First, I want to start off by saying I’m not one of those people who says essential oils cured me or fixed all my problems.  No, they actually haven’t.  But, they have helped me and my family tremendously and because of that I want to write some blogs about what has and HAS NOT worked for me.   I also want to know what has and has not worked for you!  I’d rather hear actual stories from people that are taking a more natural approach to life rather than a paid actor in a commercial.  But again, what works for me may not work for you.  Just like some medications work for some people and not others.  Which is why there are 100’s of different types of anxiety medications, blood pressure medications, heart medications, etc. on the market today.  I’m also not saying we shouldn’t take prescription medications.  There is definitely a place and need for them.  I just personally try to use oils first, if they don’t help yes, I will reach for something in my medicine cabinet.  I feel like it’s too easy to take a pill these days when there are so many other options out there.  God created the earth and plants that have medicinal benefits.  Man and big pharma created pills.

I first found a love for essential oils when I became pregnant with N . I was one of those people who took Ibuprofen at the first glimpse of a headache, who smoked about a half pack of cigarettes a day, and ate whatever I wanted.  The greasier the better!  I didn’t care what I was doing to my body or how it would affect me later down the road because at the time, I was living in the moment, care free, without a worry in the world.  Then, everything changed when I saw those two pink lines.  I was over the moon excited that we were going to have a little one. Then, all the restrictions came at me like a foul ball. You can’t take ibuprofen, your anxiety medication, you can’t eat lunch meat, you can’t drink coffee.  A huge list of things you can’t do.  Great.  I was so nervous about every single thing that entered my body and scared how I was going to manage without my easy go to’s! Then my best friend since grade school introduced me to Essential Oils and it has seriously changed my life. I was able to combat that lovely hormonal head issue during the first trimester with the help of peppermint oil, I was able to get some zzzz’s at night thanks to Lavender, and I was able to keep my stress levels down thanks to Stress-Away.  Just like any future or new mom would, I researched the heck out of Young Living as well as other Essential Oil companies. If I was going to use something on my body I wanted to make sure I knew exactly where it came from and that I trusted the company behind the product. After my research I decided Young Living was the best option for me.

The oils from Young Living are 100% pure.  Nothing added.  Nothing taken away.  They are not laced with synthetics that are harmful and dangerous, and they are not lab replicated.  They’re not cut with a carrier oil (unless you purchase a roll-on which has a carrier specifically so you don’t have to carry it with you).  It’s taken directly from the plant.  This gives me peace of mind that even a 100% organic label from another company can’t give me.  Additionally, Young Living is the ONLY essential oil company in the world that owns their own farms to grow their crop.  Every other company buys their product at some point.  Young Living tests and maintains pure, organic, therapeutic grade from the time the seed is put into the ground to the time it’s sealed into the bottle.

Therapeutic grade oils are almost never sold in retail stores.  They might be organic, but they distill it in a way that is cheaper and faster (hence the cheaper price tag) which kills the compounds that make up the molecules, meaning the healing properties are gone.  When oils are distilled at low temperatures and low pressure the healing properties are preserved.  Over 90% of the oils that are sold as “essential” are food or fragrance grades and not suitable for healing applications.  Young Living oils are safe to apply, diffuse, AND some are safe to ingest…because they are 100% organic.  Just like the food industry, “legally” there only has to be 10% of the actual oil in there to be considered 100% peppermint or whatever oil it is.   The best part?  Young Living did not just sell oils!  They have an entire line of CLEAN cleaning products, shampoo and conditioner, soaps, toothpaste, makeup, vitamins, supplements, lotions, just about everything you could imagine.

So, I jumped right in purchasing their premium starter kit which came with 11 of their most popular oils and a diffuser.  It was, by far, the best bang for my buck.  Since then, we have switched out so many of our normal products that we’d buy at Walmart or Target for Young Living products.  And the best part is that they have an Essential Reward program where I get 25% back on everything I buy to purchase more products (or save them up to buy the expensive ones). We don’t realize all the horrible chemicals that are in products we use every single day.  I love that I am using safe, clean, organic products around my three-year old.  She has opened my eyes to how important it is to take care of yourself.  I want to watch her grow up, get married and have children of her own one day!  Which is why it’s so important to self-care, read labels, and be aware of what you put in and on your body.