The Blog
Last blog published in October 2017.
For more recent articles, visit The Tisserand Institute.
Ten reasons why you should not support SCA 2011
The Environmental Working Group, who have given birth to this legislation, is an incompetent organization that does not understand the science of toxicology, does not understand natural products, and that takes a biased, negative view of safety, often seeing dangers...
Q&A: Essential Oils Can Help Dry Scalp, Dandruff
How can I use essential oils to help my dry, flaky scalp? Every day we lose dead skin cells from our scalp, and when more than usual are lost they clump together forming the white or grey flakes we call dandruff. Dandruff can form when the scalp is either too dry or...
Essential oils in soap: interview with Kevin Dunn
Special thanks to Ken Harper of tendigitgifts.com for making this interview available in Spanish: Este entrevista en Español! Kevin M Dunn has a PhD in Chemical Physics and is currently the Elliott Professor of Chemistry at Hampden-Sydney College, Virginia. His book,...
Q&A: Essential oils for pain management
Wendy N. writes: Hi Robert, I trust this finds you well. Can you direct me to any research that discusses the use of essential oils & aromatherapy in pain management please? I am currently doing some training at an aged and palliative care facility and this is one...
Negative bias
Safety legislation does not always accord with current knowledge on safety, for the simple reason that new scientific data are always being published. Guidelines are periodically made more stringent, but they are almost never loosened, even when new information...
Cats and essential oil safety
Some quite strong feelings and opinions have been expressed about essential oils and cats, and a frequently asked question is "Is it safe to diffuse essential oils around cats?". Diffusing essential oils can be toxic to humans if it's over-done, causing neurological...
Olfaction and cerebrospinal fluid
Hi, my name is Gina Flores! A couple of weeks ago I asked Robert if he knew of any research linking olfaction with the lymphatic system and cerebrospinal fluid, and he sent me links to a couple of recent and fascinating papers. This inspired me to write the article...
Uncorked! The Natural Perfumers Guild blogging event 6.1.11
My father was born in London in 1911. He always told me it was easy to remember, because it was the year before the Titanic sank (who knew?). His parents were both French, so his first language was French, and he learned English when he went to school at the age of...
World’s oldest perfumes discovered
The world's oldest known perfumes have been found on the island reputed to be the birthplace of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, lust, and beauty, Italian archaeologists announced. Discovered on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus in 2003, the perfumes date back...