Woman suffers 'third degree' burns after using essential oils before sunbathing

'I wouldn't want this to happen to anyone else. It's been hell'

(Facebook/Elise Nguyen)

A woman has warned others against using essential oils before tanning, after she says she suffered third degree burns to her skin.

Elise Nguyen uses DoTerra essential oils regularly as part of her skin routine. But she didn't realise that the product can cause an adverse reaction to the skin when exposed to sunlight and UV rays.

Sharing her story in a Facebook post, Nguyen, from the US state of Wisconsin, wrote that she applied the oils to her wrists and neck before attending a hot yoga class. An hour after the class, she used a tanning bed.

“The next day, I noticed irritation where I applied the oil. Initially I thought it was a reaction to a new laundry detergent. Well over the next couple of days, I developed nasty blisters due to a chemical burn,” she said.

“I developed second and third degree burns from the oils”.

22 days after using the sun bed, Nguyen still had painful, open wounds on her neck and wrists.

Nguyen admitted that she had not noticed a caution on the DoTerra oil bottle, which warns users to avoid sunlight and UV rays for 12 hours after application.

“I'm not blaming the company, it was my own damn fault. But every yogi that I've talked to has no clue that this could have happened,” she added.

“Please, please read the bottles of anything you put on your skin. I wouldn't want this to happen to anyone else. It's been hell.”

Nguyen’s warning has been liked on Facebook over 41,000 times, and shared by over 141,000 accounts.

“Thank you for sharing your story to educate others!” said one Facebook user below Nguyen’s post.

“I am so sorry this happened to you. Thanks for sharing and reminding people to check for warnings,” wrote another.

However, health experts warn against using sunbeds and tanning in the sun, as the skin can be damaged in a way that isn’t visible to the naked eye.

Official UK health guidelines warn that there is no safe way to tan, as overexposure to sunlight can cause sunburn and skin cancer.

A DoTerra spokesperson told The Independent that it has attempted to reach out to Nguyen to find out more about her experience because the firm collects a record of adverse reactions.

"As a reminder, we recommend that everyone use properly-diluted application techniques and, as Ms. Nguyen noted, DoTerra cautions users to avoid contact with the sun (or tanning beds) for up to 12 hours after applying cold pressed oils, including citrus oils," the spokesperson added.