Witch Doctor Healing?

Around mid-October I began to see posts on a friend's Facebook page about different ways in which she was using essential oils to keep her family healthy, and how they were helping her avoid having to turn to so many medicines for her allergy-prone family, including four children. They were just another FB post, put out there to whomever might be reading that day, and I didn't put much into them. But the more she posted, the more interested I became. So I finally asked her about it, ordered a beginner's kit of Essential Oils from Young Living in early January, and am now seeing enough benefits to talk about it a little bit here on the Blog.

Some of the oils I received in my
Start Living with Essential Oils Kit

When I break out the oils, Jeff calls it "Witch Doctor Healing," and I suppose in a way it is what the old-time healers might have used. As a general rule, our children are not exposed to many of the illnesses out there - the colds and flus and whatever "crud" that kids often bring to schools - and are fairly healthy (we got lucky, I'm not patting myself on the back as much it might seem!) But we do have occasional sore throats, a few allergies to contend with, runny noses, scrapes, bumps and bruises to deal with, so I am always looking for ways to reduce the amount of odd chemicals that we bring into our bodies and our home where I can.

Three of the four oils I've turned to for scrapes,
bruises, and general "owwies".
That Triple Antibiotic hasn't been used in a little while!

Sometimes those ideas that I find online are just not right for us: my experiments with "No Poo Shampoo" were a total bust! My long hair was hopelessly tangled after two washings without my conditioner. Others work pretty well: home-made laundry soap works better than the stuff I was buying at the store each week, and costs a lot less to make. So far, many of the uses we've tried for the Oils have been winners.

In the picture to the left, are three of the oils I've used in place of triple antibiotics. Lavender and Frankincense are both natural antibiotics and have antiseptic qualities as well. Thieves is a blend of oils made by Young Living. One of the primary oils used is Clove oil, which is also used in modern medicines. 

Young Living is the oldest Essential Oil company around. To maintain a quality oil, the company owns its fields. You can see their video about the Seed to Seal process by clicking on the link. On top of that, they are constantly looking for new oils to use to help essential oil users have a healthier life. I did a lot of research before signing up with Young Living and this is what works for my family. 

Toothpaste = Peppermint, Frankincense and Thieves blend

We have five different toothpastes in our house. FIVE! One is for sensitive teeth, two are prescription strength, one is "regular whitening" paste, and one is supposed to strengthen teeth. Huh. NONE of them seem to be working all that well, except for the one for sensitive teeth. But I've stopped using all of them and now use baking soda, a drop of Peppermint oil, a drop of Frankincense and a drop of Thieves blend. The combination works just as well as my sensitive-teeth paste. Young Living also has a toothpaste that others say helps with tooth enamel. The jury is out on that still as I don't have the paste yet, but I'm getting it soon and will let you know!

Essential oils aren't rated by the FDA, just like with Olive Oil (and other such oils), there are grades of oil, based on where that particular oil came from within the process and whether something was mixed with the oil. Many of the oils that you can buy in the various health food stores, are not graded for internal use - even when the oil comes from an edible plant! The reason for this is because those oils are diluted with non-edible, sometimes harmful, substances to make them go farther and reduce the cost.

Headaches, allergies, post-nasal drip,
breath freshener - this guy is a workaholic!

You know you're working in a good direction when even the husband asks for the witch-doctor cure! Jeff had a sore throat not long ago. I made him a cup of tea, added a drop of Thieves (that you see in the picture above) and two drops of Peppermint oil and he drank it hot. He bypassed the Throat Spray (being kind, I'll leave out the brand name, but it's one my family always had in the cabinet growing up!) and had a 2nd cup of the tea about two hours later. Not long after that, his headache and sore throat had moved on!

Good bye Diaper rash cream,
Hello good-smelling Lavender and
Purification!

Both Chef and Jeff's aunt, who visited us recently used the Peppermint to help with post-nasal drip brought on by allergies. In fact, his aunt did not use her allergy medicine while she was here - she wanted to see how the Peppermint would work for her (the allergies were, obviously, non life-threatening, I'd do things very differently if that were the case!)

Lavender smells MUCH better than most commercial diaper-rash creams and I have the benefit of knowing that what I'm putting on Mr. Magoo's skin is better for him than the chemicals that are added to other mixes. In fact, I use Lavender when he doesn't have a rash just because it smells nice! 

When I signed up at the end of December, I bought the Start Living with Essential Oils Kit. In my kit, I received a $40 of coupon for a diffuser, a travel-size essential oils reference book, two NingXia Red samples, two bottles each of Peppermint and Lavender oil, and one bottle each of Frankincense, Lemon, Purification, Panaway, Peace & Calming, Thieves, and Valor. My kit cost $151, plus tax and shipping, but the oils I received would have cost me $300 if I had bought them individually. This kit is, in my opinion, the best kit to start with if you're new to Essential Oils because it gives a good range of oils that cover many of the items you might already have in your medicine cabinet. 

If you'd rather try just one or two oils to start with, drop me a line - I'm happy to help you with that! That hard-working Peppermint Oil is only $20 per bottle.  If you'd like to get an even better deal than I did, consider checking out the wonderful deal Young Living is offering - there is a link below! 

Young Living has a really great deal going on right now, so if you're curious about how the oils would work for you, this is a great time to see if they'll work for your family at a good cost. I like getting a deal and so am passing that on to you. Anyone who signs up before February 28, and purchases one of the Start Living kits will get a credit of $40 towards any product of their choice. Full details are here.  If you decide to give it a try, please put the number 1390866 as the person who introduced you to Young Living (or just use this link.)

I am not a medical professional. Any advice found in this post is for informational purposes only.

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