Bacteria, Viruses, Germs, OH MY!....

Bacteria, Viruses, Germs, OH MY!....

So essential oils have been in the news lately. Not all positive stuff. Basically it seems the FDA doesn't like it when people who represent essential oil companies state that essential oils can cure dangerous infections (article here). I get it. We can't go around saying something does something that it doesn't do. That would be lying. Bad. Very bad. Back to the days of traveling snake oil salesmen who sold fake medicine for grand profit. 

However, what if that isn't the case.... What if there is research that shows some essential oils do have antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, germ killing, properties? What if they do work.... BETTER than some prescriptions? What if the FDA is more worried about liability, or other interests? Or what if the mega profitable pharmaceutical companies just don't want them approved? It seems to be a rather sticky topic.  I encourage you to do your own research on the subject. I've linked several articles, but they are just a few of many. I wanted you to know that research on essential oils, and their effectiveness, is out there. I'm not saying all prescriptions are bad, some are necessary, sometimes. You should always consult a medical professional on your conditions. Here is to hoping they will work with you on some natural solutions. Some will. I've run into several medical professionals that were open minded. 

On this blog I share my experiences, my successes in using an alternative method of treating my ailments and preserving my health. What I do may, or may not, be the same for you. Our bodies are unique (fearfully and wonderfully made) and each person will metabolize and use oils slightly differently. That is part of the process of taking charge of your own health. Many of the essential oil blends I currently use came out of trying someone else's recipe and tweaking it. You are welcome to use the things I share as a starting point for your own research and self-trials. I am my #1 guinea pig. 

Shield Protective Blend is on special this week at Spark Naturals. This is one of the oils I diffuse regularly to keep the house healthy. It has helped to fight off strep, sinus infections, and colds in our home already this fall. I also use it in the cold and flu bomb(kit available here).   The recipe is in the description. This kit will get you though 1-2 bouts of sickness. If you have a large family that passes germs around just get the 15ml bottles of each. The combination of  Clove, Cinnamon Bark, Lemon, Eucalyptus, and Rosemary in Shield blend are very antibacterial/antiviral (according to the articles linked above). You can get an extra 10% off with coupon code BENDERBOYMOM.

I wish you well on your journey of discovering your own ways to maintain health. If you ever have any questions, please don't hesitate to email or message me. I will do my very best to help research with you. 

--Wendy

I'm learning already...

Ready... Set... Go! Tackle that acne

So, I warned you all you were going on a LEARNING journey with me. I had high aspirations of how many posts a week I was going to do. Then, life happened :). My new goal would be to blog about twice a week. Let's see how that goes! I've also learned how much I don't know about technology - a little overwhelming, but I have a teenage son who promises to help me out. Here's to hoping he can teach this "old" mama some new tricks. I've decided to share first about one of my successes...

Acne wipes! 

I know, not that exciting. But OH SO necessary in a house full of teens and... *Ahem*... a middle aged (read somewhere in menopause) woman. I have 5 boys, 4 of them are still at home ages 13-19. This is, unfortunately, the height of acne prone skin. They all haven't jumped on the clean, whole food, healthy eating kick I have either. This combination of hormones and toxins can make for some breakouts... okay, a lot. Even some cystic acne. 

I have used them as my guinea pigs with several natural acne recipes I had read on different essential oil blogs. Some things worked a little, some not at all. Some were spot treatments, some daily washes. But the biggest problem with all of them was that they weren't EASY. Like, teenage, lazy, finicky about self care, don't want too many steps, don't want to listen to mom, boy, easy. I knew that no amount of spot treatments were going to work if they didn't wash their face morning and night. Hence my lightbulb moment! Ready made wipes! Like baby wipes. You can't get any easier than premoistened, in a tub on the counter, wipes. I remembered that Jill at One Good Thing by Jillee had a recipe for Homemade Nose Wipes so I looked it up. That was my starting point. I wanted them to be easy, but reusable. Remember, 4 teens and me. That is like 10 wipes a day (if they really do what I told them would work). I wanted the wipes to include the ingredients I had been testing for the other acne products. This would mean aloe, witch hazel, melaleuca, vitamin E, etc. This recipe seemed like a good start. I then added several essential oils to fight the acne and heal the skin. Cutting up and hemming receiving blankets seemed like more work than I had time for so I just bought 2 packages of baby wash clothes at Ross - 24 pack for $5.99/ea. The colors weren't exactly boy, but I told them to deal with it. They never complained. I was making this whole face washing thing too easy. 

Recipe

1 Cup very warm (to melt the salt) water
2 teaspoons SN alcohol free witch hazel
1 Tablespoon aloe
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
10 Drops SN Lemon Essential Oil
10 Drops SN Melaleuca Essential Oil
10 Drops SN Lavender Essential Oil
5 Drops SN Frankincense Essential Oil

Mix well and pour over as many washcloths as it will dampen. You don't need them dripping wet. With the baby ones I use this recipe will cover about 22. It will depend on the size and thickness of the clothes you use. 

Hmmm, I wonder if I added a few drops of Jeddy's blend too for a calmer more focused day?

Some things I have learned in doing this over the past 4 months. 

• IT WORKS!!! My boys have all said that when they are consistent they can tell. If they use them twice daily they can notice a difference in a few days. Others have commented to them about the improvement. 
• They will mold if you make too many at a time and don't use them quickly enough. I know the salt and melaleuca are both preventative against this, but I have to remember that we live in a warm climate (AZ) and the wipes are moist and dark in the container. Also, I'm pretty sure that my boys hands are NOT sterile when they reach in the box :). 
• If you make them and put them in the fridge to cool down before you put them in the bathroom, this buys you almost double the time before they will mold. 
• They are quick to make so I just make up enough for 5-6 days at a time (that is all that fits in the box for this large family anyway). 
• I have had to tell my boys to let the used cloth dry over the faucet or edge of the laundry basket before they throw it in the wash. Wet washcloth wadded in a ball at the bottom of a basket is never good. 
• They hardly ask me for the spot treatment since using these daily.
• I folded them all neatly the first time so they would pop out of the container and look pretty... soooo not necessary. 
• I have avoided the dermatologist!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and toxic medications!!!!!!!
• They are not as cheap as soap and water. But I took one kiddo to the dermatologist for cystic acne a few years ago (pre-essential oil mom). It cost me $50 copay/mo for visit. $12 copay/mo for acne medication. $25 copay/mo for blood test (yikes, freaked me out it was necessary). Then the acne came back 6 months after treatment. That was $87/mo to put chemicals in my son, and the side effects were miserable. I could buy a bottle of Frankincense monthly for that!!! Money way better spent. 

If you try these out let me know how they work for you and if you adjusted the recipe at all. Remember each of our body's chemistry is different. Sometimes you will need to make adjustments to what I post to fit you personally. That is all part of the EO journey!. 

** As always you can use coupon code benderboymom for 10% off at checkout when you order supplies from www.sparknaturals.com

So here goes.....

This marks the beginning of .... something. Not sure what it will look like exactly. Really, not sure what I want it to be. I have no idea of where it will go (if anywhere). I'm a little scared it might get out of hand. I guess that pretty well defines an adventure! But whatever you call it, I feel the need to share the information I have discovered on this essential oil journey of mine. My quality of life has improved, I'm healthier, in mind and body. I can't just keep that to myself. That would be selfish - I wouldn't want to be that. So... here I am. 

Writing is not my thing. Spelling is definitely not my thing, grammar either. Drawing attention to myself, my ideas, my learning is not my thing. New technology (like blogs and social media), yeah, not my thing either.  I'm way out of my comfort zone here. But I know that is where growth happens, and I love growth.  So if you are interested, please come along for the ride. You'll have to be patient with me as I learn how to blog. But I promise to share what I learn about essential oils and health. The journey may start slow, but I'm guessing it will pick up speed eventually. 

A few things I do know... 

• If you contact me I will try really hard to answer (as long as I know you contacted. Does this blog thing notify me of that? hmmmm)
• I have a facebook page called Mom's EOs at www.facebook.com/momseos. You might want to follow that too. I'm going to try to do some giveaways
• I will eventually be making an Instagram and Pinterest because that is how I hear "it" is done. Look for them
• I LOVE Spark Naturals oils. They are extremely high quality, pure essential oils. You can order them at spark naturals . If you use coupon code benderboymom you will get 10% off
• I'm totally stressed out that I'm not going to do this "right" but I'm gonna give it my best

I'll leave you with this image of my summer Essential Oil (EO) travel kit.  We ended up using every thing in it, and I was sooooo glad I had made it up.