Allergy Questions, Allergies and other reactions to oils

[scarlet]

Has anyone had a reaction to Snake Oil? I put it on my arms & chest and it's fine. But when applied on the inside of my elbow it burns a bit. I love it so much I'll just keep wearing it anyways.

[ivyandpeony]

The skin on the inside of your elbow is usually the most sensitive on your body... lots of products that tell you to patch test first, like mustache bleach , suggest you use the skin there for some reason. Anyway, I would just avoid putting Snake Oil there if it isn't making you break out anywhere else, or putting some unfragranced lotion on first to create a little barrier.

[tart]

Ugh, I'm allergic to Black Pearl and/or The Living Flame, methinks.

 

I hope that I can still wear The Living Flame, though. Once my skin stops freaking out.

[scarlet]

The skin on the inside of your elbow is usually the most sensitive on your body... lots of products that tell you to patch test first, like mustache bleach    , suggest you use the skin there for some reason. Anyway, I would just avoid putting Snake Oil there if it isn't making you break out anywhere else, or putting some unfragranced lotion on first to create a little barrier.

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Thanks, I never would have thought of the lotion! Oddly enough though, that spot is the only place where I can clearly smell the patchouli. lol.

[oatmealneko]

Can anyone give me a description of what high john or galangel is supposed to smell like? I'd likt to try and track down which one of these babies did this so I can try to avoid it in the future.

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Galangal is also in Tzadikim Nistarim. I'm not exactly sure what it's supposed to smell like, because in Tzadikim Nistarim, it smells very fruity. I know it's a ginger root. In that blend, it smells like pineapple or mango.

 

Has anyone else had bad reactions to black amber? I thought Verdandi was fluke, but after I tried Megaera, I realized it couldn't be a coincidence. Black amber gives me headaches & makes a little nauseous too. Amber tends to be tricky, sometimes it smells funny on me, but that's about it. Is black amber very different from amber?

Edited May 1, 2005 by oatmealneko

[Nemesister]

i always find that i'm more likely to react to oils if i put them on straight after a shower or bath. i have to leave it half an hour or so otherwise ones that i don't react to normally will cause a red burning welt on my skin.

Edited May 1, 2005 by Nemesister

[lavenderblue]

I have a terrible reaction to anything with cinimman - Sacred whore made my neck red for days - its so unfair - I love the stuff!

 

Also seem to be a little sensitive to some oils with tonka in them, but not sensitve enough not to wear them...

[tart]

Crap.

 

I'm certain that my skin is sensitive to The Living Flame. I love how it smells, but I have red splotches on my neck, at the base of my throat...waaaah! I'll have to try just wearing it in my hair. Dangit.

[Fulltiltredhead]

Has anyone had a strange reaction to Magus?

 

I tried it out yesterday and whenever I sniffed it it made my mouth water - but no in the good way. I got a bitter taste in my mouth that I can't really describe. The overwhelming smell from the oil was nutty, a bitter nuttiness. As it faded I got the other notes, sandalwood, cedar, and frankincense I think and under the nutty smell they smelled quite good. I am temporarily blaming the reaction on high john essence or galangel because I have never come in contact with them before.

 

Can anyone give me a description of what high john or galangel is supposed to smell like? I'd likt to try and track down which one of these babies did this so I can try to avoid it in the future.

 

Thanks!

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I get that nasty taste in my mouth from frankincense, and cedar gives me the taste in my mouth, nausea, and a headache.

 

I found this about galangal: "The root contains a volatile oil, resin, galangol, kaempferid, galangin and alpinin, starch, etc. The active principles are the volatile oil and acrid resin."

 

Resins are incense. So there's something those elements have in common - they're resinous.

[Chirp]

I've gotten a rash from a few BPAL oils, and I'm having a difficult time determining what ingredient is the culprit.

 

Here's the list so far:

Gluttony

White Rabbit

Red Moon (on occasion)

 

 

Interestingly enough, scents that I thought might give me a rash (i.e. heavy, spicy blends) didn't cause any sort of reaction.

 

So far I've gotten two sorts or rashes... I've had the small, flesh colored hives that others have described, but I've also had red, sore, irritated welts pop up too. Can anyone explain the difference between the two?

[~AmusedMuse~]

I accidentally got Chimera on my lip once---no, I wasn't trying to drink the oil, I swear!---and, like your experience, it really, REALLY hurt.  I can wear it on the rest of me, though, without problems, so it's not really a big deal.

 

If you still want to perfume your cleavage, you might want to try mixing a little Follow Me Boy into some unscented lotion and using that instead.  It won't be as strong, thus it will not irritate so much, or, likely at all. 

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OMG when I tried LUNA, I had a bottle on the bedside table and woke up in the middle of the night and really did drink some in a sleepy stupor....It did not stop me from loving it any less even though the taste was not as awesome as to how it smells...

[emmsy]

Here's some links for information about contact allergies that some of you might find helpful. After I had a series of skin tests for contact allergies, the dermatologist who supposedly specialized in this area (read - didn't know as much as you'd expect her to know) told me to avoid anything with Balsalm of Peru Balsalm of Peru, which has several different names, is in so many foods, cosmetics, etc. and nearly impossible to avoid altogether. I did some investigative work because the handouts she gave me were useless. These online sources are rather comprehensive and have explanations about the types of reactions that can occur.

 

Another frequent cause of contact dermatitis is to something called Fragrance mix Here's another resource about fragrance and contact allergies

[Cagedflame]

Ravenous made my skin angry. The only notes listed in Ravenous are red patchouli and orange blossom. I know I'm not sensitive to the latter... it actually seems to play very nicely with my skin. So I'm guessing I'm sensitive to the red patchouli. I'm crossing off anything with this in it off my list, except for ones that sound so appealing I'll risk the burning and red blotchies. Thing is, a lot of the blends just list "patchouli" in the description, and one description sort of implied that Indonesian patchouli is red patchouli? Anyone care to help me figure out which oils contain the prime suspect in my allergy/sensitivity?

[Kaylee0196]

I'm a newbie so i wasn't sure where to post this....

 

I am fatally allergic to walnuts & macadamia nuts. Now I have never had an atopical reaction because, to my knowledge, I haven't spread anything on my skin. However, if injested I go anaphilactic and could die. ANYWAY, my point is, has this been discussed? Does BPAL use nut oils to make their scents?

 

Thanks much in advance!

 

Wen

[elphaba]

I believe BPAL does use nut oils in some scents (almond is the one that immediately comes to mind) but I also know that Beth is very good about helping you to isolate any potentially bad allergens. I'd suggest picking out some scents and emailing the lab before ordering to ask about the specific ingredients you're allergic to.

 

Edited to add, there is an FAQ on allergies and another specifically on nut oils.

Edited June 13, 2005 by elphaba

[joseybird]

I would email customer service about that Kennedy is really nice!

[Galen]

However, if injested I go anaphilactic and could die. 

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Okay.... that's pretty serious, hun...

 

As you can imagine, all the ingredients of the blends aren't given somewhere. In the past, I know that people have emailed the lab when it came to needing ingredient information due to allergies; I think this might be just such a case...

 

I'm not sure what the right email address would be, but the contacts page on the main site says:

 

Customer Service: answers@blackphoenixalchemylab.com

[PurringPulsar]

Hazelnut's another nut oil that's used...not sure about walnut and macadamia though.

[Kaylee0196]

Thank you all. I emailed the lab. I will let you know their response. I am fine with almonds (LOVE my Buffy) and hazenut.

 

Wen

[Malista]

There's walnut in Cerberus (discontinued scent). Don't remember seeing it listed for any of the other blends, but it's good you are checking with teh Lab.

[astrid]

I *think* this post goes here....

 

I've noticed recently that some of the blends I've been getting leave an almost sticky feel on my skin! I've never encountered this with BPAL before and I don't think it has to do with any sort of allergy, but maybe my skin is reacting to an ingredient in the oil in a new way. Has anyone else noticed this? I'm wondering if it's a new carrier or maybe it's me or -geez- I dunno!

 

Any thoughts?

[Mnemosyne]

I *think* this post goes here....

 

I've noticed recently that some of the blends I've been getting leave an almost sticky feel on my skin! I've never encountered this with BPAL before and I don't think it has to do with any sort of allergy, but maybe my skin is reacting to an ingredient in the oil in a new way. Has anyone else noticed this? I'm wondering if it's a new carrier or maybe it's me or -geez- I dunno!

 

Any thoughts?

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I've had two or three that left me feeling "sticky" afterwards. Off the top of my head, "O" did it and so did Laudanum. I just figured that it was because those oils were more viscous than most others.

[Morrighana]

It could be that your skin just doesn't absorb a particular component of that oil very well, so a residue dries on top of your skin instead of it getting sucked down.

 

Try rubbing it in more thoroughly when it's wet, or moisturising immidiately before application.

[Yagathai]

I just had a nasty, red, itchy, swollen allergic reaction to Whippoorwill. Looking at the list of notes, there really isn't anything there that I ought to be allergic to (assuming, of course, that there aren't any synthetic substitutes). What do you think the chances are that it's a non-aromatic ingredient that might cause that sort of reaction?

Edited June 18, 2005 by Yagathai

[Macha]

There aren't any synthetic ingredients used in BPAL perfume, but of course that in no way means you couldn't be having an allergic reaction to something natural.

 

The body's reactions do change as well. People often spontaneously develop an allergy to something that they previously never had any problem at all with, so that makes it really very difficult to say which culprit is the allergen.

 

Edit: That wasn't very helpful, was it? The only real recommendation I can give is to take note of that reaction, and be careful with any perfumes that share similar notes. You can also try checking to see if you have a reaction to any of the common oils (jojoba, avocado, almond, etc.) sometimes used in perfume oils.