My Journey into Essential Oils

A few months ago I bought my first essential oils! Lavender, peppermint, and lemon. (I also got vanilla, which isn't a true essential oil, but I LOVE the smell of vanilla.) I know there are a lot of people who love essential oils and all the things they can do. Honestly, I bought them to make things smell good.

I love making things on my own, and one of the things I wanted to make is cleaning solutions for my new home! I really hate the smell of most household cleaners―they're so strong―so I decided I could make them. Most homemade recipes have very simple ingredients like vinegar and castile soap. Essential oils are an added bonus for a good smell! Plus some of them have properties that work nicely in cleaning solutions, like the lemon oil I bought.

Turns out, I haven't really gotten into making cleaning solutions (instead I've been using the Think Dirty app to purchase better cleaning supplies), but I have been learning how to use my oils. Here are five ways I've enjoyed the three (plus one) oils!

1. Diffuse. Lemon, lavender, and peppermint are a powerhouse blend in the diffuser. However, my favorite is to diffuse the peppermint and vanilla!
2. Face Moisturizer. I use almond oil as my face moisturizer. In the morning, I use almond oil mixed with peppermint, and at night I use a mixture of almond oil, rosehip, and lavender.
3. Sleep. Lavender is known for its calming properties, so I put a drop underneath my pillow before bedtime. It usually helps me fall asleep quickly!
4. Headaches. Peppermint helps relieve pressure from headaches, so I'll rub a little on my temples if I feel a headache coming on.
5. Perfume. I had to stop wearing perfume years ago because it gives me headaches. But I love to rub a little peppermint and vanilla on the back of my neck. My mom says I smell like cotton candy.

Since I've gotten in the hang of using these oils, I've been doing research on more oils and finally decided to purchase more! I buy mine from Edens Garden. (Disclaimer: If you purchase using that link, I get reward points, which I can save up to spend on Edens Garden products.) They are high quality oils but because it is not an MLM, the prices are significantly more affordable. I did a lot of research and prayer before deciding to go with this company (if I was going to use oils, I wanted to make sure they were quality), but I'd also love to try some blends from some of the MLM companies eventually.

One reason I've become more interested as I've learned about oils is because I believe God gave us many tools that we need to take care of ourselves—plants being one of those tools—and that's where essential oils are from. I would rather use those natural gifts from God to take care of myself instead of manmade medicine when possible. (Not that there is anything wrong with medicine—we are so blessed to have it! I'm just really bad about popping Advil for anything and everything and would like to avoid it when essential oils can help instead.)

I'm so excited because I just got my next order in! Before it got here I already had a (very) detailed list about the blends and rollers I want to try! I'll be giving them a shot and I'll share more later.

Here's what I just got: cassia, cedarwood atlas, copaiba, cypress, eucalyptus globulus, frankincense, geranium, grapefruit, headease (an Edens Garden blend for headaches), patchouli, rosemary spanish, sweet orange, tea tree, ylang ylang

I also got fractionated coconut oil and roller balls (from Amazon) so I can make my own roller blends.

I'm looking forward to exploring the world of essential oils some more. It's been fun already and I love learning about it!