How to get results from your Essential Oils

This will be a short post. I've really found 2 key reasons I get results from Essential Oils

#1 - Consistency. 

For the first few months I used essential oils, I would use a few oils here and there, but not regularly. I couldn't seem to get into the swing of things. Consequently, sometimes oils worked for me and sometimes they didn't.   Honestly, consistency is the first, most important "tip" I'll give for EO use. It is important to try something new with consistency. This is true for anything in life, really. Think about it. Exercise works better when we are consistent. Eating healthy helps when we are consistent. Kids adjust better to a new rule when we are consistent. Our house stays cleaner when we are consistent with daily chores. You get the idea... Even pharmaceuticals are prescribed with the expectation you will take them as directed (with consistency) for them to work.

#2 - Be Brave and Creative

Try new things. These are natural, essential oils. As long as you follow some pretty simple safety rules, they won't hurt you. 

• Don't ever put them in your eyes or ears
• More is not always better
• Don't ingest them unless they are pure and say "for dietary use"
• Always read the bottles - some oils are only for a certain type of use or are photosensitive
• If there is ever a question on strength, dilute them with carrier oil. If you are unsure of your body's reaction to a specific oil, dilute. Dilute for children or sensitive skin
• Do some research to make sure the oil you want to use is safe for any medical conditions you have, including pregnancy
• If you are on prescription medication, check with your prescribing doctor first.
• Camp Wander did a great post on EO safety here

As long as you are careful, Be Brave! If I see a new recipe for something, I try it. If I don't have all the oils it calls for, I use what I do have, and try it. If I don't know which oil to use, I do a few minutes of research, and then try something I found. Sometimes I even just go in the drawer and see what smells like it might work, and try it! I believe God created us AND these oils. They work together. There really is an intuitive component to using oils. I believe that we were meant to heal naturally, and we have an intuitive sense of what might work or not. If we listen to our body and are a good student of it, we often find what works to heal it. Trust yourself enough to try something. Allopathic doctors "practice medicine", I can "practice oils" (staying in the safety guidelines of course). 

In the end, you will need to do what works for you. But don't be afraid to try something. Just get started!

If you are not sure where to start,  I wrote this post about getting started. Not sure which oils to use? I trust the 100% pure essential oils from Spark Naturals. Please make sure the oils you use are pure - remember, safety first. If an oil is super cheap at the flea market..... it is likely not pure. The Health and Wellness kit is a good set to start with. So is the Essential 4 pack. You can order direct from their site. No membership, no minimum, no need to order through me. If you use coupon code BENDERBOYMOM at checkout, you will get 10% off your order. Shipping is free on orders over $55 and only a flat rate $5 on smaller orders. 

~Wendy

Natural Deodorant

My Natural Deodorant Journey...

Some people look up a recipe for natural deodorant on the internet, make it, use it, and they are done. Others are like... me. This has been a long process of finding the "right" recipe. Let me start at the beginning....

Deodorant was the first health and beauty product that I set out to replace with a natural alternative. The research out there on the negative effects of commercial, chemical-laden, deodorant is just too numerous to ignore.

I thought, this will be easy. Just make one and use it. Hmmmm. Not quite. At the risk of TMI.... I will tell you, I smell. I always have. Bob is so sweet, he'll tell me I don't, but I know I do. I was one of the people that they make "clinical strength" deodorant for. I don't "glow", I sweat.

So I looked for recipes that stated they were "extra strength". I made them up and tried them. They would work some days, and not others. But my biggest issue with them was my sensitive skin. My pits seemed to burn or break out with every new recipe I tried. So it was back to the kitchen to try another.

This post isn't as much to share a recipe, since you can google and get hundreds. It is to share a journey and encourage you on your own journey to replace chemicals with natural ingredients.

I started my trial period in the fall. Convenient for one who lives in the AZ heat? Yup, I planned it that way. However, I am stubborn and I have never looked back. I'm now headed into my second summer (read 110 degrees for months).

I want to share several things I have learned on the journey. I would have found success sooner had I been able to read all of these tips in one post. And I like lists :)


~~You will smell the first few weeks no matter what. Your body is purging all of the chemicals and old bacteria, it's detoxing. Plan accordingly. I brought wet wipes to work, and extra of the current deodorant I was trying. My restroom breaks took a little longer.

~~You can expedite this detox process with this Armpit detox by Camp Wander. She also has a great explanation in this post of why you should stop using commercial deodorants.

~~Antiperspirant is unhealthy. Sweating is a way our body rids itself of toxins. If we stop it from sweating, guess where the toxins are.... Honestly, I used to sweat buckets, now that I use natural deodorant, I hardly sweat at all. I think it was a bad cycle of me stopping it, more toxins building, body trying harder to get them out, more sweat, and on it goes.

~It helps to make new recipes in 1/2 or 1/4 amounts. If you react to it, or you don't like the smell you are out less ingredients.

~You won't have a deodorant that goes on dry. Get over it. Make it be the first thing you apply out of the shower so it has time to soak in/dry. Just like any other area of your life you will make small sacrifices for the greater benefits of health.

~~Smell is caused from bacteria so essential oils with antibacterial properties work better.
I found that improving my gut health and building up the good bacteria in my body improved my body odor immensely. There was less for my new deodorant to have to 'fight'. My good and harmful bacteria have been out of balance all my life - maybe the reason I've always fought pit odor?? - could be.

~~Shaving my pits daily is critical. I think the bacteria must stick to the hairs? Just my guess. But experience says; shaving means deodorant works, skipping shaving means I smell.

~Stress sweat smells different that sweat from heat or physical exertion, and doesn't have the same causes. Learning to "let go" of things and try not to stress was not only good for my mental health but it helped my body smell better too.

~~Magnesium oil works! But it is a little irritating to my sensitive skin. I solve this by using it daily, then also using a soothing salve over it.

~~More is not always better with essential oils. I've found that if an oil is going to work with my chemistry, it works with only a few drops. If 4 drops doesn't work at all, then 10 won't either. On the flip side if you notice a difference with only 3 drops, 5 may improve the result.  I've found this principle can apply to using EOs with anything, not just deodorant.

~~Just because I'm sensitive to an ingredient doesn't mean I can't use it at all. Lemongrass causes a rash on me if I don't dilute it. I found diluting with witch hazel wasn't enough, but putting it in with the healing salve works for me. Also, the straight magnesium oil causes a sting and red bumps for me as the recipe is written. I use 1/2 magnesium oil and 1/2 witch hazel and that dilutes the magnesium oil enough to not cause a reaction but I still get the benefits from it.

Some of my journal notes on deodorant

I've tried sooooo many different types of natural deodorants I've lost count. I've tried solids, cremes, gels and liquid sprays. In the end it is worth it to find what works for you. Don't give up the fight. As I remove more and more chemicals from my life I can clearly see the effect they were having on my body. 

What am I currently using?

 

Magnesium oil in a 2 oz spray bottle with witch hazel and  6 drops ea. of Frankincense, Lavender, 3 drops ea. Cypress and Melaleuca. Then I follow up with healing slave to calm/condition my sensitive skin. Happy discovery was in the winter the healing salve by itself is a deodorant for me.  Like I said, it is a process, but worth it! I recently tried to dissolve my magnesium flakes in the oil of the salve to save a step. Don't try it, doesn't work - bummer. 

***I believe it is critical to use organic and pure ingredients, from your coconut oil and beeswax to the essential oils. If you choose to buy your oils through Spark Naturals you can rest assured that your products are of the highest quality and pure. You should also use coupon code BENDERBOYMOM to get 10% off of your order. Shipping is free after $55, and a reasonable $5 flat rate for orders lower than $55. 

Do you use a natural deodorant that works great for you? Please share in the comments! As always, feel free to comment or message me with any questions and I'll help you find the answers. We are on this journey together :)

~Wendy

47 Days and 18 Tips from the Hotel

I learned a lot about my essential oils while living in a hotel. So much that I figured I would gather that  information into one post that is easy to find.

First, let me give you a little background...

Sunday January 11th I decided that shredded bbq chicken sandwiches sounded like a good dinner. Then I realized that this decision came too late in the day to use my trusty crock pot. Soooo, I had an epiphany and decided to put 3 pounds of organic chicken breasts on the stove to cook slowly for shredded bbq chicken sandwiches. Seemed like a good idea at the time. One hour later The Fam decided it was a good time to go shopping for supplies for the upcoming baseball season. We. All. Left. The. House. Totally forgetting about the chicken on the stove. We returned 2+ hours later to a entire home FULL of white smoke. I later learned they call this "protein smoke". Apparently the worst type to get rid of - I'm lucky like that :).

Well, being the optimists that we are, my sweet husband and I thought "we'll just throw open the windows and turn on the air. It will clear out by morning and all will be well". It didn't quite work that way. It took a good hour just to be able to see in the house again. I woke up at midnight unable to breathe, pounding headache, and coughing like crazy (I have asthma). By 5 am we realized this wasn't what we thought. We called our insurance company and were placed in a hotel for the cleanup. We finally returned home February 27th. Sheesh! Never would have thought... I guess that 20 years of paying homeowners insurance was worth it.

Living away from home for an extended amount of time, without our normal routine, has been a learning experience. That first day I packed up ALL of my EOs and a few of my supplies/accessories. Honestly, I didn't think I would need them all, or even most of them. I was nervous about my investment sitting in my home on lock box. Hey, they told me to take all valuables out of the house. As I have learned things about using my oils away from home, I have posted tips on my Facebook page. I'm now gathering all of that information into one place just in case you are ever planning to be gone for weeks on end (or heaven forbid, displaced from your home suddenly). Without further ado...

EO's in the Hotel

EOs in the hotel lesson #1:  You cannot make Shield tea in the styrofoam cups they put in your room... the Shield eats a hole right through the cup... before you even have a chance to stir it. EOs - 1,
 synthetic product - 0

EO's in the hotel lesson #2:. Read your bottles carefully. They are not necessarily in "the same order I always keep them" and lavender tastes horrible in my water.

EOs in the hotel lesson #3: Bring the diffuser. Benefits are many. Including good favor with the housekeeping staff. They told me they love cleaning my room. It smells so good and relaxing!

EOs in the hotel lesson #4: Having extra bottles of stress relieving oils already on hand was a life saver. I might be going through a little more LXR, Jeddy's, lavender, Zen, roman chamomile, and lemon than normal these last 2 weeks....

EOs in the hotel lesson #5: A drop of lemon or grapefruit can go a long way in making hotel tap water both safe and palatable. Desperate times calls for desperate measures

EOs in the hotel lesson #6: Dream sleep blend, lavender or Zen on the bottoms of my feet help overcome the "hotel noise", so I can get the rest I need

EOs in the hotel lesson #7: It is totally worth the effort to figure out how to pack and transport ALL your EOs to the hotel if you are going to be gone more than a week (4 weeks now... headed into week 5).

EOs in the hotel lesson #8: Not sure how to transport some carrier oils to the hotel, I 3/4 filled, (and labeled) a couple of roller bottles with just a carrier oil so I could add whatever EOs I needed later. I also brought a few empty sample bottles. This was a good idea...

EOs in the hotel lesson #9: Some of the most important oils I brought with me are the citrus oils - so versatile and MOOD LIFTING, I need that right now!

EOs in the hotel lesson #10: Even extra cold and flu bomb supplies may not be enough. Nothing like close quarters and stress for sharing germs! - sheesh!

EOs in the hotel lesson #11: One of the keys to EOs is consistency. This is so difficult in the hotel as my routine is changed. Setting a phone alarm for daily at the same time would have been a great idea... hindsight

EOs in the hotel lesson #12: air flow in a hotel room is often "different". Turn on your diffuser and wait to see where the mist is drifting. Then place your diffuser in the most optimal location. My son had to place the diffuser on the night stand furthest from him, not the one next to his head, to get the mist to blow near him while he slept.

EOs in the hotel lesson #13: you will go through more of everything EO related than you do at home.

EOs in the hotel lesson #14: you can receive a package/mail at the hotel. The front desk is happy to sign for it. (See lesson #13)

EOs in the hotel lesson #15: Picking a specific, convenient place to keep certain EOs will help you remember to use it daily with consistency. For example, leave the Lemon EO by the drinking glass or bottled water, leave the bottle of dream by the bedside.

EOs in the hotel lesson #16:Increased and consistent use of stress combating EOs will prevent the frequent use of antiviral and digestive support EOs.

EOs in the hotel lesson #17: Once I realized that it was the hotel towels (I suspect the detergent or bleach they use) that were making my skin itch like crazy, a few drops of LLP in my morning lotion routine fixed it! No more itching insanity!





EOs in the hotel lesson #18: EOs in general had a grounding effect on me. They were a sense of stability, normalcy, something I could count on being there and working properly :). I'm sure I could have lived this past 7 weeks without them, but the time would not have gone as smooth or as healthy.



If you find yourself wanting to stock up on some essential oils check out this link for Spark Naturals. I trust them completely and use them daily. They are a pure and very fairly priced. You can even get 10% off of every order with the coupon code BENDERBOYMOM. If you want to start an EO journey of your own and don't know where to begin, please read through this blog. Feel free to comment with any questions, Facebook message me at Mom's EOs, or email me at momseos1@gmail.com. I would love to help you get started.


~Wendyw
EOs in the hotel lesson #6: Dream sleep blend, lavender or Zen on the bottoms of my feet help overcome the "hotel noise", so I can get the rest I needink emoticon






If you are interested in 

How to use the Aromatic Kit

So I've decided it is time to get some of these oils into your hot little hands! There is no comparison to getting to touch, smell and use EOs.

The Aromatic Kit is a great way to build your collection with a very useful variety of oils.

There are 10 versatile oils in this wonderful kit. Following is a brief list of only some of the uses for these oils. Each one is linked back to the Spark Naturals web page so you can read about its properties, and if the oil can be used aromatically, topically, or internally. It will also state if the oil can be applied neat (straight from the bottle) or if it should be applied with a carrier oil. If ever in doubt... it never hurts to apply with a carrier oil such as coconut oil, almond oil, hemp seed oil, grape seed oil or even olive oil! Use what you have.
For the first 3 - 
Lemon, Lavender and Peppermint I'm going to refer you to an awesome list from Jill at One Good Thing by Jillee blog - and another list here too. Why reinvent the wheel? She's done a great job on these lists! She even has them in printable form for you! But as a teaser...


Lemon
* a drop in your water for health and taste
*remove sticky stuff from labels
*remove dried paint from clothes




Lavender
*diffuse to relax
*freshen linens
*Use for allergies
Peppermint
* a drop in a swallow of milk for heartburn
* a sniff in the morning for an alert mind
*a drop with oil for sore muscles


Wild Orange
*I love this citrus oil! It is delicious in sparkling (or normal) water.
*It is wonderful mixed with Zen in the diffuser.
*3 drops make a pan of brownies really special
*Just opening the bottle and sniffing is a mood lifter for me




Shield
*Mix with witch hazel for homemade hand sanitizer
*Diffuse to kill germs
*Use with honey and lemon for a sore throat soothing tea




Respire
*Rub on chest with carrier oil to ease breathing
*Rub on bottoms of feet when you have a cough
*Blend with a salve base for a Vics type rub
*Diffuse to kill germs

Bergamot
*Apply to scars to fade them
*Diffuse for its mood-lifting properties
*Use it on wounds for quicker healing
* Apply it to relax nerves and muscles






Zen
*LOVE to diffuse this with Respire at night for a restful sleep
*Rub on pulse points as a perfume
*Rub on chest to help with anxiety
*This is one of my favorites


White Fir
*Use topically for pain, sore muscles
*Diffuse to kill germs and support the immune system
*Diffuse for alertness

Ylang Ylang
*Add to massage oil or add a few drops to water for a special evening :) (read aphrodisiac)
*Use in body care products to balance skin
*Diffuse to calm mood or anxiety







To buy these oils separately would be $83.75. This kit is normally $62.50 which is a good deal! But it is on sale this month! All of February 2015 you can get the Aromatic kit for $50.62 when you use coupon code BENDERBOYMOM. That is over $12 savings.



To celebrate, I'm going to do a giveaway! From 2/19/15 - 2/26/15 You can enter to win this kit and some included accessories. Details are in the graphic. Tell your friends to enter too - this is too good to pass up! . Winner will be announced 2/27/15. If you don't win you will still have a day to get it at the sale price.

I am also including a set of dropper tops for the oils you choose to use often, and 2 roller bottles so you can combine EOs with a carrier oil for easy application.

Just jump in and give it a try. You'll never look back once you realize how easy it is to get started. If you have questions please comment or message me. I would love to answer them or help you find the answers. I've included several graphics from www.organicfacts.net. They are a great resource too.

~Wendy

Let's talk pain....

So I have already shared with you that my essential oil journey started with allergies (post here). But really, I had a lot of health issues, and allergies was just the most enduring and daily issue. 

Pain, in several forms, had become my daily companion also. I have hip problems (which have now undergone surgery to repair and correct, results still pending, but positive), arthritis in my hands and other joints, tendon damage in my knee, back pain etc.

I cannot take any NSAIDS and did not want to be dependent on narcotics. Aspercreme is full of chemicals, and really only worked on my hands a short while... sometimes. Tylenol didn't touch the pain. Plus taking that stuff for an extended period of time is horrible for the liver and kidneys.  I wanted a natural pain relief product.  After discovering that the essential oils worked so well for my allergies, I was ready to attack the issue of pain. 

Now, before we get to the recipe for my go to pain salve, I want to be honest and say that I am convinced my diet and lifestyle changes added to my daily success in the battle against pain. Not just using my pain salve. Honestly, my goal is to use the pain salve as needed until I find all the root causes of pain and fix them. For example, over Christmas I cheated a little, ok fine!,  a lot on my no wheat rule. My body kept score, no doubt about it. Everything was sore when I woke in the mornings. Thankfully I'm back on the wagon - Christmas cookies are just my nemesis. I am very careful and aware of what chemicals go in and on my body. No more fake sugars. No more preservatives. I'm working hard to make many of my own beauty and cleaning supplies.

Now on to what you've been waiting for

I started by purchasing the ingredients for this salve from Camp Wander and making it. While it helped the pain in my hands, it hardly touched my hip pain. Now, in all fairness, my hip pain was pretty severe. I had a frayed (not just torn, lots of tears) labrum in each hip along with arthritis and I had bones that weren't formed quite right aggravating the issues. The pain was enduring and DEEP in the hip. I started to research which essential oils were commonly used for pain. In other words, they have analgesic properties themselves, or they fight pain with other properties they have ~ such as fighting pain by reducing inflammation.  Come to find out there are quite a few, this isn't even a complete list, just the oils I had considered in making my salve.

Birch

Clove

Peppermint

White Fir

Wintergreen

Eucalyptus

Lemongrass

Rosemary

Myrrh

Thyme

Black Pepper

Frankincense

Using the Naked Salve recipe from Camp Wander, I began to experiment. I was going for an extra strength salve that would hopefully penetrate deep into the hip joint. After quite a few trials this is the recipe I came up with.

Mom's EOs Pain Salve

1/4 C Organic Virgin Coconut Oil (I love this one ~ the quality is worth it)

1/4 C Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

1 Tablespoon Organic Beeswax Pearls

Melt these ingredients slowly in a double boiler ( I use a Pyrex measuring cup in a small pot. Easier to pour into salve jar at the end)

In a 4 oz glass jar put 

1/2 teaspoon vitamin e oil

30 drops Birch

30 drops Clove

30 drops Eucalyptus

15 drops Frankincense

10 drops White Fir

Pour melted salve base over EOs in jar and let cool. 

That's a lot of oils, I know. I get it. But if you are in a battle with regular, deep pain it may be worth it to you. Keep in mind ~ this is what it took for me to get the deep pain relief I needed for my hips. It may be overkill for you. You may need to play with the recipe to suit your own pain needs. However, I have found a lot of relief from this salve on my hands, knee, hips, post-surgery pain and back pain. I have given samples to many people and each time they come back with "that stuff is amazing". My friend Laura recently had carpel tunnel surgery and wanted natural pain relief for her hand. I gave her a sample. Here is what she had to say...

" I love it!!! It truly takes away the pan... Can i just buy some from you??? Please reply to this and tell me what you put in it so i can share to my facebook family and let them know about you and your blog!!! I have used it twice already today and plan to use it again tonight for comfort! Thank you Wendy bear!!! Mom's EOs rocks!!"

If you just can't bring yourself to make the salve but want to try it, email or message me. I do not have the ability to be in full scale production of EO products, but I have a few jars I can sell and I will figure out how to get some into your hands. 

There are some other options that Spark Naturals sells for pain that you can always try as well. I love the Relief  blend for headaches and have been known to use it in a pinch for my knee and hands when I am out and that is all I have. They also sell Amend and Amend +. Any of these blends can be used with some basic salve or coconut oil for rubbing in and they will help with pain also. Camp Wander did this great post for Amend + pain salve that is easy and powerful.

Things I've learned in the year long process of creating this recipe...

• *****Birch is really powerful, should be avoided if you are on blood thinners, pregnant, or have epilepsy. There is a high concentration of methyl salicylate
• We are very blessed that high quality, pure Birch is readily available through Spark Naturals - not all companies offer it
• A little salve goes a long way on my hands
• Taking the time to really rub it in makes it work better (and keeps you from leaving oil on things like your phone screen)
• If you make it and need to tweak the recipe, add more of an oil, add another oil etc. you can warm the glass jar slowly in a low heat oven and then just add the adjustment to the re-melted salve.
• Sometimes a second application 20 min. later is enough to get me through several hours

I hope you are able to find natural relief from pain. Have you found another recipe or oils that help? Please share with us in the comments!

~Wendy

This blog post contains affiliate links

Christmas giveaway

This isn't a normal post. I just wanted to get the news of a great giveaway out there for those who follow my blog... I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

http://sparknaturals.com/index.php/

Follow this link to finish your shopping :)   Spark Naturals If you qualify - my email is momseos1@gmail.com

How to use Essential Oils... Let me count the ways!

How to use those oils....

The moment is here. You open your mailbox and there it is.... Your first order of essential oils! Yipee! You open the bottle and breathe in the aroma - mmmmm. Then you think, "what exactly do I do with this stuff?" Good question. There are several ways you can use essential oils, and you just did one of the most basic without even thinking!

Aromatic use:

Just smelling oils from the bottle can be very therapeutic. There are multiple studies that confirm the health benefits of inhalation of essential oils. Here is one, and another, and another. You can search on Pubmed for more.

You can diffuse (put them into the air so you can inhale/smell them) oils in several ways. You can use passive forms of diffusing such as putting a few drops of oil on a cotton ball and keeping it in a jar or other container so you can open and smell at will. You can place a few drops on a pendant such as these, or on a stuffed animal or a hankie. 

You can also actively diffuse in a cool mist diffuser such as these.
You don't need to stand over the diffuser breathing in the mist (but that is nice at times too). However, the diffuser should be located within the same room as you and as close as possible. For example, on your desk when you're working, in the kitchen when you're cooking. I keep one in the kitchen, the hub of my home. I also keep one by my bed to get the beneficial effects while I sleep. It soon becomes understandable why you might want more than one diffuser :)

I love the aromatic use of essential oils for fighting germs, congestion, cough, moods and more. Even when there is "nothing" to be treated, I like to have the diffuser running with a season smell, or mood ,or focus enhancing oils.

Topical use:

Another way is to use oils topically. This means you apply them to your skin. Your skin is your largest organ and oils that are rubbed into the skin will be absorbed by the body. You will need to use some care in which oils can be used "neat", which means as they are, out of the bottle, without diluting them. Some oils are "hot", and should be diluted with a carrier oil (such as coconut oil, almond oil, grapeseed oil, olive oil, hemp seed oil) or they can irritate the skin. *** Essential Oils should never be put into the ear or eye.

To use topically you take a drop or 2 or 3 and rub topically over the area of concern. Often times a carrier oil or salve comes in handy to help the oil cover a larger area. As I have said in other posts, EO use is very intuitive. Trust your body and what it is telling you.

If you have a headache, place the oil over the spot on your head that hurts. If you have a tummy ache, use it over the part of your tummy that hurts. Arthritis, place it on the joints. Back pain - it goes on your back (usually with a carrier oil to spread further). Wherever you put the oil, make sure to take a few minutes to massage it in. This gets the blood to the area to absorb and transport the oils - plus it feels good! Get the idea?

There are a few other good locations for general use. The bottoms of the feet have large pores and can absorb things quickly. This makes it a good spot to put oils you are taking for general systemic relief. For example, Jeddy's for ADHD/anxiety/Focus is great on the bottoms of the feet. Cold and Flu bomb is good on the bottom of your feet as your whole body is fighting the virus/bacteria. Dream sleep blend when you are trying to fall asleep works well here. My kids prefer to use this location for daily Jeddy's, cold and flu bomb, or other use. They can put their socks on and no one at school can smell they have oils on.

The base of your skull, your brain stem (where your neck meets your hairline in the back) is also a good place for getting things into your head - literally. I put my headache blend here as well as my LXR for anxiety and my Jeddy's for focus.

Finally the navel is a good place to get oils through the body, into your core. You have a high concentration of blood vessels here and they can move oils quickly. When I eat something my body doesn't like or I'm having a general allergic reaction to say, my dog. I put the LLP for allergies in my navel. Get it?

Rollers work great for this type of use.

I like topical use for just about any ailment. I find it can be very focused relief.

Dietary (internal) use:

There is controversy and caution about this one. First, let me say that you should only do what you are comfortable with and what suits you. To each his own. I will say that I do, regularly, take Spark Naturals essential oils internally. I do not recommend taking just any essential oil internally. You need to trust that any EO you take internally is pure. However, I feel the same way about topical and aromatic use. All of your oils need to be of the highest quality,  they end up internal eventually as well!.

There are a few ways to take oils internally.  You can put a few drops in a "shot" of water or juice. One of my favorites is a drop of peppermint in a shot of water or almond milk to kick heartburn. Works like a charm - immediately! You can put oils in a gel capsule. I take a capsule of 6 drops LLP daily. I also use cold and flu bomb in a capsule to fight sickness.  There are some great ways to use them in cooking. A drop of wild orange in brownies is to die for and a drop of cilantro in your salsa is mmmmm. Spark Naturals FB page regularly posts recipes for cooking with essential oils. I've also made this great recipe for cough/immunity drops, and will drink Shield tea when I'm avoiding the sickness that is going around that week.

How do you know what oils are safe in what ways?

Spark Naturals labels all of their bottles as to which type of use is appropriate for that oil. It will say "aromatic, topical, or dietary use" on the bottle so there is no confusion as to what is safe.

I hope this helps those who are just starting with oils, or still have questions. Please feel free to ask questions in the comments too! 

Here's to your health!

Wendy