Although Bridget will know better than me, I think it's partially because lavender is well understood to be innocuous, it's been used to long and so widely that a lot of the thousands of components have been identified and studied. Not so much with most oils, and some of them flat have nasty bits in there, possibly. . . EOs are incredibly complicated little brews, with hundreds or thousands of chemical components, which makes 'em hard to either analyze or to duplicate, thus the horrible rose scents you get artificially. :)
The absolute safest possible route when it comes to pregancy is to use to no oils at all, but the problem with that is that stretched hormonal belly, with limited layer of dead skin + unterped henna = very light stain. So, we try to use the least likely oil that still contains enough monoterpene alcohol to effect the stain.
While products in general are rarely outright "approved" for pregnancy use (for obvious liability reasons), lavender oil is generally regarded as safe because it has a very low risk for irritation, and a less dangerous possibility of side effects. Tea tree is also generally pretty safe, but is a little more likely to cause a topical reaction in a few random individuals than lavender.
Most of the time i use a 2:1 ratio (Lavender:tea tree) in my pregancy/ kids mix.
A pregnant women's immune system is weaker and her body is more sensitive and more prone to irritation because of the higher level of hormones (ie, you should not wax right before your period - it's proven to hurt more). Many pregnant women develop serious conditions such as hypertension and diabetes (and numerous others) while pregnant that would not normally be present when not.
Just because essential oils are natural, much like many herbs, does not necessarily safe. Oils are very concentrated and potent, and should only be used diluted. With henna, dilution comes in the mixing process. I know many artists who are in the habit of preparing the skin with a rub-down of oils before henna application. This is not only mostly useless to the staining process, but can be dangerous, especially when it comes to a large area such as a pregnant belly. Essential oils, along with the henna itself does absorb into the skin and is carried through the body. Sometimes simply smelling an oil can have an effect (think vicks vaporub).
Certain essential oils can cause problems, or aggrivate an existing problem, or even a problem someone doesn't know they have, and in a pregnant woman, that can be amplified. Some oils can cause hypertension (high blood pressure), hypoglycemia (a drop in blood sugar), seisures in prone individuals, or even induce contractions. Most of the time they just cause skin irritation.
Needless to say it is safer to stick with the tried and true preference, which is lavender.
Certain oils to avoid:
This is not a complete list, or even close, but here is a few many people use in henna (some of these should be avoided on anyone as well):
Marjarom
Cajeput
Pine
Rosemary
basil
clove
jasmine
juniper
rose
lemon (oil that is)
Orange
Cajeput
What's in cajeput but not tea tree that makes it problematic?
Are there any pleasant-smelling oils that are safe that I can add to mask the smell? 'Cuz I reeeeeeally hate the smell of lavender to the point where it makes me queasy, especially after more than an hour or two of using it in a henna mix...
And yes I figured Bridget would be the one to chime in loudest and with the best answer (as she certainly delivered - thanks Bridget!)... But I figure it's always best to get more opinions when possible (and easy) :)
I was asking this question mostly because I'm in the process of setting up a probably day-long henna-fest at a maternity store...and the prospect of using lavender for a whole day straight was making me feel kinda ill just thinking about it. I was so hoping to hear that maybe there were alternatives to using a mostly-lavender mix... I suppose using no terps is an alternative, but that's a LOT of ladies to give a so-so henna stain to... perhaps I'll just have to suffer through a day with a lavender mix :(
I know that not liking the smell of lavender apparently makes me an alien, btw. I have heard it many times. But the queasiness I get from prolonged exposure to it is very real.
I use cajeput and lavendar for my mommys to be blend. I usually use a wee bit less caj than a normal batch, and make up for the terps with the lavendar oil.
Not a shred of evidence to offer though, except anecdotally that I used cajeput blends on myself throughout my last pregnancy without problems (I was on bed rest for the 2nd half othe pregnancy but that was due to an infection that triggered early labor, and not henna related). If anything it had a beneficial effect, since hennaeing myself in that last month, on bedrest, helped keep me sane. ;)
the only thing with cajeput that i had found in some sources was related to very mild skin irritation, and a slight possibility of reducing blood sugar levels (which can be used medicinally to a persons advantage, but can rarely have a possibility of a negative effect as well). I did not find as many sources showing the same with tea tree, dispite being a close relative, but of course that's always debatable.
in fact, many of the oils i listed above are debatable as well - some sites, essential oil guides, and homeopathic pregnancy guides will tell you "absolutely not", while others say "proceed with caution", and some even say "it's good for you".
Geranium oil, for instance is often used, and considered safe during pregnancy, but at the same time, it has a tendency to regulate hormones and control the menstrual cycle, and is therefore not good for pregnancy use.
Studies just aren't done on pregnant women... for obvious reasons, so results tend to be inconclusive around the spectrum.
I just figure better safe than sorry, so i stick to mostly lavender.
If the smell bothers you, use tea tree instead, but maybe be more sparing if you are worried about it.
You might want to try different varieties of lavender oil as well. Certified organic lavendula augustifolia from Wyndmere has a really wonderful smell. True lavender does not have the high camphor content that Lavandin or hybrid lavender does. Spike and Veviter Lavender also have differing smells. Cheap essential oils really stink to me and give me a headache. In some, I swear I can smell the chemical extenders. Both lavender and tea tree are generally accepted as being able to apply neat - that is undiluted - safely, coupled with the fact that both are high in monoterpene alcohols, they lend themselves well to henna.
Bridget has given an excellent answer which is exactly the answer which I would have given (but don't need to because she has :-) ).
Heather raises a good point - as a non-pregnant (my assumption there!) person Lavender makes her feel ill after just a couple of hours of being around it in dilute form. In addition to the points that Bridget has raised, many pregnant women become more sensitive to smell and can have the same reaction which can lead to nausea and vomiting. Not pleasant at all at any time, but especially when pregnant.
I believe that we have a duty of care to all our clients, and with our pregnant clients we must put their right to be safe and comfortable before our desire to use a heavily terped paste to get our usual kick-ass stain (I hope that makes sense?). We also have a duty of care to ourselves which means not doing something that makes us feel ill either.
When I have hennaed pregnant women and explained that I am using a paste which is slightly different and will very probably not stain so deeply, they have always been absolutely fine about it. They've enjoyed other aspects of the henna experience as much (maybe more!) as other clients - the sitting down, relaxing, the gentle application of henna, the gentle attention, the paste on looking pretty, the glitter sparkles, the cool henna on hot hands or feet etc.... the stain is just one part of the overall experience (I hope this makes sense as well?).....
Here's a practical suggestion...you could take along a selection of pastes, un-terped (for bellies / sensitive to smell), lavender (for bellies) and a gentle tea tree mix (for hennaing pregnant women in places other than their belly).
That could dilute the constant lavender smell somewhat for you and provide your clients with a choice of paste.
Perhaps you could set up in a strategic place near fresh air / or a fan - which would be pleasantly cool for both you and your clients, it would dilute the smell also. Though obviously this depends on the climate and the temperature in the shop!
BlurberryBuzz is right, there are some stunning lavender essential oils out there which smell very different to the 'processed' scent that a 'standard' lavender often comes as.
It sounds like it will be a really lovely henna fest and I hope it goes well for you x x x
One other thought is to rub a bit of vicks vaporub underneath your nostrils when the smell gets to be too much. You will smell that instead of the lavender. I believe this trick is used in morgues - funny place to glean henna advice from but who knows, it might work.
Heather what an awesome question. I mean I figured I knew generally the reason but WOW everyone had so much to add! I just wanted to thank all of you for the answers because it was a lot to think about. And having never been pregnant myself I don't everything that happens or could happen to a woman's body.
Colleen I had thought of the same thing with the Vicks, problem is though that there is a lot of camphor in Vicks which can cause even worse headaches and nausea.
True, and I did point that out. EO-less henna of course would be the safest possible route, but often unneccessary.
The only problem is that un-terped henna does not stain as well, and bellies do not stain as well to start with, so we tend to want to boost that, and there are ways to gently and effectively do that.
Holly in AZ can't find my password again... (GUEST)
Re: Why lavender for baby bellies?
Posted on: 11/13/2009 11:13 AM
Regarding unterped henna for baby bellies, here's a thought. I picked up a new method of sealing from an artist in Reno when I was there for Hot August Nights (amazing classic car show) last summer. She seals with lemon sugar, lays tissue over the sealed design, then adds another layer of sealant over the tissue. She dabs it on, but I would use the spray, like from henna caravan. I can't absolutely remember if she added one layer of tissue or two, but you could experiment.
The great thing with this method is it stays in place like medical tape- the henna and tissue are firmly glued in place with the sealant- but it helps the stain as it's a lemon-sugar seal.
I think it might be an ideal solution for getting the most stain out of unterped henna.
Holly,
That would be the TP/lemon sugar cast that I have recommended for years.
but it's not without it's drawbacks.
spraying the l/s on will work but it's been my experience that it needs to be pushed down on the skin for maximum benefit.
Holly in AZ can't find my password again... (GUEST)
Re: Why lavender for baby bellies?
Posted on: 11/14/2009 12:47 AM
Ah! Somehow I've managed not to hear about it until then. But I haven't spent much time reading threads about sealants either. Thanks for the additional info.
Reply
Back to top
Report