Why Lavender Oil is Not Recommended for Young Girls

Lavender is one of those scents that is pretty commonly associated with the fairer sex. It’s not just associated with them; it is made and sold to women specifically. There are all kinds of lavender bath and body products: lavender oil, lavender lotion, lavender shampoo, lavender body scrub, lavender bath bombs, lavender infused hand cream, etc. Lavender has earned its popularity; it truly does smell nice and is a memorable scent that complements quite a few people.

Unfortunately, recent research has shown that lavender products like lavender oil may come with an age restriction. It turns out that lavender products, like lavender oil may have a negative impact on the breast development of young girls. Specifically, researchers are beginning to believe that essential oils like lavender oil may cause premature breast development in young girls and even young boys.

Essential oil products can cause the breasts in children to begin developing as early as eight years of age. This can occur with no other signs of puberty taking place and cause parents to grow extremely concerned. Fortunately, as soon as children stop utilizing lavender oil products, the symptoms of early breast development seemed to disappear.

The reason researchers suspect lavender oil has such a drastic effect on early childhood development is that lavender oil has the ability to mimic estrogen while simultaneously blocking testosterone. The lavender oil actually has grater potency as anti-androgens, a compound that is effective at preventing natural breast development, than estrogen.

As a result of these observations, it is highly recommended that parents avoid exposing their children to essential oil products until their bodies have begun to truly develop. At the very least, wait until the children have entered puberty before helping them smell like lavender.