Essential Oils for Bugs, Anxiety and Mood

I’m resurfacing after enjoying a long, full weekend away with my family. We took our annual trip to the Poconos from Wednesday through Sunday (so celebrated the 4th there as well), and it was kind of a whirlwind. I’m still sorting through pics to share, so those will come later this week. In the meantime, I wanted to post another essential oils update since I have a few new oils in my stash this month—and have discovered new uses for others.

First, let’s talk about the new goodies that came in my June order.

doTERRA was offering a 10% off sale on TerraShield in June, so I took advantage—I was planning to order it anyway, so the timing was perfect! I don’t think it’s any secret that conventional bug sprays are poison, right? I mean, they SMELL like poison when you’re spraying them on. There’s a reason the bugs don’t like those sprays, you guys. The alternative, though, is to get eaten alive by mosquitoes, which is never pleasant. I was thrilled to find doTERRA has a safer, yet still effective solution—and honestly, as far as safe, natural bug repellents go? doTERRA’s TerraShield is actually pretty darn affordable. It contains citronella and cedarwood, as well as 11 other essential oils that ward off the creepy crawlies.

Now, bugs seem to affect people in different ways. Mosquitoes like me alright, but they don’t LOVE me. I’m not one to really get “eaten alive” unless the bugs are really out in full force. My mom, on the other hand, walks outside to mow her lawn and comes back with a hundred bites. The bugs find her very tasty for some reason! Just like the bugs react differently to different body chemistries, so do repellents. It might take a little experimenting with TerraShield “recipes” to find the ratio that works best for you (and your family). But before we went on our Poconos trip, I mixed up a TerraShield concoction in a 2 oz. glass spray bottle. I started with 50 drops of TerraShield (put only a small dent in my bottle, by the way), then filled the rest of the bottle with witch hazel. I’ve seen others use less TerraShield, more TerraShield, distilled water instead of witch hazel, etc. Or, others just use TerraShield neat (meaning undiluted), putting a few drops in the palms of their hands and then just rubbing it on. So again, it can take a little bit of experimentation to find what really works.

I will say, though, that I had pretty good luck with bugs in the Poconos. The best part was that I wasn’t worried at all about spraying this stuff ALL OVER me, Nora, and even Vivienne. On the 4th of July, I put it on Nora and myself before we went down to our friends’ small lake on their property to sit on the dock and watch fireworks. We were wearing sweatshirts and jeans, but I still sprayed our heads, faces, necks, hands, and feet liberally. No bites! Nora did somehow manage to wake up with a big bug bite welt on her thigh the next morning—but I think one must’ve gotten her while she slept, because like I said, she had been wearing jeans all day (we had a kind of chilly 4th in the mountains!) and night.

Anyway, I’m going to call this one a success for now. We’ll keep using it as needed and will report back with additional success and/or challenges.

It’s got “Bliss” in its name for good reason. If you are a fan of citrus scents, THIS IS A MUST. I once saw someone describe it as smelling like a creamsicle, and well, that’s pretty accurate. Citrus Bliss is a blend that contains wild orange, lemon, grapefruit, mandarin, bergamot, tangerine, and clementine—and a hint of vanilla! I mean, come on… how can that NOT smell amazing?

So far, I’ve been using this one in the diffuser for its pleasant aroma. My friend Chelsey has suggested that you can put a drop or two in the shower with you to let the steam “diffuse” it for you to give you a nice pick-me-up in the morning. I still need to try this! And I just discovered that doTERRA also carries Citrus Bliss hand lotion and bars of soap, so… that’s dangerous. I want to buy ALL OF THE CITRUS BLISS THINGS.

Is there anyone who couldn’t benefit from a “grounding blend”? I think not. Balance helps to calm you down, reduce stress, and relieve anxiety. I have a few friends now who are using Balance to help with their anxiety and they sing its praises! It has a really nice woodsy scent, too. Perfect for a diffuser, or just rubbing on the wrists, neck, bottoms of the feet, etc. in times of stress and anxiousness. I’ve had a few moments of insanity during which I’ve taken a moment just to stop and take a few good whiffs right out of the bottle—and I think it works. I need to keep a bottle of Balance at work! :)

Now, this isn’t new to me (I’ve had it for a few months), but I realized I never talked about it and I should. One of the most common questions people—including myself—have about essential oils is about how to properly dilute them. When is it needed, how much, and WITH WHAT? There are some great resources out there to give guidance on the first two parts of that question (and let me know if you want me to help with that!), but for the third? I decided to order doTERRA’s fractionated coconut oil (many times referred to as “FCO”). There are MANY things you can use as a carrier oil to dilute oils when necessary—which is mostly when using certain oils on children and babies, but can be helpful for adults, too. But I like FCO because it’s odorless. I’ve used olive oil and regular coconut oil to dilute before, but these all have a fragrance themselves, so it can be weird in combination with the essential oils you’re using. With the FCO, you aren’t disturbing the aroma of your oils, which I think is really nice. Thumbs up for FCO.

So that’s what I’ve got for new oils recently. As for additional uses for oils I’ve talked about previously?

Well, LEMON continues to knock my socks off. One night, I was cleaning the kitchen table after dinner and I saw that there were a few new marks on our white table that wouldn’t come off with our normal counter spray (which is also made with essential oils, vinegar, and water). I whipped out my bottle of lemon oil and dropped a drop on top of the marks. I scrubbed it, and I kid you not—it came right off. I moved over to the other side of the table, where there had been a mark for months—MONTHS!—and used a drop of oil there, too. GONE in seconds. A few weeks later, I was cleaning the playroom after the girls went up to take a bath and I saw that one of our little friends who had been over to visit us for Nora’s recital had marked up the playroom table (also white) with crayon and marker. I tried to wipe it up with a wet rag first (“washable” markers, you know), but since it had been there a few days, it faded but it wasn’t coming up completely. Lemon to the rescue. Two drops and the marks were gone.

I *heart* lemon. Seriously. I remember Chelsey telling me that she goes through a bottle of lemon every month. I was new to oils at the time and I was like, HOW?! Because I just could not imagine it. Now, I’m that person. I need to order lemon every month. I’m running low at the moment and it’s kind of a mini crisis.

I also cannot say enough good things about lavender for helping to soothe itching and other irritations. My mom (being the bug bite queen that she is) has sailed through her old bottle and has asked me to order her another one. I used lavender on Nora’s bug bite this weekend and she stopped complaining about it, too.

As always, please email me (heatherdriveblog at yahoo dot com) if you have any questions or are interested in essential oils. I could talk about them forever because it’s just so interesting to me how effective they are at helping with so many things! I’m also happy to help get you hooked up with a few oils to try. You can browse doTERRA’s products here: http://www.mydoterra.com/heatherdrive/

If you are interested in potentially enrolling with a wholesale account (as a wellness advocate), doTERRA is offering a great promotion this month. Those who enroll in July will receive 50 free product credits—which is essentially equivalent to $50 in free product. It’s really a fantastic deal and I would love to help people take advantage of this! I can also tell you all about the wholesale account and how it works, but for starters—there is no obligation to buy or sell, it’s just the best way to get the most bang for your buck with essential oils. You get 25% off retail prices (retail prices available here) on the oils, plus you earn free product, promotions, and even free shipping. Email me for more info. :)

It’s time to go enjoy some Citrus Bliss.

(For even more info, check out my other posts on essential oils.)