dilute, it’s really easy to overdo it. Like, I don’t want to seem like an elitist here, but it is like complicated. There’s so much complexity and variation from essential oils to essential oil, abundance can be very hard for you at home to minimize your risks. Now I am very conservative, so if you are going to use essential oils then yeah, just at least delete them in oil.

 

00;33;36;20 – 00;34;03;22

Jen Novakovich

Yeah. Like preferably below 0.5% which is going to be hard for you without a scale, without the scale that I can measure under 0.00g. Because like the drop method is really not super accurate because drop sizes vary from essential oil to essential oil. So yeah, I would still gravitate towards finished products, but like, yeah, please don’t let essential oils are actually on your skin.

 

00;34;03;29 – 00;34;10;06

Jen Novakovich

And please, please don’t put this on your children’s skin. Yeah. Gosh don’t do that.

 

00;34;10;09 – 00;34;28;08

Dr. Mona

Yeah. And my final is also just the diffusing. It’s risky to me. Like still people ask and I’m like, the diffusing in a room when your child is sleeping in that room and you know you’re going to bed and have just aromatherapy, even like people ask me about this, you know, I actually use Vicks on myself, like the adult Vicks, and I use baby Vicks on my son.

 

00;34;28;08 – 00;34;45;21

Dr. Mona

I think it’s phenomenal. Like the non eucalyptus, or not, you know, like what we were talking about earlier, but I don’t know, something about diffusing that strong of a scent in a room with a child doesn’t sit well with me. Like I just feel like their lungs are like, you know, developing, and I don’t. I would hate that they spasm.

 

00;34;45;21 – 00;35;00;15

Dr. Mona

Like, I just think I’m again, I could just be a little more conservative on that standpoint. And I’ll be honest, like, I know we haven’t talked before, I am a little easygoing compared to like I do believe in more of a middle ground, but there are some things in medicine that I’m like, hey, look like I just want to be honest here.

 

00;35;00;15 – 00;35;15;05

Dr. Mona

Like, I don’t know how your kid’s going to react to it. So this is again, just super helpful. And I really appreciate you saying about the if for guidance. It’s actually something I didn’t know about, you know, so it really helps for me. That’s why I love having guests like you on my podcast, because I learned something too that I didn’t know before.

 

00;35;15;05 – 00;35;18;16

Dr. Mona

So that will help me in giving some guidance to my families as well.

 

00;35;18;18 – 00;35;19;21

Jen Novakovich

Yeah. My pleasure.

 

00;35;19;23 – 00;35;39;05

Dr. Mona

And so I want to have you come back on again. I’ve mentioned this already that I would love to talk about clean beauty, sunscreen, skincare products for children. I mean, there’s so much that you do, but where can people find you to get more information? I know you get so much information on your platform, your Instagram and your podcast, but if you can just tell everyone where they can find you.

 

00;35;39;16 – 00;36;02;20

Jen Novakovich

You can find me. I’m most active on Instagram and my handle is the eco. Well, all brand word. You can also find my podcast if you go anywhere. You can download podcasts and search the eco podcast. Three words, four words. Should I say? If you’re interested in the nitty gritty. And then I also have a website which is the echo.com.

 

00;36;02;23 – 00;36;19;26

Dr. Mona

Perfect. And I’m going to be linking all of this to my show notes. And again if you found this helpful you have to make sure you share it on social media. Tag eco gen there as well as myself, on your stories and also leave a review to shout her out and, her important information. And thank you again, again for joining us today.

 

00;36;19;29 – 00;36;20;20

Jen Novakovich

It was my pleasure.

 

00;36;20;20 – 00;36;36;10

Dr. Mona

Thank you for tuning in for this week’s episode. As always, please leave a review, share this episode with a friend, share it on your social media. Make sure to follow me at PedsDocTalk on Instagram and subscribe to my YouTube channel, PedsDocTalk TV. We’ll talk to you soon.