Unless you have been living under a rock :-), (or maybe you don’t have a Facebook or Pinterest account), I am sure you have heard one thing or another about essential oils.  I have been using essential oils for about 2 years now. Don’t stop reading, I am NOT a Youngliving or Doterra sales rep, and I am not going to try to get anyone to buy something from me.  I just love using essential oils.  There are so many natural benefits to using these oils!  As you may know, I am an RN, I give modern medicine on a daily basis.  I believe in modern medication, but I also believe that essential oils are beneficial as well.

You may have heard the term essential oils, but might still be wondering what are essential oils?Well if you were to google “what are essential oils?”  the first answer you would get would be “a natural oil typically obtained by distillation and having the characteristic fragrance of the plant or other source from which it is extracted.”  Basically that means an oil that comes from a plant or other natural source.

I like to get a lot of my oils from Plant Therapy, but I have also used some YoungLiving and Now oils.  Some of my most favorite oils to use are Lemon, Peppermint, and Lavender oil.  I like to combine the three of them for an allergy fighting trio. Pinterest has many different ideas on how you can use essential oils. (Click HERE to follow my Essential Oils board)

Generally, essential oils are either inhaled through the use of a diffuser or applied topically.  I have a GreenAir SpaVapor diffuser that I bought on sale from Amazon for $25.  Every night, I diffuse essential oils for respiratory relief in my daughter’s room, and I really feel as if this helps with her asthma.

If you are going to be applying your oil topically, you need to cut it with a carrier oil.  A carrier oil is a vegetable oil such as coconut oil, olive oil, my favorite grapeseed oil.   These oils can be used to dilute essential oils.  A 2% essential oil dilution is generally considered safe for topical application of essential oils on adults. To make a 2% dilution add 12 drops of essential oil to each fl. ounce (30 ml) of carrier oil. (Usually 600 drops of essential oil equals 30ml or 1 fl. ounce, so 2% is 12 drops)  Some oils are more potent than others, but a 2% dilution is the usual recommendation. I’ll be honest, sometimes when diluting my oils, if I am familiar with my body’s reaction to the oil, I put a lot more than 12 drops when I am diluting them.  But if you are new or still getting used to essential oils, less is more until you know what works for you.  Also, if I am mixing more than one oil together, I personally do 12 drops of each oil to one fl oz total.  I don’t add an extra fl oz of carrier for each oil, some may, but I personally usually don’t.

If you choose to ingest essential oils, before doing so, be absolutely sure that they are food grade oils.  Personally, I would never ingest any essential oils, but that is my choice due to research that I have done.

Check out Using Essential Oils Safely. Essential oils are awesome when used properly, but like a lot of things, can be toxic when overused or used improperly.  Also, if you have a lot of questions, Youngliving’s website has a great Q&A section!

**There are no affiliate links in this post.  This is all my own opinion.  I am not getting paid for sharing any of this information!**