Wednesday 26 April 2017

essential oils in a nut shell



What are essential oils?
They are the most powerful part of the plant and are distilled from shrubs, flowers, trees, roots, bushes, fruit, rinds, resins and herbs. Oils consist of over 100 natural, organic compounds.

In humans, they provide support for every system in the body: your skeletal system, your muscular system, circulatory system, endocrine system and your hormones, respiratory system and immune system. They support brain health and healthy weight. They are used extensively for emotions and for spiritual support in your prayer life.
An oil in a diffuser can soothe a child's tough day at school and provide a calming effect when you've had a stressful day at work. Oils can be used as an alternative to toxic cleaning chemicals in the home. You can literally start replacing every single chemical cleaning toxin in your home and live a purer lifestyle, and you can do it without breaking the bank! 

There are about 300 oils on Earth, but you only need ten to twenty of them to build a good kit. You do not need to be an aromatherapist to use them.


There are three main ways to get oils into your system: the English apply it topically - rub them into the skin. The French ingest and cook with it. The Germans diffuse and inhale, which can be the most effective method, because it doesn't have to pass through the digestive system. Test have shown that oils reach the heart, liver and thyroid in three seconds when inhaled. They were found in the bloodstream in twenty-six seconds when applied topically. Expulsion of essential oils takes three to six hours in a normal, healthy body.

Essential oils in history
They were first mentioned by name in the Biblical book of Genesis chapter 37, when Joseph was sold to the slave traders. They carried spices, balm and Myrrh! Genesis ends with the burial of Joseph's father anointed with Myrrh. Oils are mentioned 1100 times directly or indirectly in scripture!

Some of the oldest cultures on Earth used essential oils. The Babylonians placed orders for Cedarwood, Myrrh, and Cyprus. The Egyptians used essential oils for beauty and embalming, and they have the oldest recorded deodorant recipe made with essential oils. Pakistan and Rome used essential oils in the communal bath house.

They were even used by Jesus! He was given Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. Frankincense is sometimes referred to as 'The coconut of essential oils, because it has over 10,000 uses!

Essential oils were used by the Medieval Europeans, many of whom brought oils back during the Crusades.

It was only after World War 2 when essential oils were 'rediscovered', and the science of their uses grows every single year.

Do essential oils work?
There is no rating system for essential oils. The closest we get is in the USA. They have FDA requirement that in order to label a bottle of essential 'pure' or 'therapeutic grade', the contents of the bottle must contain at least 5% essential oil!

All oils in the world fall into one of 4 categories:

Grade A, Grade B, Grade C and Grade D.

Grade A oils are therapeutic, made from organically grown plants and distilled at low temperatures. 

Grade B oils are food grade, but may contain synthetics, pesticides, fertilizers, chemical extenders or carrier oils.

Grade C oils are perfume oils that often contain adulterated chemicals. They usually use solvents, such as hexane, to gain a higher yield of oil per harvest. Solvents can be cancerous, and are in many store bought oils. They may also be diluted 80-95% with alcohol.

Grade D is called 'floral water', which is aromatic only and is usually a byproduct of Grade A distillation. After all the oil is pulled out, the leftover trash water is sold to companies which will fill 5% of the bottle with this 'leftover trash water', fill the rest with carriers, and label it as 'pure'

Grade A is the only true pure oil.

Grade D would be like walking to your fridge, taking out a glass of orange juice and diluting it 95% before you drink it! You wouldn't have the full benefits of orange juice. That's why you want Grade A oils. Before you purchase, check to see if the company grows their own plants, own their own fields, and controls the entire process from Seed to Seal - from the farm to the sealed bottle. Pesticides, pollution and previously farmed land can affect the quality of an oil. Young Living's oils are Grade A. Why would you go the extra step of using an oil to avoid a chemical, and then use an oil laden with chemicals? It makes no sense.

Young Living have a Seed to Seal process. It's a promise of integrity. Gary Young has said that he never makes an oil for profit; he makes it for a purpose. Seed to Seal means each plant is hand-weeded and there are no pesticide used, no chemicals, no weed killers. The plants are harvested at their peak. They're then put through a vigorous testing process. Then they go from the farm directly to your home. Seed to Seal is not a slogan; it's a promise! You can learn more by checking out the Young Living story, and fall in love with the company, as as well as the oils, at www.seedtoseal.com 

Why do oil companies sell oils more cheaply?
To save money. If you spray your crop with pesticides you have more crop to distill. If you use a chemical solvent to extract the oil, you pull more out. If you dilute it with a cheaper or carrier oil, you stretch the oil you have distilled. Most essential oils are sold more cheaply because companies cut more corners.


How are oils made?
It takes a great deal of work to produce a tiny amount of essential oil!
  • 60 thousand rose blossoms provide only 1 ounce of rose oil
  • Lavender is abundant. 220 pounds will provide 7 pounds of oil
  • Jasmine flowers must be picked by hand before the sun becomes hot on the very first day they open, thus making it one of the most expensive oils in the world! It takes 8 million hand-picked blossoms to produce 2.2 pounds of oil.
  • A Sandalwood tree must be 30 years old and 30 feet hight before it can be cut down for distillation.
But a little goes a long way. Most oils are £10 to £30 a bottle. A 5ml bottle contains about 100 drops, and a 15ml bottle contains about 250 drops. Each application is one to three drops, meaning even a small bottle will give you 45-90 applications. Thieves Cleaner is made of plants only and costs less than £1.00 a bottle to make up. You can't even get that in the organic section at the grocery store! It replaces a multi-purpose cleaner, glass cleaner and floor cleaner. The organic versions of these can be about £5 a bottle ... and it smells wonderful!


Are they safe?
There are certain oils that are photosensitive, meaning you don't want to wear them and go outside. These are mostly citrus oils, like grapefruit, lemon etc.

When using on your skin, always watch for redness and dilute with a carrier oil. Dilute oils on children, because their skin is more permeable and absorbs the oils more quickly. What is a carrier oil? It's a fatty oil like olive oil or coconut oil, and its molecules are much larger than that of essential oils. Using a carrier oil with an essential oil slows down the rate the body can absorb the essential oil because it has to ping pong through the large molecules of the carrier oil to get into your skin.

Be wary of putting the oils topically near your eyes. Some oils, like peppermint, can cause a burning sensation. If you place an oil near your eye, apply the oil on a Q-tip instead of tipping the bottle towards your face.

You can become desensitized to an oil if you use the same one day after day so it's best to rotate oils every three to four days.

What about internal use?
Young Living utilizes all three methods if using oils, British, French and German. The French have been safely using some essential oils internally for decades. Young Living has created a Vitality line with distinctive labels so you can easily recognize which oils are safe to take internally.

Look at the ingredient list of what you have in your bathroom and kitchen. Everyday we put products on our skin, in our bodies and breathe them in, but many of these products contain damaging chemicals. The average woman applies over 300 chemicals a day to her body, just through soaps, makeup, shampoos, and hair care products! Eighty of those products are applied everyday before breakfast!

When you use Young Living essential oils, you're using a product with one pure ingredient, like Lemon, Oregano, Tangerine - no additives and no chemical yuck! 

Is this all a bit overwhelming?

Don't worry! Young Living have an amazing starter kit to help you begin your essential oils journey, and we are here for you.
If you would like a 'print out' of this oily info, you can download one here

Tuesday 11 April 2017

one year anniversary

Hi, Maria here .... can you believe it? One year ago I signed up for my Young Living starter kit!!
I had been using essential oils for a little while before that, but didn't get the amazing results that I got with Young Living :)


In the past year I have . . .

bought a lot of oils!
learnt a lot
drank a lot of tea
got top marks in the first part of my aromatherapy course
smelt a lot of oils
grown my hair again
held make and takes
believed in financial freedom can happen for my family
used a lot of thieves cleaner
dreamed a lot
made lots of homemade products with oils
met some wonderful, inspiring people
had to buy another shelf for my oils as my first was full!
been better a flossing my teeth!
held online oils classes
had a lot less chemicals on my and my family's skin
talked a lot about oils
worn Joy essential oil nearly every day
taught Billy to roll a roller on his feet
drunk lots of Ningxia Red!
and diffused a lot

My goals for the next year are ...

use oils more in cooking
finish my aromatherapy course
build a bigger team
try more oils
use even more thieves cleaner!
share even more oily love
provide even more resources, love and support for my team
and dream bigger dreams :)

If you would like to join my team, and I would love it if you did, I have lots of lovely offers this week over on our facebook page