Basics & Usage

Essential Oils: The Basics

Essential oils are crazy complex, and can quite frankly be a little overwhelming! Often called the “life blood” of a plant, they are produced when a plant is protecting itself from a threat or healing from an injury. One reason we love them; they work similarly in our bodies! I don’t know, all I know is I sure do like the sound of that!

While exciting discoveries are made every day about essential oils and their many uses, they are anything but new — they are the oldest known form of personal wellness care, with records dating back to the beginning of mankind. When you are first getting started with essential oils, it is best to focus on their amazing ability to boost immunity, encourage relaxation and achieve better sleep, for stamina and increased energy, and to positively impact our emotions.

Simple Steps to Health & Wellness

To promote optimal health and wellness, there are 3 primary ways essential oils are used to best interact with our complex body systems. One way is not better than the other, it is simply a matter of preference and/or your particular usage goal.

TOPICALLY (on the skin):

Essential oil molecules are tiny and are rapidly absorbed by the skin, in only 2-3 minutes the oil will reach the bloodstream, in 20 minutes the oil will essentially exchange phone numbers with every cell in the body, and then within 2-3 hours the oil has been metabolized. Key note: Reapply often until your goal is met, whatever that may be! Some favorite places to apply oils are wrists, behind the ears, neck, temples, stomach, or the bottoms of the feet.

AROMATICALLY (in the air):

They say scent is the substance of memories and it’s not only true — it is also the only way to activate the olfactory bulb in limbic area of the brain, which is where your memories and emotions live. It only takes 22 seconds for the essential oil molecules to reach and influence the brain. This is why it is better to diffuse oils to purify the air rather than synthetically scented candles and air fresheners which are known to contain toxic chemicals, which may disrupt normal brain function. If I am in a pinch, I will just breathe the oil in straight from the bottle!

INTERNALLY (get in my belly):

The acidic environment in our stomachs will break down essential oils and some of the healing components can be lost before absorption into the bloodstream through the small intestines. For maximum benefit, I recommend blending the oils with salt, sugar, or drop into a veggie capsule before ingesting. Some essential oils recognize most consumer plastics as toxic and will break them down, so it is important to use glass or stainless steel when enhancing water with essential oils.

Which Brand to Use?

Some things are just better than others. Take orange juice, for instance. Would you agree that fresh squeezed orange juice from your juicer is better than the frozen from concentrate tube you can grab from grocery store? Or that a cup from the first brew of coffee beans is better than say taking the same grinds and brewing a second pot?  Yes? Then, you will understand that I confidently placed my trust with Young Living after learning about their commitment to excellence and exceeding industry standard by a landslide with their Seed-to-Seal guarantee. It’s like getting the juice straight from the juicer, or that first brew of coffee – probably better actually. And with essential oils, better quality means better results, not to mention time and money savings.