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The Many Health Benefits of Essential Oils

Essential Oils 101

Fall is my favourite time of year for using essential oils. I mean, I use essential oils year-round, but there’s something about the cooler weather and in-season produce that gets me excited to get comfy and break out my favourite essential oils—especially when used in a diffuser.

Not many people know that essentials oils—all of them—contain antimicrobial activity.[1] They are super-concentrated versions of natural plants, and contain properties that can be useful for healing in so many ways.

While there are endless essential oils to choose from, there are about 10 that I use regularly. Here is that list:

My Favourite Essential Oils

Bergamot

Commonly used for relieving psychological stress and anxiety[2], bergamot essential oil is great to have around as a natural relaxant. This makes it a great essential oil to add to your bath, or enjoy in a diffuser.

Sandalwood

In a 2015 study, researchers acknowledge that sandalwood essential oil “is known for a variety of therapeutic properties including anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-viral and anti-bacterial activities.”[3]

In practical use, the scent of sandalwood can create calmness and lend to feelings of serenity and mental clarity.[4]

Lemon

lemons

Lemon essential oil is a fabulous natural disinfectant, purifier, and energizer!

Taken in herb form (fresh lemon), lemon’s powers extend to helping induce bowel movements, killing mouth and throat infections, reducing fevers, and detoxing the body.

Lavender

Known for its calming properties, lavender is a great choice for before bed, or around babies and small children—especially just before naptime.

Lavender essential oil is also great for treating insomnia, relieving stress and tension, and helping eliminate headaches.

Peppermint

Peppermint is a natural pain reliever and anti-inflammatory! In fact, chewing on raw, fresh peppermint leaves can be a great way to relieve inflammatory digestive issues.

Used in the extracted, essential oil form, peppermint can be rubbed gently on the temples to quickly relieve headaches, and, when combined with eucalyptus, is fantastic for tempering mild breathing issues.

Tea Tree

If you’re a parent of school-aged children, you might already know that tea tree oil is a very good lice repellent.[5] Add some oil to your child’s shampoo and/or conditioner, and lice tend to stay away. Combine a few drops with half a cup of water and spray your children’s hats and coats for further protection.

A great side effect of diffusing tea tree oil, is that is helps relieve a stuffy nose.[6]

For more ways to use tea tree oil, click HERE.

Rosewood

Traditionally used for its anti-aging effectiveness, rosewood essential oil can be combined with rosehip oil (a carrier oil—something to dilute it and make it less concentrated) to create a fabulous face treatment. It’s great for acne and wrinkles, alike!

Rosewood essential oils also can help with mild pain relief, boosting the libido, and improving memory.

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus Essential Oil

Eucalyptus is a very distinct-smelling essential oil. As mentioned above, it’s fantastic for relieving respiratory issues, and opening constricted airways due to inflammation caused by viruses.

It’s also very good for purifying contaminated air, and repelling insects. But don’t ingest it—eucalyptus is toxic if taken orally.

My Favourite Methods

Bathing

Nothing is more relaxing that taking a hot bath on a cold night, with Epsom salts for detox and the right essential oils. They are not only aromatic and healing in that sense, but they also help to produce beautiful, soft skin. My favourite essential oils to bathe with are bergamot and sandalwood, but you can use almost anything you want. When fighting a respiratory virus, eucalyptus is awesome. (See more on eucalyptus above.)

Remember that a carrier oil (such as olive oil, avocado oil, or apricot oil) or something fatty such as milk (or milk powder) should always be added to the bath with the essential oils, since the concentrated oils may cause skin irritations and/or reactions once they touch the skin, if undiluted.

*Note: bathing with peppermint creates a very strange cold-hot sensation that is not relaxing in the winter, but can be extremely refreshing in the summer. Combine a few drops of peppermint essential oil with another oil of your choice (like tea tree). Add that mixture to a carrier oil, then add to your bath just before getting in.

Diffusing

Diffusing is the practice of evaporating water into the air that is scented with essential oil. It creates a little more humidity (which is great for dry, winter air), and a pleasant scent that can be very healing and anti-bacterial. (Yes—diffusing with the right essential oils—like lemon—can actually help clean the air!)

First of all, I love the diffusers from Saje. They look nice, they work well, and they last forever. You can use any oil you want in these; the smell they produce is gorgeous and perfect for adding clean and health aroma to your home.

Diffusers are especially helpful during cold and flu season, when respiratory issues and colds prevail. Oils that I use for better bronchial breath, include a combination of peppermint and eucalyptus.

My favorite oil to promote sleep and relaxation (which is also helpful during cold and flu season!) is lavender.

Cleaning

Mix a few drops of lemon, lavender, peppermint, and tea tree oil together with some white vinegar.[9] This aromatic mixture cleans everything from floors to counters, and even clothing!

Using essential oils to clean versus conventional, commercially-prepared products is non-comparable. Commercially-prepared products are full of toxins that are more harmful to your environment than helpful!

By making your own products, you reduce your family’s toxic load—which is kind of amazing.

Beautifying

natural beauty products

As with commercially-prepared cleaning products, commercially-prepared cosmetics and beauty products are generally unhealthy, as well. (Yes—despite being advertised as safe.)

Canada’s David Suzuki has a foundation that has created a list of dirty cosmetic ingredients. They’ve also compiled a list of safe and less-harmful ones. But if you like to make your own, I have a great nighttime face oil recipe for you:

My favorite mix I make for a great face oil, is one of rosehip oil (which is a carrier oil), mixed with rosewood and rose otto (both essential oils). For a quarter cup of rosehip oil, I add approx 5 drops of each of the two essential oils (10 drops in total).

This lovely-smelling facial oil is super beneficial at night for its anti-aging and healing properties, but remember, everyone is a little bit different when it comes to scent, so you may have to adjust my recipe so that it works for YOU.

Basically, just have fun with essential oils! Make sure they’re as pure as possible (many contain fillers that really dilute their effectiveness), and try a bunch until you find what you like. Stay well, and if you need to contact me with your questions, comments, or inquiries, please do so!

Also, if you’re interested in my homemade body scrub recipes (which use essential oils), you can find those HERE.

Merci!

References

[1] http://jac.oxfordjournals.org/content/47/5/565.full

[2] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25824404

[3] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26026073

[4] https://draxe.com/sandalwood-essential-oil/

[5] http://homeremediesforlife.com/tea-tree-oil-for-head-lice/

[6] http://everydayroots.com/tea-tree-oil-uses

[7] Jennifer Browne. “The Good Living Guide to Medicinal Tea.” Skyhorse Publishing, 2015.

[8] Jennifer Browne. “The Good Living Guide to Medicinal Tea.” Skyhorse Publishing, 2015.

[9] http://www.davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/queen-of-green/faqs/cleaning/does-vinegar-kill-germs/?gclid=CJqJspCeis8CFRKVfgod-UMIvA