thankyou and essential oil question

[Guest guest]

Dear Dr. P, , List members,

Thanks so very much for responding to my question concerning bath salts. If

only I were a chemist, then I could have figured this out myself! I do have

questions about essential oils. Dr. P and Marge were kind enough to respond

to my previous question, but I am still unclear about photosensitivity

concerns of certain eos. If this is NOT the list to ask, please direct me to

a more appropriate forum. I have not heard from Marge, but to me it is

reasonable to question the differences in for example, sweet orange,

lemongrass, grapefruit, bergamot, mandarin, litsea cubeba, lemon myrtle,

lemon, neroli. All of these oils have a " citrusy " designation, but

apparently vary in photosensitivity/toxicity. The reason that I am trying to

figure this out is that I use eos in lotion and cream and many people enjoy

the scent of " citrus " , so I am trying to work with only the oils that are

skin-safe. In all that I have read and I admit I am certainly no expert--it

looks to me that mandarin, neroli, pettigrain, and grapefruit to some extent

are skin-safe. I can't find much information on litsea cubeba or lemon

myrtle. I know enough to avoid sweet orange unless distilled and bergamot

unless bergapten-free.

I know my questions may seem tedious to some, but hopefully they are of

interest to others! If any of you have any answers or could direct me to

some resources for this information, I would greatly appreciate it.

Angie