What’s in the Mix? Blending Ideas and Prompts is a weekly exercise designed to spark your imagination and get your creative juices flowing. Each week you’ll find a question, a suggestion or a prompt that will help you identify where you’re stuck, where you are flowing and where you need more education. Mostly, prompts are just fun!
About This Week’s Prompt: Safety is so important when blending essential oils. I can’t stress it enough and I teach safety in all of my classes from my Aromatherapy Certification Program, to Aromatherapy Teacher Training, to Hydrosols for Health and Skin Care.
When blending with Bergamot (Citrus bergamia), the biggest safety issue is its phototoxicity.
Bergamot is a phototoxic essential oil which means it can react with sunlight causing burning, discoloration and skin damage. Avoid direct sunlight or tanning beds for 12-24 hours after applying Bergamot to the skin.
A few years ago when I was introducing this oil to a class, a student suddenly exclaimed, “Well that explains a lot!” She pulled up the sleeves of her shirt to expose long black streaks on the inside of her arms. Two years earlier, she had rubbed Bergamot on her arms without diluting it with a carrier first, then went outside in the sun. She was left with dark skin discolorations!
Share your answer in the comment section below! Let’s inspire each other! By leaving your creative ideas in the Comments sections you might give someone a great idea for a listing blend, and someone might give YOU a great idea. Who knows, maybe you’ll become inspired to create a new product or an entire product line from something that is sparked by this exercise.
Want more What’s In The Mix? Check out the archives!
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