by Skylar Keyes
Home and Lifestyle Blogger
Mother to Jared and Jesse
Lucky Wife of Bruce Keyes ❤️ 9/15/09
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You’ve seen the memes, you’ve seen the fanatics, you’ve seen Essential Oils. All over social media you’ve likely encountered raving fans of the small glass bottles full of seemingly precious miracle oils.
As a health and nutrition enthusiast, working mother of two and wife, I did my due diligence when it came to researching and evaluating the worth of adding essential oils to my family's every day life. Today, I have decided to share my general thoughts on the beginning of my journey with essential oils, as well as how I use them, and where I buy them!
Before I get into discussing how essential oils have fit into my life, I thought it would be good to share some basic information on what they do and why people use them!
So What is an Essential Oil?
"An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are generally extracted by distillation, often by using steam. Some important information that you should know about an essential oil is the botanical name, chemotype (if applicable), origin of plant (this can drastically change the chemical constituents percentages) and extraction method." (Source)
Oils can be extracted from leaves of the plant or the seeds of certain plants and have been for centuries. Some of the earliest writings and paintings contain descriptions or depictions of aromatic oils in use. The effects of using oils was noticed early on by cultures all across the world including Native American, Greek, Chinese, and Roman societies.
As in many ancient cultures, essential oil use today takes many shapes and forms - from topical use to treat ailments, to decreasing stress via diffusing, and even ingesting the oils. The quality of the oil is of the utmost importance, especially when applied topically or ingested. I, myself, have decided not to ingest essential oils and find that I enjoy the effects of oils most when diffusing them.
Where Do I Buy Essential Oils?
Let's get things straight first... There are dozens of essential oils out there competing for your business and all of them will claim to be 100% Therapeutic Grade. But it is important to know that this is an industry term that is not regulated by any governing agency. That being said, some oils are more pure than others! NOT ALL ESSENTIAL OILS ARE CREATED EQUAL!
I looked into some of the big name essential oil companies and found the prices unusually higher than what I expected - but there was a catch! In order to get the "wholesale" price (aka a reasonable price...) you had to enter the world of Multi Level Marketing. Essentially, I had to become a marketing agent who pushed products onto the people around me I loved (and even as a lifestyle blogger, I have to draw the line somewhere). Then I found Vitality Extracts.
They had everything I was looking for:
For these reasons, I gave Vitality Extracts my business for the first time in September and have yet to be disappointed with them as a company. Everyone has different perspectives on why they value a brand, and that's ok - but if you haven't tried these oils and are looking for a provider... give this brand a look (Essential Oil Blends, Individual Oils).
How Do I Use Essential Oils? For What?
Now let's get to the real meat of this post, and that is what I use essential oils for.
My favorite and most common use is via my diffusers. I have three diffusers - one at home, one at my office and... wait for it... one in my car. Diffusing essential oils increases my relaxation, patience and contentment. I use Lavender Oil, Citrus Oils, and Sandalwood most frequently. These oils are naturally stress-reducing and provide an added immunity boost that's perfect for flu season. I safely diffuse these oils around my kids (ages 5 and 6) and they love it as much as I do.
As mentioned before I do not ingest essential oils. I have tried common ways people ingest the oils (a drop of grapefruit oil in water before bed, chamomile oil in my iced tea, even a drop of peppermint on the tongue) routinely and noticed no obvious benefits or effects. That's just me. However, I have noticed several beneficial ways to apply the oils topically - particularly with Melaleuca (Tea Tree Oil).
My husband had Athlete's Foot from consistently having wet feet from his job. I mixed 5 drops of Tea Tree Oil into a Coconut Carrier Oil and massaged it into his skin every other night. It was gone within a week. I also did the same when my son developed ringworm over the holidays. I swear by this stuff!
Other Oils & Their Uses:
