Beginner Essential Oils

If you don’t already think I’ve gone off the deep end, you’ll probably think so now. Or maybe you’ll be intrigued and jump into the water right beside me. Either way, I’ll respect it. :)

I first started hearing about essential oils from a friend, Chelsey. She’s a very “natural living” type of mama—she buys very few (if any) processed foods and sticks pretty strictly to organic fruits and vegetables, grass-fed beef, free range chickens, natural cleaning products, etc. For me, she’s a go-to resource as far as this stuff is concerned. I trust her judgement on A LOT of things because she researches the hell out of everything and is very knowledgeable about the things she’s passionate about—and natural living is one of those things. I admire her commitment to it all.

So anyway, when she first started talking essential oils, I thought it sounded kind of crazy, to be honest. I paid attention and filed info in the back of my mind, but I was nowhere near ready to jump on board. Then, when we were in the middle of our major struggles with Vivienne’s reflux, Chelsey contacted me offering to send me a sample of an essential oil (doTERRA’s DigestZen) that she thought could help. She sent it, and I used it a couple of times on Vivienne. But it was right when we were in the middle of putting her on meds, adjusting her meds, cutting dairy out of my diet, etc. and it was all just too much to deal with. What was working, what wasn’t? Hell if I knew, especially when trying all of these remedies all at once. Plus, I’ll admit… I was an essential oil skeptic. Then we got the reflux under control with meds and I left the DigestZen sample in the drawer.

Fast-forward several months, and I kept hearing more and more about essential oils. I started following Chelsey’s Essentials Everyday blog, and I was pretty blown away by all of the different ways to use essential oils. I emailed Chelsey several times with questions. We had conversations about the oils and she was incredibly patient with me as I tried to figure out the best way for me to dip my toe in the water.

I ended up ordering doTERRA’s Family Physician Kit, which is a collection of their 10 most popular essential oils that can be used for a lot of things in your household. Since then, I have been experimenting. I’m still in the beginning of this journey, but I’ve already learned a lot and have definitely seen some benefits to the oils already. Here, I’ll share a few of them. Now, it’s important to note that each of these oils can be used for COUNTLESS other things beyond what I’m sharing here. I’m just outlining what I’ve used them for in the few weeks that I’ve had them. Also? There are a few oils in the Family Physician Kit that I haven’t even really utilized yet, so you won’t see them ALL featured here—at least not yet, not in this beginner post!

Lemon is probably my favorite essential oil thus far. It’s definitely been the most used. For starters, it’s great for cleaning. I’ve mixed up an all-purpose cleanser (more on that a little later), homemade hand sanitizer, and have even used it as a natural—and extremely effective—alternative to “Goo Gone.” I had a very stubborn price sticker stuck on the bottom of my new water bottle, and with one drop of lemon oil, I had it scraped off in seconds.

I’ve also begun adding lemon oil to my drinking water, which gives it a nice flavor. Note that if you do this, you’re supposed to drink out of a glass container (hence my new water bottle). Lemon is an antioxidant and is good for your overall health, so it’s beneficial for more than just taste. And if you just want stuff to smell good? Lemon is your answer. I just like to take the top off and smell it sometimes. So fresh and clean!

This concoction—peppermint + frankincense + melaleuca—is responsible for the most “miraculous” results I’ve had with essential oils thus far. The same day my oils first came in the mail, I had a really bad headache. One drop of each of these rubbed into my forehead and on the back of my neck and I felt significantly better less than 10 minutes later. No joke. I had been suffering with the headache for a few hours, and then just like that, it was better. If there’s one way to make a skeptic a believer, it was this!

I’ve learned through purchasing essential oils that I’m not that big a fan of the scent of lavender. Go figure. There are so many people who love it that I wonder if there’s something wrong with my sense of smell. :) Even so, we’ve been diffusing this in our bedroom at night and as I’m lying there in bed for the few short minutes before I fall asleep, it does seem to help me relax. A sense of calm comes over all of my muscles and I drift off. I’ve also added a drop to my laundry (in the soap dispenser), and the whole load comes out with a faint lavender smell. Pretty cool, since we use natural, unscented laundry detergent—this gives it that little extra “something.”

Speaking of diffusing… diffusing is made possible by a diffuser, which mixes a couple drops of your oils with water and turns it into mist and disburses it around the room. It’s a wonderful alternative to overpowering scented candles and other air fresheners. Not only are you getting the scent of the oils, but you’re also gaining the health benefits by “taking in” the oils aromatically. And diffusing is even shown to disinfect surfaces around the room if you use an oil with disinfectant properties (such as OnGuard, Lemon, Wild Orange, Purify, etc.). Pretty cool, huh?

While we’re talking disinfectants, there are a few mixtures I’ve made so far, specifically for that purpose. I’ve used lemon + melaleuca + water + vinegar to make a simple all-purpose cleaner. I’ve used it to clean parts of the interior of my car (including my all-season floor mats!), as well as surfaces around the house. It smells pretty good—I’m still getting used to the strong vinegar component in natural/homemade cleaners, but the lemon and melaleuca certainly help counteract it—and it works, too. I feel better about spraying this around my house than I do a lot of other things, that’s for sure. It’s harmless (even beneficial) for me and my family to be around, which is comforting. Chelsey has the “recipe” here.

We’re not complete germ freaks, but we’ve always been pretty good about using hand sanitizers after we’ve left stores (at least since we’ve had kids). The shopping carts, credit card machines, money, etc.—everything you touch can be covered in germs. But regular hand sanitizer is FULL of alcohol and lord knows what else. I was happy to learn that essential oils can be used to kill germs. I can’t wait to put OnGuard to a full test during the next cold and flu season! But until then, I’ll keep using it as a preventative in the form of this hand sanitizer spray. Also? I’ve used this to spray down the entire seat/steering wheel area of the car carts at Wegmans that my girls love to sit in, so it’s good for more than just hands. Chelsey has the recipe here.

DigestZen is the oil Chelsey first sent me all those months ago, to potentially help with Vivienne. Now, I’ve used this several times on Vivienne (rubbed on the bottoms of her feet) and I’ll say that she did seem to spit up less when we used it regularly. I’ve since discontinued using it on her because I want to wait until I can dilute it—and I’m waiting on my carrier oil to arrive! Since Viv’s still so little and this is something that I’m applying often, I feel better about diluting it instead of using it full strength, even though it’s supposed to be safe to use either way. Vivienne never had any ill effects from it, but it’s just a personal preference.

On myself, I’ve applied DigestZen to my stomach to help calm indigestion. It does seem to help, and this is one of the results that seems too good to be true, too. Rub a couple drops on the outside of my belly and it helps on the inside? Weird, weird, weird. :) I’ve actually heard that this is even more effective when taken internally—particularly when fighting a stomach bug—so I’d be interested to try that some day. But I’ll also be perfectly happy to never have to! STAY AWAY, BUG.

Deep Blue is like Icy Hot, but in a natural form. I used it on a banged up knee with good results (never bothered me again, actually!) and Michael also felt relief after using it on sore quadriceps. This stuff is apparently pretty popular among runners and other athletes, and I can see why! I’ll definitely be putting Deep Blue to the test whenever aches and pains call.

So far, I’ve used Wild Orange mostly for diffusing because it just smells DELICIOUS. This actually doesn’t come as part of the Family Physician Kit, but I recommend it if you like citrus scents, and/or want another good option for flavoring your water (while gaining other benefits!). When we diffuse it, I notice that I seem to feel more alert and awake. Wild Orange can also be used in homemade cleaners, so if you prefer the smell of orange over lemon, this one’s your guy.

That’s all I’ve got for now, as far as personal experiences go. But again, I’ve only been at this for a few weeks! I still have so much to learn and try. I’m already planning on adding a few more oils to my collection this month. There is seemingly so much that oils can offer. I’ve seen and heard about positive experiences with oils helping relieve migraines, allergies, skin conditions (acne, eczema, psoriasis, etc.), depression and reflux. There are even oils that can help increase breast milk supply or prepare the body for labor and birth. Have an ailment? I’m pretty damn sure there is an oil or mix of oils that you can try that can help.

Through my experience, I’ve become a doTERRA Wellness Advocate, which basically means that I can help hook you up with oils, should you be interested in trying any of them. Believe me, I’m not in the business to pressure anyone into buying anything. I have not been compensated in any way for writing about doTERRA. I just like the oils myself (so far), and plan to continue sharing knowledge about and experiences with them as time goes on, just like I’ve done with other things in my life.

But if you are interested in browsing—or even buying something from—the doTERRA store, I would definitely appreciate the use of my link: Heather Drive at doTERRA. And if you have questions about oils, please feel free to email me at heatherdriveblog@yahoo.com. I’ll help you in any way I can. And if you know you are interested in trying oils, I can also get you discounted prices—I’ll be happy to talk that through with you as well. doTERRA is an international company, so even if you’re one of my friends to the north or across one of the ponds… you can email me, too!

Completely overwhelmed by all of this? Don’t worry—I was, too. In fact, for a long time, I was kind of paralyzed by it because it was just so much to take in. I’ve found that it’s actually easier once you make the leap and start trying stuff. I’ve learned more in the past few weeks than I could have imagined. Or, if you have a specific problem you want help with? Start there. But if it seems like a lot, I totally get it. I’ve been where you are. :)

If you’ve used essential oils, do you have any favorite uses or success stories to share? What are your favorite oils and why? If you’ve never heard of or used essential oils before, are there any particular oils you are curious about? Any ailments that you’d be interested in potentially treating?