What's a terpene? Why are they dangerous? What should we be aware of?
Recently, we saw an article posted on Facebook about the dangers of synthetic scents and how harmfully dangerous they can be. We agree!
The writer of that article wanted to convince everyone to be boring and use everything with no scents. (pun intended). They continued, probably in hopes of selling their products with no scents, to state some essential oils contain “dangerous terpenes” dependent on the quality of the product.
Based on that information, we can look at the ingredients of any essential oil product and if terpenes aren’t on the list it’s alright, right? No, that’s not how it goes (smile).
How silly!
Terpenes are a natural, biological result of plants and have a variety of beneficial qualities (or properties, as we reference on our web site). Beta Carotene is a good example of a terpene hydrocarbon found in carrots, something we all need in our nutrition for Vitamin A. As with many things, too much can cause problems
Terpenes are created by plants and some insects. They’re the essence of the scent, the essential oil of plants. Example: If you’re allergic to citrus, you might also have problems with citrus terpenes and should avoid citrus based essential oils.
Some terpenes come from poisonous plants, so the essence is also poisonous (and in some cases small amounts may be beneficial for some health concerns when they’re used correctly). Overall, for most humans, most terpenes are not dangerous at all.
Cheers!
“Deep are the Roots”
