Essential Oils // A Day in the Life

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I know some of you probably cringed at the title. I’ve found that essential oils can be a touchy subject and a lot of people fall into one of two camps: 1) can’t stop raving; or 2) don’t want anything to do with them. For a long time, I thought essential oils were a little cray, and people went a little overboard with them. And I say that as someone who thought that way while I used one blend (a breathe blend) for a few years. Over the last year or so I’ve incorporated them into my life more and more, and my list of oils to buy is growing. I still wouldn’t call myself a fanatic, but I do love the ones I use, so I thought I’d share a “day in the life” using essential oils. But first, a few disclaimers:

1 // If you’re not comfortable using essential oils, that’s totally fine. I get it. I don’t want to shove oils down anyone’s throat and that’s why I wanted to add my voice into this mix. I wanted to share how I use essential oils from the POV of someone who has always been a little skeptical, but has come to appreciate them.

2 // If you’re interested in using essential oils, research them before your incorporate them into your lifestyle. It’s so important to know how to use them. Are they safe to ingest? Do you need a carrier oil when you apply them to your skin? Should you be mindful of sun exposure after applying an oil? Is there any reason why you personally shouldn’t use a certain oil or you shouldn’t use an oil in a certain way? There are some good resources out there, including this book. I actually don’t have a copy of this one; mine is quite a bit smaller. But a friend of mine has the massive essential oil tome and I’ve spent quite a bit of time sitting at her counter with the book looking through all the oils.

3 // If you decide to try out essential oils, make sure you’re using high quality oils, especially if you use them some of the ways I do. I have used DoTerra and I like them. I still have a few DoTerra oils. I currently use Young Living and love them too. If you’re interested in trying out oils from Young Living and you’d like to say I referred to, you can use my member ID: 12102166 (I’ll make a small commission), but don’t feel like you have to. Just make sure you’re using high quality oils; that’s the key. These are the two brands I’d recommend. (I actually recently found a video on my phone from a writing retreat I attended and a woman who attended the retreat also uses oils. She put some in her water and she made the same disclaimer. Use high quality oils. Yes, they can get a little pricey sometimes, but a little goes a long way and it’s worth it to know you’re using a quality product.)

So, without further ado, let’s get into the oils.

Morning

Peppermint oil. I start my day with a glass of ice cold water mixed with a drop of peppermint oil. Yep, I put a drop of oil in my water and drink it. I know what you’re thinking: is it actually safe? And I totally get where you’re coming from. The first time I ever mixed an essential oil into my water and took a sip I totally expected to have my throat close up and suffocate. True story! But I also knew the person who put the oil in my water wouldn’t tell me to consume something that would kill me. Like I said above, before you start to use oils, make sure you do your research to see how you can use them. I have a handful of oils that I put in my water, but you need to make sure they’re safe to ingest.

(It’s worth noting that if you’re ingesting oils, Young Living has a Vitality line. I have Peppermint Vitality, but didn’t have it on hand when I took these photos.)

I like to start my day with peppermint oil for two reasons. 1) If I’m a little stuffed up and sniffly in the morning, a glass of water with peppermint oil clears it up. I’m not sure how or why, but I’ve only taken allergy medication a handful of times this summer and in the past I’ve taken one every day. (And I know my allergies have been a problem; my eyes have been so itchy!) 2) It’s refreshing and invigorating to start the day with a glass of cold water and peppermint oil! The only thing better is a drop of spearmint, but I don’t have any yet so I only drink it when visiting a friend.

Just remember, you don’t need to go overboard when mixing peppermint in your water. I mix one drop into 16 ounces of water. (And yes, this is my peppermint oil water bottle. Thanks for asking!) Any more than that and you’ll turn into a dragon that spews minty fresh ice whenever you open your mouth. Been there, done that.

Another perk of drinking peppermint oil: it helps with stomach issues, so if you have a stomach ache peppermint oil can help, whether you put it in your water or rub it on your belly. I also have a peppermint roller ball that I carry with me in case I get a headache. I rub it on my temples, and sometimes on my neck and shoulders when I know the headache is tension-related. I went through half a roller ball of peppermint in a month and a half, but I haven’t touched it since I left my job at the beginning of June. Imagine that.

Late Morning/Afternoon

(This is Lemon Vitality, so this is what the vitality bottles look like.)

Citrus oils. Tangerine, orange, lemon, and lime. I have ’em all and I love ’em all. They all do great things, but I’ll be honest: I use them because I like the scent and taste. When I diffuse them, they uplift my mood and give me an extra pep in my step. I also add all these oils to my water, so it gives flavor and encourages me to drink more. They can also be used when cooking. My friend and I were just talking about using lime oil to make tequila lime chicken.

If you’re not one for ingesting essential oils (again, that’s totally fine and I completely understand being hesitant to do so), but you’re interested in diffusing some of these, one of my fave combos is lime and tangerine. I also diffused wintergreen and orange, and wintergreen and lemon the other day and absolutely LOVED them! Also energizing combos.

Evening

Eucalyptus oil. I used to take showers in the evening all the time and now I tend to vary morning or evening based on what’s happening that day. One thing I always do: add a few drops of eucalyptus to the shower floor. The steam wafts the eucalyptus up and helps open up airways. I tried this one day in early summer when I felt slightly congested and I LOVED it!

Nighttime

Lavender, tea tree & frankincense oils. These oils are fantastic for your skin. Lavender calms redness, tea tree helps with blemishes, and frankincense helps with blemishes/wrinkles… all sorts of things, really. I bought a moisturizer from the drugstore (currently using this one from Aveeno) and mixed these oils into it. Within a week I saw a noticeable difference in my skin. I also diffuse lavender at night when I have trouble sleeping and I tend to fall asleep pretty quickly.

RC. This is a blend from Young Living that I rub on my chest and throat every night. I have a deviated septum, so I get congested a lot and I use this to help open up congested airways at night. A friend of mine prefers Raven, another YL blend. I already had this at home, so this what I’m using right now, but I would definitely try out Raven as well.

Thieves. If I feel like I might be coming down with something and I remember to use it, I’ll rub Thieves on my chest and the bottom of my feet before I go to bed. It also makes you smell like fall, because it has cinnamon and cloves. Who doesn’t want to smell like fall? One thing to keep in mind: this is a hot oil, which means it can feel hot on the skin when you apply it. If it’s something that will bother you, it’s important to mix those oils with a carrier oil. Again, when using essential oils you need to do your research so that you can use them safely and effectively.

Essential Oil Tools

Diffuser. This is the diffuser I use and I love it! It’s cute and doesn’t take up a lot of space. You can set it to diffuse for 1 hour, 3 hours or 6 hours. And you can set the light on a certain color, set it to rotate through colors or have no light at all.

Travel Case. I used to carry my oils in a little pouch, but I have since outgrown that. This travel case is adorable and has individual slots for your oils. It holds up to ten oils and fits rollerballs, as well as 15 ml and 5 ml bottles. I take this with me a lot and it’s filled with the oils I put in my water, as well as my rollerballs. This fit all the oils I needed to take with me for two weeks in Colorado. (PS – if you follow me on Insta and Snapchat, you probably already know that I’m wrapping up a two week trip to Colorado.) It’s perfect! If you have a lot of oils, you can also buy bigger cases to store them/carry them with you if you’re on the go. If I get to the point where I have more oils to store, I absolutely love this one.

Car Diffuser. I picked this up for our car ride to Colorado. The diffuser attaches to a vent in your car, you put the oil on a felt pad and the air blows through the diffuser and diffuses the scent into the air. It didn’t diffuse a constant stream of scent into the air as a traditional diffuser would, but it was nice to the scent of lemongrass floating around the car… especially since Miss Sophie went for a dip in the lake right before we left. When you’ve used all the pads, you can wash them and they’re ready for a new scent. I’ve only used one pad, so I haven’t washed them yet and I’m not sure how they hold up.

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So, tell me! Are you an oily girl? Are you interested in essential oils or do you think they’re a bunch of hocus pocus! I’d love to know what your thoughts are, so let me know in the comments below!