Essential Oils: Hobby or Addiction

When it comes to essential oils, what camp do you fall into? 
I am personally a huge fan of essential oils. Not only do many of them smell good, but I have also found them to be incredibly useful. Is it a hobby or an addiction for me? Probably a bit of both. 

What brand of oils is best? 
I remember when I first started researching essential oils. It was incredibly overwhelming. There are the two main brands that battle each other and numerous other brands of oils out there that you can find in health food stores, online, and some even in grocery stores. So which brand is best? I really don't think that you can point to one brand and say it's better than any other. 

Recently, The Humbled Homemaker put out a blog post about this very thing. There's no way I could state this better than she did, so I definitely recommend you go and take a look at it. 

The Grace-Filled Answer to the Essential Oil Wars

I can tell you that I have a wide variety of brands and types of essential oils in my collection. My favorite brand of essential oils is Rocky Mountain Oils. If I can buy an oil from them, I will. But it's not always possible. If I have a choice, I will almost always choose an oil that is produced here in the United States. So that can determine where I purchase my oils (for example, I always buy my lavender from Liberty Natural because they distill it from their own lavender fields in Oregon). I guess what I'm trying to say is, get what you feel is right for you and your family.

How do I keep them organized? 
I have a larger, padded container that I keep my oils in (and yes, I alphabetize them because that's the way I am lol). I buy my oils in 15 ml bottles and I store them in within that padded bag in a cool, dark place. I also carry some with me everywhere I go. For that, I finally found the perfect solution: A custom bag from Our Happy Healthy Home. I just received this bag last week and I'm already loving it. But there are a lot of other options out there if you're looking for something smaller, less expensive, or just in a different style. I started small, carrying five kinds of oils with me, and I have upgraded three times to this OHHH bag. 

Do we have to hear the obligatory caution statement? 
YES! Before I go any further, I want to remind you that not all essential oils are the same. Some are safe to use on children, others are not. Some are safe for a pregnant woman to use, others can cause problems. There are some essential oils that you can apply neat (undiluted) and others that you cannot because they can cause skin reactions. The point of all of this? Do your research! If you decide to get into essential oils, find yourself a good book and keep that handy for reference. Learn everything you can about each oil in your collection. Double check the use for that oil before you apply it to yourself or anyone else. Would you just grab a medication off the shelf and give it to your child without first reading the cautions on the back? Of course not! Essential oils are no different. Educate yourself about them before you start using them. Alright, now that we've covered that, on we go! 

What oils do I carry?
Okay, so right now, I carry a lot of oils with me. Seriously. In addition to essential oils, I carry a well-stocked first aid kit with me in my car. I may have to do a blog post about that one in the future as well.

Rollers: Most if not all of these are half essential oil and half almond oil

Relieve Me: This is a blend from Rocky Mountain Oils that I just love. I use it for muscle cramps and aches and also for really bad sinus headaches. 

Geranium: I love the smell so it's like my perfume. 

Lavender/Chamomile: I bring this to put on bug bites, burns, scrapes, etc. 

Peaceful Child: This is a blend we've used on our son who has autism. It has been wonderful, helping him relax and focus when he's overwhelmed. I don't go anywhere without this. 

Immunity: Another blend from RMO. During cold and flu season, we put some of this on the bottoms of everyone's feet before going out in public. 

15 ml bottles

Lavender - I use this for so many things and don't go anywhere without it. 

Allergy Mix - I have a diffusing necklace that I wear when I'm having issues with seasonal allergies. I will do a blog post about this mix here in the next few days. 

Spray bottle
Purification: Another great blend from RMO. This is great to spray both as an air freshener and also to help clean the air around you. I've been known to use this on chairs in a doctors office before. 

2 ml bottles: Unless mentioned, these contain 5 drops of an essential oil and the rest almond oil. There are a lot of uses for all of these so I'm not going to go into all of that. I just want to show you which I carry with me. Those that are full strength are mostly kept that way because I get a lot of sinus pain and I like to use these full strength to breathe in. I don't recommend applying most oils  to the skin without first diluting them. 

Eucalyptus (full strength)
Tea Tree (full strength)
Peppermint (full strength) - helpful for headaches
Rosemary (full strength)
Frankincense
Lemongrass
Melissa
Orange
Lemon
Vetiver (the main ingredient in the Peaceful Child blend I use)
Ginger
Helichrysum
Ylang Ylang

Other:
I also have a small bottle of Grapeseed oil in case I do need to dilute something on the fly and a 2 ml bottle of arrowroot powder. 

There we go! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. If nothing else, I can at least direct you to a site or book that might be able to give you some answers.

Essential oils are a lot of fun, incredibly useful, and yes - addicting!