Overview "Frequently Asked Questions about the use of essential oils"

Are any risk assessments available on the various essential oils?

BfR has compiled an expert opinion on tea tree oil which it has posted on its website. Tea tree oil has not received marketing authorisation as a medicinal product. Hence, neither its efficacy nor its health risks have been assessed. Undiluted, highly concentrated tea tree oil is sold on the market as a cosmetic. In the press, there are claims that it can help to treat acne, eczema, skin infections, wounds or warts and even some infectious diseases. Tea tree oil can, however, trigger allergies and should not be offered for sale in undiluted form according to BfR. BfR also recommends restricting the concentration of tea tree oil in cosmetics to maximum 1 %. Furthermore, products containing tea tree oil should be protected by light-proof packaging and contain antioxidants.

The BfR Cosmetics Committee has recommended guidance concentrations for the use of individual essential oils in cosmetics. According to these concentrations, products which remain on the skin should contain maximum 1 % eucalyptus oil, camphor, menthol or methyl salicylate. For products which are washed off, the recommended levels are 5 % for camphor, 4 % for menthol and 2.5 % for methyl salicylate.

The Committee of Experts on Cosmetic Products of the Council of Europe has published monographs on various plant ingredients together with recommendations for use (Plants in Cosmetics, Vol III, Potentially harmful components, which is available from the Council of Europe Publishing: http://book.coe.int/EN/ficheouvrage.php?PAGEID=36&lang=EN&produit_aliasid=1982).