Diaper rashes can be sheer misery for both mama and baby. If you are anything like me, the creams that you find over the counter for diaper rashes more times than not, moisturize a bit, but really don't seem to soothe and heal all that much. You have to be a little bit careful using essential oils on a raw little butt, even when they are diluted, so I decided rather than going into lengthy details about how to dilute them so they won't burn, and how to make sure your proportions are correct, I would just share a recipe that I formulated a while back that has had great success. I had a group of mom's doing test runs for me years ago when I was trying to get the formula just right. They reported back to me until I finally had one they all said worked!
I used to sell it all the time, but I haven't made it in years. I've made some different variations of a butt balm or salve since Hudsen has been around, using what essential oils I had on hand, but none seem to work quite as well as this original tried and true butt balm.
If you don't have all the oils, you can just use what you have, it might not work quite as well, but I think you will find even using a few of the healing essential oils in this balm will help heal up those red butts like none other! Please don't add more essential oils to the mixture unless you are sure they won't burn you baby's bum. One last thing before the recipe. If you don't have time to mix up a butt balm, the best single oil to use on a chapped babies butt that I have tried is patchouli. It smells dirty, but it soothes and heals and does not burn. Simply mix several drops with a little carrier oil and apply it to the rash. Sometimes you can even apply it straight, but always start with it diluted and test it first.
Butt Balm Recipe:
1 oz bees wax
1/2 oz sweet almond oil
1 1/2 oz jojoba oil
1/2 oz castor oil
1 oz vitamin e oil
1 oz olive oil
1 oz shea butter'
40 drops rose absolute oil (5% concentrate mixed in carrier oil less drops if using a stronger concentration)
60 drops of patchouli oil
40 drops juniper oil
100 drops of lavender oil
10-20 drops chamomile oil
20 drops of frankincense oil
10 drops of myrrh oil
Instructions: Melt bees wax and shea butter in a pan over medium-low heat. Add the oils, heat just until the balm is liquid. Remove from heat, add the essential oils, stir well, pour into containers.
Variations: This makes quite a bit, to make a smaller batch you can cut the amounts in half.
You can also substitute pure olive oil for the sweet almond oil, and the jojoba oil.
For more information on essential oils, and recipes visit my Facebook page at:
https://www.facebook.com/realessentialoileducation
Friday, June 28, 2013
Using Rooibos Tea For Babies And Children
The health benefits of rooibos tea are not restricted to children, but I am choosing to focus this blog on little ones because so many drugs, as well as herbas supplements are not safe for use in infants and small children. I know this is not an essential oil, but rooibos tea has helped Hudsen so much since he was born I felt I should write a bit about it for other mom's out there.
As many of you know, my little guy Hudsen was born premature with severe lung, and other health issues. He spent the first 3 weeks of his life in the NICU with more tubes and wires coming out of him than I thought was possible! Doctors warned us that because of his underdeveloped lungs he would likely be vey susceptible to colds, flus, allergies, and most likely have asthma. So, right from the beginning it was very important for me to help his little immune system. I started giving him rooibos tea fromt he time he was a few months old, not a lot, but if he showed any signs of getting a cold or having the sniffles out would come the rooibos tea. My Grandma teased me that he was "addicted" to tea by the time he was 8 months old. Here are some of the reason I choose to give Hudsen rooibos tea, and I must say he has never had the poor immune system or the lung issues the doctors were sure would follow him for his life. I'm sure rooibos tea is not all to credit for this, but I'm sure it helped! It also helped his colic immensely. Between rooibos tea and my herbal tummy drops (which I will talk about another time) I don't think we ever had tummy tears that lasted more than half an hour. When Hudsen stopped getting a bottle for bed time, I transfered him into drinking tea every night for a while to give him some extra vitamins, and help relax him for sleepy time. I still make him tea for bed or nap time from time to time.
Rooibos tea contains no colors, additives, or preservatives, making it a wonderful natural beverage. it contains no caffeine as it is not actually a "tea" but an african herb. According to studies conducted in South Africa and Japan, rooibos has been shown to aid in health problems such as insomnia, irritability, headaches, nervous tension, and hypertension. Studies also show that this tea contains anti-spasmodic agens, which can relive stomach cramping and colic in infants. It has also been used to trat allergies such as hay fever, asthma and eczema very effectively.
Rooibos tea is also used for irritated skin. For diaper rashes a strong tea of rooibos can be brewed and added to bath water for a soak, or applied directly with a cloth to the irritated skin. Rooibos contains oxidants which help boost the immune system.
Rooibos contains the following minerals, copper, iron, potassium, calcium, zinc, manganese, alpha-hydroxy, magnesium, and others. In South Africa pregnant woman and nursing mothers drink rooibos because it contains no caffeine.
Because it has a naturally sweet taste, most kids will drink it without any sweetener. They also have flavored rooibos tea, such as strawberry and peach that can encourage a kid to drink it.
To use it: Simply brew it like you would any other tea, let it cool a bit, or add some ice, and serve in in a bottle or sippy cup. Or have a cup yourself!
For more information visit my facebook page:
As many of you know, my little guy Hudsen was born premature with severe lung, and other health issues. He spent the first 3 weeks of his life in the NICU with more tubes and wires coming out of him than I thought was possible! Doctors warned us that because of his underdeveloped lungs he would likely be vey susceptible to colds, flus, allergies, and most likely have asthma. So, right from the beginning it was very important for me to help his little immune system. I started giving him rooibos tea fromt he time he was a few months old, not a lot, but if he showed any signs of getting a cold or having the sniffles out would come the rooibos tea. My Grandma teased me that he was "addicted" to tea by the time he was 8 months old. Here are some of the reason I choose to give Hudsen rooibos tea, and I must say he has never had the poor immune system or the lung issues the doctors were sure would follow him for his life. I'm sure rooibos tea is not all to credit for this, but I'm sure it helped! It also helped his colic immensely. Between rooibos tea and my herbal tummy drops (which I will talk about another time) I don't think we ever had tummy tears that lasted more than half an hour. When Hudsen stopped getting a bottle for bed time, I transfered him into drinking tea every night for a while to give him some extra vitamins, and help relax him for sleepy time. I still make him tea for bed or nap time from time to time.
Rooibos tea contains no colors, additives, or preservatives, making it a wonderful natural beverage. it contains no caffeine as it is not actually a "tea" but an african herb. According to studies conducted in South Africa and Japan, rooibos has been shown to aid in health problems such as insomnia, irritability, headaches, nervous tension, and hypertension. Studies also show that this tea contains anti-spasmodic agens, which can relive stomach cramping and colic in infants. It has also been used to trat allergies such as hay fever, asthma and eczema very effectively.
Rooibos tea is also used for irritated skin. For diaper rashes a strong tea of rooibos can be brewed and added to bath water for a soak, or applied directly with a cloth to the irritated skin. Rooibos contains oxidants which help boost the immune system.
Rooibos contains the following minerals, copper, iron, potassium, calcium, zinc, manganese, alpha-hydroxy, magnesium, and others. In South Africa pregnant woman and nursing mothers drink rooibos because it contains no caffeine.
Because it has a naturally sweet taste, most kids will drink it without any sweetener. They also have flavored rooibos tea, such as strawberry and peach that can encourage a kid to drink it.
To use it: Simply brew it like you would any other tea, let it cool a bit, or add some ice, and serve in in a bottle or sippy cup. Or have a cup yourself!
For more information visit my facebook page:
Thursday, June 27, 2013
The Crazy Cat Lady Of Essential Oils
When I talk to people who have neven used essential oils about trying them out, I often get a response that goes something along the line of "oh no, will I turn into the "crazy cat lady of essential oils?"
When I first began really using oils a lot, there was an older lady in our community that was known as just that. "The crazy oil lady." You could always smell her coming from a long way off as she was sure to be wearing whatever newest mixture of oils she was sure would "cure" whatever her ailment happened to be at the moment. Her purse looked like a walking apothecary, and you could guarantee in anyone was unfortunate enough to make a comment about having anything from an upset stomach, a bit of tension in their shoulders or even high blood pressure, regardless of weather she was invited to or not, out would come the oils and she would be dabbing them on the unsuspecting victims before they even realized what was happening! Her stories of how they cured her nephew of his autism, or her grandfather's hemorrhoids were also sure to pop up at random awkward times, and cause reactions ranging from chuckles of skepticism and disbelief, to sheer horror.
While there is nothing wrong with being a "crazy oil lady" some people tend to believe that once you start using oils, you are doomed to a life of the exaggerated, pushy, and slightly annoying "oil crazies!" You may start out just trying Lavender for that bug bite, and then the next thing you know you are carrying around 20 bottles of oil in your purse and applying them to strangers as they walk down the street! Nor will you suddenly sprout bushels of armpit hair, or turn into a conspiracy theorist that avoids doctors and tradition medicine at all costs because you are convinced they are all trying to poison you!
Have no fear! There are lots of people that have found wonderful benefits from using only one or two essential oils and never feel the need to fill their medicine cabinet with rows of oils, or apply them their friends or random passerby's. You can use essential oils and still hold tightly on to your status as a "normal" person. You don't need to spend hours of research or hundreds of dollars to enjoy the benefits of using essential oils. Of course as you know, I tend to be a bit more on the side of the "crazy oil lady" as rows of essential oils line my shelves, and books and research papers are some of my favorite past times! But for most people this holds little to no interest. But that does not need to hold you back from experiencing some of the wonderful benefits of using essential oils. So in this blog post I want to share with you 5 "non crazy" ways to use essential oils for every day issues. Don't worry, buying oils is not contagious, unlike potato chips you CAN just have one. You can in fact enjoy the perks of using one or two and keep your status as a sane "normal" human being. (It's far too late for me to be called "normal" but you don't need to succumb to my fate. :-)
1. Laundry.
Having laundry that smells clean and fresh without using fabric softener can be tricky sometimes. With our well water, even when clothes are removed immediately from the washer and put in the dryer, they still always wind up coming out with just the faintest "sour" smell, which drives me nuts. What to do? Add 5 or 10 drops of tea tree oil to your wash load. If it is for a load of dirty work clothes or diapers add more, if it is just a normal load add less. This will help remove smells and leave your clothes smelling fresh and clean. Don't worry, they won't come out smelling like Tea Tree oil, that washes away, but it will leave them nice and crisp and fresh. (can clothes smell crisp? Hmm... well you get my drift.) And you also don't have to worry about the "oil" staining your clothes, as essential oils aren't actually oils at all, so they will leave no residue. You can also use lemon, orange, peppermint, or other oils to help your laundry smell fresh, but tea tree and orange have an extra "kick" when it comes to knocking out bad odors.
2. Burns.
If you are anything like me once in a while a hot pan gets away from you and before you know it a nasty blister has popped up from one little slip of the hot mit, and there is nothing quite like the pain of a nasty burn! Keep some Lavender handy to slap on it right away. You will be amazed at how much it helps take the sting out of a fresh burn. And while aloe is very helpful for helping burns heal it doesn't have anywhere near the ability to help with the pain that Lavender does. Tea Tree can also work great on burns too, but Lavender is the first choice.
3. Ear Infections.
There is just something about ear pain that can drive a person to madness. Whether it is an adult battling an ear infection, or swimmers ear, or a little infant that has ear pain from teething. Tylenol doesn't ever seem to ever be able to quite kick it for me, or my kiddo. But clove oil will! Mix a few drops of clove oil in a little olive oil and drop it directly into the ear till the ear canal is filled. Let it sit for a few minutes until the numbing action of the clove kicks in. If you don't feel a difference, add more clove oil to the mixture and try again. I have never had this not work to significantly reduce the pain and allow me or my kiddo to sleep. Even at a few months old Hudsen and my little sister both would learn to lay still when I put oil in their ear because they knew relief was coming! While I'm not claiming it cures ear infections, it most certainly does help with the pain!
4. Headaches.
Almost everyone has a headache from time to time, and peppermint is wonderful at relieving tension, and increasing circulation, both of which can be very helpful when dealing with headaches, both tension and migraine. Mix a few drops of peppermint with a few drops of carrier oil, and apply to the back of your neck and shoulders. Applying some to your forehead and temples can be very helpful too, but be sure to keep it out of your eyes as it can sting! For more persistant headaches, you can mix 5-10 drops of straight peppermint oil to a handful of shampoo, and after running your head under hot water, apply the shampoo to your scalp and let it set for a few minutes. Then rinse in hot water. This allows the peppermint to penetrate your skalp. The "cooling" effect of the peppermint oil can bring a lot of relief.
5. Bug Repellent.
Most of you have probably seen the citronella candles that are available in the outdoor sections of most department stores and grocery stores. Did you know that they contain essential oils? Citronella oil is the most popular of the bug repellant oils, but lemongrass is a close second. To repel bugs using citronella essential oil, you can add a few drops to any jar candle you already have and burn it outdoors in the area you wish to keep free of those of pesky mosquitoes Or you can apply the oil to your clothes, or mix it with a carrier oil and apply it directly to your skin, or your kids to help keep the bites to a minimum!
So there you have it! A few simple "un-crazy" ways to use essential oils. And while there will always be us overly zealous types, you don't have to join in the craziness to be able to use essentials oil to help with every day issues.
For more information and educational material on using essential oils and natural skin care recipes and tutorials visit me at:
https://www.facebook.com/realessentialoilseducation
When I first began really using oils a lot, there was an older lady in our community that was known as just that. "The crazy oil lady." You could always smell her coming from a long way off as she was sure to be wearing whatever newest mixture of oils she was sure would "cure" whatever her ailment happened to be at the moment. Her purse looked like a walking apothecary, and you could guarantee in anyone was unfortunate enough to make a comment about having anything from an upset stomach, a bit of tension in their shoulders or even high blood pressure, regardless of weather she was invited to or not, out would come the oils and she would be dabbing them on the unsuspecting victims before they even realized what was happening! Her stories of how they cured her nephew of his autism, or her grandfather's hemorrhoids were also sure to pop up at random awkward times, and cause reactions ranging from chuckles of skepticism and disbelief, to sheer horror.
While there is nothing wrong with being a "crazy oil lady" some people tend to believe that once you start using oils, you are doomed to a life of the exaggerated, pushy, and slightly annoying "oil crazies!" You may start out just trying Lavender for that bug bite, and then the next thing you know you are carrying around 20 bottles of oil in your purse and applying them to strangers as they walk down the street! Nor will you suddenly sprout bushels of armpit hair, or turn into a conspiracy theorist that avoids doctors and tradition medicine at all costs because you are convinced they are all trying to poison you!
Have no fear! There are lots of people that have found wonderful benefits from using only one or two essential oils and never feel the need to fill their medicine cabinet with rows of oils, or apply them their friends or random passerby's. You can use essential oils and still hold tightly on to your status as a "normal" person. You don't need to spend hours of research or hundreds of dollars to enjoy the benefits of using essential oils. Of course as you know, I tend to be a bit more on the side of the "crazy oil lady" as rows of essential oils line my shelves, and books and research papers are some of my favorite past times! But for most people this holds little to no interest. But that does not need to hold you back from experiencing some of the wonderful benefits of using essential oils. So in this blog post I want to share with you 5 "non crazy" ways to use essential oils for every day issues. Don't worry, buying oils is not contagious, unlike potato chips you CAN just have one. You can in fact enjoy the perks of using one or two and keep your status as a sane "normal" human being. (It's far too late for me to be called "normal" but you don't need to succumb to my fate. :-)
1. Laundry.
Having laundry that smells clean and fresh without using fabric softener can be tricky sometimes. With our well water, even when clothes are removed immediately from the washer and put in the dryer, they still always wind up coming out with just the faintest "sour" smell, which drives me nuts. What to do? Add 5 or 10 drops of tea tree oil to your wash load. If it is for a load of dirty work clothes or diapers add more, if it is just a normal load add less. This will help remove smells and leave your clothes smelling fresh and clean. Don't worry, they won't come out smelling like Tea Tree oil, that washes away, but it will leave them nice and crisp and fresh. (can clothes smell crisp? Hmm... well you get my drift.) And you also don't have to worry about the "oil" staining your clothes, as essential oils aren't actually oils at all, so they will leave no residue. You can also use lemon, orange, peppermint, or other oils to help your laundry smell fresh, but tea tree and orange have an extra "kick" when it comes to knocking out bad odors.
2. Burns.
If you are anything like me once in a while a hot pan gets away from you and before you know it a nasty blister has popped up from one little slip of the hot mit, and there is nothing quite like the pain of a nasty burn! Keep some Lavender handy to slap on it right away. You will be amazed at how much it helps take the sting out of a fresh burn. And while aloe is very helpful for helping burns heal it doesn't have anywhere near the ability to help with the pain that Lavender does. Tea Tree can also work great on burns too, but Lavender is the first choice.
3. Ear Infections.
There is just something about ear pain that can drive a person to madness. Whether it is an adult battling an ear infection, or swimmers ear, or a little infant that has ear pain from teething. Tylenol doesn't ever seem to ever be able to quite kick it for me, or my kiddo. But clove oil will! Mix a few drops of clove oil in a little olive oil and drop it directly into the ear till the ear canal is filled. Let it sit for a few minutes until the numbing action of the clove kicks in. If you don't feel a difference, add more clove oil to the mixture and try again. I have never had this not work to significantly reduce the pain and allow me or my kiddo to sleep. Even at a few months old Hudsen and my little sister both would learn to lay still when I put oil in their ear because they knew relief was coming! While I'm not claiming it cures ear infections, it most certainly does help with the pain!
4. Headaches.
Almost everyone has a headache from time to time, and peppermint is wonderful at relieving tension, and increasing circulation, both of which can be very helpful when dealing with headaches, both tension and migraine. Mix a few drops of peppermint with a few drops of carrier oil, and apply to the back of your neck and shoulders. Applying some to your forehead and temples can be very helpful too, but be sure to keep it out of your eyes as it can sting! For more persistant headaches, you can mix 5-10 drops of straight peppermint oil to a handful of shampoo, and after running your head under hot water, apply the shampoo to your scalp and let it set for a few minutes. Then rinse in hot water. This allows the peppermint to penetrate your skalp. The "cooling" effect of the peppermint oil can bring a lot of relief.
5. Bug Repellent.
Most of you have probably seen the citronella candles that are available in the outdoor sections of most department stores and grocery stores. Did you know that they contain essential oils? Citronella oil is the most popular of the bug repellant oils, but lemongrass is a close second. To repel bugs using citronella essential oil, you can add a few drops to any jar candle you already have and burn it outdoors in the area you wish to keep free of those of pesky mosquitoes Or you can apply the oil to your clothes, or mix it with a carrier oil and apply it directly to your skin, or your kids to help keep the bites to a minimum!
So there you have it! A few simple "un-crazy" ways to use essential oils. And while there will always be us overly zealous types, you don't have to join in the craziness to be able to use essentials oil to help with every day issues.
For more information and educational material on using essential oils and natural skin care recipes and tutorials visit me at:
https://www.facebook.com/realessentialoilseducation
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Anxiety, The Story Of My Life.
Over my lifetime I have received a lot of comments about all the things I do, or how I do them all. I have always been a very busy person, since I was very small. But I get asked many times how I can run a store, have time to do my art, take care of my family and still have time to research and write, all while dealing with some fairly crippling health issues.
I would love to tell you that I simply have boundless energy, and am constantly looking for productive places to use it all. But the truth is much darker, and far less beautiful than that. The truth is I have struggled with severe anxiety for most of my life. This anxiety has taken different forms over the years, from stomach issues, to severe panic attacks, to depression, social phobias, and insomnia. From years of dealing with anxiety I've had a lot of experience trying different things to keep it under control on a daily basis. I get some funny looks when I share that I struggle with anxiety on a daily and sometimes minute by minute basis. People usually assume that if I was severely anxious I would stay at home, and avoid people, not run a store and be out in public all the time. I'd be lying if I didn't say it was a huge temptation to just hide away, but hiding often makes the anxiety worse. Being left alone with your thoughts can be very counterproductive for me. And that is what I want to share with you today.
It is easy to think when dealing with anxiety that avoiding the situations that make you anxious is the answer. The problem with that is, if you are anything like me, your anxiety is like a systemic infection. It isn't limited to one or two areas of your life. It may seem like it is related to only one area, but when that area is eliminated, it seeps into another area of your life and before you know it it is just as crippling as it was before you removed the first area! This can be very discouraging, and cause even more anxiety when we start becoming anxious about being anxious. For those of you who have never experienced persistant anxiety, this may sound quite foreign, but for those of you who have experienced it first hand, you know exactly what I am talking about. So it soon becomes obvious that eliminating the source of our anxiety is usually a fruitless effort. Instead we have to learn ways of living with our anxiety in ways that does not allow it to cripple us and rob us of our life.
It is important to realize that a lot of anxiety comes from pathways that are formed in our brains, many times from childhood. It may not have ANYTHING at all to do with our present lives, but is simply a pattern that our brain has fallen into. Something may happen that triggers a response, someone may raise their hand and your brain instantly assumes you are going to be hit, or someone raises their voice, and you are right back as a child fearing the wrath of a parent. Or it could be a situation that subconsciously triggers something that you can't even make sense of. This pattern the brain is in cannot be broken out of by will power, or changed overnight with any amount of information. It takes time, and sometimes a lifestyle that takes into consideration the limitations involved with severe anxiety. This does not mean however that you have to live with crippling anxiety all your life. Sometimes it takes creative solutions to fool your brain into not being anxious, or at least not spiraling down into the negative patterns or panic attacks.
So I'm here to share some of the techniques I've found for dealing with my anxiety. The first is probably obvious. I stay busy. Sometimes just a little busy, sometimes VERY BUSY. My busyness comes and goes like waves. Some days I am able to relax, and enjoy the sunshine, while other days idleness causes a full blown panic attack. Now I'm not promoting running yourself into the ground (which I have been guilty of doing in years past) simply to outrun your anxiety. This will leave you exhausted which will ultimately lead to more anxiety. Rather, I am talking about fooling your brain into forgetting that it is anxious at a particular moment when the anxiety is overtaking you. For me, two of the tools I use to distract my brain from going into a full on panic is research, and writing. Both of these work wonders for me. It has become so second nature to me, that many times I don't even realize I am anxious, I just feel a sudden compulsion to research something, or start writing in my journal, blog, or a letter or email. Then once I stop and think of what "inspired me" to research or write, I will realize that it was overwhelming feelings of anxiety. And it does not matter what you research, just find something you are interested in, and dig in! It gives your brain something else to think about, and pulls it out of the dangerous spiral that was starting. And you don't have to be a good writer either! You can simply write in your journal. One fantastic way I use writing to combat my anxiety is to jot down my thoughts for my little boy. Things I would otherwise no doubt forget to ever tell him. What I was thinking about him that day, how much I love him, the cute things he does, or what dreams I have for him and how I believe God will use him in the future. This is something I would likely never stop to do if writing wasn't a tool I used to cope with my anxiety. It is amazing how distracting your brain can ward off a panic attack or just settle down anxiety. Another thing I often do is take my ipod, which has all my pictures of Hudsen and just start flipping through them. I find myself relaxing, and smiling at the different memories and fun times. The important thing isn't so much "what" you do, as that you have a plan in place. Trying to stop in the middle of an anxiety attack and think about "what to do" is rarely effective. By the time you are trying to think of what to do, your brain is already in fight or flight mode, and trying to reason with it is of little use. You must decide before hand what you are going to do, write, research, run. Because of my health issues right now, I'm not able to do a lot of physical exercise right now, which is previously how I kept my anxiety at bay. But exercise is another wonderful tool to use. But again, you must have it planned out before hand, not wait till the moment of and then try to decide what you are going to do to help your anxiety. By then it is too late. Eventually, like me, your response plan will become second nature, and without even realizing it you will ward off an anxiety attack by jumping right into your action plan. No there are still some days despite my best efforts, I find myself in a full blown panic attack. But these days are much farther apart now that I have a plan.
Now that I shared this with you, my secret is out! When you see a day with several blog posts it's probably a good assumption that I am having an anxious day! Some days I'm just very full of words, but many days I'm fighting of my anxiety with writing!
Other than the "doing something" side of dealing with my anxiety, I also have a few other more "fluffy" things I like to do. Most often I do the active part first, and then after the anxiety has somewhat subsided I use one of these things to calm myself down the rest of the way.
A hot shower. There is nothing like a relaxing how shower to help clear the tension that anxiety brings. Essential oils, or other soothing smells. I am someone who has a very emotion response to smells. And not just pleasant ones! To this day I still get a happy warm feeling when I smell skunks, because as a child when we started smelling skunks it meant we were almost to my Grandparents house! But aside from wearing skunk scent, which my husband seems to object too, using pleasant aromas has a wonderful ability to calm me down. I'm not talking about supposed relaxing or calming benefits from essential oils, although those may be helpful. I'm just talking about what scents remind you of a happy memory, or just calm you. It might be your grandmother's perfume, or your dad's cologne. Or it might just be an herbal oil that you love. But the ability of scent to affect our brains is truly amazing. And in the case of anxiety it can be a powerful tool to "jolt" our brains out of a downward spiral.
So I hope this will be helpful for those of you out there who like me, struggle with anxiety. And maybe using these tools will help your mind begin to develop more healthy patterns and systems of coping.
I would love to tell you that I simply have boundless energy, and am constantly looking for productive places to use it all. But the truth is much darker, and far less beautiful than that. The truth is I have struggled with severe anxiety for most of my life. This anxiety has taken different forms over the years, from stomach issues, to severe panic attacks, to depression, social phobias, and insomnia. From years of dealing with anxiety I've had a lot of experience trying different things to keep it under control on a daily basis. I get some funny looks when I share that I struggle with anxiety on a daily and sometimes minute by minute basis. People usually assume that if I was severely anxious I would stay at home, and avoid people, not run a store and be out in public all the time. I'd be lying if I didn't say it was a huge temptation to just hide away, but hiding often makes the anxiety worse. Being left alone with your thoughts can be very counterproductive for me. And that is what I want to share with you today.
It is easy to think when dealing with anxiety that avoiding the situations that make you anxious is the answer. The problem with that is, if you are anything like me, your anxiety is like a systemic infection. It isn't limited to one or two areas of your life. It may seem like it is related to only one area, but when that area is eliminated, it seeps into another area of your life and before you know it it is just as crippling as it was before you removed the first area! This can be very discouraging, and cause even more anxiety when we start becoming anxious about being anxious. For those of you who have never experienced persistant anxiety, this may sound quite foreign, but for those of you who have experienced it first hand, you know exactly what I am talking about. So it soon becomes obvious that eliminating the source of our anxiety is usually a fruitless effort. Instead we have to learn ways of living with our anxiety in ways that does not allow it to cripple us and rob us of our life.
It is important to realize that a lot of anxiety comes from pathways that are formed in our brains, many times from childhood. It may not have ANYTHING at all to do with our present lives, but is simply a pattern that our brain has fallen into. Something may happen that triggers a response, someone may raise their hand and your brain instantly assumes you are going to be hit, or someone raises their voice, and you are right back as a child fearing the wrath of a parent. Or it could be a situation that subconsciously triggers something that you can't even make sense of. This pattern the brain is in cannot be broken out of by will power, or changed overnight with any amount of information. It takes time, and sometimes a lifestyle that takes into consideration the limitations involved with severe anxiety. This does not mean however that you have to live with crippling anxiety all your life. Sometimes it takes creative solutions to fool your brain into not being anxious, or at least not spiraling down into the negative patterns or panic attacks.
So I'm here to share some of the techniques I've found for dealing with my anxiety. The first is probably obvious. I stay busy. Sometimes just a little busy, sometimes VERY BUSY. My busyness comes and goes like waves. Some days I am able to relax, and enjoy the sunshine, while other days idleness causes a full blown panic attack. Now I'm not promoting running yourself into the ground (which I have been guilty of doing in years past) simply to outrun your anxiety. This will leave you exhausted which will ultimately lead to more anxiety. Rather, I am talking about fooling your brain into forgetting that it is anxious at a particular moment when the anxiety is overtaking you. For me, two of the tools I use to distract my brain from going into a full on panic is research, and writing. Both of these work wonders for me. It has become so second nature to me, that many times I don't even realize I am anxious, I just feel a sudden compulsion to research something, or start writing in my journal, blog, or a letter or email. Then once I stop and think of what "inspired me" to research or write, I will realize that it was overwhelming feelings of anxiety. And it does not matter what you research, just find something you are interested in, and dig in! It gives your brain something else to think about, and pulls it out of the dangerous spiral that was starting. And you don't have to be a good writer either! You can simply write in your journal. One fantastic way I use writing to combat my anxiety is to jot down my thoughts for my little boy. Things I would otherwise no doubt forget to ever tell him. What I was thinking about him that day, how much I love him, the cute things he does, or what dreams I have for him and how I believe God will use him in the future. This is something I would likely never stop to do if writing wasn't a tool I used to cope with my anxiety. It is amazing how distracting your brain can ward off a panic attack or just settle down anxiety. Another thing I often do is take my ipod, which has all my pictures of Hudsen and just start flipping through them. I find myself relaxing, and smiling at the different memories and fun times. The important thing isn't so much "what" you do, as that you have a plan in place. Trying to stop in the middle of an anxiety attack and think about "what to do" is rarely effective. By the time you are trying to think of what to do, your brain is already in fight or flight mode, and trying to reason with it is of little use. You must decide before hand what you are going to do, write, research, run. Because of my health issues right now, I'm not able to do a lot of physical exercise right now, which is previously how I kept my anxiety at bay. But exercise is another wonderful tool to use. But again, you must have it planned out before hand, not wait till the moment of and then try to decide what you are going to do to help your anxiety. By then it is too late. Eventually, like me, your response plan will become second nature, and without even realizing it you will ward off an anxiety attack by jumping right into your action plan. No there are still some days despite my best efforts, I find myself in a full blown panic attack. But these days are much farther apart now that I have a plan.
Now that I shared this with you, my secret is out! When you see a day with several blog posts it's probably a good assumption that I am having an anxious day! Some days I'm just very full of words, but many days I'm fighting of my anxiety with writing!
Other than the "doing something" side of dealing with my anxiety, I also have a few other more "fluffy" things I like to do. Most often I do the active part first, and then after the anxiety has somewhat subsided I use one of these things to calm myself down the rest of the way.
A hot shower. There is nothing like a relaxing how shower to help clear the tension that anxiety brings. Essential oils, or other soothing smells. I am someone who has a very emotion response to smells. And not just pleasant ones! To this day I still get a happy warm feeling when I smell skunks, because as a child when we started smelling skunks it meant we were almost to my Grandparents house! But aside from wearing skunk scent, which my husband seems to object too, using pleasant aromas has a wonderful ability to calm me down. I'm not talking about supposed relaxing or calming benefits from essential oils, although those may be helpful. I'm just talking about what scents remind you of a happy memory, or just calm you. It might be your grandmother's perfume, or your dad's cologne. Or it might just be an herbal oil that you love. But the ability of scent to affect our brains is truly amazing. And in the case of anxiety it can be a powerful tool to "jolt" our brains out of a downward spiral.
So I hope this will be helpful for those of you out there who like me, struggle with anxiety. And maybe using these tools will help your mind begin to develop more healthy patterns and systems of coping.
Lavender Oil, A Quick Chemical Overview.
Lavender is one of the most popular essential oils in clinical aromatherapy practice. As a plant, lavender has been used medicinally for thousands of years. The various chemical components that go into making up lavender oil define its specific therapeutic properties; scientific research backs up what many aromatherapists already know from everyday use of the oil. So in this blog post I will attempt to put into easy to read terms some of the boring, wordy, medical studies that have been done on what chemical components are found in lavender, and what good or bad they may do in the body. I won't attempt to go into the many uses of lavender, as the benefits of lavender are being touted all over both in the natural and medical communities. If you would like more information on how to use lavender, there are many books available, as well as lots of sources online explaining how to use lavender safely.
There are multiple varieties of lavender used for medicinal essential oils. True lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is the most common species harvested for its essential oil, and has been in use for thousands of years. True lavender grows at altitudes above two thousand feet, and has been used historically to treat throat infections.
Spike lavender (Lavandula latifolia) was traditionally used for headaches, rheumatic pain, colic and dyspepsia. It grows at lower altitudes than true lavender and has a very high yield. Spike lavender has gray-blue flowers, and is mainly grown in France and Spain for essential oil use.
There are multiple varieties of lavender used for medicinal essential oils. True lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is the most common species harvested for its essential oil, and has been in use for thousands of years. True lavender grows at altitudes above two thousand feet, and has been used historically to treat throat infections.
Spike lavender (Lavandula latifolia) was traditionally used for headaches, rheumatic pain, colic and dyspepsia. It grows at lower altitudes than true lavender and has a very high yield. Spike lavender has gray-blue flowers, and is mainly grown in France and Spain for essential oil use.
Lavender as a species, and within the species, varies from plant to plant and from oil to oil due to factors such as climate, environment, altitude grown at and country of origin. However, each type of lavender oil does carry a similar chemical make-up. The main chemical constituents of lavender are as follows:
- Lavandula angustifolia – predominately esters and alcohols
- Lavandula stoechas – predominately ketones (the high amounts of ketones is why this type of lavender is usually avoided in aromatherapy.)
- Lavandula latifolia – predominately oxides, alcohols, followed by ketones and monoterpenes
- Lavandula x intermedia – predominately alcohols and esters.Overview of Essential Oil Constituents:In general, pure essential oils can be subdivided into two distinct groups of chemical constituents; the hydrocarbons which are made up almost exclusively of terpenes (monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, and diterpenes), and the oxygenated compounds which are mainly esters, aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, phenols, and oxides.Terpenes – inhibit the accumulation of toxins and help discharge existing toxins from the liver and kidneys.Sesquiterpenes are antiseptic and anti-inflammatory. They work as a liver and gland stimulant and contain caryophyllene and valencene. Other sesquiterpenes, like chamazulene and farnesol, are very high in anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activity.Esters – are the compounds resulting from the reaction of an alcohol with an acid (known as esterification). Esters are very common and are found in lavender oils. They are anti-fungal, calming and relaxing, thus giving Lavender it's healing, and relational properties.Aldehydes – are highly reactive and characterized by the group C-H-O (Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen). In general, they are anti-infectious with a sedative effect on the central nervous system. Again, giving Lavender some of it's antimicrobial properties, and calming effects. Also, this may be the chemical responsible for Lavenders anti-histamine like effects. Lavender is often used to help allergies, or eliminate allergic reactions, and the soothing effect of these Aldehydes on the central nervous system may well be the reason behind this added bonus from Lavender.Ketones – They are helpful with such conditions as dry asthma, colds, flu and dry cough. But caution should be used if ingesting lavender, as these ketones can cause liver damage in high concentrations.Alcohols – are commonly recognized for their antiseptic and anti-viral activities. They create an uplifting quality and are regarded as nontoxic.Terpene Alcohols stimulate the immune system, work as a diuretic and a general tonic, and are antibacterial as well, thus giving lavender the reputation for speeding recovery from, or preventing the flu as well as colds.Cautions: Lavender in all it's forms contains higher of phytoestrogens, or plant based chemicals that mimic estrogen in the body than many other plants and oils do. While these phytoestrogens may be helpful when dealing with low estrogen production in women, they can be very harmful when dealing with other hormonal imbalances or many hormonally driven diseases such as: breast cancer, endometriosis, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, and thyroid disease. For this reason many experts question the safety of using lavender oil regularly on pre-pubescent boys as the phytoestrogens can cause an estrogen dominance in young boys. Caution should be taken when using lavender on a regular basis if you fall under any of the categories above, or if you are pregnant. Caution should also be taken when using lavender oil "neat" (without dilution in a carrier oil.) While generally regarded as safe for undiluted topical use, there have been a few cases of documented allergies from lavender, so always apply lavender diluted in a carrier oil when first beginning use. After you determine your skin's reaction to lavender, you may be able to go on to use it undiluted.I hope this gives you an idea of how lavender works, and some ideas of how it might be beneficial in your arsenal of essential oils!
For more educational material on essential oils, natural skin care, tutorials, and recipes visit me at:
https://www.facebook.com/realessentialoilseducation
Why I Am "Suddenly" Carrying Essential Oils In The Store.
I get a lot of questions and comments about why I am "suddenly" carrying essential oils in the store. So I thought I'd take a minute and answer a few of the questions and comments I've been getting lately, and let you in on why I decided to carry these oils in the store.
I've been getting a lot of comments like, "Oh you are starting to do essential oils too now?" or "What made you suddenly start carrying essential oils in your store?" or "did you learn about essential oils from _______" (insert the name of any number of local or not so local essential oil users.) "Since you are just getting into using oils too you might be interested in ________." (insert a website, or book.)
So why am I "just now" getting into essential oils? Well the truth is I'm not! Those that know me well know this has been an almost life long passion of mine. I've been using oils both medicinally and for skin care for over 15 years. I've studied, traveled, and used oils from distillers who are operating out of their backyard all the way to multi million dollar companies who are distilling oils. I have used oils from small backyard distillers claiming no grand benefits to their oils all the way up to companies claiming their oils are the only pure oils available in the world. I have formulated oil blends for hundreds of individuals for various issues, as well as working with many mom's developing blends that are safe and effective when used on babies. My "closeted" interest and study of essential oils and skin care migrated from a quiet hobby to a business when my mother got cancer and asked me to make natural skin care products for her delicate skin. She wasn't exactly quiet about her love of what I created for her, and told friends and family, which then told people, and soon I was getting calls and emails from people all over the country asking about my skin care products. Am I an "expert?" Nope! But I do have a lot of experience from working with oils and skin care for many years now.
My passion in addition to actually formulating products is taking things that seem complicated, and helping others understand how to use them for every day issues. Not just helping them understand what they do, but more importantly WHY, the products do what they do. When we know "why" we can make much wiser choices about "how" to use products. I enjoy writing about all types of natural skin care, and have been published in various magazine and journals. I'm not writing this to "toot my own horn" but just to give you a sense of the amount of time, energy, and devotion I have put into this subject. I am not just starting out on this journey. I have spent years traveling this road and am now branching out and sharing my journeys with you all.
My mode of choice, is usually the behind the scenes, the quiet type, formulating or blending behind locked doors, and sharing my knowledge and creations only with those who ask.
So what has changed? Well, that question has multiple answers.
When I first opened the store here in Potlatch, I really wanted to do a large skin care section, with DIY products for people to experiment with and learn with. Teaching classes, promoting my website and research etc. So, when I opened I stared talking to various local people about skin care and essential oils, and incorporating this into my store. I was mostly met with odd stares, and questioning looks. The responses I got ranged from "you do WHAT? How do you MAKE your own skin care line?" to "essential oils are a scam, good luck with that." The quizzical looks, and "wow you are a geek" comments were quite amusing! So after quite a bit of talking and asking around, I decided that it just was not the time to add these things to the store. Without sounding trying to sound down on northern Idaho, or other rural areas, the fact is that it takes some time for things to catch on up here. In some areas we are a bit behind the times, but that's ok, there are many wonderful things about rural communities that make up for any lag time we have with trends. And honestly being a little behind the trends can be a pretty good thing a lot of the time! I couldn't love this area more! (unless it was hot for 3/4 of the year!) The people are so wonderful and supportive, and having a business here has been a sheer delight!
Last year was when I really started working on my plans again for this "natural" section of my store. I had noticed a changing "mood" in the town and surrounding areas about natural skin care and herbal oils and products. Even some of the people that I talked to three years ago about essential oils, who just looked at me with pity that I would "believe" in something like that, had now become avid users of essential oils, much to my delight! Also, after Hudsen was born, and I began using many of the "potions" I had made for my baby sister, or other people's children on him, it lit my fire again for doing what I'd wanted to do in the store from the start.
But things take time, and with the store, a new baby, and lots of other life challenges I was not expecting, things just drug out longer than I thought they would. But finally, it's here! The "natural corner" I've wanted to have for so long is up and running! Of course there will be many more "add ons" as the weeks go by, but it is a good start! And I believe the time is right. I believe people are open and searching for natural solutions to skin and other health issues, and open to learning more.
But with the openness, and "popularity" rising, so is the mis-information. Particularly online. This is always the case as well meaning, (and sometimes some not so well meaning) people promote ideas and experiences that are exaggerated, misleading, or downright false. And essential oils is no exception to that curse.
And this brings me to the reason I am now being far more vocal about my knowledge and experiences with natural skin care and essential oil use than I have ever been in the past. The popularity of using essential oils is rising, unfortunately out of proportion to quality education. Because essential oils are "natural" people think they are harmless and similar to using whole herbs. This is quite far from the truth. And while I am not claiming to be an expert on using essential oils, I think my experience and knowledge can shed some light on some of the mis-information being promoted out there.
Because of my interest in the chemistry side of skin care and essential oils, I have been very involved in research about not simply "what" essential oils do, but "why." I don't want a book that tells me lavender will "relax" me. I want to know what chemical constituants does lavender posses that might have this effect on me? There are so many books, websites, classes, and blogs stating willy nilly what essential oils "will do" for you. In my opinion most of them are exaggerated, or quite simply downright mis-leading about the actual properties of essential oils and what they can do for the human body. For example, stating an essential oil has been found in lab studies to kill certain types of cancer, can be quite misleading. While not outright saying so, it promotes the idea that essential oils will kill cancer IN YOUR BODY. However, cancer cells in a dish being killed by an essential oil is in no way indicative of whether that same oil in small quantities in the human body will have a similar effect. These mis-representations of the abilities of essential oils on diseases are dangerous and downright fraud in my opinion. And I'm not just making statements. My mother was one of those unfortunate enough to believe that certain oils and other natural products would kill her cancer. And it cost my mother her life. Now can I know she would have lived had she had traditional medical treatment? Absolutely not. But what I do know, is the false hope and assurance that these claims gave her caused her to not get diagnosed until it was too late. She felt "if it is cancer, what I am doing is killing it, because studies have shown these oils, and supplements kill cancer. So I don't need to get tested and see if is or isn't cancer." So I am not just spouting off the danger of this over exaggerated information because I think it MIGHT mislead someone. I know it does. Natural remides are NEVER a substitue for proper diagnosis or treatment. While I respect that everyone has the choice to the treatment options of their choice, whether natural or traditional, diagnosis is a MUST. And self diagnosis for anything more than a minor skin irritation is often not wise. Treating yourself for an unknown illness with oils or herbs can lead to masked symptoms and further degeneration. Also, this type of exaggeration and mis-information is a turn off to educated people who see the fallacies inherent in the logic used. I am not meaning to imply that anyone who believes this hype is not educated. Denial and hope can be very powerful things that get in the way of our better judgement. Please be wise!
Now I know many people don't want to be bored with all the "facts" about the chemistry of oils etc. but just want to know what the oil is "good for." And I can understand this type of thinking for those who have incredibly busy lives like I do, so I will attempt to share my research and findings with you all through this facebook page. But while this type of thinking is somewhat understandable coming from those who just want to use the oils for themselves and their families, it is (in my opinion) inexcusable in educators. While an in depth knowledge of chemistry and biology are by no means necessary, knowledge about why oils do what they do is not too much to ask from someone who is promoting the use of oils or attempting to educate others in any way. Can you tell I am very passionate about this subject? My blood boils when I see facts twisted or misrepresented to pad the pockets of large (or even small) companies. Or just from excited people who are full of "testimonies" with a blatant disregard for the facts, or those who claim to be "educated" but sadly have a very biased view because their education has come only from essential oil companies that stand to profit from what they are teaching. They give essential oils, and other natural supplement companies a bad name, and give people false hope, as well as putting them in danger either by their lofty claims, or the false confidence they instil by claims to education that is at the least biased and at the most insufficient. (I am primarily referring to online information here.)
In fact, this issue is why I hesitated to carry any essential oils in my store at all. I am so passionate about essential oils and proper education, I was fearful that if I carried oils in my store, my research and knowledge would be discounted by people who might decide that I am saying things simply because I have something to gain by it. I'm afraid of comments like "of course she is saying this or that brand is better or worse, she has something to gain by it!" or "she is just trying to promote "her" oils." Despite this, I decided I should be able to offer essential oils since I am promoting their use, and educating people on them, so I finally decided (with lots of prompting from my husband) to sell essential oils at the store. However I will continue as always to promote education on how to use essential oils, without promoting one particular brand. Are there reasons I choose the brand I did? Absolutely! Is it the ONLY brand that is safe and pure? Absolutely not. Aromatherapy has been around for far too long to imagine that one company holds the monopoly on purity.
So, am I just starting out with essential oils? No. But I have decided that it is time I become a bit more vocal about them. This is way out of my comfort zone because I don't like stirring up controversy, and usually am a "live and let live" type of person. But I do love helping people, and I see a tremendous need in this area of essential oils, and if I can be of help in educating people I will be extremely delighted and blessed.
Warning: please don't read my blogs or the posts on my essential oils facebook page "Essential Oils Education" if you are easily offended by conflicting opinions or if you are extremely brand loyal. I don't promote loyalty to particular brands, and I'm sure there will be lots of facts that may conflict with some of the more popular philosophies about essential oils. I will also be giving honest reviews of essential oil companies from time to time, and refuting false claims. But most importantly I wil be focusing on essential oil use, education, science, biology, and dangers and caution of using essential oils. I am not big into "fluffy" posts about oils and their many claimed uses, or grand testimonials about oils changing people's lives. I do believe oils can change people's lives, but I choose to focus more on my passion, which is why and how oils work. Really. Scientifically. Some of you may find it a bit dry and boring. That's ok. I understand I am a bit odd in my approach to oils, and understand that the "fluffy" approach can be much more enticing. And once in a while I'll try to include some of the more "fluffy" side of using essential oils, because there is no doubt it's fun to hear about! But I hope if you are skeptical about using essential oils, and all the grand claims you may have heard about them, some of the information I bring to light will help you come to the conclusion that there is something to it... just maybe not all the "somethings" you've heard. :-)
So to conclude, I am so delighted and blessed to be able to share with you about this subject I am so passionate about. And I want to give a huge thanks to all the people who have pushed and pulled and clawed me out of my shell to get me to the point where I would even attempt to share on this subject in a public forum like this. To my dear friends (you know who you are!) and to my wonderful hubby, you have given my voice wings. I know it has been a huge task, and without you I have no doubt I would still be quietly formulating in a back room somewhere. So thank you all, and if this new venture goes wrong it is all your fault. (just kidding!)
I've been getting a lot of comments like, "Oh you are starting to do essential oils too now?" or "What made you suddenly start carrying essential oils in your store?" or "did you learn about essential oils from _______" (insert the name of any number of local or not so local essential oil users.) "Since you are just getting into using oils too you might be interested in ________." (insert a website, or book.)
So why am I "just now" getting into essential oils? Well the truth is I'm not! Those that know me well know this has been an almost life long passion of mine. I've been using oils both medicinally and for skin care for over 15 years. I've studied, traveled, and used oils from distillers who are operating out of their backyard all the way to multi million dollar companies who are distilling oils. I have used oils from small backyard distillers claiming no grand benefits to their oils all the way up to companies claiming their oils are the only pure oils available in the world. I have formulated oil blends for hundreds of individuals for various issues, as well as working with many mom's developing blends that are safe and effective when used on babies. My "closeted" interest and study of essential oils and skin care migrated from a quiet hobby to a business when my mother got cancer and asked me to make natural skin care products for her delicate skin. She wasn't exactly quiet about her love of what I created for her, and told friends and family, which then told people, and soon I was getting calls and emails from people all over the country asking about my skin care products. Am I an "expert?" Nope! But I do have a lot of experience from working with oils and skin care for many years now.
My passion in addition to actually formulating products is taking things that seem complicated, and helping others understand how to use them for every day issues. Not just helping them understand what they do, but more importantly WHY, the products do what they do. When we know "why" we can make much wiser choices about "how" to use products. I enjoy writing about all types of natural skin care, and have been published in various magazine and journals. I'm not writing this to "toot my own horn" but just to give you a sense of the amount of time, energy, and devotion I have put into this subject. I am not just starting out on this journey. I have spent years traveling this road and am now branching out and sharing my journeys with you all.
My mode of choice, is usually the behind the scenes, the quiet type, formulating or blending behind locked doors, and sharing my knowledge and creations only with those who ask.
So what has changed? Well, that question has multiple answers.
When I first opened the store here in Potlatch, I really wanted to do a large skin care section, with DIY products for people to experiment with and learn with. Teaching classes, promoting my website and research etc. So, when I opened I stared talking to various local people about skin care and essential oils, and incorporating this into my store. I was mostly met with odd stares, and questioning looks. The responses I got ranged from "you do WHAT? How do you MAKE your own skin care line?" to "essential oils are a scam, good luck with that." The quizzical looks, and "wow you are a geek" comments were quite amusing! So after quite a bit of talking and asking around, I decided that it just was not the time to add these things to the store. Without sounding trying to sound down on northern Idaho, or other rural areas, the fact is that it takes some time for things to catch on up here. In some areas we are a bit behind the times, but that's ok, there are many wonderful things about rural communities that make up for any lag time we have with trends. And honestly being a little behind the trends can be a pretty good thing a lot of the time! I couldn't love this area more! (unless it was hot for 3/4 of the year!) The people are so wonderful and supportive, and having a business here has been a sheer delight!
Last year was when I really started working on my plans again for this "natural" section of my store. I had noticed a changing "mood" in the town and surrounding areas about natural skin care and herbal oils and products. Even some of the people that I talked to three years ago about essential oils, who just looked at me with pity that I would "believe" in something like that, had now become avid users of essential oils, much to my delight! Also, after Hudsen was born, and I began using many of the "potions" I had made for my baby sister, or other people's children on him, it lit my fire again for doing what I'd wanted to do in the store from the start.
But things take time, and with the store, a new baby, and lots of other life challenges I was not expecting, things just drug out longer than I thought they would. But finally, it's here! The "natural corner" I've wanted to have for so long is up and running! Of course there will be many more "add ons" as the weeks go by, but it is a good start! And I believe the time is right. I believe people are open and searching for natural solutions to skin and other health issues, and open to learning more.
But with the openness, and "popularity" rising, so is the mis-information. Particularly online. This is always the case as well meaning, (and sometimes some not so well meaning) people promote ideas and experiences that are exaggerated, misleading, or downright false. And essential oils is no exception to that curse.
And this brings me to the reason I am now being far more vocal about my knowledge and experiences with natural skin care and essential oil use than I have ever been in the past. The popularity of using essential oils is rising, unfortunately out of proportion to quality education. Because essential oils are "natural" people think they are harmless and similar to using whole herbs. This is quite far from the truth. And while I am not claiming to be an expert on using essential oils, I think my experience and knowledge can shed some light on some of the mis-information being promoted out there.
Because of my interest in the chemistry side of skin care and essential oils, I have been very involved in research about not simply "what" essential oils do, but "why." I don't want a book that tells me lavender will "relax" me. I want to know what chemical constituants does lavender posses that might have this effect on me? There are so many books, websites, classes, and blogs stating willy nilly what essential oils "will do" for you. In my opinion most of them are exaggerated, or quite simply downright mis-leading about the actual properties of essential oils and what they can do for the human body. For example, stating an essential oil has been found in lab studies to kill certain types of cancer, can be quite misleading. While not outright saying so, it promotes the idea that essential oils will kill cancer IN YOUR BODY. However, cancer cells in a dish being killed by an essential oil is in no way indicative of whether that same oil in small quantities in the human body will have a similar effect. These mis-representations of the abilities of essential oils on diseases are dangerous and downright fraud in my opinion. And I'm not just making statements. My mother was one of those unfortunate enough to believe that certain oils and other natural products would kill her cancer. And it cost my mother her life. Now can I know she would have lived had she had traditional medical treatment? Absolutely not. But what I do know, is the false hope and assurance that these claims gave her caused her to not get diagnosed until it was too late. She felt "if it is cancer, what I am doing is killing it, because studies have shown these oils, and supplements kill cancer. So I don't need to get tested and see if is or isn't cancer." So I am not just spouting off the danger of this over exaggerated information because I think it MIGHT mislead someone. I know it does. Natural remides are NEVER a substitue for proper diagnosis or treatment. While I respect that everyone has the choice to the treatment options of their choice, whether natural or traditional, diagnosis is a MUST. And self diagnosis for anything more than a minor skin irritation is often not wise. Treating yourself for an unknown illness with oils or herbs can lead to masked symptoms and further degeneration. Also, this type of exaggeration and mis-information is a turn off to educated people who see the fallacies inherent in the logic used. I am not meaning to imply that anyone who believes this hype is not educated. Denial and hope can be very powerful things that get in the way of our better judgement. Please be wise!
Now I know many people don't want to be bored with all the "facts" about the chemistry of oils etc. but just want to know what the oil is "good for." And I can understand this type of thinking for those who have incredibly busy lives like I do, so I will attempt to share my research and findings with you all through this facebook page. But while this type of thinking is somewhat understandable coming from those who just want to use the oils for themselves and their families, it is (in my opinion) inexcusable in educators. While an in depth knowledge of chemistry and biology are by no means necessary, knowledge about why oils do what they do is not too much to ask from someone who is promoting the use of oils or attempting to educate others in any way. Can you tell I am very passionate about this subject? My blood boils when I see facts twisted or misrepresented to pad the pockets of large (or even small) companies. Or just from excited people who are full of "testimonies" with a blatant disregard for the facts, or those who claim to be "educated" but sadly have a very biased view because their education has come only from essential oil companies that stand to profit from what they are teaching. They give essential oils, and other natural supplement companies a bad name, and give people false hope, as well as putting them in danger either by their lofty claims, or the false confidence they instil by claims to education that is at the least biased and at the most insufficient. (I am primarily referring to online information here.)
In fact, this issue is why I hesitated to carry any essential oils in my store at all. I am so passionate about essential oils and proper education, I was fearful that if I carried oils in my store, my research and knowledge would be discounted by people who might decide that I am saying things simply because I have something to gain by it. I'm afraid of comments like "of course she is saying this or that brand is better or worse, she has something to gain by it!" or "she is just trying to promote "her" oils." Despite this, I decided I should be able to offer essential oils since I am promoting their use, and educating people on them, so I finally decided (with lots of prompting from my husband) to sell essential oils at the store. However I will continue as always to promote education on how to use essential oils, without promoting one particular brand. Are there reasons I choose the brand I did? Absolutely! Is it the ONLY brand that is safe and pure? Absolutely not. Aromatherapy has been around for far too long to imagine that one company holds the monopoly on purity.
So, am I just starting out with essential oils? No. But I have decided that it is time I become a bit more vocal about them. This is way out of my comfort zone because I don't like stirring up controversy, and usually am a "live and let live" type of person. But I do love helping people, and I see a tremendous need in this area of essential oils, and if I can be of help in educating people I will be extremely delighted and blessed.
Warning: please don't read my blogs or the posts on my essential oils facebook page "Essential Oils Education" if you are easily offended by conflicting opinions or if you are extremely brand loyal. I don't promote loyalty to particular brands, and I'm sure there will be lots of facts that may conflict with some of the more popular philosophies about essential oils. I will also be giving honest reviews of essential oil companies from time to time, and refuting false claims. But most importantly I wil be focusing on essential oil use, education, science, biology, and dangers and caution of using essential oils. I am not big into "fluffy" posts about oils and their many claimed uses, or grand testimonials about oils changing people's lives. I do believe oils can change people's lives, but I choose to focus more on my passion, which is why and how oils work. Really. Scientifically. Some of you may find it a bit dry and boring. That's ok. I understand I am a bit odd in my approach to oils, and understand that the "fluffy" approach can be much more enticing. And once in a while I'll try to include some of the more "fluffy" side of using essential oils, because there is no doubt it's fun to hear about! But I hope if you are skeptical about using essential oils, and all the grand claims you may have heard about them, some of the information I bring to light will help you come to the conclusion that there is something to it... just maybe not all the "somethings" you've heard. :-)
So to conclude, I am so delighted and blessed to be able to share with you about this subject I am so passionate about. And I want to give a huge thanks to all the people who have pushed and pulled and clawed me out of my shell to get me to the point where I would even attempt to share on this subject in a public forum like this. To my dear friends (you know who you are!) and to my wonderful hubby, you have given my voice wings. I know it has been a huge task, and without you I have no doubt I would still be quietly formulating in a back room somewhere. So thank you all, and if this new venture goes wrong it is all your fault. (just kidding!)
Monday, June 24, 2013
Using Essential Oils Internally. Is It Safe?
There is a lot of articles floating around, and a lot of questions flooding essential oil forums about using essential oils internally. I am getting a lot of questions about whether the brand of essential oils I am carrying are "safe" for internal use or not. And the amont of questions I am getting about the internal use of essential oils is a little alarming to me honestly. So I wanted to just take a moment and talk about using essential oils internally, and what "safe for internal use" practically means when dealing with essential oils.
First, I want to note that historically the use of essential oils has been almost exclusively external application, or inhalation, of course there are some exceptions, but usually these were for treatments of serious diseases, not every day use. Also, a lot of the work siting the use of essential oils in ancient cultures or mentions of essential oils in the Bible is false, as they did not have the ability to distil what we know today as "essential oils." They actually used aromatic oils, or infused oils, which much more closely resemble tinctures made from whole plants than they do the "essential oils" we know today. They did come along later in history, but not in ancient cultures. And this makes a big difference, as whole plant extracts that have been used for thousands of years are much safer with many fewer risks involved than the highly concentrated essential oils we use today. Using the whole plant in many cases may eliminate risks associated with using just certain components from the plant, such as essential oils.
In my opinion from years of using and studying essential oils and herbs, and how and why they work, in over 90% of cases there is never a need to use essential oils internally. The push to use oils internally is a relatively new idea that has come largely from a couple companies in the US pushing their use internally, and also a couple French doctors who advocate using essential oils internally to treat ailments and diseases. It should be worth a bit of extra caution and consideration that most of literature promoting the use of all types of essential oils internally comes from these few companies, or from people that are selling or promoting products from these select few companies. Most experienced aromatherapists still strongly disagree with this "new" concept of ingesting oils of all varieties for a host of ailments, or even every day health. And this should be a caution sign. Not saying it is the end all, but should warent a bit more digging. I very passionate about encouraging everyone I discuss essential oils with to get their information on using essential oils and what is safe and what is not from un-biased sources, herbalists, and experienced aromatherapists rather that from any essential oil company no matter how reputable. While these companies may provide some good information, a filter that comes from a base knowledge of herbs, traditional and historical uses, and chemical compositions of oils is often needed and vital for safety. It is even more important if you wish to share your love of essential oils with others. I could write whole blog posts siting instance after instance (if you are curious of specifics feel free to ask me about it) where large "reputable" companies post and publish mis information that shows a basic lack of knowledge of chemistry, and biology, and the herbs the oils come from themselves. And when these companies are claiming to be the "best in the world" and the "leaders in research, but yet lack the basic knowledge that is the foundation of their whole business, this makes me very cautious. Why I hav studied and researched these herbs and oils for many years, I am not in any way claiming to be a "formost expert" or any such titile, so if even I can see the grose inconsistencies and mis-information that is being put out, that should be reason for a warning flag to go up. Like I said, companies want to make money, even if that means putting out sub par, or unproven information about the products they are selling. And if you lack the basics which everything else rests on, your conclusions and future studies and findings have a high probability of being false. Even testimonials claiming wonderful benefits and lack of side effects from essential oil use internally must be taken with a grain of salt. There are testimonials for most everything you can imagine claiming no ill effects. And lots of people who will site "I do it all the time" as if that is a reason to throw out caution, or ignore science or lack of research. Also, there are not well funded, unbiased studies going on to determine how these oils change the bodys chemistry or internal functions over long term use.
That being said, I do think the use of essential oils internally can be a good thing, but used wisely, with only certain oils that are known and well recognized to be safe to ingest both as a raw herb, dried herbs, extracts and tinctures and as an essential oil. (two examples would be peppermint, and clove, both an herb and a spice that you can consume in their natural forms.) But these oils should still be used with wisdom, and generally only as a remedy for a temporary condition, not as a ongoing supplement. In my opinion, anyone considering using essential oils internally should first have a base knowledge of herbs and their properties, and cautions to be aware of. Also, they should know the chemical composition of the essential oil they are considering for internal use, and learn what the possible cautions of the chemical components they contain could be. For instance, ketones are found in large quantities in oils such as peppermint and spearmint (30% in peppermint and 55% in spearmint.) Ketones generally stimulate the formation of tissue, dissolve fats, and are potentially neurotoxic. Ketones are one of the most common toxic substances in essential oils, and this does not change based on higher "grades" of oils, it is simply a naturally occurring substance. According to Dr. Penoel, ketone molecules can penetrate the blood-brain barrier more easily that other molecules. Some of the oils high in ketones can cause liver damage. After absorption from almost all regions of the gastrointestinal tract, most substances pass directly to the liver, where the great majority will be deactivated, but some may be made more toxic. Not all ketones are equally problematic, but this is the reason why many oils that are high in ketones carry the caution: do not use in pregnancy.
Even in Europe where essential oil use is much more widely accepted and even prescribed my many medical doctors, and where standards of extraction exceed any in america, you will still be hard pressed to buy essential oils off the shelf marked "for internal use." Because it is still recognized that experience is required when and if you use oils internally.
Now are there some essential oils that can be used very safely and effectively internally? Of course! However it is imperative that their formulation in products for internal consumption is undertaken by someone who really understads what they are working with. Just because someone else tells you that they take a drop or two of an essential oil for a specific health benefit daily, does not mean it is safe to do so, or that it will be safe for you to do so. Keep in mind that each person's system is quite unique and individuals and not everyone's system can deal as easily with what are relatively large doses of active ingredients. So please be caution. Please educate yourself on historical uses of the oils, and the herbs and spices they come from. Or at the very minimum ask someone who is well versed in the use of herbs and essential oils what the cautions might be for ingesting a particular oil. Lots of companies and writers spend a lot of time on the benefits, but much less time is spent on the potential hazards.
So, to conclude, do I use oils internally? Yes I do. Do I think they are wonderful both internally and externally? Yes I do! However, I do not use them internally every day, and when I do, it is with a lot of knowledge and research to back it up. So the question "are these oils safe for internal use?" should not be at the forefront of your mind when looking for what essential oil brands are the best. Just because a company claims their oils are all safe for internal use does not mean they are higher quality than other oils on the market that take a traditionally approved more cautious approach of labeling their oils for "external use only." External use is by far the most common, most studied, and most widely accepted use of essential oils, and often the most effective as well. So start using essential oils externally, start learning and educating yourself on them, and then grow into expanding how you use them to include internally.
This does NOT mean the purity of oils is less important if you are not taking it internally though, rather, it is still just as important if not more so when using these oils only externally. Oils applied to your skin are absorbed directly into your blood stream and are not filtered by the liver like oils that are ingested. This means the purity of your oils in still vital (if not even more so) even when not ingesting them.
So again, please be wise, please be informed, and please educate yourself from sources that have nothing monetary to gain from the information they give out. Educate yourself from sources such as aromatherapy schools that have been around for years and years. See what they recommend, what they caution against, and why. Brush up your knowledge on using herbs in their whole forms. All of these things will expand and broaden your knowledge and give you wisdom you can then apply to using essential oils, both internally and externally.
For more information on essential oils, skin care, tutorials, and recipes visit me at:
https://www.facebook.com/realessentialoilseducation
First, I want to note that historically the use of essential oils has been almost exclusively external application, or inhalation, of course there are some exceptions, but usually these were for treatments of serious diseases, not every day use. Also, a lot of the work siting the use of essential oils in ancient cultures or mentions of essential oils in the Bible is false, as they did not have the ability to distil what we know today as "essential oils." They actually used aromatic oils, or infused oils, which much more closely resemble tinctures made from whole plants than they do the "essential oils" we know today. They did come along later in history, but not in ancient cultures. And this makes a big difference, as whole plant extracts that have been used for thousands of years are much safer with many fewer risks involved than the highly concentrated essential oils we use today. Using the whole plant in many cases may eliminate risks associated with using just certain components from the plant, such as essential oils.
In my opinion from years of using and studying essential oils and herbs, and how and why they work, in over 90% of cases there is never a need to use essential oils internally. The push to use oils internally is a relatively new idea that has come largely from a couple companies in the US pushing their use internally, and also a couple French doctors who advocate using essential oils internally to treat ailments and diseases. It should be worth a bit of extra caution and consideration that most of literature promoting the use of all types of essential oils internally comes from these few companies, or from people that are selling or promoting products from these select few companies. Most experienced aromatherapists still strongly disagree with this "new" concept of ingesting oils of all varieties for a host of ailments, or even every day health. And this should be a caution sign. Not saying it is the end all, but should warent a bit more digging. I very passionate about encouraging everyone I discuss essential oils with to get their information on using essential oils and what is safe and what is not from un-biased sources, herbalists, and experienced aromatherapists rather that from any essential oil company no matter how reputable. While these companies may provide some good information, a filter that comes from a base knowledge of herbs, traditional and historical uses, and chemical compositions of oils is often needed and vital for safety. It is even more important if you wish to share your love of essential oils with others. I could write whole blog posts siting instance after instance (if you are curious of specifics feel free to ask me about it) where large "reputable" companies post and publish mis information that shows a basic lack of knowledge of chemistry, and biology, and the herbs the oils come from themselves. And when these companies are claiming to be the "best in the world" and the "leaders in research, but yet lack the basic knowledge that is the foundation of their whole business, this makes me very cautious. Why I hav studied and researched these herbs and oils for many years, I am not in any way claiming to be a "formost expert" or any such titile, so if even I can see the grose inconsistencies and mis-information that is being put out, that should be reason for a warning flag to go up. Like I said, companies want to make money, even if that means putting out sub par, or unproven information about the products they are selling. And if you lack the basics which everything else rests on, your conclusions and future studies and findings have a high probability of being false. Even testimonials claiming wonderful benefits and lack of side effects from essential oil use internally must be taken with a grain of salt. There are testimonials for most everything you can imagine claiming no ill effects. And lots of people who will site "I do it all the time" as if that is a reason to throw out caution, or ignore science or lack of research. Also, there are not well funded, unbiased studies going on to determine how these oils change the bodys chemistry or internal functions over long term use.
That being said, I do think the use of essential oils internally can be a good thing, but used wisely, with only certain oils that are known and well recognized to be safe to ingest both as a raw herb, dried herbs, extracts and tinctures and as an essential oil. (two examples would be peppermint, and clove, both an herb and a spice that you can consume in their natural forms.) But these oils should still be used with wisdom, and generally only as a remedy for a temporary condition, not as a ongoing supplement. In my opinion, anyone considering using essential oils internally should first have a base knowledge of herbs and their properties, and cautions to be aware of. Also, they should know the chemical composition of the essential oil they are considering for internal use, and learn what the possible cautions of the chemical components they contain could be. For instance, ketones are found in large quantities in oils such as peppermint and spearmint (30% in peppermint and 55% in spearmint.) Ketones generally stimulate the formation of tissue, dissolve fats, and are potentially neurotoxic. Ketones are one of the most common toxic substances in essential oils, and this does not change based on higher "grades" of oils, it is simply a naturally occurring substance. According to Dr. Penoel, ketone molecules can penetrate the blood-brain barrier more easily that other molecules. Some of the oils high in ketones can cause liver damage. After absorption from almost all regions of the gastrointestinal tract, most substances pass directly to the liver, where the great majority will be deactivated, but some may be made more toxic. Not all ketones are equally problematic, but this is the reason why many oils that are high in ketones carry the caution: do not use in pregnancy.
Even in Europe where essential oil use is much more widely accepted and even prescribed my many medical doctors, and where standards of extraction exceed any in america, you will still be hard pressed to buy essential oils off the shelf marked "for internal use." Because it is still recognized that experience is required when and if you use oils internally.
Now are there some essential oils that can be used very safely and effectively internally? Of course! However it is imperative that their formulation in products for internal consumption is undertaken by someone who really understads what they are working with. Just because someone else tells you that they take a drop or two of an essential oil for a specific health benefit daily, does not mean it is safe to do so, or that it will be safe for you to do so. Keep in mind that each person's system is quite unique and individuals and not everyone's system can deal as easily with what are relatively large doses of active ingredients. So please be caution. Please educate yourself on historical uses of the oils, and the herbs and spices they come from. Or at the very minimum ask someone who is well versed in the use of herbs and essential oils what the cautions might be for ingesting a particular oil. Lots of companies and writers spend a lot of time on the benefits, but much less time is spent on the potential hazards.
So, to conclude, do I use oils internally? Yes I do. Do I think they are wonderful both internally and externally? Yes I do! However, I do not use them internally every day, and when I do, it is with a lot of knowledge and research to back it up. So the question "are these oils safe for internal use?" should not be at the forefront of your mind when looking for what essential oil brands are the best. Just because a company claims their oils are all safe for internal use does not mean they are higher quality than other oils on the market that take a traditionally approved more cautious approach of labeling their oils for "external use only." External use is by far the most common, most studied, and most widely accepted use of essential oils, and often the most effective as well. So start using essential oils externally, start learning and educating yourself on them, and then grow into expanding how you use them to include internally.
This does NOT mean the purity of oils is less important if you are not taking it internally though, rather, it is still just as important if not more so when using these oils only externally. Oils applied to your skin are absorbed directly into your blood stream and are not filtered by the liver like oils that are ingested. This means the purity of your oils in still vital (if not even more so) even when not ingesting them.
So again, please be wise, please be informed, and please educate yourself from sources that have nothing monetary to gain from the information they give out. Educate yourself from sources such as aromatherapy schools that have been around for years and years. See what they recommend, what they caution against, and why. Brush up your knowledge on using herbs in their whole forms. All of these things will expand and broaden your knowledge and give you wisdom you can then apply to using essential oils, both internally and externally.
For more information on essential oils, skin care, tutorials, and recipes visit me at:
https://www.facebook.com/realessentialoilseducation
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