Essential Oil Twist on Alcoholic Beverages

For those of you who like to use 100% therapeutic grade essential oils to flavor your water or seltzer and are at least 21 years of age you may be interested in the recipes I found at The Art of Being Feminine website.

The author has posted some yummy looking recipes using essential oils to flavor your adult beverages. What a concept!

I have used essential oils to flavor my water and I have used them to flavor my food but I have never flavored my cocktails. But why not?

Check out the interesting drink recipes. The one that I found most appealing is the cinnamon wine.

The recipe calls for Cinnamon Essential Oil which is noted for its warming properties that help invigorate and rejuvenate the mind and body. Interestingly, in Egyptian times it was used in mulled wines and love potions.

Head Lice Treatment for Super Lice

At the end of August last year while my kids and I were anxiously awaiting the start of the new school year we noticed we all had itchy heads. I didn’t give much thought to it as I had just switched our shampoo and I attributed the itching to dry scalp. It wasn’t until the second day after school started when I realized, much to my dismay and embarrassment, that we all had head lice. For sure, this was no way to start the new school year. I was mortified and felt completely overwhelmed by the whole situation.

Because I was completely freaked out and in need of a quick fix I wasn’t prepared to handle the situation in a natural way and I certainly wasn’t thinking of sitting down and researching home remedies for head lice. I just wanted to get rid of these nasty creatures and get rid of them NOW! So, I did what most people do and ran right to the local drugstore and purchased the first lice treatment product I could find. This was regardless of the fact that it was, for sure, chemically laden. I was a woman on a mission.

While I was applying the lice treatment the stench of chemicals was incredibly powerful. I couldn’t help but wonder how caustic this product must be and what kind of effect it would have on us. Add to that my misery of having to re-apply the product to two of my four children because the first application was ineffective.

For the next 4 days I became Monkey Mom and Laundry Queen all at the same time and I had lots of nit picking time to ponder such phrases as “do you have to be so nit picky”, “what a louse” or “this is louse-y”.

When I had a chance to research head lice and head lice treatments I found that the product I used contained lindane, a chemical which is structurally very similar to hazardous banned pesticides such as DDt and Chlordane. Lindane, according to Wikipedia, primarily affects the nervous system, liver and kidneys and may be a carcinogen and/or endocrine disruptor. Great right?

My research also enlightened me to the fact that head lice are becoming resistant to the insecticides and pesticides currently on the market very much like germs are becoming antibacterial resistant due to the overuse of antibacterial products. These products are turning head lice into super head lice. This came as no surprise to me given the need for two applications of these chemicals to my children.

Below is a video by CBS News on the Super Lice and how this is not a myth.

Pesticide resistance is a good reason to turn to essential oils for the treatment of head lice. Essential oils are derived from plants and, like humans, no two plants are exactly alike. This individuality allows the compounds that make up the essential oil, the plant’s lifeblood, to be unique. This uniqueness prevents any lice or germ from replicating the oil and from allowing it to become stronger.

You can be sure that if there ever is a next time I have to deal with head lice or nits there is no question I am using my essential oils. That is, now that I have them on hand!

Don’t get caught without your essential oils. If you have concern over head lice this year and don’t want to use chemicals to treat them may I recommend you make sure you have these 100% Therapeutic Grade Oils in your home too:

The Essential Oils Desk Reference, 3rd Edition’s recommendations for head lice treatment

Single Oils:
Eucalptus Radiata, Lavender, Peppermint, Thyme, Geranium, Nutmeg, Rosemary

Blends:

Head Lice Blend:

• 4 drops Eucalyptus Radiata
• 2 drops Lavender
• 2 drops Geranium

Application

Dilute 50-50, 1 tsp. applied to scalp. Massage into enire scalp, cover with disposable shower cap and leave for a least 1/2 hour. then shampoo and rinse well. Use the following rinse:

Order Essential Oils for Natural Head Lice Treatment………….

Head Lice Rinse:

• 2 drops Eucalyptus Radiata
• 2 drops Lavender
• 2 drops Geranium
• 1/2 ounce vinegar
• 8 ounce water

Mix into a container with a watertight lid. Shake vigorously, then pour over hair making sure every strand is rinsed. This should be done leaning over bathtub or sink. This is not recommended if you are still in the bathtub as lice may cling to other body hairs. Dry naturally. Repeat daily until lice and eggs are gone.

Ahh, just typing that out smelled good

Don’t have head lice but looking for Head Lice Prevention? Try adding 2-3 drops of Tea Tree Oil into your Shampoo or Conditioner. Lice don’t like the smell.

If you have any questions or need help ordering please let me know. I’d love to help!

Yours in Scentsible Wellness,
Elizabeth

Are You Frustrated with Critters Eating Your Plants?

I was too until I made this deer repellent with essential oils. The original recipe, without the added essential oils, is from Missouri Botanical Gardens. The source for the recipe said it has been used effectively for over 100 years to repel deer.

To this recipe, I added Thieves Essential Oil Blend because it contains both Clove Essential Oil and Cinnamon Essential Oil both which are known to repel animals. I then added Cayenne pepper because it is known to keep the chewers away; apparently they don’t like the taste, who could blame them.

The end result is a natural repellent that actually works. I have found that it repels all of the critters that were eating my plants. Even the cute little groundhog family of 3 who reside in my backyard.

I have literally watched them sniff my plants and run.

Homemade Deer Repellent with Eggs

2 Eggs
1 cup of Water
1 cup of Skim Milk
1 squirt of liquid dish soap (helps make concoction sticky)
20 drops Clove Essential Oil , Cinnamon Bark Essential Oil or Thieves Essential Oil Blend
2 tsp Cayenne Pepper

In a Blender, mix two eggs to one cup of water. Blend well then add one cup of skim milk, dish soap, essential oil, and cayenne pepper. Put this mixture into a Spray Bottle and spray a light mist over the plant. For larger areas use a Lawn and Garden Sprayer. Straining the mixture prior to pouring it into the spray bottle or garden Sprayer is a good idea so your nozzel doesn’t get clogged from the egg.

There will be very little odor but deer and other critters will not find it appetizing. Remember to re-apply after heavy rains.

I have used this mixture straight and I have diluted it by putting the mixture into a gallon jug and adding water to fill the jug. The dilution doesn’t hurt its effectivness but be warned don’t leave the unused portion sitting in your garage for any length of time - Rotten Eggs - Not a good smell

Want to know how you can get these oils at wholesale pricing? Maybe you need help ordering? Contact me, I am ready to help.

Yours in Scentsible Wellness,
Elizabeth

Make your Own Flavored Water with Essential Oils

Have You Oiled Your Hot Tub Lately?

Rich and Shauna Dastrup wrote:

We were introduced to Young Living Essential Oils almost 8 years ago. At that time “ignorance” prevailed in our lives when it came to health, doctors, prescriptions, chemicals, and HOT TUBS. We, like most people, used the things we were told we were supposed to use in all areas of our lives.

Then something happened.

The grandparents of our daughter-in-law gave us a Young Living Missing Link cassette tape [now available in CD], which has had a profound effect on our lives. As we learned, used, and experimented we found we had a “killer” living with us called a HOT TUB!

We treated the water with lots of chemicals, which were contributing to our already poor physical health. What to do?

We talked with Gary Young about 6 years ago and what he had to say about chemicals scared the heck out of us and we quit using our HOT TUB! But then we decided to experiment with the essential oils in our hot tub. This is what we learned…

Our tub holds 300 gallons of water. In it, we used the “prescribed” chemicals and had it “balanced” so it was “safe” to use. Then we added 12 drops Young Living Geranium essential oil and circulated the water for 30 minutes.

We re-tested an hour later. Guess what? The bromine and chlorine indicator on the test strip was white, telling us they had disappeared. But the pH was holding just fine (wonder what happened to the bromine and chlorine?) and every indication was that the water was clean and balanced. We would guess that the bromine and chlorine were neutralized or “digested” by the Geranium oil. We have done this over and over and it keeps on doing the same thing.

Almost 4 years ago we started traveling in our motor home to teach and hold workshops with our Young Living distributors and we decided to experiment a little more with our HOT TUB during the time it was not being used to see if the desirable water conditions would hold without adding chemicals or more oils.

Each time we left we would add about 12 drops of Geranium oil, run it a few minutes, and turn the heat down - not off - down. Each time we returned (the longest absence being 6 months) we wondered what kind of scum we would come home and find. Each time we came home, including after the 6 month trip, the water was crystal clear. WOW!

Order Geranium Essential Oil here…………

Prior to our experimenting, we maintained the tub using the standard chemicals recommended by the hot tub dealer. If the tub were not maintained on a regular basis we came back to a real mess.

Now when we are ready to change the water we clean the tub and fill it with water. We clean the 3 big filters and soak them in a mixture of about 15 drops Thieves oil in enough water to immerse the filters for about 3 hours. Then we put the filters back in and added 12 drops Geranium oil to the water.It is so relaxing and refreshing to soak in our clean, fresh, balanced, and safe HOT TUB.

For an extra treat, while we soak we like to toss in an Aqua Essence Bath Pack [no longer available so just add several drops of a favorite essential oil for scent]. Now this is the way to enjoy a REAL HOT TUB!

It is wonderful to get out of the tub smelling of essential oils instead of chlorine and knowing full well we are helping our bodies maintain health rather than compromising them.

We share this to encourage people to experiment and use Young Living Essential oils to protect themselves and remove as many chemicals as possible from their lives.

If you have any questions regarding any of the products mentioned or need help placing an order, let me know. I’d be happy to help you get the products so you can get the chemicals out of your life!!

Yours in Scentsible Wellness,
Elizabeth