The Essential Oils You Should Never Put In Your Bath

Baths are an integral part of my self-care routine. Whether it be a bubble bath after a long, stressful day or an Epsom salt bath after a particularly taxing workout, it feels to me like a bath is at least part of the solution to every problem in my life.

Anxious? Bath. Tired? Bath. Can't sleep? Bath. I think you get the idea.

Before you go dropping random oils into your tub, there's something important to note: Not all essential oils are right for the bathtub. Some of them can irritate your skin, eyes, and other sensitive regions, big time. So I spoke to Mariza Snyder, D.C.—functional medicine expert and author of the upcoming book The Essential Oils Hormone Solution (as well as a few other books on the topic) to figure out what the proper bathtime protocol is.

One well-known way to avoid irritating the skin with essential oils is to use a carrier oil, like coconut oil or jojoba oil. But is it the same for the bath? According to Dr. Snyder, it's not quite as simple as diluting your essential oil. "You never want to simply drop essential oils into your bathwater by themselves or they will potentially irritate the skin. That said, you do not always need to use a carrier oil when adding essential oils to your bath. You can also use Epsom salts and Castile soap to protect your skin and disperse essential oils throughout the bathwater."