Essential oils are one of those topics that people tend to avoid because it can be controversial. You either have people who don’t believe they work or the people that are selling their brand and are a little too overly passionate. I mean I don’t blame them because when you find something you love you want to share it with the world……As I mentioned in my norwex article I love sharing things that I have found to be helpful and want others to know about them! But I know certain people that are turned off by to much passion. Does that make sense?
Anyway, I don’t sell essential oils I just love to use them in my life and want to pass on the love. I recently listened to a podcast by a doctor who did an incredible job going over some really important tips……I learned so much and want to do my best to tell you what I learned. But he also has a book that I just got and can’t wait to dive into. I really appreciated his approach because he does not sell you a certain company. He was in no way “selling” essential oils but just telling you the facts about them. And because he was not trying to sell his company he was freer to say the straight facts. Below are some things I learned from his podcast and have just acquired from my family who has used essential oils for while.
What is really neat about essential oils is that they are Gods medicine to us. They are purely the healing properties of the plant and not all the crap added to it. It just amazes me to continue to see how perfectly God planned things and when we try to add things in we tend to screw it up.
1. You’re using too much
People are sometimes turned off by essential oils because of the cost. And I totally get that. Some of the oils can be very pricey. And the way I was using them I would fly through bottles. I would take the bottle and rub multiple drops on my stomach or put 30 drops in a blend I was making…
….I figured more is better right? Well with essential oils the opposite is true. “Less is more” the oils are very concentrated and your body can’t even break down more than a couple drops. This is great news! You will save so much money. Your bottle of oil will go so much further now…
I ended up just making my own blends and it is working great!
2. Making your own blends
After I realized I was using too much I started making my own blends. All I did was buy roller bottles or I used empty essential oils bottles, filled them up with a carrier oil. ( A carrier oil is a fatty oil, such as coconut, avocado Etc.) and added whatever oil I wanted…
….Generally, you only need 1% essential oil. So I just guesstimated according to the size of my bottle.
I made some bottles into blends and some I just made bottles of one oil. This way I will not waste as much oil and can use the diluted bottles. And I don’t have to worry as much about my kids getting a hold of it.
If you use Essential oils properly there are no side effects. But if a kid gets a hold of a bottle of peppermint and rubs their eyes…They will be in pain for quite a while.
3. Side effects
Essential oils have no side effects! What?! How cool is that? How great is it to have a “medicine” with no side effects? Have you ever listened to a medicine commercial and it has like 2 minutes worth of possible side effects? That freaks me out. What’s cool is that God knew exactly what he was doing. He created plants for healing and not to hurt us. I am sure you are thinking well I have had “side effects” from essential oils. Has anyone ever gotten a rash or you felt like your body is burning? I have! But that was because I was using them improperly.
I would put peppermint on my forehead for a headache and it would drip down toward my eyes……Well I was using them wrong. I was using WAY to much and my body was reacting. Same with if you get a rash. Your body is telling you ” I don’t need that much”. Just because they are natural does not mean you can use as much as you want and it will not cause damage. I mean Water is something we need to live. But you can drink to much and actually hurt yourself.
4. It is the real deal
As I mentioned essential oils are Gods medicine. God created things in nature for us to use for healing.We have known that forever and have always used essential oils. If you look in almost anything there are essential oils…
….but most of the time they’re synthetic and not the real deal. For example look at any lotion in your house and you will see that it has an oil in it. They took some of the healing properties and then added a bunch of crap. But when you get a good quality essential oil you are getting the real deal. Just the pure goodness God intended us to use.
5. Good company
Speaking of a good pure oil you need to make sure you are getting your oils from a good company. If you just pick up a bottle at the store or online and don’t do your research you might end up getting a cheap essential oil. And it will not have the same healing qualities and is probably not safe to ingest…
So how do you find a good company? What are some things to look for?
Look for the 3 S’s
- Sourcing
- Science
- Standard
Sourcing
This is very important! Just like you want to know where your food comes from you want to know that the source of your essential oil is pure. Look into the company make sure that that have high standards when it comes to sourcing. I like to use the young living brand and they have something called “seed to seal” which means that they know exactly where the product came from and how it was taken care of through the whole process and they make sure to test it themselves to make sure it meets their standards…
…I am not saying you have to use young living I am just using them as an example. You also want to make sure that they are not adding any fillers or additives. Most likely the cheaper brands are doing this that is why they can sell them so cheap. Just because it says it is pure does not necessarily mean much. Do your research!
Science
Make sure they are on the cutting edge with their science. Are they doing all the testing themselves or are they sending it out to other labs? this is important so that you know they are not being biased.
Are they always moving forward and learning more? Are they creating new testing to always make sure that you are getting the purest possible product?
Standards
What are their standards? As you read through their stuff do you get a feeling that they are cutting corners? Can you find what their standards are on the companies website? I would recommend looking for standards like the “seed to seal”. Make sure the company knows what is happening with their products through the whole process.
All of the things I mentioned you should be able to find on the companies website. And if you can’t that might be a clue that they don’t want you to know.
6. They are safe for pregnancy
One of the biggest questions I hear is “Are essential oils safe for pregnancy?” This is a hard one to answer because there is really no hard facts that they are dangerous during pregnancy. I have not had an issue using any of them. But I am clearly not a doctor and you need to do what you are comfortable with. Below is a list that some women have avoided during pregnancy.
- Clary Sage or Sage
- Idaho Tansy or Hyssop
- Fennel
- Wintergreen
- Blends and supplements that contain these oils
I have found essential oils to be extremely helpful when it comes to pregnancy. I use peppermint to calm my nausea and lavender in my bath. I can’t imagine not using my oils…But again do what you feel most comfortable with.
7. You can cook with them
This is a fun one. I have just started experimenting with this and can’t wait to try different things out. In the podcast, the doctor’s wife talked about cooking with essential oils and it made so much sense to me.
For example, using the oils for things that are hard to keep on hand. She suggested cilantro oil. If you don’t have any fresh then just use the oil. That was a total lightbulb moment…
…She also talked about making guacamole and using lime oil. Duh! How come I did not think of that? And if you have picked a good pure company you should have no reservations about ingesting the oils.
Just a warning though when you are cooking with it use a tiny amount. I mean like one drop in a whole batch. You can always taste it and add later.
As I said the oils are very concentrated and have lots of flavors so you don’t need much at all. You will be amazed at how flavorful this will make your food!
Dr. Zielinski’s book
I learned so much from Dr. Zielinski’s podcast that when he mentioned a book I could not wait to get my hands on it. He did an outstanding job talking about essential oils and how to use them properly. I was so impressed with his knowledge and the way he was able to talk on my level. Sometimes I listen to these doctors and they are way over my head…
…My book will be here soon. But after reading what other readers have said about the book I can’t wait to get it. If it is anything like his podcast, It will be a winner!
If you are interested in picking it up. You can grab it on Amazon, here!
My personal experience with essential oils
I have been using oils for about 5 years now. My mom learned about young living and started with their company. She realized that she loved the product but did not enjoy “selling” them. I feel the same way. I love everything about young living but I have found that I love different products from different brands that I can’t pick one to “sell”.
That is why I love having this blog. I can share the things I have found and love and I don’t have to be loyal to one company. Because there are so many companies out there with great products that I have come to love.
Okay, back to my personal story. After my mom got into oils I was a little Leary. I was not sure that they would really work that well. How would oil do anything? I did think the concept was really cool though. Because I always struggled to swallow pills and the idea of an oil was fascinating to me. Also, I figured that oil would be much easier for kids to use.
I have used oils for many things for I wanted to share my favorite stories with you…
Cold Sores:
I always had cold sores! Ever since I was little I would get the most hideous and super painful cold sores. Ugh! It hurts just thinking about them. Once I had oils in my life I would put thieves on it as soon as I would feel it coming on…
….It would stop them in their tracks! I actually don’t get cold sores anymore. Which is great! I am not sure what has taken care of them but I have changed a lot over the last couple of years. I started eating on the “Trim healthy mama” plan and it has been the greatest thing for my health. (But that will have to be another post)
Digestion:
One of the reason I started “Trim Healthy Mama” was because I was so sick all the time. Ever since I can remember I had constant headaches and stomach aches. I seriously thought that was normal and that was just how you felt after you ate…
…After I started eating better I felt SO good. I barely ever get headaches and my stomach rarely hurts. I am a huge believer in feeding your body right. When you have an issue going on I believe the best place to start is food. Food is the fuel for your body and you need to make sure the fuel is good and clean. After that you can start looking into other ways to aid your body.
Even though I was eating very good my body still needed a little push. I started using peppermint oil. That stuff is amazing. I will rub it on my stomach and I can feel it working instantly. But my favorite story is how it worked on my newborn…
My second baby projectile vomited every day for the first two weeks of her life. I felt so bad because I knew that her tummy was off. One day I put some peppermint oil on her tummy. (mixed with a carrier oil of course) And she never projectile vomited again. I was totally amazed.
My first born was colicky for the first 3 months of her life. I wish I would have known about the oils then!
Headaches:
As I said I used to get headaches all the time. I realized that they were caused by all the white bread and sugar I was eating. Once I cut those out of my diet I now only get headaches every once and awhile. Either if I am way over tired or stressed…
…Peppermint is another winner for headaches. I either do straight peppermint or make a blend of peppermint & lavender. The lavender just helps you relax. I usually rub the mix on my temples, the soles of my feet and if you can convince someone to rub it on your shoulders that will help if it is a tension headache.
Final thoughts
As I am sure you have picked up on by now, I love essential oils and love learning new ways to use them and help my family to achieve better health through them. But I am not a doctor. So please only use them if you feel comfortable and please ask your doctor if you have any questions…
…That being said if you are already an avid essential oil user I would love to hear from you. Let me know what you have found I help your family!
If you are just starting out and don’t know exactly how to start I would recommend starting by following my tips above and finding a good company. If you want to skip the research and just get started I would say just go with young living. You can either grab the starter kit. Or just a few oils. I would start with…
I hope that this was good helpful information and that you can begin to achieve better health for you and your family!
Happy Homesteading!
~Courtney