Healthy Scalp Spray

If you have kids going back to school, chances are you want their scalp to stay healthy! I guess you'd want their heads to be healthy no matter what, but going back to school exposes them to all kinds of pesky annoyances that you don't want them bringing home. That would mean keeping them home and doing tons of laundry... so let's avoid that hassle this year and keep that scalp, well, healthy!

For my school-aged child, I use this simple spray on her hair in the mornings before school using essential oils:

pinch of baking soda
15 drops tea tree essential oil
10 drops lavender essential oil
5 drops peppermint essential oil
1 tbsp warm water
1 tbsp witch hazel

1 oz spray bottle
small stainless funnel (will make filling that bottle a little easier!)

Put a pinch of baking soda in to a 1 oz spray bottle. Add in your essential oils (if you see oil swirling around the bottom of the bottle, add a little more baking soda. You want the soda to absorb the oil). Pour in warm water in. Cover with your finger and shake to dissolve the baking soda. Top with witch hazel and close it up.

I spray the hairline, 2-3 spritzes to get all the way around, a spray on the crown, then lift about half the hair up and get one good spray in the middle there.

Super simple, clean, and healthy!

I will note that in my home, and especially around my kids, I only use top quality, unadulterated essential oils! Learn more about what I use here!

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!

KidCare Cream

Melrose is one of my favorite Young Living Essential Oil blends. It is made of 2 varieties of melaleuca (alternifolia, aka, tea tree, and quinquenervia), rosemary, and clove. The scent is a little spicy in my opinion. The ingredients make it very cleansing which is excellent for your skin and scalp. It's a great addition to a facewash or shampoo; I've used it for both! It's also a good choice to support your respiratory system in a chest rub or in your diffuser.

One way Melrose is part of my everyday life is in my KidCare Cream. My little girl, bless her heart, is not the kid who wants a band aid for every little thing. My girl wants oil! And this balm, specifically. It includes lavender and frankincense, 2 of the most versatile oils out there, so with all these ingredients, it really is good for everything, physical and otherwise! These all have such great cleansing and soothing properties. Plus, making a small balm makes it convenient to keep on hand all the time. Any oily person will tell you, acting fast is key when using oils. They will also tell you to use what you have on hand to the best of your ability, so I thought is best to keep the most versatile oils with me all the time! Here's what I do: 

• Melt 1/2 teaspoon each of coconut oil and other liquid carrier oil of your choice with 1/4 teaspoon beeswax in a double boiler (I have a glass measuring cup with a handle that works nicely as a mini-double boiler)
• Remove from the heat and cool slightly
• Stir in 7 drops each Melrose and lavender, plus 5 drops frankincense
• Pour in to a 5mL lip balm tin
• Chill in the refrigerator to set (you should end up with a creamy balm, about the consistency of an ointment)

Just use a little dab, as needed, and rub it in on the wrists, temples, tummy, or directly where you feel you need it! This same combo of oils would make and nice spray for hands-off application, but I like the balm to use for emotional support. And I find the balm more convenient in my bag. My tin lives in my diaper bag and we have it on hand, literally, ALL the time! It's equally effective on nerves or a cranky mood as it is at comforting everyday little bumps. If you don't have Melrose, tea tree on its own is a nice substitution, but I really like the extra boost from the rosemary and clove.