Getting oily over here

I guess if you've read my blog, you'll know that I try to live pretty conscientiously. I try to be aware of what's going in, on, and around my body, and that of my family. I make an effort to use up what's in the fridge, rather than throw things out. I try to reuse, re-purpose, and create or build DIY-style rather than buy something brand spanking new. I make my own cleaners and throw veggies in anything the girls will eat.

You might have also noticed that lately I've included essential oils in some of my posts. 
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image courtesy of www.balancedbodyworkmassagetherapy.com

Essential oils and perfume oils aren't new to me. When I was college in Madison, WI, I had a great part-time gig at The Soap Opera, a darling little shop on State Street that had every kind of soap, lotion, shower gel, body product you could image. They also had an oils blending bar where you could scent your own products and create perfumes. I was in heaven. That was my initial exposure to oils, nice scents to play with.

When I began making my own DIY cleaners I started looking into oils again. My house smelled a bit vinegar-y and I wanted to remedy that. So, I did what most people do these days. I hopped on Amazon. I found some oils, ordered them, and was fairly satisfied with the result. More nice smells, less vinegar. Then I met my friend Amanda. She shared with me the oils she was using, and I began to notice how she was using them with her kids and herself. Of course I was curious. 

Then I learned oils can be essential and therapeutic.

As I began using them more and more, I found myself talking about them, and found so many people curious about them. Why? My personal opinion is that many people are open to and seeking out natural alternatives to medications and office visits. It seems most medications come with a laundry list of potential side effects. We see more commercials encouraging us to be our own doctors and ask our physicians about a brand-name pharmaceutical. I don't know about you, but I didn't go to pharmacy school. More and more over-use of antibiotics seems to be in the news, and some of us, like me, have kiddos with allergies to certain medications. With all that, plus concerns about toxins in our food, cleaning supplies, and beauty products, I think people are feeling inspired to re-evaluate their lifestyle. Or it could just be that essential oils smell amazing. Which they do!

image courtesy of hennablogspot.com

Now, I'm not going to lie. I totally had my doubts when I first started getting oily outside of my cleaning products. So, I started to look for more information. I looked into research on the medical use of them at pubmed. This is a searchable database that pulls up over 12,000 articles and studies on essential oils. Not all of them found the essential oil tested to be effective, but that's the same with testing of synthesized products, too. Many, many of the studies did find them to very effective. I would definitely encourage you to take a look.

I was also curious about some essential oils that claimed you could ingest them. To explore that further, I contacted a chemist friend of mine, sent her the info I had, and asked her to blow holes in the claims if there were holes to be blown. Her verdict? As long as I was using them as recommended, and not excessive amounts over extended periods of time, there shouldn't be an issue.

This, plus the fact I was seeing them work for family and others, was the clincher. 
 
After having used them with my family, I've come to believe the biggest safety issue is your learning curve. As I delved into articles, classes, webinars, studies and more, I began to feel like I had opened Pandora's box. But, it made me think about anything I have learned or tried for the first time. Generally, time, study, mentors and practice make an expert. In my personal opinion, essential oils are extremely beneficial. AND, because they are potent and often so new to people, they need to be used with wisdom and with awareness of your learning curve. Fortunately, there is a lot of good education and many good resources available to start your journey. I've really liked Aromahead Institute  as an online resource. They even have a free online intro course you can take! I've also been using the book Modern Essentials as a go-to guide. And, as I've learned more and more, I've been able to share with and teach others, which I love. 

Now, as I look around my house, I realize they are everywhere! I cook with them, I clean with them, I wash my clothes with them, I take care of my family's health with them. I never expected to be so into essential oils, but I find myself talking to others about them, sharing oils with them, and so, this blog seemed like a natural outlet. A fair warning, not all essential oils are created equal. Not all are therapeutic. If you would like to know more about the oils I've been using and loving, shoot me an email. I'd love to help you get oily, too!