Aromatherapy at Home With The Premium Starter Kit

Aromatherapy is probably essential oils' mainstream claim to fame, with their mood-enhancing scents. Nowadays, it is easy to have the benefits of aromatherapy right in your own home--no spa or massage therapist needed!

Good quality essential oils are a healthy way to scent and freshen the air in your home. But there is so much more to it than that! The molecules of essential oils are so tiny, they travel through your nose, into your blood stream and to the limbic system of your brain (that's the part that regulates your basic emotions and drives). Essential oils are powerful and simply smelling them can affect your body not only mentally, but physically. You can use them aromatically to support your mood, your mind, and your body. Did you ever even notice that the second half of "aromatherapy" is "therapy?!"

To diffuse essential oils, all you have to do is add a few drops of your preferred oil to some water in the well of a diffuser. You can get a diffuser from lots of places now, including Amazon and health food stores. Mine came as a part of my Young Living Premium Starter Kits (yeah, I have more than 1...) Young Living oils are top quality, therapeutic grade, for maximum therapeutic value. The kit includes 11 of their most versatile and/or popular essential oils and the diffuser to use them with!  (Get your hands on it HERE!) But, once you have them, what should you put in your diffuser? You can, of course, start with any one on its own. That's a fantastic way to get familiar with each one, how it makes you feel, and how you like it.  Go slow and don't get overwhelmed! They aren't going anywhere! Once you've experienced them on their own, or if you are just more ambitious to start with, then you can take the next step and combine them to fine tune addressing your needs.

Here are each of the PSK oils with their primary aromatic uses, so you can see how mixing and matching can enhance their effects:

Lavender: calming, soothing, balancing (mentally and physically!)
Lemon: cleansing for the air, clarifying, and invigorating
Peppermint: stimulating mentally, invigorating, and purifying
Copaiba: soothing, promotes body's natural response to irritant
Frankincense: uplifiting, grounding
Stress Away: promotes peace, balance, and relaxation
Thieves: super cleansing, supports immune health
Purification: cleansing, supports respiratory health
RC: cleansing, supports sinus and respiratory health
PanAway: stimulating


Here's a comprehensive collection of wonderful combinations of PSK oils that make for great diffuser blends!

 

*Note that each combo appears only once!

I think you can see a trend here. The single oils are more versatile than the blends. And you can see, 2 or 3 oils are plenty! No need to get carried away.

In my bedroom, a medium space with 2 adult bodies, I tend to stick with 6 drops total: 2-3 drops of each. For my children I do even less. My 4-year-old gets 3-4 drops total in her room, and my 2-year-old usually only 2 drops. I may go up to 8 total drops in my open-concept living/dining/kitchen space. But IMHO, why waste? Now if we are under the weather, or there is something going around and I feel we need the extra support, I MAY flex those totals a bit, but I don't usually feel it is necessary.

Remember too, when combining oils, that some are stronger than others. I find peppermint, Thieves, and RC particularly dominant, while copaiba and frankincense are a bit lighter. I adjust accordingly, for example, 2 drops peppermint + 4 drops Stress Away or 2 drops RC + 3 drops lemon.

If you are just starting out, keep it on the light side and keep the exposure brief, especially for kids! Also be sure to keep an exit available for pets.

So bust out that diffuser and try something new!

Steam Tent with Essential Oils

Have you ever tried a steam tent? Have you ever heard of a steam tent? Well, it's a very easy technique using steam to carry essential oils. It can be a great tool to support your respiratory system or your skin. The steam itself opens everything up, pores, sinuses, ect, then, a cleansing or detoxifying essential oil can go to work! My favorite essential oil for tenting is Melrose (a proprietary blend from Young Living with 2 varieties of melaleuca, including tea tree, and rosemary), but there are lots of great choices! Watch my brief demo showing you exactly how it's done!

Remember, as a word of caution, to remove contact lenses! Essential oils and contacts don't get along well :) Also, for best results for your skin, remove make up first.

Want to get your hands on those pure, clean, top quality essential oils? I only use the best, including those exclusive blends, and you can too here!

DIY Foaming Soap

Did you hear? The FDA has banned 19 "antibacterial agents" from commercial soaps, basically saying that they do more harm than good! The problem is really two-fold: first, it drives bacterial evolution leading to antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria, and second, it kills off the good bacteria that your body needs to maintain healthy balance. So, in light of this information, maybe now is the perfect time to be more confident embarking on making your own soap, knowing that you'll still get plenty clean!

The easiest place to start is with foaming soaps. I love foaming soaps. I've been using them for years! I always felt like they lasted longer. When I started on my essential oil and DIY journey, I found out how easy it is to make myself. I also found out that they are mostly water! I really HATE paying for water, including watered down products! So, now, I make it, of course!

I love that I can change it up and customize it. It's a basic formula, but I can add different oils, carriers and essential, to make exactly what I need at the time, like to meet the needs of my skin in summer vs winter, or what I prefer, like spicy in the fall vs fresh in the spring. I will alos add, that since making my own this way, I don't use lotion as much. Since it is made with oils, it isn't as stripping and harsh as traditional soaps, so my skin loves this recipe!

To make your own, first, you need to start with a foaming pump. I bought some from Abundant Health (I love the little travel size!). I've also recycled empty ones from store-bought foaming soap. If you're going to recycle, be sure you strongly dilute any essential oils used, since the grade of plastic is not verified. I also avoid citrus oils in my recycled ones since those seem to be more strongly degrading to plastics.

The next thing you need is a concentrated soap base. I love castile soap for this! It is combination of water, and a number of saponified oils, including coconut, olive, and jojoba. It also has a small quantity or potassium hydroxide necessary for the saponification reaction (basically the mechanism that makes soap grab dirt and carry it away.) You can get it pre-scented with natural fragrances, but I like to add my own. And since I use it for multiple things, I like my soap unscented.

In your bottle, combine about 2/3 water and 1/3 soap, and you could be done there!

If you like, you can add some things first...

• vegetable glycerin
• vitamin E
• extra carrier oil of your choice (probably steer clear of regular coconut oil since it can go solid in cooler temperatures)
• essential oils for skin care (Some of my favorites include, but are certainly not limited to lavender, frankincense, tea tree, Purification, Thieves, Melrose... the list goes on and on!)

Check out my video demo, including my facewash recipe, showing you how easy it really is!

Want to get extra clean this month??? Young Living is offering a FREE bottle of their exclusive, super concentrated Thieves Laundry Soap to new wholesale members for enrolling in September! Learn more about what it takes to get started today here! 

Hair Conditioning Serum

Hey! How's the summer treating your hair? How about that beauty routine in general? A little rough around the edges? I'm going to share a slightly embarrassing moment I had several months ago...

Around Christmas, I started making the switch to a natural hair car routine, including a DIY shampoo followed by and apple cider vinegar rinse. I'll get to those another day. Apparently, it was not doing the ends of my color-treated hair any favors. I hadn't been in for a trim in a few months and when I finally went to get it cut, the girl asks me if I flat iron it often... I don't :( My poor ends were not handling the transition well! So, solution time!

I came home and started looking into essential oils that are good for your hair and I found a laundry list! Many tout benefits for your scalp, but having oily-prone skin and hair, I didn't want to go for a full-on oil application, either as a deep conditioner or regular conditioning treatment, so I was more selective. Here is where I landed:

Olive Oil--it's moisturizing and contains Vitamins A and E, leaving you with strong, shiny, manageable hair. Many carrier oils would be good in this application. Start with one your skin likes.

Lavender Essential Oil--it is my go-to for all things health and beauty! It's soothing properties apply to everything else I've tried, so why not my hair? I found it to be deep conditioner for hair. Plus it smells great!

Ylang-ylang Essential Oil--again, the smell! I learned that it has traditionally been used to support thick, shiny hair.

• 1/4 Olive Oil
• 10 drops lavender essential oil
• 10 drops ylang-ylang essential oil  (get started with the best oils here!)

Add EO's to 2 oz dropper bottle and top with olive oil. Use a couple of drops on the ends of wet or dry hair.

Now, when I say "a couple of drops," seriously, 2 drops is enough for my hair! It is fine and straight and if I use more, it doesn't absorb all the way and looks oily. My daughter, on the other hand, has curls and 4 drops or so suits her better. I use this every time I wash my hair, on the ends only, because I believe in an ounce of prevention! I use 1-2 drops on damp hair, before blow drying, to help protect the ends from the heat, then 1-2 drops after for smoothing. 

When I use 1-2 drops after drying, I get the bonus points of lovely, calming, uplifting aromatherapy running through my hair, right there near my nose! Delightful!

After several more months, my hair is looking smooth and strong! I only hate that the weather is too hot to wear it down more often!

Tub Scrub

I really don't like cleaning. I mean, does anyone really like it? What's your least favorite part? Hard to pick just one, right?  Well, one thing I don't hate anymore is the chemical stink that used to fill my home on cleaning days. It's really easy to make your own great, clean, chemical-free, fresh-smelling cleaning products! Did ya know that? Baking soda and vinegar will take you a long way! Throw in a little castile soap, lemon and tea tree essential oil, and you've got yourself a cleaning par-tay!  Here is the recipe I use for my tub, my sink, and anywhere else that could use a good scrubbing!

• 1 cup baking soda
• 1 tbsp castile soap
• 8 drops each lemon and tea tree essential oils (Thieves, Citrus Fresh, Purification, or Melrose would also be great in this recipe!)

Mix everything together in a bowl with a spoon (remember, glass or stainless is best when dealing with essential oils!) and sprinkle a light dusting on whatever you want to clean. Scrub a bit and rinse off. See, easy! Letting it sit for a little while won't hurt anything either. Today, I mixed and dusted before nap time, then did my tuck-in duties and scrubbed after. Store any extra in a jar with a shaker top for easy use next time.

Baking soda is a great cleaning product. It's cheap, easily accessible, and natural! It's also good for deodorizing and stains, and while mildly abrasive, it won't scratch your surfaces. Check out the box panels for some ideas on where you can use it!

The soap makes for a good texture and offers some more cleaning power. You want to wash off dirt, right?  Castile soap is a blend of saponified oils, including coconut, jojoba, hemp oils, and others. It is plant based. It is also a concentrate, so don't be scared of the price! It works out to a good value. Think of it as buying in bulk. You can get it pre-scented, but I prefer the plain, mild version.

Finally, the oils. Many essential oils, like tea tree, Thieves, Purification, and Melrose, have great cleansing properties. Lemon, Citrus Fresh, and Purification are all good for odors. Many citrus oils are helpful for stains, too! I like this combo for the scent, and it does such a great job! Everything is left sparkly fresh!
(Need to get your hands on some oils, including these great blends? Check out this page!)

Here are the great results I get with this scrub (you can click to enlarge)! Please don't judge my nasty sink and tub! My husband is away and I've been doing the single mom thing! I may have fallen a little behind on my chores...

Thieves Household Cleaner All-Purpose Sprays

The Thieves Household Cleaner is one of the best bang-for-the-buck products I’ve found from Young Living! It is an all plant- and mineral-based product and features the king-of-clean, Thieves Essential Oil blend (which is part of the Premium Starter Kit, and you can read a little more about here). Thieves is a combination of clove, lemon, cinnamon, eucalyuptus, and rosemary essential oils, so you know it smells amazing!  Because it's all natural, it's an ideal cleaning solution for homes with children and/or pets.  But the absolute BEST part is... It actually works!!!  It actually gets things clean!

The Thieves Household Cleaner comes in a reasonable 14.4 oz or a jumbo 64 oz bottle (honestly, I’ve had the smaller one for months and it’s not gone yet. Maybe I just need to clean more...) Simply dilute it with water, or add to some baking soda, and you can use it to clean your house from top to bottom, on nearly every surface.  It's that easy! And a little goes a very long way. This solution is SUPER concentrated, so dilution is almost always required, making it an economical solution as well. Dilution ratios vary based on how strong of a cleaner you need.

I keep 2 spray bottles in my cabinet all the time:

1. A light weigh spray of 1 capful in about 3 cups of water + 1 tsp vinegar

    My favorite uses:

• Mirrors (if it streaks, add a little more water)
• Stainless appliances (think smudges on the fridge!) 
• Chrome faucets
• Giving kitchen or bathroom countertops an everyday wipe-down. 
• My sofa. I spot clean from messy little fingers and every week or 2 just do a light mist over the whole thing to freshen it up.
• Toys
• My dinner table and chairs (they are wood)
• The crib  
• Re-usable AC filters
• Doorknobs and light switch plates

2. A more heavy-duty, all-purpose solution made of 1 capful in about 1 ½-2 cups of water. 

    My favorite uses:

• The stove top after dinner
• The high chair 
• Car seat cup holders
• Old, sticky juice
• The trash can
• Toothpaste spots in the sink

*Be sure to spot check for color-fastness and against staining on fabrics and porous surfaces. But, my couch is red micro-suede and I've had no issues!

Just an FYI, each cap full is about 1 tbsp, so the smaller bottle gets you 29 caps and the larger one gets you 128! Such a bargain!

See, super easy! I do use this concentrate in other recipes as needed around my house, but I use at least one of these 2 almost every day. I love that I can get out my bottle #1 and just go to town, cleaning all over the house at once!  Don't you just love simplification in life?

Bath Salts

Bath Salts may be the most simple DIY out there and a staple for every beginner Essential Oil user. They are great to help you unwind from the day.  Literally, all you need is epsom salts and your favorite EO.  Epsom salts are a magnesium base which is very soothing for you physically and helps ease tension. Essential oils can have such great effects on your body and on your skin. Some are soothing, invigorating, and/or cleansing, and adding them to salts helps the oil disperse into the bath well, helping them get to you and keeping them from sitting on top of the water. Bath salts can be spiced up to cater to different needs, or to be pretty for a gift, but those are the basics.  I love mason jars for these. They are the perfect, inexpensive, large, glass vessel to house them.

For Adults:
Combine 1/2-1 cup epsom salts with 4-20 drops Essential Oil (I like 1-3 drops per ounce of salt) for a large, full bath

For Children:
Combine 1/4 cup epsom salts with 1-3 drops Essential Oil for a small bath

There are lots of variations and additives you can use to embellish your bath and lots of EO's to choose from. You could even use magnesium flakes instead of epsom salts! Both are a magnesium base.

Add up to equal parts baking soda to the epsom salts for a detox bath
Add 1-2 tsp carrier oil per 1/2 cup epsom salts for a silky, moisturizing bath
Add 1-2 tsp dried herbs per 1/2 cup epsom salts for aroma (and they are pretty in the jar!)
Add 1-2 tbsp citric acid per 1/2 cup epsom salts for fizz
Mix and match from the above, or use them all!

As for Essential Oils... there are so many to choose from it's hard to know where to start! The choice is yours and really depends on your goals. Are you looking to de-stress and unwind? Had a tough work out and looking to soothe tired muscles? Are you trying to get your kids ready for bed?  Feeling a little under the weather? A nice bath could be just what you need!

A few words of caution when choosing oils for your bath: Some oils are hot and can cause discomfort when used topically. Always use a carrier oil if you experience topical discomfort! Oil and water don't mix and rinsing with water will do you no good! In addition, peppermint has a remarkable cooling sensation that may not be enjoyable all over you in the bath! Finally, citrus oils can cause skin sensitivity in the sun when used topically. Use caution if you bathe in a citrus oil before going in the sun and cover up!

So go find a magazine or a good book, and get that tub filling! Get your oils (here!) and salts out for a good soak!

Air Freshener Pouch

It's Demo Day! This recipe is so quick and so simple I decided to just show you instead! Learn how to get Purification essential oil blend HERE!

Baby Powder

I know what you are thinking… We are not supposed to use baby powder! It’s true that in light of recent headlines, most of us are reluctant to use baby powder as adults, let alone expose our kids to it. You’d be hard pressed to find a pediatrician recommend commercial baby powder for babies anymore too. That’s because of talc. Talc or talcum powder has taken over the baby powder aisle. It has a silicon component and it is often not recommended for use around babies because of the likelihood of inhalation.

I don’t know a lot of other moms who use baby powder, but I’m a big advocate! With one caveat. I don't use talc! When my daughter was a baby, I found a number of recommendations supporting the use of cornstarch for diapering. Applying cornstarch, after using wet wipes, helps to ensure the area is completely dry before applying any creams (check out my recipe for Head-to-Toe Baby Salve!) or covering up with a diaper. You don't want any moisture trapped against the skin and creams and diapers can do this, and the creams certainly can. That is their job! They are moisture barriers! I had to look very carefully at the baby powders on the shelf to find the cornstarch one, but there is one. ONE per brand, if that!  I found it so much easier to use, just sprinkle a little on at each change, I nearly quit using creams altogether! The goal here it to keep the skin clean, dry, and healthy!

Fast forward a couple of years to baby number 2. I’ve started making a lot of products myself and thought this would be an easy one to undertake. And I was right! Now, if you are concerned about the likelihood of GMOs in cornstarch, arrowroot powder is a nice substitute (and another great argument to make it yourself!) I use it at every diaper change and my little guy has had a pretty healthy little booty ;-)

I like to add essential oils to my baby powder, but that is optional. I specifically recommend Young Living essential oils, especially for use with children, for their top quality and purity. You can learn more about getting started with Young Living HERE. For children, the smaller they are the more dilute you want the oil to be. They are very powerful! You also want to start with gentle oils that are great for skin care, like lavender, frankincense, or Gentle BabyTM blend.

So let’s get started…

I use a glass salt shaker from my local superstore. It holds about ¼ cup, or 2 ounces. For my 1 ½ year old son, I use about 1-2 drops of lavender per tablespoon of powder in this recipe. If you are just introducing your little one to oils, or your child is smaller, you can start with even less.  I like to layer in the oil with the powder, filling my jar with a ¼ teaspoon (it fits nicely inside the jar and helps make less of a mess!) A funnel would help too. I fill about a quarter of the way with your powder of choice, then add a drop of oil, then up to about half way, then another drop, and so on. Once the bottle is nearly full, I cover with a piece of masking tape, or just my hand, and give it a shake to spread the oil around. 


Finally, I add my secret weapon! I learned this trick on a cooking show. It’s popcorn kernels! I toss several in on top and they work to break up clumps and help shake the powder out. They are also too big to clog up the tiny shaker holes on the top.

So, there ya have it. Simple, safe, DIY baby powder!

PS, this is nice for adults too!
I use it after the shower on my upper thighs for the same reason I use it on my baby!
Use it in your hair roots to help matte any oily-ness in between washes. Add a little cocoa powder if you are a brunette, and a make-up brush for precise application! Tea Tree oil makes a nice addition for scalp applications.
It will also help knock off sand from your feet after the beach, no essential oil required!

See, there really is a place in your life for baby powder!

Head-to-Toe Baby Salve

My children inspired me to pursue a cleaner, healthier lifestyle, and alternatives to everyday household products.  At their very young ages, I, as a parent, am so limited in what I can do to take care of them.  I hated hearing that there was really nothing I could do for them for so many things. When I had success with essential oils for myself, I branched out and started using them with my kids.

Now, I will stress that I absolutely trust that I am getting a clean, pure, therapeutic grade essential oil from Young Living, which is the only brand I use on my children. You can learn more about getting started with YL HERE! I will also point out that a parent’s discretion and judgement is critical. If you are going to use essential oils on your children, please use only the best quality, and keep them well diluted for their sensitive skin.  Begin with the gentlest oils, like lavender or frankincense and follow labeling instructions (label dilution guidelines are a minimum.) Never use oils in or around a baby’s eyes, and I recommend avoiding hands as well, since they so often go right in the mouth. My recipes are intended to support a healthy child. If you suspect your child is sick, please seek the help of a medical professional!

Now, finally, for my favorite, most useful, most versatile baby recipe: head-to-toe salve. Get your pen ready…

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 drop lavender

That’s it. Give it a stir and store in a glass jar. DONE.  Seriously!  I used this on my son, from about 3 months, literally, from head to toe.

Rub it on his head before a bath for a healthy scalp (give it about 10 minutes before washing out.)

Rub it all over for a soothing, moisturizing lotion (it is the best baby “lotion” I’ve ever used!)

Rub it on his little booty at diaper changes.

Rub it on tiny feet for restful sleep.

Rub it on tummies after eating (use a circular, clockwise motion around the navel to promote things moving things through the bowels).

Rub it on the jaw for teething discomfort.

If you’re the abundantly cautious type, notice skin irritation or discomfort (extremely unlikely, but possible!), have a preemie, or a baby with very sensitive skin, just add more coconut oil, making it 1 drop to 2 tablespoons or even 1 drop in ¼ cup. If your child is a little bigger, getting into the toddler range, 1 drop per teaspoon or so, will probably suit them better.

All that’s left to do is snuggle and sniff that sweet smelling head!