Essential Oils: Part Two

How do you use essential oils? 

Now that we have looked at how essential oils work, let's take a look at how to use them. 

The great thing about using Young Living Essential Oils is that the instructions are right on the bottle!  No remembering! 

There are three different basic methods to follow when using essential oils. Every oil is not necessarily used the same way, but that's when having the instructions on the bottle comes in handy dandy!

A term to familiarize yourself with is carrier oil. This is not an oil like vegetable oil that you would cook with, but rather an oil that does not alter the effects of the essential oil. Oils such as grapeseed oil, coconut oil, or a V-6 Vegetable Oil Complex are recommended to use as carrier oils. A carrier oil is what you will use to dilute an essential oil. 

1. Topical Application

The first way to use oils is to apply them topically. Not all, but many are safe to apply directly to the skin. Some may be applied neat (meaning without dilution), and others need to be diluted. Oils that need to be diluted are called hot oils. 

You should always apply an oil on a small area of skin when using it for the first time to test the sensitivity of your skin. 

Topical application includes the areas of massage, acupuncture, acupressure, compresses, layering, adding to bath water or shower. 

When applying oils to the skin, there are several different areas you may apply them based on the problem you are treating. Vita Flex points are used often, as well as the back, bottom of the feet, and the neck. 

2. Diffusing

Using a cold-air diffuser sends a fine mist of essential oils into the air around it where it may remain for several hours.

This sends the aromatic oils all through your space, and allows you to receive the benefits. Diffusing is a great way to get the effects of the oil without applying it topically. It is also a great way to disinfect and keep illness from spreading in your house (a super plus if you have kids running around!). 

If you are going to use oils, I highly recommend investing in a diffuser. I use mine every day!

A few rules when diffusing: 

1. Never mix two blends. It's ok to put a single oil with a blend or a single oil with another single oil, but mixing two blends can alter how the oils work together. Remember they are specially designed to work together in that blend, and mixing them can change things up. 

2. Follow the directions for how long you should diffuse each oil. Remember, these are on the bottle!

3. Dietary

SOME oils are safe to use as dietary supplements; however, it is extremely important to note that not all are safe to ingest. Be extra careful to follow the guidelines listed on the bottle of each individual oil. If there are no instructions for dietary use, don't ingest it.

I use dietary oils daily. I put some in my water, and some I combine in a veggie capsule.

They are very easy to take when using a capsule - and the capsule keeps you from tasting some of those strong, yucky ones.

A word about kids and essential oils: 

Children don't need to use oils at their normal potency. Young Living has some kid-friendly oils (a must have for every mom) but if you want to use other oils on them, they need to be diluted significantly. 

Most oils can be diluted for children by adding 15-30 drops of the oil to 1 oz. of carrier oil. 

See? Using oils is not difficult at all! Most of the time, I use my oils in my diffuser, or I apply them topically. They make these awesome rollerball lids that make applying oils super easy too!

Hopefully this helped you understand how to use oils - it's really quite simple.

Part Three of this series is going to conclude the series with a few good facts to know as well as some of my favorite oils to use on a regular basis. 

Want to start Young Living Essential Oils? 

• Go to youngliving.com
• Click on “Become a Member.” – Becoming a member means that you purchase a starter kit. You can choose from any of the available kits. Once you purchase a kit, you are a Wholesale Member which means you receive Young Living products at a 24% discount. No monthly order is required and no quota has to be reached. Simply order what you want when you want – you will receive the discount.
• Choose the box “I was referred by a Young Living member, and I have his or her member number.”
• Enter the following number in the Sponsor and Enroller ID space: 2894356
• Click “Continue.”
• Fill out Member Info form. Click “Agree and Continue.”
• Choose your Starter Kit.
• Complete Shipping and Payment Information.
• Checkout.
• CONGRATS! You’ve joined the Young Living family!

If you join under my Enroller ID (#2894356), I will send you this Essential Oils reference book worth $25. Best book ever to help you understand how and when to use your oils. Literally, It says it all!

If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to contact me! 

                                                          

nicholerabon@gmail.com

919.931.5253

Essential Oils: Part One

I'm so excited to start this series about Essential Oils! Even in my own life, I am using them more and more every day. In fact, I just went through my first cold since I've started using oils, and I was able to get over my symptoms faster than any over-the-counter meds have ever helped me.

But let's get back to today's focus: What is an essential oil, and how does it work?

What Is It? 

An essential oil is by definition, "an aromatic, volatile liquid that is within many plants." This liquid is usually extracted by a very delicate steam distillation process. An essential oil is a natural resource that is a highly concentrated and very potent liquid containing powerful antimicrobials (antibacterial properties). It's a very complex structure containing hundreds of natural chemicals.

In my terms, an essential oil comes from taking very large quantities of a plant, sending them through a very delicate distillation process, and gleaning the liquid produced from the plant. We're talking about a potency far above what you would get from taking a supplement or eating part of the same plant.


Let me go ahead and insert here how important it is to make sure that when you use essential oils, you use 100% pure, therapeutic grade oils. There are many oils available at health stores, or even at your local pharmacy that claim to be essential oils, but they contain many synthetics in them. Lavender is one of the most common oils that is replicated using synthetic materials. THESE WILL NOT PRODUCE THE SAME RESULTS that a 100% pure, therapeutic grade essential oil will. That's why I use Young Living. I know that I am getting the best quality of oils from an established and reputable company.

How Does It Work? 

Because essential oils are so potent and efficient, it is important to have a basic knowledge of them to use them safely. One thing I love about Young Living's oils is that the bottle tells me how to use them and if they need to be diluted or can be applied neat (just as they are).

Essential oils work so well because they are able to "penetrate cell membranes and travel through the blood and tissues" of the body. In fact, they can travel through the body with their effects in a matter of minutes.

Without getting into all of the chemical, nerdy talk (trust me, I feel like I've been back in chemistry class as I've studied and studied over how this stuff works), I will give you a list of what the different chemical makeups in an essential oil do:

* work as an antiseptic, have antimicrobial properties, soothe inflamed tissue, affect emotions and hormonal balance, energize, cleanse, contain antiviral properties, produce calming and anti-depressant effects, relieve stress, reduce blood pressure, act in cell regeneration, decongest, reduce appetite, and contain anti fungal and anti parasitic properties.

Essential oils are the essence of aromatherapy. It truly is amazing how the scent of an oil can even affect mood (This is an area I was super skeptical about until I studied it out). There is a small part of your olfactory system (what you smell with) called the Olfactory bulb that processes the aroma and sends signals to your brain. Here's what happens you smell something:

AROMA -----> OLFACTORY BULB -----> IMPULSES TO BRAIN -----> LIMBIC SYSTEM

Once the brain has sent messages to the Limbic system based on the aroma, the effects of the smell can stimulate hormones from the hypothalamus (produces energy, youth, and longevity hormones). The Limbic system has a direct connection to brain parts that control your heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, memory, stress levels, and hormonal balance. Yes, smells are that powerful! 

I know this may be a lot to swallow at one time. However, I hope you can see in a small way how essential oils work and effect the body. 

Part Two of this series is going to focus on how to use essential oils. We'll take a brief look at different ways to use oils. 

Want to start Young Living Essential Oils?

• ·      Go to youngliving.com
• ·      Click on “Become a Member.” – Becoming a member means that you purchase a starter kit. You can choose from any of the available kits. Once you purchase a kit, you are a Wholesale Member which means you receive Young Living products at a 24% discount. No monthly order is required and no quota has to be reached. Simply order what you want when you want – you will receive the discount.
• ·      Choose the box “I was referred by a Young Living member, and I have his or her member number.”
• ·      Enter the following number in the Sponsor and Enroller ID space: 2894356
• ·      Click “Continue.”
• ·      Fill out Member Info form. Click “Agree and Continue.”
• ·      Choose your Starter Kit.
• ·      Complete Shipping and Payment Information.
• ·      Checkout.
• ·      CONGRATS! You’ve joined the Young Living family!

If you join under my Enroller ID (#2894356), I will send you this Essential Oils reference book worth $25. Best book ever to help you understand how and when to use your oils. Literally, It says it all!

If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

                                                         

nicholerabon@gmail.com

919.931.5253

Essential Oils...HUH??

Maybe you've been introduced to essential oils in some way shape or form. The first time I really every heard anything about them, I was attending a party hosted by my sister. A party at which I was also selling my own jewelry.

Honestly, I kinda chuckled to hear what these "oils" did for you. I didn't really believe it or have any desire to buy into it. However, in January, I started my family on a clean eating plan (at least at home) and I began to read and learn about all things natural. As you can imagine, essential oils came up.

At this point, I began to ponder if they might possibly have some validity to them, but I was still not interested. Until...

I had the worst migraine of my life. I had taken as many meds as I could possibly take, and I called my mother, a nurse, to see what I could do. I was writhing in pain with no relief in sight. She immediately sent my brother to my house with a few different oils (at midnight of course - I have such a good brother). Within fifteen minutes of applying the oils, my migraine was down to minimal pain, and I was able to sleep, waking up with no headache at all. SAY WHAT????

Yep, that convinced me for sure. From that point on, those few oils for headache never leave my side. And that was that. I saved up for my kit, purchased it, and now I use my oils every day for every member of the family.

So what are essential oils??? I want to help you understand them if you are interested. For the sake of a super long post, I'm going to do it in parts, explaining how they work and how you can use them yourself! Seriously...I love using something natural that God gave us instead of using medicines that have negative side effects on our bodies. I want you to learn to do it too!

Soooo.... my next post is going to focus on what an essential oil is and how it works.

Stay tuned! I'm so excited!

Want to start Young Living Essential Oils?

·      Go to youngliving.com

*      Click on “Become a Member.” – Becoming a member means that you purchase a starter kit. You can choose from any of the available kits. Once you purchase a kit, you are a Wholesale Member which means you receive Young Living products at a 24% discount. No monthly order is required and no quota has to be reached. Simply order what you want when you want – you will receive the discount.

·       Choose the box “I was referred by a Young Living member, and I have his or her member number.”

·      Enter the following number in the Sponsor and Enroller ID space: 2894356

·      Click “Continue.”

·    Fill out Member Info form. Click “Agree and Continue.”

·     Choose your Starter Kit.

·     Complete Shipping and Payment Information.

·     Checkout.

·     CONGRATS! You’ve joined the Young Living family!

If you join under my Enroller ID #, I will send you this Essential Oils reference book. Best book ever to help you understand how and when to use your oils. Literally, It says it all!

If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

                                                         

nicholerabon@gmail.com

919.931.5253

a new start

Welcome to the house 118 blog. I'm so excited about this new chapter of my blogging life.

I'm setting out with purpose and reasonable expectations. This blog is going to focus on the people and the things that I love. I am a full-time wife and mom who also happens to work as a part-time secretary, youth pastor's wife, and independent designer for Origami Owl. Yes, life is busy, but when everything is put in proper priority, it works! In fact, it works really well!

I love the life that I have been blessed with. I have a wonderful Savior and a wonderful family.

God has truly been good and I want to share bits and pieces of His goodness with you. You will catch some personal posts, some recipes, some family fun, some church-related articles, and a little bit of what touches my life.

My blog is not my priority so there may be some pretty long breaks between posts at times, but that just means I'm taking care of my number 1 priorities.

I look forward to my new blogging journey and would love for you to follow along and leave your own comments and ideas!