I am nowhere near an expert on this subject and am only just beginning to learn about it. But I’m a big fan of natural health products, it’s something that is very interesting to me, and a few people have asked me about it, so this is just some background and my limited experience.

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Last year I got together with my good friend Karlene who I hadn’t seen in awhile. She had been a teacher for many years, but she told me that she was planning on quitting her job at the end of the school year and building a business selling essential oils for Young Living. She in no way was trying to sell me anything, she was just updating me on her life.

But I had actually heard about using essential oils for health in the past from a trusted friend, so I was curious. I am always in favor of going the natural route first, but I had no experience in this area and no knowledge. I asked Karlene to keep me updated and invite me to any informational sessions she had.

Not long later she got a group together for this purpose. One of her mom’s friends led the session as she has been using essential oils for over fifteen years. For many years she and her family were missionaries overseas, without insurance or access to quality healthcare, and she used essential oils almost exclusively to keep her family healthy and to treat anything that came up. That was a pretty solid endorsement in my mind, so I decided to give it a try.

My approach is to use whatever natural means I have at my disposal to promote health and prevent illness, and I will try to treat minor problems and sicknesses this way as well. But of course if there is something serious or concerning wrong, I will consult a doctor.

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Essential oils are basically the immune system of the plant, and it makes sense to me that they would have many uses and benefits to us. One of the first things I learned was that there is a difference in quality between the kinds you can find at the health food store, which contain only a small percentage and are only really effective for fragrance purposes, and the 100% therapeutic grade essential oils that only a few companies worldwide sell. I am only familiar with Young Living (I think they are the largest company) but I have heard of a couple others.

As for how you use them, they can be applied directly to the skin (some may require dilution with another oil like olive oil but I haven’t needed to do that yet), you can inhale the fumes using a diffuser or by rubbing the oils in your hands and breathing from your cupped hands, or you can ingest them by dropping them into a capsule or putting them in food or drink. So far I have only tried the topical application and a little bit of inhalation. They are absorbed into the bloodstream very quickly through the feet so that is how I normally apply them unless I’m having a problem that requires direct application.

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When I got started I purchased a kit of 9 different types. Four are singles: frankincense, lemon, peppermint, and lavender. Five are blends (and these are Young Living’s names): Thieves, Purification, Peace & Calming, PanAway, and Valor.

Right now I only use a few of them every day. I put lavender on Meredith’s feet because she is prone to a runny nose and lavender is good for allergies. I put Valor on myself in the morning because it’s good for energy, and Peace & Calming on at night because it helps with anxiety and sleep.

I use others when needed: peppermint is great for headaches and digestion. Once I had a bad stomach bug and I thought the worst was over but then I had a recurrence of cramps; I put peppermint on my abdomen and they subsided. Purification is an odor reducer (I put it in the diffuser near the diaper pail) and I use it to treat mosquito bites. PanAway is for body aches and pains. Thieves is one of the best antibacterials and I use it when one of us is sick.

Recently I bought two more blends, R.C. and DiGize. They are specific for respiratory congestion and diarrhea, which is what Meredith’s two main problems tend to be. I am also trying out some of their personal care products, and I bought the book you can see in the first picture above, Gentle Babies by Debra Raybern. It is a helpful guide in how to use essential oils during pregnancy, breastfeeding, and for babies & children.

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Young Living is sold through individual representatives (kind of like Pampered Chef or Mary Kay), but there are no quotas to meet. In order to get started you just have to purchase a kit – there are several different choices there – and then you are eligible to buy the products at wholesale prices which is a huge discount. You can also purchase them as a client if you just want to try one.

I hope this has been helpful if you’re interested in using essential oils yourself or if you’ve been curious when I mentioned them before. Let me know if you have any more questions and I’ll answer them to the best of my ability! And if you are interested in getting started with them I can help you out there too.