Natural living is a journey, not a destination. On my journey towards a natural medicine cabinet and natural home, I discovered essential oils. For over a year now, essential oils have been a part of my daily routine. I use them in some aspect every day. Essential oils play a role in my family’s health care, skin care, and the care of our home. Today I’m sharing the top 5 oils that I use nearly everyday. If you are thinking about using essential oils, these 5 oils are the perfect place to start.
Lavender
Lavender is one of the most versatile essential oils. Here are the different ways we use this oil:
- For calming at bedtime. If the kids are extra wound up, I will rub some lavender on their feet to help them get calm and ready for sleep. Tim and I also use it at times when we have trouble falling asleep or feel stressed at bedtime.
- For burns. I burn myself a lot in the kitchen (I’m such a klutz) and I always turn to lavender first.
- For bug bites. Lavender oil helps ease the itch associated with bug bites. Tim got stung by a bee last week, and lavender+peppermint essential oils eliminated the redness immediately.
- Random skin issues. Lavender is great for skin conditions such as eczema, dry skin, or any skin sensitivities.
- Seasonal allergies. A mixture of lavender+lemon+peppermint works great when we are experiencing seasonal allergies.
Lemon
If I had to pick a favorite essential oil, I’d probably pick lemon. I love its fresh, invigorating scent, and use it in so many ways. Here’s how we use lemon essential oil at our house:
- I put a few drops in my water every day. It is said that this helps boost your mood, increase energy, boost your metabolism, detox your body, balance your body’s pH levels, and give your immune system a boost.
- For cleaning. Lemon essential oil is one of the best natural cleaners out there. It is great for cleaning walls (takes scuff marks out!), wooden furniture (I use it to clean my white counter stools), and markers and crayons off of places they shouldn’t be. It’s also great for cleaning sinks, counter tops, and floors. It’s perfect for de-greasing, cleaning gooey messes, and also is a great natural leather cleaner.
- For colds and coughs. I have used lemon essential oil as a part of a natural cough syrup and use it with other oils whenever our household has the sniffles.
- Diffuse it. I diffuse lemon essential oil anytime I need an energy boost. The scent is really invigorating.
- Cooking. If I don’t have fresh lemons and want lemon flavor, I turn to my lemon essential oil that I always have on hand.
Peppermint
Peppermint is a powerful essential oil that has many uses. Here are some of the ways we use it in our home:
- Headache relief. A few drops of peppermint on the temples helps ease headaches.
- Seasonal allergies. (see above)
- Bug bites. It helps take the redness out of insect stings and bites.
- Sun burn. We rarely get sunburned, but the one time I did peppermint essential oil was amazing. I mixed it with lavender in a water bottle and sprayed it on myself every 10 minutes for an hour. It took the redness completely out and the burn looked like a tan when I was done. I wish I’d taken before and afters as it was remarkable.
- Freshen breath. No need for mints! Just put a drop of peppermint essential oil on your tongue and you naturally freshen your breath in seconds. This is also energizing.
- Fever reducer/cool down. Peppermint is a natural fever reducer and is also great for general cooling. I put some in a spray bottle with water and have it ready to spray me or the kids in the summer time when we’re playing outside and get overheated. This would be great for older kids who play sports.
- Cooking. I love peppermint flavor and it’s great to add a few drops to a smoothie for a minty blast.
Melaleuca
Melaleuca essential oil is commonly known as tea tree oil. Here’s how we use this awesome oil:
- For skin blemishes. I get two kinds of breakouts: hormonal and sweat-induced. Around my menstrual cycle I tend to get a few blemishes and if I don’t shower immediately after working out, I inevitably get a blemish or two somewhere. I put melaleuca directly on skin blemishes and they clear quickly, usually within 1-2 days.
- For an immune boost. I use this oil a lot during the cold and flu season. We use it on our feet anytime we are feeling the slightest of sickness and it helps keep the sickness away.
- Infections. This is a great oil for infections of all kinds. When Meghan was sick this fall, a trip to the doctor revealed she had a slight ear infection. I rubbed some melaleuca around her ear and it healed on its own without the need for antibiotics.
Frankincense
Frankincense is one of the most treasured essential oils. An ancient oil, it was one of the three gifts brought to Jesus from the wise men! You know it has to be good, right? It’s one of the most expensive oils, but that is because it is a truly effective oil. I’ve read about it being a cancer fighter, an antidepressant, and how it is used to treat Alzheimer’s disease and other brain diseases/disorders. Here’s how we use frankincense in our home:
- As an anti-inflammatory. When Tim was stung by a bee last week, we used frankincense to treat the swelling.
- To reduce scarring. You know all those burns I get in the kitchen? I also get cuts. I use frankincense for both to reduce scarring.
- Headaches. Along with peppermint on my temples, I put a drop of frankincense on the roof of my mouth when I feel a headache coming on. For most headaches, it works well.
- For sickness. Whenever someone is sick, we turn to frankincense. It has both anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties, so it is a great oil to fight colds, flus, and other sicknesses.
- Anxiety. I don’t suffer from major anxiety, but I do get overwhelmed and anxious when I’m stressed with too many things to do. Simply breathing in the scent of frankincense is very helpful and has a calming effect.
What brand essential oils do you use?
I know I will get this question, so I’m answering it before it comes. 🙂 Brand is important when it comes to essential oils. As you can see from the pictures, I use the DoTERRA brand of essential oils. I have also heard great things about Young Living oils, but have not tried them so I can’t personally attest to how well they work. I do know you have to be careful with what oils you buy as oils are not regulated and you can get some that are not 100% pure. My best advice is to research the brand you are considering and make sure you know their extraction methods and how their oils are tested.
I signed up as an independent product consultant so I could receive the wholesale price of DoTERRA oils and take advantage of their Loyalty Rewards Program. I get points each month that I purchase oils and am able to use those points to get free oils. You can also purchase DoTERRA oils on Amazon. I have heard some people who sell DoTERRA oils advise against getting your oils from Amazon for fear that they may be tampered with, but from what I can tell they are authentic. DoTERRA allows their consultants to sell their oils on Amazon, so I see no reason not to purchase that way if you don’t want to take advantage of their Loyalty Reward Program or sell the oils yourself. I don’t actively sell the oils, but I could since I am an IPC, so this is coming from an unbiased place. I do have some oils in my Amazon Store, but if I was looking to make money from selling oils, it would be much more advantageous for me to do so directly through DoTERRA, so that doesn’t affect my opinion on this.
While I have a lot more than 5 essential oils in my home, these oils are the top 5 I turn to more than any others. These 5 essential oils are a great place to get started with essential oils on your journey to a more natural home.
I use them for cleaning! 1 cup baking soda, 10 drops tea tree oil (its anti-bacterial), then add 1 cup white vinegar ( I just pour it in without measuring). Let it sit and fizz for 10 minutes. Scrub and flush.
Obviously that’s for a toilet.
I figured that out! 😉 Thanks for the recipe!
I love my doTERRA! These oils have truly changed my family’s lives and the way we think about healthcare. I am all about avoiding the doctor if we can and trying natural first. 🙂 Thanks for the post!
You’re welcome, Erin! I hope a lot of my readers will use you to get the oils into their lives!
I am surprised you didn’t mention Thieves oil! I need to do a lot more research but that ones seems to be the cure all during cold and flu. I have heard great things about both doterra and young living. They both seem to be legit.
Also, I have heard you aren’t supposed to directly ingest these oils? What sort of advice did you get about ingestion as opposed to only rubbing on the skin?
All fo DoTERRA oils can be taken internally (at least all of the ones I have). I think some brands are not pure and therefore can’t be taken internally. But all the DoTERRA literature I’ve read does recommend ingesting the oils.
I think Thieves may be a Young Living oil? I’ve not tried that one. I believe the DoTERRA equivalent is On Guard, which we do use a lot. I wanted to keep this post about individual oils, though, not blends. I also wanted the oils I talked about to not be brand-specific, but oils that you didn’t have to use one specific brand to get. 🙂
Thieves is an ancient blend of oils going back centuries. On Guard is similar but I think there might be one or two differences between it and thieves.
Good call on the blends-I never thought about them being brand specific but they can be.
As with everything you’ll hear you should and shouldn’t. I’ve read stuff recently that says you shouldn’t ingest oils, even the pure stuff. I was just curious what you had read or seen that was saying otherwise.
Very interesting! I will have to read more about ingesting oils. All the literature I have from doTERRA says the oils are safe to ingest. I actually just got done taking a capsule of oregano+onguard+lemon+melaleuca as I felt the slightest tinge of sickness this morning! I’m curious now as to why some might think it’s not safe so I’ll definitely be researching.
I love essential oils, I use the lemon and orange as cleaning agents in my home instead of harsh chemicals and love the smell so much more! I too have a bottle of Frankinsence but it gets used very sparingly since that bottle was 50 bucks! Yikes. I use several blends on the soles of my feet when I’m am sick to suck the life out of my colds and if I catch it early, it works! Helps with a cough too. I use the Ancient Legacy/Youngevity brand.
I use the Young Living oils and love them!
I have heard only good things about Young Living oils. From what I can tell, the two brands are pretty comparable.
I am curious about your diffuser also! I am looking to get one.
I have this one: http://www.amazon.com/doTERRA-doTerra-Aroma-Lite-Diffuser/dp/B00GUSYAXO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414460421&sr=8-1&keywords=aroma+lite+diffuser+doterra
It’s cheaper through DoTERRA, the wholesale list price is $89.95. It’s the only one I’ve ever tried, but we really like it. I also saw your email–I’ll be emailing you in a bit!
I love peppermint essential oil. I’ve rubbed it on my temples and it has totally helped ease head ache pain. Never put it on your temples while laying down. Last summer when I was sick with a pounding headache I got lazy and dropped some onto my temple which went straight into my EYE! OMG, it was the worst pain! Anyway, I was fine once I washed it out with some other oil, but what a disaster. This was also on my 1 year anniversary with my husband. We totally laugh about it now. David also used to use lavender oil to calm him the night before a big test in college.
Ouch!! That must have hurt so much. At least you have a funny memory to share with your husband. 🙂
Awesome post! I’m just starting expanded my experience with essential oils. Curious what diffuser do you use?
I have this one: http://www.amazon.com/doTERRA-doTerra-Aroma-Lite-Diffuser/dp/B00GUSYAXO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414460421&sr=8-1&keywords=aroma+lite+diffuser+doterra
It is a little cheaper through doTERRA–the price is wholesale price is $89.95.This is the only one I’ve ever tried, but we really like it.
I love the post I have a deep obsession for Natural Medicine. I like oils and have used them with positive and negative reactions.
I love do Terra oils and I sell them as well. They are amazing and very versatile. Please do not advocate buying them on Amazon. It is virtually impossible to tell if the oils have been tampered with because you can find replacement caps with a seal that can easily pass for authentic. Also, by purchasing from amazon, you are not getting the connection to someone who can help educate you and support you if you have questions while learning to use the oils. Essentially, you’re taking money out of the pocket of people who are working hard to help others.
I think that if there is/was a problem with authenticity, DoTERRA should absolutely not allow them to be sold on Amazon. If that is the case, by allowing it they are compromising the integrity of their company. I think that people can make their own choice if they want the support that comes with purchasing from a rep. If I didn’t use the Loyalty Program, I would purchase from Amazon for convenience. Also, DoTERRA charges shipping fees and I use Amazon Prime so I could get the oils in 2 days with free shipping. I’m not trying to take money from anyone’s pocket, I’m just being honest about the choices that are out there. I think DoTERRA has really put their IPCs in a bad position by allowing Amazon sales, but that’s the way it is right now and I have to be honest with my readers about what’s available for them.
I hope this is okay but I wanted to share that I have spoken with customer service about this exact issue. They do not advocate selling on Amazon. In fact, they told me to file a complaint with the compliance department as doTERRA corporate is trying to stop the sale on Amazon. This was not their intent, and if you read through and train through, they discuss why they do not advocate sale of oils this way and why it’s against their policies. I’d encourage you to contact customer service about this as well. In the past three weeks I have seen two different examples that individuals had of tampered with doTERRA essential oils that they purchased off of Amazon. One of which actually had a competitors lid on the top of a doTERRA bottle. That’s nothing against the competitor, but shows how the legitimacy of some Amazon is very lacking. So I have say, as a wellness advocate and an avid user of doTERRA, I’m with Susan on this one! Buy from a wellness advocate to assure quality!
Thank you for sharing. I know doTERRA doesn’t specifically advocate selling on Amazon, but they do allow it. It isn’t against their policies from what I can find. Here is an excerpt from the agreement if you want to sell on Amazon:
dōTERRA has a policy that its Wellness Advocate may not sell products through online auctions or online
mall sites, such as eBay or Amazon, without specific written permission from dōTERRA in the form of an
Online Auction/Mall Agreement with dōTERRA insuring proper conduct and compliance with all dōTERRA
policies. In consideration for the granting of permission from dōTERRA to sell dōTERRA products through
an online auction or mall, Wellness Advocate agrees as follows:
…and the agreement goes on to list what compliances must be met. Of course if there is tampering going on, that’s when a complaint needs to be made. From what you are saying, it sounds like buying from Amazon is a risk some people may not want to take. But it is allowed by doTERRA.
Awesome post, Maryea! Thanks!
Thanks, Tammy. 🙂