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Getting an Unnatural Lift from Lavender
Maia Szalavitz, February 7, 2007
Sex-changing “natural” oil shows that we need to revise the way we think about chemicals.

Last week, a series of case reports was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, linking lavender and tea tree oil to breast growth in three young boys. As “natural” ingredients, both are found in numerous shampoos, lotions and bath products.

Although such case reports do not prove that the ingredients in question caused the problem (which resolved when the boys’ parents stopped using the products that contained them), they should prompt consideration about how we view “natural” and “unnatural” chemicals. 

When something is pronounceable and familiar and comes from a plant or animal, people tend to assume it’s safe. But nature is not benign: biological organisms produce some of the most dangerous poisons, from deadly nightshade mushrooms to botulinum toxin to snake venom. Plants often produce potentially toxic substances as a method of self-defense. Although animals evolve to be able to eat some of them safely, this doesn’t mean that “natural” is always good and safe.

Conversely, just because a chemical is manmade and unpronounceable doesn’t mean it’s dangerous.  If the NEJM case reports had involved manufactured chemicals like phthalates or aspartame, media coverage almost certainly would have included calls for a ban on them.  But even though this research suggests that lavender and tea tree oil act as “endocrine disruptors” – mimicking female hormones in a way similar to the effects of some pollutants – don’t expect to hear similar demands for action about these darlings of the “natural” health product industry.