My Top Five Oils!

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On November 27 it arrived--my Young Living Starter Kit!  I was so excited that I opened it right away and began researching the various uses of the oils and taking notes on each one. Obviously, I am by no means an expert or even all that knowledgeable...I've only been using the oils less than a week!  But I can already say that I love them and they are one of my favorite things.  Here is what I'm loving:

1.  You know when you feel a cold coming on and it sucks because you know it's coming, but aside from eating well, rest, and vitamins there is nothing to do but pray it passes over you quickly?  I love having Essential Oils to use as another form of arsenal.  
2.  It makes our house smell and feel more homey.  
3.  (Warning:  this one is silly, but true).  Using them makes me feel like Hermione Granger.  I'm serious.  They are so fun.  It feels like something out of the wizarding world, like a rare potion.  I don't go around applying them to my family while speaking with a British accent and pretending I'm wearing a Gryffindor robe and wielding a wand, but it sort of feels like that and it's fun.

But, moving on from my weird imaginings, here are my five favorite oils and the results I've seen with them.  Super big disclaimer:  I've only been using the oils for 1 week and I'm not NAWT, NAWT a doctor, or an herbalist, or an aromatherapist, or a nurse, or a doula, or a midwife, or a receptionist at a medical facility.  I'm just a mom with a blog.  So, don't go taking this as Bible truth, super duper medical advice.  K?  k.

ONE

My first favorite is the Thieves blend.  Thieves is a blend of rosemary, eucalyptus, clove, cinnamon, and lemon oils.  The blend comes from a legend of four French thieves who covered themselves in the aromatics listed above prior to robbing plague victims.  Thieves provides immune protection and eliminates bacteria.  I mix 1 or 2 drops with a small amount of coconut oil to the bottoms of our feet at bedtime.  I also diffuse it in the house on occasion to purify the air.  It's hard to prove a negative--Max and I had no symptoms to start with, so I can't say it's "cured" something for us, but Andres was beginning to get a cold.  When the oils arrived, I immediately started applying Thieves to his feet and within a day or two he felt fine.  Bonus: Thieves smells AMAZING!

TWO

Lavender comes in at second place.  I've probably used lavender the most. Lavender oil is an antiseptic and can be used to disinfect scrapes, cuts, and bites.  It also aids in sleep.  I have tried using this on very dry, chapped skin around Max's mouth.  However, this is one area where I haven't seen the results I hoped.  Max gets really bad chapped skin around his mouth every winter and as soon as it starts to heal, it gets further irritated by liquids (his drinks and his drool) or by food.  It's a vicious cycle.  I would say that the lavender works when coupled with LOTS of coconut oil, but the lavender hasn't "healed" his skin...it still gets red and raw as soon as he eats or drinks.  Sigh.  BUT, here is a success story:  I switched to Toms of Maine deodorant about a week ago and developed an allergic reaction to something in the product.  It was gross.  I couldn't even apply a different deodorant because it needed to heal.  I used coconut oil and lavender and it healed in about 4 days, when combined with this:

THREE

Young Living's Purification blend.  Purification neutralizes odors, repels insects, and helps heal dry skin.  Did you get that first use?  Neutralizes odors.  See where I'm going?  Because of the rash I didn't wear deodorant for almost a week.  Y'all.  It could have been a nasty, disgusting, stinky time in my life, but it wasn't.  I mixed about 1 drop of lavender and 2 drops of purification in coconut oil in lieu of deodorant and was fine all day--my rash began to heal and the stink factor was not even close to what it could have been.  Would I use this combination instead of deodorant every day?  No.  Was there a slight stink factor by the time 5:00 came around?  Yes.  But it could have and would have been  BAD, ya'll.  I also use some purification on Max's mouth and it seems to help reduce the redness even faster, when combined with lavender.

FOUR

Peppermint oil can be used for headaches, sore muscles, to boost your mood, and it aids in digestion.  It can also help improve respiratory function and can help fevers.  I've only used peppermint oil once to help with a headache and it worked like a charm!  I applied 1 drop combined with coconut oil to the base of my neck, forehead, and temples.  It feels very cooling and has a strong "icy hot" sensation when applied.

FIVE

Lemon oil promotes a healthy immune system, it uplifts and energizes the body and mind, and can be rubbed on the throat and glands for a cough and sore throat.  While we were out of town for Thanksgiving I began to get a scratchy throat.  My mom had been coughing and was getting over a cold and I didn't want to head in the same direction.  After just 2 days of applying lemon oil to my throat, the scratchiness was gone and has not returned.

There you have it!  My 5 favorite oils (thus far!) and how we've used them.  I signed up as a distributor of Young Living Oils in order to receive their starter kit.  It is far and away the best deal out there and you are under no obligation to the company and do not receive any emails from them, etc.  You just get good deals!  
Please do not read what I am going to say as a sales pitch or gimmick:  I want you to get the best deal too, so consider signing up as a distributor. You get a kit of 10 oils, plus the diffuser, and some sample oils for $150.  The diffuser alone is $98 retail price.  We use our diffuser every day!  
SO, my point is:  if signing up as a distributor is something you want to do, email me at teamfrowow {at} gmail dot com.  I can send you a link to sign up and that way we'll both be winners!

To review:
Essential Oils = Hermione Granger + Yummy Smells + Stay healthy + You can sorta not wear deodorant if that's your thang + Bye bye headaches = AWESOME!