Let's Talk Oils

Let's talk essential oils.  And when I say let's talk I mean very basic.  So when I confessed I was a crunchy hippy, I had numerous people comment that they wanted to know more about essential oils.  I am no expert on how or why they work but I do want to show you what a beginner essential oiler looks like to show you it doesn't have to be hard or overwhelming.

Now lets talk brands.  Before I started buying essential oils I did a ton of research.  The two really popular brands are DoTerra and Young Living.  And really my research didn't find one clearly victorious over the other.  Many other less expensive brands were in the running, one being Eden's Garden.  Personally, my verdict is still out.  My Thieves is Young Living and my Grapefruit DoTerra, both bought off ebay.  All the rest I have bought through Eden's Garden.  They are significantly cheaper and defiantly a great choice when you don't have alot of money to spend and want to try out essential oils however some of them don't smell as good as the more expensive brands (I have a friend who is a big fan of essential oils and has a good amount of Young Living oils, hence how I could compare).  I don't regret buying oils from Eden's Garden and will continue  to do so but will probably mix in more Young Living and DoTerra once I start getting real nurse paychecks.

They call Thieves the gateway oil and there is a reason.  It is the first oil that I used and it hooked me.  It is called Thieves because during the Bubonic Plague there were four thieves running around cities stealing from the sick.  When the authorities caught them they were told they could only be released if they revealed how they weren't getting sick even though they were exposed to all these people who were sick.  They spilled the beans and reported that they rubbed this blend of oils on themselves.  To this day people are still protecting themselves from illness with this oil blend.

So why did I even start using it?  If any of you remember I got sick twice over winter break and had been sick multiple times during the fall.  It wasn't ok with me and I had to do something because I couldn't keep getting sick.  I figured it wouldn't hurt to try Thieves.  Through the winter and cold and flu season I would roll this oil onto my feet every morning before I put my socks on.  (Sidenote:  You can put oil on "neat" meaning directly on your skin or you can dilute it with a carrier oil, I use Grapeseed oil from Kroger.  Some oils for some people irritate and burn the skin if applied neat.  I keep my Thieves in a roller bottle diluted just to make it easier in the morning.)  My roommate is currently battling a cold so I have put it on my feet the past few nights just to protect myself even though I have stopped using it daily now that the weather is nicer.  I am happy to report that since using it I have only gotten one mild cold and call me crazy hippy but I really believe the Thieves oil is to thank for not getting sick the rest of winter.

My second most used oil would be Lavender.  This oil is pretty self exclamatory and most people have used it in some way.  I use it to help me sleep when I have night shift or just to help me sleep deeper.  I put it on my wrists and pillows a few nights week and as needed.

Other oils I use a few days a week are my lemon and grapefruit oil.  The main reason I use grapefruit oil is it helps with water retention.  I was having some issues with water retention and between grapefruit oil, putting my feet up when possible and being consciousnesses of my sodium intake it has been so much better.  

When I have a stress headache or just particularly anxious I will rub stress relief oil blend on my temples and wrists, respectively.  Deep breaths....

I use Peppermint in my chocolate protein shakes for taste and a little wake me up.  I have also rubbed Peppermint in my navel to help with nausea and indigestion.  Recently I had an unusually bad headache so I rubbed some Peppermint oil on my temples and the headache melted away.  I was in disbelief.  Do not underestimate this oil, a little goes a long way.

When I had that little cold I mentioned I added a few drops of Breathe Easy oil blend to coconut oil and rubbed it on my chest to help me breath easier through the congestion and cough.  Think Vick's here.

So did I spit enough information at you?  What more do you want to know?  I really want to share with you as much as I know so that you can see how beneficial, easy, and inexpensive essential oils can be.  Anyone else an oil user?  Anyone want to try them out?