Essential oils triggering allergies? New experience at massage therapy making me question this

[Justasneezygirl]

The last few weeks my massage therapist has been using a new essential oil combo instead of her usual unscented oil. It is a combo of peppermint and lavender. 
 

She has used it 3x so far with me and each time I had a different level of reaction. Since I have a pretty good sneeze block around most people, I found myself able to hold my sneezes back until after the session each time (in almost 5 years, I have only had two allergy attacks of sneezes in front of her and I really try my best to avoid it in public settings). 
 

the first time she used it, I had really intense itchy feelings in my nose - like a really deep itch - it was distracting as I tried to chat with her! That was mixed with a runny nose feeling where I had to keep sniffling (strategically of course). There were a couple of times where I almost had to give in to sneeze, but she did the part of the massage near my face at the end, and I made it part of the way home before I let out 3 - 4 sneezes. 
 

the second time I didn’t feel much tickling - only 2 or 3 times and no sneezing.

 

the 3rd time was in between these experiences with moderate itching, nose running, and then 1 - 2 sneezes after leaving. 
 

I take Zyrtec 2 - 3x per week so not sure if this would impact the reaction.
 

I made a lavender/lemon essential oil mix once and it didn’t seem to bother my allergies, so leaning towards the peppermint possibly being the culprit. 
 

I never thought of essential oils triggering allergies before - what do you guys think? Any ideas? Anyone have any similar experiences to share? 
 

I’m really curious now!!!

[Engmanny]

Strong scents full stop for some certainly have the potential to be irritant thinking of some fragrances etc so this makes sense right. 

[Justasneezygirl]

Interesting - sorry I forgot when I posted this and couldn't find it! 🙂 It is still happening on and off - not consistent.  I have never had allergies to perfume in the past, so something to explore! Thanks for your reply!