Essential Oils: Part Two (Purity)

Hello & welcome to day two of my five day blog series on essential oils! If you missed day 1, you can find it here.

In my attempt to research essential oils (EO's) over the past year or so, I have found one consistency. There is a LOT of misinformation out there. I believe that this is largely due to the lack of extensive research and the fact that EO's are not regulated by the FDA (on top of that, "taking control of your health" and seeking alternatives to support healthy body function isn't in the best interest for big pharmaceutical companies..they gotta make those benjamin's). With the many different brands to choose from, how do you make the best decision for you and your family?!? For me, this was an initial source of great frustration and has
inspired me to teach others how to safely and effectively use EO's based on what I have learned!

(Again, I am providing my own findings and what I believe to be the most accurate information, but I am not a doctor, so please use common sense with following any tips & advice I share with you.)

I am going to list some things to consider when choosing an EO brand and then explain why I exclusively use doTERRA.

1. There are three classifications of essential oils that are generally recognized.

• Synthetic (mainly fragrance oils and perfumes, poor quality, and man-made in laboratories)
• Food grade (things like Lemon or peppermint oils that are regarded safe for consumption, but still aren't pure)
• Therapeutic Grade (can be purchased at most health food stores or from online sources. Since this isn't a regulated term, having a quality brand that you trust really matters.)

2. Price

• While I am not one to waste money,  I do believe in the saying,  "You get what you pay for". In case you didn't know,  it takes massive amounts on plant material to make just one bottle of EO. Let me put this into perspective: it takes roughly  45 lemons for a 15mL bottle, 30 lbs. of Lavender flowers for a 15mL bottle of Lavender, and a staggering 1000 lbs of Melissa Plant just to produce a 5mL bottle of Melissa. With that being said, would you feel confident in buying product from a company that charges between $5 and $10 per bottle of EO they sell? It would raise red flags for me! I have been told (sorry, can't find the exact reference, but will update when I do) that to be able to slap the "100% Pure" label on a bottle of EO, there only has to be 10% pure oil and the remainder can be whatever filler the company chooses, usually a carrier vegetable oil. This is how some companies are able to charge so little per bottle! Of course this is a generalization and there may be some exceptions, I just want you to be aware that not all oils are created equally. 

Packaging

• Even the best quality EO's lose potency and effectiveness if not packaged and stored properly. When choosing a brand, the oil should be stored in a dark (amber or cobalt), glass container. Sunlight breaks down the oils, resulting in loss of effectiveness and therapeutic quality,  and a dark colored container will better protect your investment. Glass containers are important because, over time, pure EO's (especially citrus) will break down and pull chemicals from plastic, resulting in contaminated product. 
• I would also like to note that extreme temperatures could also inhibit effectiveness, especially exposure to heat. 

Quality/ Questions to ask yourself

• How does the company source plant material? Is is sustainable? Free of pesticides?  Foreign chemicals? What are the distillation methods used to extract oil? Is the end result truly 100% pure? 

Customer Service

• Does the company you are considering provide support and education materials? Do they have a foundation of integrity? 

The above list is by no means comprehensive, but these are considerations that are most important to me. :)

Just a few of the many reasons why I  trust doTERRA:

• First and foremost, my family and I consistently get fantastic results!
• The plants harvested are indigenously grown (Lavender from France, Lemon from Italy, Frankincense from Oman...). This means the plants, and eventually EO, are going to be of the highest quality due to being grown where it is able to thrive.
• doTERRA only bottles and sells EO's that are sustainable.
• Rigorous testing ensures that each batch of oil is free of toxins, contaminates, and microorganisms, meaning they are beyond organic. In addition, doTERRA has created such strict standards for themselves with purity, that they have trademarked the term CPTG (Certified Pure, Therapeutic Grade) and have committed to providing oils that are 100% pure and free of fillers, contaminates, or synthetic materials.(Can I get a WHOOT?!?)
• Select EO'S and Blends are labeled GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) and can be used internally.
• Resources, tips, information, and customer service are readily available.

That is quite a bit to take in, so I will  wrap it up for today. Tomorrow, you can look forward to reading about the three different ways to use EO's.

Thank you for spending a little time with me today!!

Heather

Disclaimer: This series has been written to provide information and to help educate others. This information was not provided to diagnose, proscribe, or treat any disease, illness, or injured condition of the body. The information present should not be used as a substitute for medical counseling and anyone suffering from a disease, illness, or injury should consult a qualified healthcare professional. 

Essential Oils: Part One

An out of town friend suggested that I write a blog series about essential oils since she, and others, have not been able to attend my scheduled classes. I am taking advantage of this and sharing my knowledge of oily goodness with you!

So here goes... Five posts in five days! My very first series! Eek! 

I would like to begin by stating that I am not a doctor and what I am sharing should not be used as a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment. Basically, use your common sense! Now that that's out of the way...

Background: 

I began using essential oils on a regular basis last spring (2013) at the beginning of my crunchy journey. This was largely my first experience with essential oils (aside from some low quality tea tree oil I tried in high school to help with acne). The more I researched and read, the more excited I became at the thought that I could use essential oils in place of many common household and hygiene products! The possibilities seemed endless, but reliable information on safety and usage was hard to find. Since then I have spent hours finding and compiling the best information to share with you.

First thing's first:

What is an essential oil?  They are the volatile liquids found in the stems, seeds, bark, roots, fowers and other parts of plants. The oil is usually a result from a steam distillation process. This yields a highly concentrated and fragrant compound. 

Sound too textbook-ish? I thought so, but don't worry, it does get better! 

Here the part where individual preference happens... The brand you choose. At this point, I should probably let y'all know that I am a wellness advocate (consultant) with doTERRA. It took a year of research and using a variety of oils to make this decision. Ultimately, the choice is up to you and no matter what brand you choose, I am thrilled that you are trying alternative health solutions! 

Tomorrow, I will share things to consider when choosing a brand of essential oils to use and why quality matters. 

A Long Overdue Update

I really do intend to get better about posting regularly! So here is a brief overview of what has happened since June...

As mentioned in a previous post, I spent some time at the Lotus Center for acupuncture and Chinese herbs to help the underlying causes of my infertility. Well, it worked and I got pregnant right away, but unfortunately on July 4, 2013 we lost our fourth baby, Avery. At that time we didn't want to pursue trying because we didn't want anymore heartache. We did, however, continue testing and after months of bloodwork and exams, we still don't have any answers. It took some time, but Tim an I are ok with that and know that God has our backs no matter the situation or outcome. Who knows?...maybe one day we will have a child of our own.  

In November, we added to our family a different way by adopting a kitten (Sabrina). Adding a Kitten in with a miniature Schnauzer (Olive, the tom boy princess), and another cat (Nimbus, ruler of the house) was (and still is!) entertaining to say the least. They all get along well and I have fallen in love with each of their sweet personalities! 

With the new year, Tim and I celebrated our third anniversary and are still very much in love! We also have some trips planned for the year (yay)!

There you have it! A brief overview of a few BIG things that have happened since early summer (and the last real time I blogged). 

Have a stellar Saturday!

Heather

Laundry Stain Removal

Last week at Bible study I accidentally marked on my pants with pen (poor, graffitied pants falling victim to my "graceful" ways!). When I did laundry using our regular soap nut method, the pen marks remained so I decided to find an Oxy-clean like recipe using only ingredients I had in the house. Thanks to a tip from my husband, and google verification, here is the recipe I tried:

2 parts water
1 part baking soda
1 part hydrogen peroxide
                                                          


Mix all ingredients well and pour on the stained area, then wash normally. Easy peasy, right?!?  I let mine sit for about an hour, scrubbing the pen mark stains with an old toothbrush during commercial breaks of a Gilmore Girls episode (a serious guilty pleasure of mine!)

When I put my pants in the washing machine with another load of clothes, I noticed the marks were faded, but still noticeable. I was starting to doubt this method of stain removal, but after the wash cycle the pen marks were gone! See for yourselves....

Before washing/treating, a little hard to see, but the marks are there.

After washing/treating

Marks are gone!

Introducing: Jade Made Creations!

So sorry for the loooong hiatus...I am pretty sure at this point I don't have any readers remaining! I have been enjoying summertime (yay) and haven't made time to blog (boo).  Today's post was inspired because I came across a station on iheartradio called Indie Vegan Cookbook Radio. Of course I had to choose it to see what that was all about. I was pleasantly surprised that the bands/people featured are ones that already listen to through my other stations (I will listen to anything, but alternative & rock are my favorites). So here I am listening to vegan radio and blogging about my crunchy transition.. It is a good day!

Even though I haven't posted anything new to my blog since June doesn't mean I have abandoned my crunchy/natural journey. One of my favorite changes this summer was significantly reducing our household's use of throw away paper towels. This was possible because Tim and I bought some Un-paper towels from one of my friends, a "work-at-home-mom" Jade Chiu! These towels are made of cloth and have snaps on the corners so they can be attached and placed on a paper towel holder. Use them as you would a regular paper towel, but instead of throwing them away, you just wash and reuse! 

Jade is super talented and makes all kinds of cool, reusable products, accessories, and items for baby! Check out her website here, or visit and like her Facebook page, Jade Made Creations! 

             

As always, thank you for reading and feel free to leave a comment!

Heather

Our Growing Garden!

Happy Summer!!! I love the season that brings warm weather, July 4th, beach trips, skirts, cookouts, and REAL FOOD!  In celebration of the new season I thought y'all would like to see updated pictures of our hay bale garden. For those doubters out there, YES, we have fruit and vegetables growing, and I can not wait until harvest time!  My first post on straw/hay bale gardening (along with "before" pictures) can be found here. Let me know what you think and if you would ever try growing your own straw bale garden. I appreciate the interest that the original post has generated!

The whole garden (perfect for two)!

Soon, we will have a lot of squash!

Zucchini is about to explode into yummy goodness!

Cucumbers too! 

Our tomatoes are doing extremely well!

A pepper.

Cherry tomatoes!

Green Cleaning!

In an effort to use safer cleaning products around the house, I have been making my own versions as I run out of the store bought/conventional products I have on hand. The homemade versions are generally much safer AND they clean & disinfect just as well, if not better than their chemical laden counterparts!

I have been tweaking my go-to recipe for an all purpose cleaner over the past couple of months and have come up with a mixture that I love using for all of my cleaning needs.. really!

Drumroll please.......

The recipe:
3  cups of hot water
2 Tbsp Borax* (disinfectant and bug repellant that is safe for pipes and septic systems)
4 Tbsp vinegar (the acidity in vinegar helps kill germs and reduce microbial growth, a safe cleaning product!)
10-15 drops of lemon or Tea Tree  essential oil (I used lemon for the fresh scent and it's antibacterial and anti fungal properties. Tea Tree, or Melaleuca, is a powerful antibacterial and anti fungal, making it a great addition to your cleaning supplies as well)

Mix all of the ingredients together in a spray bottle and store out of direct sunlight.
*Important* make sure you label your containers/spray bottles!!!

Give the bottle a little shake before each use and you have an environmentally friendly, inexpensive, and safer cleaning solution that's works!

*Although Borax is an all natural product(sodium tetraborate, a naturally occurring mineral), use caution when handling. It is an eye irritant and can be harmful if ingested.