Essential Oils: My experiences so far and some of my recipes!

Recently, I have become really interested in essential oils.

 It all started when I was researching recipes for homemade baby wipe solution. There are a lot of recipes out there on the internet, but the one that stuck out to me was fairly simple - it had lavender and tea tree essential oils, castile soap, olive oil, and water. As I was looking on Vitacost for the oils that I needed, I was impressed and a little overwhelmed with how many essential oils there are available (and Vitacost really does not even have that great of a selection). My family has used tea tree oil (or Melaleuca oil) in the past, but other than that, my exposure to the world of essential oils has been fairly limited. It seemed like something only massage therapists or people who were really crunchy used. 

So I ordered some lavender and sweet orange oil first. A couple of weeks later, I got some tea tree and peppermint oils. By this time I was thinking that essential oils were the bomb-diggity, so I ordered lemon, eucalyptus, and cinnamon leaf (which is really not very pleasant, but I didn't know it was different from cinnamon bark oil). Then, over the next 8 months or so, I added geranium, cederwood, rosemary, grapefruit, oregano, clove, cinnamon bark, sandalwood, myrrh, and frankincense. I recently bought a diffuser necklace in which I can put a few drops of whichever oil I feel like using that day! 


There is a LOT of information about essential oils on the internet, but everyone uses them in their own way, so I want to share with you what I have done with them! Here are some of the recipes I have used and things that I have learned. 

Baby wipe solution: This website has a LOT of good information and recipes for baby wipe solution http://www.zany-zebra.com/cloth-wipe-solution.shtml. I liked the "Castile Solution" (which has lavender and tea tree oil) because my family has really enjoyed and benefitted from tea tree oil in the past, and I had heard good things about castile soap. Here is the basic recipe: 
1 tablespoon almond, apricot, or other oil
1 tablespoon Dr Bronner's Liquid Castile Soap
2 drops tea tree oil
1 drop lavender oil
1 cup water
When I make mine, I usually make a large amount at a time, I altered it slightly and I mix it in a certain way so that the essential oils blend in well with the other organic ingredients. 
1. Pour in 8 cups of purified drinking water
2. Measure out a quarter cup of olive oil, put 8 drops of lavender essential oil and 8 drops of tea tree essential oil into the measuring cup with the oil. Dump all of this into the container with the water.
3. Using the same measuring cup, measure out about 1/8 cup of castile soap. Pour that in. 
4. Put the cap/lid on and shake. The soap will bubble and pressure will build up, so be careful not to spray yourself in the face when you open it up again. :-) 

General Cleaning Solution: A great all-purpose cleaner that I use is simply a mixture of purified water, white vinegar, and essential oils. Everyone has their own preference as to how much vinegar to use. I like to use equal parts water and vinegar. Put in about 5-10 drops of essential oil for a typical 32 oz. spray bottle. 
** A lot of people seem to really dislike the smell of vinegar when they are cleaning. However, in my experience, the vinegar smell does not linger for very long, the smell of the essential oils (depending on purity and concentration) does tend to stay though! 

Some essential oil mixes I have used for cleaners:
-Peppermint and oregano.  At my house, we have spiders literally coming up through the floors - they are everywhere. Peppermint is thought to deter pests in general, but especially spiders. Oregano is also used as a pest deterrent. 
-Lavender, sweet orange, and lemon. Citrus and floral essential oils go well together. This is one of my favorite mixtures to use. Lemon has antibacterial properties. 
-Thieves. Thieves is a mixture of lemon, eucalyptus, rosemary, clove, and cinnamon bark essential oils. The buzz about thieves is that it is great for protecting your immune system. Using thieves can help keep you healthy - and I really do like the way it smells. 
Something I would NOT recommend is to mix cinnamon leaf oil and vinegar, simply because the result smells just like ketchup in my opinion! My house smelled like McDonald's when I did this. 

Vicks VapoRub alternative: My husband has pretty bad seasonal allergies that bother him frequently. I concocted a mixture that did seem to help him sleep. I kind of threw it together, so there is no real recipe with actual amounts. Generally, when I make a mixture with coconut oil, I don't use more than 1/2 cup of coconut oil at time because it is relatively expensive and if the lid gets lost, our lovely kitties like to stick their paws in it. :-) For the essential oils, a good rule of thumb is to mix 1 drop of oil for every teaspoon of carrier oil (in this case, the coconut and olive oil) This website has a great chart for diluting oils http://www.nourishingtreasures.com/index.php/2013/06/25/essential-oil-dilution-chart-dilution-guidelines-and-measurement-equivalents/ 
Here are the ingredients for my allergy-sinus rub:
-Eucalyptus
-Lemon
-Peppermint
-Clove 
-Lavender
-Olive oil
-Coconut oil
This website goes into a bit of detail about why these are good for the sinuses: http://www.organicauthority.com/health/essential-oils-to-relieve-hayfever-allergies.html   
This mixture works especially well when rubbed onto the chest before bedtime. Chamomile tea with honey and lemon are also wonderful to consume at bedtime to help you sleep, especially if you are feeling crummy. 

Body Butter: When I got started with essential oils, I also became very interested in coconut oil and all of its benefits! I started to use it by using it as a moisturizer/lotion - all by itself! But then I realized that it was a great opportunity to get some of the benefits of essential oils. Again, there are bukus of recipes for body butters and moisturizers, but this is the one that I like to use. As before, there are no amounts listed. When I make this, I put in a large spoonful of coconut oil, drizzle some olive oil, and squirt several drops of the essential oils into a very small container. (A small jar would work well). The ingredients:
-Frankincense
-Lavender
-Sweet Orange
-Sandalwood
-Coconut oil
-Olive Oil
Frankincense is excellent for the skin, it is said to reduce scarring and help healing. Sandalwood  and lavender are very relaxing, and sweet orange is antibacterial (it is also my favorite essential oil) and it causes your brain to release endorphins - making you feel happy! 
There are so many health benefits to the essential oils - COMING SOON.. a more detailed list of essential oils and their benefits.  

Thanks for reading!