Allergy Questions, Allergies and other reactions to oils

[PurringPulsar]

Oh, and Inferno, but if it doesn't do that to your skin it's supposedly proof that you are spawn of the devil.

 

I don't get any burn-o from Inferno

[kitten]

I get red ichy bumps from some of the scents bastet being one.I dont know if its a burn from the oils strengh, or a reaction from somthing in it .

Edited December 1, 2005 by kitten

[Rhowan]

Has anyone else had a reaction that included a taste?

 

I had a really bad experience with Cathode this morning (it made me sick to my stomach, and I could not get it washed off for hours) - at one point, I got a weird metallic taste in my mouth that seemed to be related to the smell.

 

Anyone got a possible explanation?

 

I was reading this earlier today and thought to myself "oh! how weird!?" So, tonight I sat down to test Juke Joint and a little bit after it hit my skin, I got the weirdest taste in my mouth ! I can't describe the taste. I also started burning really bad where it touched my skin.

 

If you scroll back thru this thread you will see that when I first tried BPAL I was having the burning with EVERY scent I tried. After awhile though, I got accustomed to the oils. I have tried many, many of them since the first and have not had any reaction until now and never have I had that taste thing happen.

mmm.... maybe I am psychosomatic?

[harmonyfb]

I had a really bad experience with Cathode this morning (it made me sick to my stomach, and I could not get it washed off for hours) - at one point, I got a weird metallic taste in my mouth that seemed to be related to the smell.

 

 

I've had this happen a handful of times, and it's really unpleasant.

 

I'm glad it's not just me. It's made me wary of trying some scents, though (I passed on Ultraviolet & Nuclear Winter for fear I'd react the same.)

[Xiabelle]

I haven't had a taste that I've noticed, but I HAVE had itching where the oil was not applied. Most notably, with Catherine. I dunno what caused it, but when I put it on, I got a big red mark on the back of my hand, where I'd applied it, and both palms started itching uncontrollably.

 

Needless to say, I scrubbed it off pretty quickly.....

[Duck Mountain]

A couple of the cinnamony scents have made me itch, though it's usually all right if I apply it to areas with less sensitive skin.

 

Jasmine, though...one whiff of that bugger gives me a headache. (I'm pretty sure there are some blends I've tried in which it's not listed as one of the notes, but is still present.)

[Jocelyn]

Ok, i dont know if anyone will know this but its worth a shot.

Im allergic to coconut, not severely allergic. but enough to get me puffy swollen and orangy..( yeah i have no idea about the orange bit either )

I tried to avoid any blends that had coconut in them, but i was wondering would anyone have any idea if coconut oil would bother my skin?

[hangingfire]

So I think I may be experiencing my first-ever BPAL allergic reaction. I have tiny, red, slightly itchy bumps on the back of my right hand and on the inside of my left wrist, and the best I can figure is that it was the Pink Phoenix. The funny thing is, the reaction appeared about 24 hours after the initial application, although something similar happened to me when I got exposed to poison ivy (no reaction at first, tiny bumps the next day, and red itchy welts of doom after that). So it's not certain, but the specificity of the location and the lack of any other plausible causes points toward the Pink Phoenix.

 

In the spirit of scientific inquiry, I plan to try a dab on a non-rashy area to see if the results can be duplicated, although I'm not looking forward to it.

 

thatonegirl, I would suggest that you avoid coconut oil. I used to have a bad reaction to coconut-containing sunscreens when I was a kid.

Edited December 30, 2005 by hangingfire

[cantabile]

O gave me the migraine from hell. Brisingamen and Fenris Wolf have also given me headaches, although to a lesser extent. I'm thinking it's the amber. :/

[Katinka]

Has anyone else had a reaction that included a taste?

 

I had a really bad experience with Cathode this morning (it made me sick to my stomach, and I could not get it washed off for hours) - at one point, I got a weird metallic taste in my mouth that seemed to be related to the smell.

 

Anyone got a possible explanation?

 

I can't offer an explanation, although I had that reaction the first time I tried Milk Moon. I assumed it was the lunar oil. I liked the scent enough that I tried it again today -- with no tingling tongue this time, thank heaven.

[harmonyfb]

So far, I've only had the bad Cathode reaction (headache, nausea, amping up of the blend, metallic taste in mouth) with two other scents: Ultraviolet and Hollywood Babylon. Neither were as bad as the reaction to Cathode, but both were similar. I can't figure out what element would be common to all three, though?

 

To be on the safe side, I won't be testing Numb or Nuclear Winter, though. It's a very unpleasant reaction.

[magikalcrab]

I had a horrible reaction with Tarot: The Star a while back - It took skin off! Literally. I put it on, and for a while it was fine - tingling a little, but I've had that before. When the tingle became a burn, I thought it best to wash off - and my top layer of skin came with it! It was red-raw for a week afterwards. Not good.

 

Other than that, anything with Almond in it seems to not work for me - if I get any of it on me, I'll get a headache, start feeling nauseous and on one memorable occasion, have a massive asthma attack

[darkophelia]

So far, the only oil I've tried that I've had a reaction to was Hecate, but only where I applied it to the insides of my elbows. Nowhere else did I feel anything, but in that one spot there was a mild burning sensation, not enough to make me go wash it off, but I certainly felt it. I noticed some time ago that amber and myrrh tend to do that to me, too, but those were not BPAL oils, and I cannot testify to their purity or quality, and the vanilla oil I bought from the same maker also made the insides of my elbows burn, but more so than the Hecate. I certainly won't give up on Hecate any time soon, but I've always been wary of those other oils I have. Could my reaction be caused by some additive in the oils, an impurity of sorts, rather than the myrrh or amber itself?

[darklorelei]

Most of it is probably the location of where you put the oil more than anything else. Most of the popular perfume spots are over veins, which have the advantage of warming and giving the scent throw. However, these areas (inside of elbows, wrists, and behind ears), are some of the thinnest skin areas. So...watch it with some of the stronger oils.

[Meg]

Well so far I've had three kinds of allergic reactions, I think I also found the culprits...

 

Skin rash: Bengal. The place where the oil was slowly started to turn red. Fortunately as soon as I washed off, the redness started to go too. The oil also made me want to sneeze. I think the culprit here is the pepper (or peppers? it smells like Chili peppers to me), as it's what seemed to be annoying my nose. I know lots of people have reactions to cinnamon, but in all the cinnamon blends I've tried so far, I've been fine.

 

Sore throat: ozone. I have a bad reaction to ozone in the atmosphere every summer (polluted city), and I have no idea if the component in ozone blends is the same, but I react in a similar way to it: dry, itchy, uncomfortable throat. That's only while it's drying and if I've slathered, mind, otherwise I'm fine.

 

Nose irritation, sinus pain: aquatics. Oh dear, where to start with aquatics! I love the concept. I'm Pisces, aquatics go with my personality. People who smell aquatic perfumes on me seem to find them lovely. Me? I can't smell beyond the barrier of water. It's like sniffing snow or ice really hard - freezes your nose, irritates it and hurts right into your head. If I try sniffing a bit superficially, I get weird smells like chalk or chlorine (?!). Despite that, one of my favourite blends is Titania, and I haven't given up on trying aquatics to see if any other works on me. But anything marked as "juicy" or "watery" just won't work, normally.

 

If anyone has found how to work around aquatics, please do tell!

[Xiabelle]

I've had to stop putting oils on the boy, since he's complained the last two times I've tried.

 

Not because of smell or anything, or even because it burns... but that his skin gets red and irritated and scaly in a perfect track where I put the oil. Man, his skin is sensitive.

 

I'm not sure what was in those oils, but one made it really red and the other just slightly. And I'm just swiping him on the back of the hand or arm!

[Chrysantza]

I test-drove Harlot and got itchy, burning red welts on my wrists. I'm pretty sure it was the cinnamon. Since I love the scent anyway, it's going to be relegated to my oil burner.

[Rhowan]

I just tried Fae today and loved it - but I got the wierdest taste in my mouth the minute it hit my skin - still can't get the taste out and that was over an hour ago!

[xith]

I just had an odd reaction... first of all, I've never had any allergies in my life (unless they're ones I've yet to discover), so that makes it a bit weirder. The second thing is that I had an itchy rashy reaction to Baghdad--the second time I tried it. The first time there were no problems at all, but today it brought on a rash. I tested it in a different spot to be sure. Luckily the itchiness and rash went away soon after I washed off my arm. Hopefully this was some kind of fluke, 'cause I love the smell!

 

I'm thinking it must be the saffron, 'cause out of "Amber, saffron and bergamot with mandarin, nutmeg, Bulgar rose, musk and sandalwood" I've worn all the rest with no problems (I don't know aobut Bulgar rose specifically, but rose has never been a problem). Weirdness.

[Seajewel]

How many of you ladies actually deal with rashes that go away eventually? The thing is, my skin hates BPAL, but i love it. My skin can tolerate some scents, like Antique Lace, Morocco, Dorian, etc. but it seems like 80% of the scents I try nowadays break me out. EVERYTHING. even the one wrist that was working for me won't. i also noticed that with Snake Charmer and morocco, they don't break me out separately but if i layer them they do.. i think it might have to do with the fact that i actually sort of rub it into my skin as opposed to other times when i put on Snake Charmer, i just dab it on with the cap and let it be. But these rashes show up about 30 mins after i put it on, and go away in about 15 minutes, and then things are fine. but i'm not sure if persisting with the oils is a good idea.. but i also can't live without Snake Charmer.

 

just now i put on Pink Phoenix, which seemed like it would be ok- it seems like anything with a hint of spice will flare up on my skin, but i thought PP would be ok.. but nope. Rash. it seems to be going down a bit.. but there is one thing my skin will not and cannot forgive, and that's Chimera. that practically scarred my skin for weeks.

 

so i'm afraid of all the experimenting, but want to know if anybody else has as terrible skin as mine, or experience with rashes that you just let alone until they go away .. any thoughts? i really need to try diluting.. :/

 

Edited to add: that is, i'm wondering about the reports i see of oils that "bite" but then calm down. Do you think it's harmful to keep using oils like that, and if it might exacerbate some kind of allergy or sensitivity?

Edited January 25, 2006 by Seajewel

[Xiabelle]

SeaJewel, I've had to stop trying oils on the boy because they bite him. I swipe a tiny bit on the back of his wrist, and he gets an irritated rash on his skin that lasts a few days. Fortunately, he's not getting him too bad - I don't think it was itchy, but I basically just dragged an imp-wand across his skin once.

 

And these weren't necessarily harsh oils, either. Bizarre!

 

I think any reaction has the capability of becoming worse. For me, when they bite, they just turn my skin red then it goes away after an hour tops. And usually it's things like Bengal, with loads of cinnamon. (Chimera seemed fine; pity it turns to bready plastic on me.) If it itches, though, I scrub it off with Dawn soap.

 

Have you tried diluting them with a carrier oil? I've become a huge fan of my jojoba oil.

[Caletara]

I tried Sea of Glass and Black Tower and within minutes I got an instant migrane from both! I had to scrub off with soap and then poured rubbing alcohol on my arm just to stop the smell and the headache! Its a pity! They were such pretty scents! Into the swap pile for them...

[GemmaCat]

Elegba and similarly heavy scents, as well as the stronger florals (like jasmine) give me awful headaches.

 

Pumpkin notes make me horribly sick. If I don't wash them off straight away, I'll throw up.

[fiddlehead]

Okaaaay. I just got a weird taste in my mouth from two different oils today. First, Lenore. Then I took a shower and put on Talvikuu. Same thing. Maybe I won't put oil on my pulse points in some cases. Cuz this isn't making me sick but it is a bit worrying Could it be that it isn't being absorbed through the skin so much as through the nose and back of the throat, then the mouth? I'm not a slatherer but maybe I need to be even more careful with some of these.

 

No skin reactions except for Bengal, I think because of the cinnamon. But then Chimera is fine. Go figure.

[Mountaingrrl00]

I tend to get headaches from ozones. Machu Picchu was the worst. Empyreal Mist smells lovely to me, but ended up making me queasy. I'm hoping I don't have to give up Sea of Glass.

 

The Great Sword of War left red marks on my skin. Maybe it's the cassia? I still wear it, but not directly on sensitive skin areas. I got a bit of the burning with Black Phoenix as well.