I don’t know very much about essential oils, but I’ve used a few basic ones around my house for the past few years. We’re running low (only have tea tree oil and a little camphor left, not my favorite smells) so I’m getting ready to put an order in through Mountain Rose Herbs and I thought I’d share what we use, when, and why.
I’ll be honest, a lot of my ‘why’ has to do with because it smells good. I know a lot of these have some powerful antibacterial/microbial qualities too. Of course, if using essential oils on skin you’ll always want to dilute them. I usually buy 1 oz size, for me that lasts plenty long and is affordable.
- Lavender- I like adding this to my laundry. I put a couple drops in the rinse if I catch the washer in the rinse cycle, or I’ll add about 5 drops to a damp washcloth and put it in the dryer with the laundry.
- Tea Tree- Treatment topically for mastitis, when we lived in the country I’d put a drop on the head of a tick that was embedded in the dog, and it would pull out really easily a minute later. Note: Our Walmart has tea tree oil too, which I’ve bought and thought it worked fine. Of course it’s ideal to not support huge questionably-ethical companies, but sometimes you want to try something without paying for shipping.
- Eucalyptus- In the humidifier, clears sinuses. I’ll add a couple drops to the kids’ bath if they’re stuffed up too, or in the bottom of the shower before showering.
- Camphor – In the humidifier, cough suppressant. It’s also found in Vicks Vaporub. It’s toxic when ingested, so be sure to use caution when using this and all essential oils (I feel silly writing that, but really, it’s important to be careful when dealing with them because they’re super concentrated).
- Orange/Lemon/Tangerine- I like the way these smell for my cleaning. I put a couple drops on the mop pad when mopping, put a couple drops in the canister of our bagless vacuum
(that’s the one we have, I think it’s great, and I’ve tried more expensive vacuums too. I got this one at Target) before vacuuming, and on the dust rag. Like lemon-Pledge, but without the chemicals. I generally just go with what’s cheapest since they all smell similar to me, and I’m buying more than an ounce this time since I use the most of this.
- Peppermint- a nice wake-up scent. Sometimes I’ll use this for cleaning. Kind of reminds me of the Tilex my-bathroom’s-clean smell.
- Rosemary- Used in my homemade deodorant. I like this scent the best for deodorant. I usually get just 1/2 oz of this because I don’t use it a whole lot. I’ll add a couple drops of this to the diaper pail (cloth) too to keep stinkies at bay til I wash.
- Clove Oil- Can be used for dental pain, it has a numbing effect. I don’t like the way it tastes, but it’s worth it for an on-hand fix for emergency dental pain. I know some people dilute it and rub on their teething baby’s gums, but I haven’t ever done this personally.
What do you use essential oils for? Are there any other basics that belong in my medicine cabinet?
Note: I do get a referral fee if you place your Mountain Rose Herbs order by clicking from my site. Even if I didn’t, I’d still send you over there. They have the best quality for a reasonable price that I’ve found, and I have ordered through them multiple times before I was their affiliate.
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Now you’ve seen what I do with essential oils, how about What Do You Do With Coconut Oil?
Honestly, Cara, I can’t get to blogging because I spend WAY too much time on your site!!! You are five steps ahead of me and I love it: I don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Thank you.
Curious that there are no responses here! I guess we haven’t gotten around to using essential oils as much as we’d like. You also turned me onto Mountain Rose Herbs — what a find!
Ditto what Sally said about your blogging! It’s such a blessing. Thanks for sharing all of your knowledge. And I’m so happy to see an Essential Oil post. I absolutely love my oils. You seem to have covered the most awesome, versatile oils here in your post, but I wanted to mention that if you ever want to get super serious about using your oils, you should try to get your hands on the “Essential Oils Desk Reference”. I got mine from Borders using a coupon, but they’re on Amazon also. Anyway, I cannot say enough about this book. It is so informative and inspiring!
Also, you mentioned sometimes wanting to try something without paying for shipping (Walmart comment), so I just wanted to let you know that I’m giving away 3 fantastic oils over on the blog http://labouveloca.blogspot.com/2010/11/giveaway-young-living-essential-oils.html, and they’ll be shipped to the winner for free. Thanks again for the post and blessings to you and your family during this holy time of the year.
Did you know there’s an electronic version now of the EODR? …. this payday! :)
My favorite right now is Peppermint. I add a drop to my 24 ounce water bottle and it stops my indigestion! It’s a little strong so it could be diluted more, but it is the only thing that helps my poor tummy when I forget and eat something my body doesn’t tolerate.
A friend of mine uses Tea Tree Oil for ear infections. Another uses garlic placed in oil with a drop of lavender oil for ear infections. She uses a cotton ball to soak up the liquid, then squeezes the liquid into the ear and uses a headband to hold the cotton ball against the ear. I haven’t need this yet, but definitely keeping it in mind!
I just want to let folks know that we need to be careful in using Essential Oils, as many are neurotoxins for cats. I found this out the hard way. I was using EOs that unfortunately my then vet recommended as natural flea repellent. My girl lost function in her limbs. When I suspected the EO’s as the possible problem, I checked with another vet, who checked with an animal toxicologist. It was confirmed that eucalyptus & lavender are nuerotoxins for cats. I’ve since found out that pennyroyal (another one recommended by the first vet), cedar, as well as many others, are also toxic for cats. Unfortunately, by the time we figured this all out, it was too late, and there was no way to recover her.
Cats can not process it out of their systems as fast as humans can. They should not be exposed to EOs more than once in two weeks, from what I have read online. I’m not so sure that I would ever use any, around a cat again, myself.
Cedar is also toxic for small rodent pets. And I have read of issues with tea tree being problematic for small dogs.
Please don’t assume just because something is natural that it is safe. Tobacco is natural. So is hemlock.
sorry to hear about your cat … we have had great success with Peace & Calming (just a drop in my hand rubbed on one paw) for our Dog when it’s thundering/fireworks …. you’re right not all natural things are safe in every concentration…..
Lavender oil is good for minor burns. It is the only EO you dont have to have a carrier oil for.
I’m a distributor with Young Living so we use lots of oils!! :) I love cedarwood right now and vetiver …. Peppermint and Lavender we always have on hand as well as some others…. Lavender is awesome for burns so long as it is not lavindin or have synthetics in it, we keep a spritz bottle of pure aloe juice in the fridge with lavender in it it! …. most oils do NOT need a carrier unless you are sensitive to them, then dilute with pure olive or coconut oil! :)
what do we use essential oil for ?