Essential Oils 101

Essential Oils

Oct 9

So about two months ago I announced that I am now selling Young Living Oils. And you may have heard of essential oils, but not know much about them. My hope is that I can dispel any mis-beliefs you may have, and answer any questions. Never hesitate to reach out, that’s what I’m here for! To start, I’m going to share some of the basics about essential oils.

What are Essential Oils?

Essential oils are highly aromatic oils derived from plants. They can be pulled from any botanical matter and are typically extracted from flower petals, citrus peels, grasses, tree barks, and resins. The oils are extracted through a variety of methods, including cold pressing and steam distillation.

So, for example, Lemon oil is pulled straight from the peel of a lemon! As you can see, this makes all of the Essential Oils as natural as can be. This also means that Essential Oils are very concentrated versions of the oil in the peel. And with Young Living’s Seed to Seal Process (more on this in a bit), all of their oils are very high quality.

In general, essential oils can be relaxing, pain relieving or cleansing. They can help with sleep, colds, or even crabby babies. I use them in a medicinal sense, cleaning, or even to make my space smell great. I also use them in many other ways, but this is just to give you an idea of how you could use them before we go on.

How do I use Essential Oils?

There are three main ways to use essential oils:

Aromatically

Essential oils are best known for their aromas, which can help create an environment to suit your specific needs. In addition to adding them to cleaning products, you can infuse the air directly by using a diffuser. A diffuser is kind of like a humidifier, but makes any space smell amazing. You can also smell oils straight from the bottle for quick ‘hits’.

Topically

Many essential oils have skin-enhancing benefits and can be applied directly to the skin or added to your existing beauty products. You can also combine them with a carrier oil or your daily moisturizer for easy application. This way you can use the oils and get a longer use without having to diffuse. Read Getting to Know Your Carrier Oils (from YoungLiving’s Blog) to learn more about diluting essential oils. Diluting is important, because oils are potent and strong. Some would burn the skin if they weren’t diluted. When you dilute, your oils also last a lot longer. A few areas I use essential oils topically include my feet, my belly (when feeling gross), my neck (especially for headaches), or on my wrists like fragrance.

Internally

Did you know that many essential oils can be taken internally? The Vitality™ line is specifically labeled for internal use, making it easy to add a splash of flavor to food and drinks or to take oils in capsules as a dietary supplement. I don’t ingest oils super often, but there are a few times I do. One of those times is when I have a sore throat. Thieves works great, just drop one drop down my throat, and it not only numbs it, but helps to fight whatever is going on. I also use diluted Thieves on babies gums while teething, that works super well. One other super yummy way to use oils internally is to add a drop of Lemon to water. So good!

What is the Seed to Seal?

“Through the painstaking steps of our proprietary Seed to Seal production process, we produce the best essential oils in the world. We are committed to providing pure, powerful products for every family and lifestyle, all infused with the life-changing benefits of our essential oils. Young Living embraces a rigorous quality control standard to help ensure our products meet strict specifications. Seed to Seal is our set of standards that helps ensure that with every pure essential oil and Young Living product your family uses, you’re enjoying the benefits of our global resources, industry leadership, and over two decades of innovation. The result? A pristine final product that you know has been created with conscientious Sourcing, Science, and Standards—the three pillars of Seed to Seal.” (Young Living Website)

So basically what all of this means is that Young Living is promising the highest quality, 100% pure essential oils. Many other companies claim that they are 100% pure, but put additives in that bring down quality and don’t have 100% essential oil.

Massage + Oils

Everything I mentioned above is how I use oils at home, but of course I use them in my space and during session as well. Oils have a wide range of uses, but some of my favorites are for pain relief, relaxation, or to sooth sore muscles. If I can make a massage more effective through using essential oils, I will! For example: Lavender works well for relaxation, so I may use that to enhance and deepen a relaxation massage. As mentioned in my blog post when I announced I would have essential oils, I will also be selling products for at home use. My hope is that you will take advantage of this so that you can take care of yourself when we aren’t together.