Essential Oils
In 2014 I was invited to an essential oil class from a friend who knew the concerns I had for my daughter and her ear health. I knew nothing about essential oils.
The day after bringing my daughter home from her 4th ear surgery, my mama instinct told me to go to this class my friend was hosting in her home.
I learned how essential oils are able to penetrate the oily cell membrane and heard stories from moms about how they were able to use essential oils with their children. I bought what is now called the Healthy Start Kit. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
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How I helped my daughter
My daughter began experiencing ear discomfort so I pulled out my Healthy Start Kit and called my friend. She told me to simply put Basil, Tea Tree and Lavender on a cotton ball and set it outside her ear canal. Caution: It is not safe to use essential oils in the eyes, nose, ears and sensitive areas.
I diluted the essential oils with some fractionated coconut oil and rubbed them around her mastoid bone and down the sides of her neck where the tubes drain. It helped! Those drops of oils cost me less than $1 and that same routine still helps her today and I love that she is empowered with self care solutions.
The more healing we experienced, the more I had to share. I became a doTERRA Certified Essential Oil Specialist and am so passionate about teaching others what I have learned.
What are essential Oils?
Essential oils are 100% natural and safe. They are extracts from plants that have health benefits without side effects or addictions.
Have you ever crushed a peppermint leaf between your fingers? What you were doing was rupturing the essential oil sacs to smell the essential oil aroma. The aromatic compounds inside those tiny little sacs help the plant protect itself and thrive. We get the same benefit when we use their essential oils.
- SAFE - Essential oils are safe for everyone including babies, children, adults and elderly when they are pure.
- EFFECTIVE - Essential oils are an effective way to address the root cause of health problems. Because of their molecular size essential oils are able to pass through the cell membrane and help our bodies combat threats.
- AFFORDABLE - Essential oils are affordable. Certified Pure Tested Grade essential oils are 50-70 times more powerful than herbs. For example, 1 drop of peppermint essential oil is equivalent to 28 cups of peppermint tea. This 1 drop of essential oil costs just 7 cents. So they are very affordable.
The use of an oil is systemic. Whether is is synthetic or pure, aromas/scents get in you. This is the great gift of pure oils and the reason to avoid synthetics wherever possible.
How to Use Essential Oils
Here is the thing, purity impacts potency. Potency relates to how effective an oil is. Where the plant grows, how its harvested and how it is distilled impacts its chemistry and consistency. When you use an oil, you want it to work the same way every single time. The better the quality the better the oils work with and for your body.
AROMATIC USE is simply inhaling from the bottle or palms of your hands; making a spray or using a room diffuser. Essential oils can positively effect our mood and emotions in less than 30 seconds.
TOPICAL USE is simply placing the oil on our skin where it is absorbed. We can dilute essential oils with a carrier oil (such as fractionated coconut oil) to slow that absorption. To effect the whole body apply them topically to the bottom of the feet, spine or navel.
INTERNAL USE is safe with Certified Pure Tested Grade (CPTG) essential oils. Because they are 100% pure with no additives or synthetics added they are safe for internal use when labeled as such. To take essential oils internally you can add a drop of essential oil to water or in a vegetable capsule. Look for the Nutritional Facts label on the side of the bottle to ensure it is safe for internal use.
Facts about Purity and Quality of Essential Oils
I want to emphasize that there are different grades of essential oils. Have you seen a $10 Frankincense in the grocery store and wonder why it's so cheap? Well, you can bet that bottle is synthetic grade and does not have the therapeutic benefits of a pure essential oil. The same thing goes for oils on retail sites such as Amazon. Anyone can buy a replacement essential oil bottle top for .50 cents that will seal as if it was a brand new bottle of essential oil. Buyer Beware: the percentage of adulterated essential oils on the market today is staggering.
There are 4 main grades:
- SYNTHETIC GRADE – according to multiple third party laboratory testing, most suppliers are selling products with artificial and compromised agents. These oils lack purity and can be harmful to the body. These include things like laundry, perfumes and body products.
- FOOD GRADE – they are measured by the GRAS standard (Generally Regarded As Safe). This is a much higher standard required for internal use, but this grade is mainly used to flavor food and lacks therapeutic benefits.
- THERAPEUTIC GRADE – The problem with this category is the oil industry is not well regulated. These are generally used for massage, aroma or cosmetic use and have a low standard to pass to qualify.
- CERTIFIED PURE TESTED GRADE (CPTG) – doTERRA saw a huge gap in the marketplace for pure essential oils and made it their mission to pursue what is pure and produce the best essential oils on the market. CPTG is exclusive to doTERRA essential oils. Every batch must pass in-house and third party testing to guarantee that no foreign contaminants or fillers exist. This is a standard that far exceeds organic labeling requirements.
Here is the thing, purity impacts potency. Potency relates to how effective an oil is. Where the plant grows, how its harvested and how it is distilled impacts its chemistry and consistency. When you use an oil, you want it to work the same way every single time. The better the quality the better the oils work with and for your body.
Why I use and recommend doTERRA Essential Oils
What you may not know is most of the essential oils on the market are full of synthetic fillers and additives. The purity of an essential oil is its most important characteristic for health benefits.
Purity impacts potency. Potency relates to how effective an oil is. Where the plant grows, how its harvested and how it is distilled impacts its chemistry and consistency. When you use an oil, you want it to work the same way every single time. The better the quality the better the oils work with and for your body.
To ensure that each bottle of essential oil is pure and free from contaminants or synthetic fillers, doTERRA created the CPTG Certified Pure Tested Grade® protocol. The CPTG process includes a rigorous examination of every batch of oil, along with third-party testing to guarantee transparency.
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Feel free to reach out to me with any questions. I can be reached at terri@iambionicwoman.com
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