soapmaker here. While lavender oil is nice to have, its also rather cost prohibitive in what i believe would be a compelling dose to elicit this type of response.<p>as for tea tree oil, im in favor of phasing this out entirely as it seems to serve no real purpose in cosmetics and is actually somewhat toxic to humans. Its had a number of folk remedies, such as a cure for syphilis and a tincture to reduce boils, but none of these have succeeded in scientific testing.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_tree_oil#Safety" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_tree_oil#Safety</a><p>most cold process soaps will fragrance at 3-5% the weight of the actual oil. I can speak from experience that 5% tea tree oil soap is vile. The final product emerges with an acrid fragrance not unlike pine floor cleaner, and each bar is brittle enough to crack if dropped. many crack during the curing process, and the final product has a texture similar to the gear shift on a cheap car.
A better link:<p>“Since there was no identifiable cause for prepubertal gynecomastia in the three patients we reported, we speculated that environmental factors might be contributing to their condition. Together, the case histories and NIEHS in vitro studies provide support for our hypothesis that topical exposure to lavender and tea tree oils likely caused gynecomastia in the three patients.”<p>- <a href="https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/lavender-tea-tree-oils-may-cause-breast-growth-boys" rel="nofollow">https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/lavender-tea-t...</a>
>> <i>"The American study found that key chemicals in the oils boost oestrogen and inhibit testosterone."</i><p>I find this highly suspect. If the effect were significant, every trans woman I know would be talking about their essential oils instead of salt cravings and estrogen pills/injections.<p>Is there something to this, or is it another case of shoddy science reporting?
From personal experience, I avoid eating too much tofu. At one point, I had a condition called gynecomastia. The doctor asked me about my diet (eating steamed tofu every day) and recommended that I stop based on some research he had read. Condition went away.
Does anyone know why there seem to be so many more estrogenic substances compared to androgenic substances, in our everyday lives?<p>It seems a bit unfair ...
I started using a diffuser at home, typically with tea tree or eucalyptus oil. It helps me relax, maybe via the placebo effect. But I have also become somewhat obsessed with it, to the point where I have a diffuser at home, the office, and even in my car. Had anyone else had this experience?
See, now this lends some credence to the idea that the oils can have any (medicinal or other) effect at all... which up to this point I found highly suspect.
Given the problems with replication, and the selection biases, I’ve decided it’s a safe bet to ignore the implications of articles about health studies!<p>It’s shocking how many dietary and medical practices have been championed, and then later repudiated.<p>One challenging example: fish oil.<p>Article saying it’s good...<p><a href="http://time.com/4619488/omega-3-fats-heart-health/" rel="nofollow">http://time.com/4619488/omega-3-fats-heart-health/</a><p>Article questioning the overall research:<p><a href="https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/30/fish-oil-claims-not-supported-by-research/" rel="nofollow">https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/30/fish-oil-claims-no...</a>
I'm happy to be so sensitive to any kind of flavor to eliminate everything that smells from my life, more or less. I guess it is some form of innate protection.