Essential oils have become a popular alternative health treatment for adults across the globe, but are they safe for your babies?
All parents know: that protecting their babies is their most important priority.
If you’re in this boat, you may wonder if the essential oils working for you are also safe for your baby.
The answer isn’t quite so simple. But in short…
Diffusing essential oils into the air is considered a much safer option than using them directly on your baby’s skin.
But since these can be irritating for some (and you never know if your baby is being irritated), you should avoid diffusing essential oils around infants under 6 months old.
Below, we’ll take a look at how essential oils can affect your baby in detail. In doing so, we’ll also determine which practices are safer for newborns.
Keep this information in mind as you look to make sure that both you and your baby are as healthy as possible.
Are Essential Oil Diffusers Safe for Babies?
So, here’s the question: are essential oils safe? If so, are all oil diffusers okay to use?
Let’s take a look at each question in turn.
First, it’s critical to understand that not all essential oils are safe for your baby. The good news, however, is that several of them are.
Below, we’ll walk through some of the best essential oils for your baby so you can get the most from your purchase.
For now, however, let’s focus on the latter question: which oil diffusers are safe for your baby?
If you’ve been struggling to find an essential oil diffuser right for your baby, we’ve got some solutions for you. Keep in mind; however, that essential oil diffusers aren’t a “one-size-fits-all” type ordeal.
Make sure you take the time to understand your baby’s particular health needs and how they relate to the oil diffuser you purchase.
Can You Diffuse Oils Overnight?
Generally speaking, you won’t want to expose your baby to high concentrations of essential oils.
Smaller concentrations prove healthier and more beneficial to protecting children against various diseases.
For this reason, it’s best to limit the amount of time you’re running a diffuser. This means cutting overnight and diffusing.
This will help cut down on the essential oil concentration in the air, as well as allow you to protect your baby in case of an emergency.
What Essential Oils Are Safe to Use Around Babies?
Remember when we said that not all essential oils are safe to use around babies?
Well, we’ve put together a list of a few that are.
If you’re looking for the best essential oils for your baby, keep the following in mind. However, be sure you know your baby’s reaction to these oils before exposure.
By breathing the proper essential oils, your baby can be on its way to living a healthier and happier life.
Experts suggest that using these essential oils can boost your baby’s health and prevent the development of the disease.
Consider the following popular essential oils for babies:
1- Lavender:
Used both to help a night baby sleep and to treat some diseases.
With effective use, you can protect your baby by placing a thin mixture of lavender and olive oil on your baby’s scalp.
2- Lemon:
Washing your baby with lemon can help reduce the symptoms of several diseases.
3- Geranium:
This powerful essential oil is mainly used to aid the baby as it attempts to sleep. By using this oil, you can make bedtime less of a hassle.
4- German Chamomile:
German Chamomile is best used when added to your baby’s bathwater. It’s also great for reducing stress and allowing babies to sleep better.
Keep these oils in mind as you look to develop an essential oils regime right for your family.
Factors to Consider When Buying Diffusers for Babies
Don’t know where to start?
No problem. Check out the following considerations that every parent should make when choosing an essential oil diffuser right for their babies:
✅ Choose One with Controllable Lighting:
You may find that your baby enjoys the light from an essential oil diffuser.
But while this can seem like a good thing at first, you’ll quickly find it’s not always so convenient.
Have trouble putting your little one to bed? That could get even more problematic if you invest in an essential oil diffuser that doesn’t allow you to cut the lights.
And we already know that you’re not looking to make bedtime any harder than it already is.
For this reason, be sure that you choose an essential oil diffuser that allows you to control the lighting.
This way, you can keep your baby entertained when the need is—while also allowing him to sleep.
✅ Make Sure that You Choose One with a Wide Range:
When considering your baby’s safety, one of the most important things to remember is that the diffuser shouldn’t be placed too close to the crib.
You should always put the diffuser as far away from the baby as possible—within reason, of course.
You’re still going to want your baby to benefit from the oils that are being diffused—you just want to make sure that the concentration isn’t too high.
For this reason, you should invest in an essential oil diffuser with an extensive range. The more area it covers, the less concentrated the oils will be—making it safer for your baby.
You’ll also be able to place the oils further away from your baby, meaning that you can be sure not to overwhelm them.
✅ Be Sure That It Has an Automatic Shutdown Feature:
Leaving a diffuser running when it’s out of oil can be dangerous—even life-threatening.
For this reason, never purchase an oil diffuser that doesn’t automatically shut off when the oil has run out. If you do, you could put your baby—and yourself—at serious risk.
This simple consideration has powerful consequences, so be sure you don’t make the wrong investment.
✅ Choose a Soothing and Humidifying Dispenser:
Not all humidifiers and diffusers are created equal.
Make sure that you invest in one that can help humidify the air and, at the same time, soothe your baby’s senses.
Many parents favor Ultrasonic diffusers with a humidifier to get this job done.
Precautions and Tips to Follow When Using Oil Diffusers
Although essential oils come with various soothing properties, not using them properly can prove to be highly risky for your body.
Few important points you need to keep in mind while using essential oils to make DIY homemade oil diffusers are:
- Do not ever try to use them internally or for ingestion
- Store the essentials safe and out of reach from kids and pets
- Always use very few drops of oil; try diluting them if needed with a base oil
- Read the instructions and safety tips provided by the manufacturer on the bottle of the oil before using them
All-natural and pure therapeutic grade essential oils are completely non-toxic to the human body which makes them highly safe for your kids and the pets at your home.
Do research well and buy only the best quality from the reputed brand to keep yourself and your family safe.
Final Thoughts
Essential oils and oil diffusers can be a great way to heal various health and allergy conditions for your baby.
By following the advice above, you can be on your way to safely using essential oils around your baby.
If, however, you want to buy the best essential oil diffuser for the baby room, you need to understand that various options are available on the market.
You will, therefore, need to spend enough time doing proper research and find the safest option for your toddler.
Although there are some very effective ultrasonic diffusers available, we recommend buying a good waterless and plastic-free nebulizing diffuser for your kid’s room.
As these do not use water and heat while diffusing the essential oils, they are very effective in producing an all-natural pure mist of aromatherapy vapors that can heal your baby soon.
You will surely love to use these diffusers as the benefits you get from the concentrated essential oils are much more effective.
Meen Smith is a nurse by profession who loves writing online, spending time with her family and caring for the elderly. She has already worked as an associate editor on various moms, babies, home appliances, kitchen, and healthy living blogs. In her spare time, she also enjoys drawing, reading/writing kindle eBooks and improving her skills a bit.