DIY HairSpray

Well, I ran out of hairspray - and I don't use it often and it makes my head SO itchy. Like if I spend the time to curl my hair, I can't have it last more than a day because of how itchy the hairspray makes my scalp - I need to shower to wash it out - but the curls don't last as well without it:-/ So a little DIY that worked!! Held my hair like a wanted, even into the next day with a teeny refresh on certain spots. No itchiness, so a win for me!

I heated up 1/2C water on the stove top and stirred in 2t white sugar until melted. I added a few citrus oils for scent, and put in a little spray bottle I already had. Use as normal hairspray. Simple and easy! I posted this on social media and someone commented that they used to work in a women's prison and the inmates would melt down jolly ranchers to style their hair - so yeah. This feels very hard core, but hey - sometimes the chemical free life feels like this 😂

Claraderm Recipe

Claraderm is pricey, at $69 per 2oz bottle. But I'm kind of addicted to it...and it's been out of stock for awhile now - DIY to the rescue. I literally just read the bottle label, and used exactly what was listed.

Fractionated coconut oil

Myrrh

Tea Tree

Lavender

Sacred Frankincense

Roman Chamomile

Helichrysum

Ok, those are some heavy hitting (aka PRICY) oils. No wonder it costs so much! But lucky for me, I actually had all those oils. I did 2oz coconut oil, and then 3drops of each essential oil. I found it to be quite identical to the original, and since I had the oils, the cost for me was negligible. But, if you had to purchase Myrrh, Heli, Sacred Frank or Roman Cham just to make this and didn't have much other purpose for the oil, it's likely more economical to just buy the Claraderm...once it's back in stock!

I'm enjoying this DIY for sure, and it's giving me a way to use up Roman Cham & Myrrh, as I was given them as freebies for my monthly order awhile back, and haven't had too much use for them/don't like the scent. So glad it's not just sitting around in the bottle now!

 

Healing Balm

2T organic beeswax (buying pellets instead of 1oz bars making this easier to measure)

2T coconut oil (cold pressed, unrefined)

1T raw unfilted shea butter

1/4C jojoba oil

15 drops frankincense

25 drops lavender

15 drops helichrysum

20 drops tea tree

Melt beeswax in a double boiler, then add all except EO's. Let cool a bit (cooler, but still liquid), add EO's, and pour into "lip gloss" containers (Amazon).

This balm is *amazing* for healing skin issues of any kind - dry, rough patches, soften callouses, cracked or dry lips, even acne spot, hang nail or cuticle issues, or dry hands. Good for literally everything!! Could even put it in a little 'pot' kind of container, but I love the squeeze and go portability of this kind of container.

I think this recipe filled about 10 of this size container. 

DIY Toner

Facial toner! It feels amazing! I use an amber glass "spritzer" bottle - I get them on amazon and they are so useful (I use for after sun spray etc). Spritz on face after washing it morning and evening.

1oz witch hazel
10 drops Purification
10 drops Lavender
10 drops Frankincense
10 drops Cypress

Foaming Face Wash

I put this in a "foaming handsoap" refillable dispenser, and it's GREAT! An easy way to wash your face and get all that makeup off at the end of the day. Because I have all these ingredients on hand for "normal life" this costs me basically nothing to make. I do tend to use cotton make "rounds" for wiping it away and rubbing it around my eye area etc. Use this in the shower, or each morning or evening. Sometimes I use a wet-with-water cotton round to "rinse" it, sometimes, I don't. It's great for your skin, so it doesn't need to be cleaned off per se.

3/4 C cooled brewed chamomile tea OR filtered water (I prefer the tea)
1/4 C liquid castile soap (I like Dr Bronner's Peppermint)
1/2 t sweet almond oil OR jojoba oil OR grapeseed oil (I prefer jojoba - each one is good for a different skin type, so google the best choice for you)
3-4 drops Vitamin E oil
8 drops Frankincense essential oil
8 drops Geranium essential oil
(you can add other oils to this, or replace these with other ones that are great for the skin. A few ideas are Lavender, Tea Tree {aka Melaleuca Alternafolia - good for acne prone skin}, and Elemi)

Homemade Shampoo

I've been consistently trying to eliminate toxic chemicals from our home, but hair products can be tricky!! I've tried a few recipes, but none were just right. I really like this recipe, it works very well for me, and leaves me feeling clean without a waxy buildup or whatever. I use Trader Joes Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo and Conditioner too - I rotate through (homemade one time, baking soda & ACV the next time, Trader Joes the next time etc. I shower/wash my hair every other day, so use these recipes rotationally only about once per week.

SHAMPOO
1 cup of green tea steeped for 30 minutes (I used a Tazo regular green tea)
1 teaspoon honey mixed into tea while it is hot
1 teaspoon olive oil mixed in tea after it has cooled
1/2 cup liquid castille soap (we love Dr Bronner's peppermint) added to cooled mixture
Stir well and pour into container. Shake shampoo before each use.

BAKING SODA WASH

3 tablespoons baking soda to 2 cups of water and then shake. I put in old shampoo bottle and shake before each use. Focus the baking soda mixture on the scalp, leave on for a minute, and rinse well.

Then apply Apple Cider Vinegar mixture (I put in plastic spray bottle), spray on hair, and concentrate it on the ends, not the scalp. Let sit for 5ish mins and then rinse with cool water right at the end of your shower. Easy and done!

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR WASH
Boil 1 1/2 cup water, and remove from heat. Add 1 or 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary and let that cool. Remove the rosemary and add 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar (strain to avoid getting the "mother" in your mixture)

You can use dried rosemary, in a thing for loose tea, or just strain afterwards, or use rosemary essential oil - Which is what I did, once the water was cooled. About 10 drops.

Shake before each use on all three of these.

Sea Salt Hair Spray

Sometimes I spend tons of time looking through all kinds of recipes on the internet, for beauty replacement stuff, and cobble together the few ingredients from this one or that that I want to try. Then I make the recipe - and when/if it turns out - I can't ever remember how I made it to do it again because I can never to replicate the exact google search or whatever! So in an effort to remember the things I want to do again, I'm posting them here! ;-) (Publishing recipes I consider "successful" only)

Recently, I've been wearing my hair curly. Mostly because my hair actually is curly, now (thank you pregnancies and hormone changes), and also because Brian has decided he likes is curly, maybe even better than straight. I also decided to try and grow my hair long. On purpose. Not like in the past when I forgot to cut it for 4.5 years and it felt like straw. I want to grow it longer, for real this time. So I'm taking care of it (natural and homemade shampoos, for another post perhaps!), and getting regular trims to keep it feeling great!

So, in an effort to not use as many heat tools on my hair (previously blow dry, then flat iron), I let it air dry, which produces curly hair, but kind of flat. If I scrunch with mouse, it's perfect. But I didn't want all the product in my hair, so enter the beach wave with sea salt spray.

Sea salt can dry your hair out, but there are enough natural conditioners in this recipe that I think it's doing ok for my hair. No noticeable "problem" yet anyway, and I also still use my argan oil and stuff for in my hair too when it's wet.

When it's drying/damp, I spray some of this in my hair all around, and scrunch, and then just let it go. Every once and awhile I'll scrunch/push up my hair as is dries, and that seems to give the volume I want with the beachy wave look I want.

1 C warm water
1 T sea salt
1 t epsom salt
1 T fractionated coconut oil (stays liquid)
1 T aloe vera gel (is a liquid)
essential oils - I do Cedarwood, Rosemary & Lavender - they are good for hair and smell nice.

Mix all together in a spray bottle (I'm using a glass one because I had on hand, but plastic is fine), and shake before using. Enjoy the messy curly beachy look it gives your hair. And if you ever chew on your hair (ew, don't), but if you do - um, just believe me - it tastes pretty great...so my friends tell me anyway;-)

*I found the coconut oil and aloe vera gel on amazon, and I use them for in our After Sun Skin Relief spray (way better feeling than that goopy green aloe gel you can buy, and way better for your body!).

Thieves Wipes

Thieves Cleaner is really amazing. I've mostly transitioned to using white vinegar for cleaning over the years. It's cheap, easy, does a great job and is toxin free. Winning. But I still used Windex, because it just is easier on glass than vinegar. Young Living makes a product called Thieves Cleaner, and I was curious to try it. It's toxin free, and apparently you can clean EVERYTHING with it, even glass. So I wanted to give it a try. I am so completely sold! It has essential oils in it, and it very concentrated, so you dilute it with water.

The bottle I got was 14.4fl oz for $22. I've had it for over a year now, and it's only half gone. The lid is used to measure - and it's a tiny lid, and you only use one capful in a whole spray bottle of water. So it lasts. And it cleans glass!! And toilets, and granite, and floors, and...everything. I really love it.

One thing I really enjoy having, just for ease of life with kids, is wipes. Once I realized this Thieves thing was going to work, I keep Thieves wipes made and ready. The kids can use them to wash or wipe anything. They work for tables, and faces:-)

Cut a roll of papertowel in two - I use Bounty usually, but have also found the "higher end" Great Value brand to be excellent.

For the wipes I only use about 1/2 a capful, in about 1.5ish cups of water. I mix the Thieves cleaner into the water, and then pour over all the papertowels

Pull from the center to use! So easy!

This is the container I chose (from WalMart, just a few dollars). It has a seal tight lid, and can be unlocked and opened with only one hand - bonus for when you're messy with one hand cleaning a mess.

While I started out intending for these to be for the kids - I use them the most. They've become my go-to table and counter wipers for sure. And perfect for windows or mirrors or our glass top coffee table, it cleans all the smudges off in streak-free fashion, and fast!

After Sun Spray

I can't even tell you how much we all love our essential oils. Everything I try, we love, and so I'm always on the lookout for things I can make myself and 1) save money 2) have a healthier option available to us.

Something that we need often enough in our climate is aloe after sun skin care. Even if we're not burnt, being in the sun, and in the water just makes your skin want something. And my kids hate the green aloe gel because it's "sticky".

So I made my own! And we LOVE it. It's like a moisturizer. So refreshing, even if you haven't been in the sun.

I made mine in a 2oz bottle, and gathered some ideas from online and kind of combined a few recipes to one I thought I'd like.

I used 3 parts aloe gel, and 1 part fractionated coconut oil. This aloe is clear, and not sticky, it's a liquid, and the fractionated coconut stays liquid, it doesn't solidify. So for this container, I used about 1.5oz aloe and .5oz coconut. To this, I added 8 drops Lavender, 8 drops Melaleuca Alternafolia (Tea Tree) and 8 drops Peppermint.

I don't spray it directly on the face, I spray on fingers and then apply, so I can avoid the eye area. This feels amazing on the skin, truly. And it smells heavenly too! We like it much better than the sticky green gel you can buy, and it's much easier to apply too!

Dishwasher Detergent - DIY

I started making my own dishwasher detergent - and it works so well! It's a powder, and there are other recipes to be found online, and since each dishwasher washes in its own unique way, make a small batch of your recipe to test it on your machine and make sure it's doing a good job.

I've been using vinegar as my "jet dry" rinse agent for years, and I'm glad I now have an economical, and toxin free way of cleaning the dishes also:-) Essential oil drops can be added to the powder for scent, if desired

2 parts borax
2 parts washing soda
1 part salt
1 part citric acid

Use 2 T for each load.

Lip Chap - Recipe

I made lip chap over the holidays, and it's incredible! I've gotten many comments from people that it's the best they've ever used. It perfectly keeps lips moist and hydrated - it just feels amazing! I ordered all my supplies off amazon, and they don't cost much...I think the shea butter was most costly at $12 for 16oz...and using 1/2 an ounce at a time - it'll last me until I die?! Since a good (all natural) lip balm costs you anywhere from $3-$6 per tube, this recipe is definitely a money saver. I ordered 50 empty chapstick containers on amazon for $5. I haven't done all the math completely, but a rough estimate is that it costs about 20cents per tube to make. And it takes 10 minutes (of waiting on that beeswax to melt), and it's so easy! Never buying another lip balm again - because I have a lifetime of shea butter to use up:-)

I googled various recipes and there are many options to choose from. This is the one I settled on, and it's a real winner. I have no reason to try and change it up. I use my digital kitchen scale to measure the amounts.

1 oz organic beeswax
1.5 oz coconut oil (I used Trader Joes)
.5 oz raw unfiltered shea butter

Melt beeswax in double boiler - then add in the other two. stir until melted. Remove from heat and add essential oils - whatever you'd like, and probably 30 drops (which gives a very light scent). I did about 30 drops of Citrus Fresh, and it was light in scent/flavour. I made another half batch, and did about 6 each of Peppermint and Rosemary. These were very lightly scented - just barely detectable, so next time I'll do a little more. I was a bit worried of overdoing the peppermint, but I don't think that is much of a risk, now that I've tried it!

Poo-Pourri

Ok, here's an oily recipe that everyone can appreciate - it's poo-pourri! You know when you go, and sometimes, lets just say, you wished you had a room full of potpourri. Ok, well, now you do! The way this works is that supposedly it creates a "layer" over the surface of the water that doesn't allow odors to come back out into the room. Brian literally laughed at this idea and said it wouldn't work...but wouldn't you know it - it works!!

In a 4oz spray bottle (I mixed mine up and put in two 2 oz bottles) mix together

2 T rubbing alcohol
10-20 drops of essential oils*
1 t liquid castile soap (like Dr Bronners)
Shake to mix. Fill the rest with distilled water. Shake again to mix.

To use, spritz a couple times in the clean toilet, and flush when you're done! It does a great job at keeping odors to a bare minimum, and I like it in the 2oz spray bottle because it fits easily in my purse for travelling.

*OILS TO USE: The original recipe I saw use Eucalyptus, Lavender and Peppermint. I used Purification, Lavender and Peppermint. But really any strong smelling oil would be fine. I did about 7-10 drops of each.

Mom Down

It's been a long time since I've been sick. Or sick enough to be out of commission. This weekend I was feeling the allergies - the pollen was literally blowing through the air in visible gusts, and it's EVERYWHERE, even inside the house when you dust. But I was pushing through, as always. Then the Rangers games and impromptu party did me in. I haven't eaten much sugar/any sugar at all in a really long time (like, since early January). And on Saturday night, I had soda, a piece of cheesecake someone brought over, and candy. It was likely all a little much for my body to handle and pushed me over the edge!

I woke up in the middle of the night with a fever and was basically totally out of it all day Sunday. Brian dressed the kids and took them to church. Then out on a special Daddy date for Mexican after. He made them dinner (a salad & bread) and it was apparently the BEST meal they've EVER had. EVER. Ooookay then.

And I slept. I couldn't keep my eyes open at all!! As often as I was awake, I was using my oils - My sinuses and head and throat hurt, and my fever lasted off an on most of the day. I literally had no energy for anything but sleep. By Sunday night I was starting to feel better and my fever broke. I slept well that night, and woke up feeling ok - good enough to function semi-normally anyway.

Things I learned while I was sick.

1. I think that I already knew this, but maybe I'd forgot. Without my constant help (via encouragement, bossiness or doling out chores and responsibilities) my family is completely helpless.

2. I need to work on the whole clean up as you go thing - without a Mommy reminder

3. My husband does not know how to use our washer or dryer.

They had used every.single. plate, bowl and cup that we own. All the glass, all the plastic, everything. It took me 3 dishwasher loads to work through it all. Literally every room was just like this, or worse, HAHA. I'm so grateful everyone is alive, and well. But really. Moms are just super necessary:-)

Googling my symptoms, I think I overcame a sinus infection, or the start of one. The oils I used to pull me through and get me back to normal within 24 hrs for my Monday.

Thieves - on my throat, and in hot water with lemon and honey
Peppermint - on my feet to control and cut my fever
LLP (lemon, lavender, peppermint) - on my sinuses
RC - on my chest
Sacred Frank - on my neck and swollen glands
PanAway - on temples and back of neck for headache
Purification - on bridge of nose for suffiness
*I also started using Thieves diluted in olive oil on my neck/glands on Tuesday when they were still swollen. That really seemed to be the kicker!

I also took a really long hot bath with plenty of epsom salts and lavender.


Today, (Tues) my throat is still a little sore from post nasal drip, but my sinuses and head feel incredibly better/totally normal. I do have a bit of a runny nose now, and a few sneezes here and there, but on the whole, pretty good! My energy is back to normal and that is a very good thing, If I was sick any longer, we'd have had to burn down the house and start over!

Hopefully it's a LONG time before I'm down for the count again!

DIY Dryer Sheets

Well for about 6 months now, I have been on the hunt for "how to make your cat stop peeing on fabric". Several hundred similarly worded google searches later, and I really didn't have concrete information to go on. Basically, it's a struggle, and we all don't know what to do about it, according to tons of pet chatboards. (Huck, one of our cats, likes to pee on clothing or bedding).

We found a "bad cat spray" at the store, which kinda works - only the scent and spray only seem to deter for moments - until the spray evaporates or absorbs. But we tried it. Then I checked the ingredients on the bottle: Lemongrass and water. Idea Strikes.

Now my google searches were along the lines of "what scents do cats hate". My searches revealed that they dislike, passionately, citrus-y scents, and essential oils especially, as the scent is quite potent. Lemongrass is among the top of their dislikes, along with all other citrus scents.

So then I began scratching my head - how to get this scent "out there" in the house? I already knew the spray I bought was only temporarily effective. Setting out a dish of it (liquid) so the scent lingers longer would just be problematic in a house full of kids and pets, and if they spilled it on the items I was trying to protect (fabrics) it could damage them, potentially.

So my quest remained and I didn't really have any brilliant ideas. Until I clicked on a pinterest link some one posted to facebook. How to make homemade "dryer sheets". I've seen similar before, but I checked out the link, and it was really about how to make homemade dryer balls out of a wool skein. It was quite detailed, and interesting, and as I was reading, it occurred to me that this would be perfect for my cat problem. At the end of the post the author included a ** saying - DO NOT try to make these at home. It was difficult, and the wool skeins are very pricey and only make about 2 balls, and at the end of the day, just not worth it. Buy already made ones on amazon.

SOLD! I sooooo appreciated the honesty of the woman, who's link I can no longer find. But really, how great to show people what you've done and then insist it was a waste of time and money, LOL. So I bought 6 wool balls on amazon for 11,99, and they arrived free shipping in two days. Yay.

Then I set out googling how to USE the dryer balls - not how to make them out of wool (tons of info out there!), but how to use them - online details were slim at best. I like specific lists for directions, and this wasn't giving me anything like that to go on. So I came up with my own system by trail and error.

It includes two glass jars - one for the "wet ones" and one for the dry ones. It was working great for me, except - the glass jars on the dryer were very jingly and noisy. The lids would vibrate and the two jars would clang together and it was just really annoying background noise!

Burlap is my "dry jar" regular glass is my "wet jar"

So I covered my "dry ones" jar with burlap I had on hand in my craft stuff. (Take THAT husband who always wonders why we have a 'closet full of "stuff" we never use' ;-)

I just cut and wrapped the burlap and hot glued it into place on the jar (there is a back seam), and then around the bottom edge, and top edge. I then tied a ribbon around the top to make it look prettier.

On to the nitty gritty of the "recipe" for the dryer sheet/ball. I use Lemongrass and Purification (a blend of oils known to neutralize mildew, cigarette smoke and more. It contains Cintronella, Lemongrass, Rosemary, Melaleuca, Lavandin & Myrtle - it smells amazing, and has that underlying citrus smell that cats will avoid)

I decided to give the cat-pee deterrent a two fold approach. If our clothes smell subtly like these oils, from the dryer ball, the cat will be less prone to want to go near them - and yet they smell great to us! And then I also use the balls out in the house, which I will show later.

I normally don't use anything by way of dryer sheets, only because they are an added expense that my budget doesn't need. But I do love the "idea" of dryer sheets, and these are a re-useable, and very cheap way to add a great scent, and reduce static, and soften clothing while it dries.

In a container (like my glass jars or similar), place dry wool balls.
(Make sure the container is large enough so that more than 1 or 2 balls are touching the bottom/liquids added, so they can all soak up evenly)

Put 1 drop of lemongrass and 1 drop of Purification on each ball (these oils are $11 and $18 respectively for 15ml, and using 1 drop at a time will last a reeeeeeally long time. I use them for other things, health wise, so I'll go through them a little faster*, but for me, they are something I am already buying, so they are of no additional cost to my budget.)

I pour about 1/2 C white vinegar and 1/2 C water over the balls, and let them sit and absorb. I use white vinegar in each load of laundry as my water softener, so again, it's already in my laundry room, right there, and is really adding minimal/no expense to my normal routine.

When you are putting a load in the dryer, grab a dryer ball from the "wet" jar, (or two for extra large loads), and throw them in the dryer with the wet clothing.

When a load is finished, I throw the "dry" ones in my burlap covered container, and there they wait to be re-doused in the future, or used as cat deterrents. When I get down to about 1 left, I "make a new batch" of wet ones but this would depend on how much you do laundry in a week. They take probably at least 30 mins to soak up the vinegar & water, so I just make sure there are always some to grab in there.

Here they sit, soaking up their vinegar and water mixture.

To keep the lids from rattling I hot glued ribbon to the outer edge of the jars inner rim, if that makes sense. Now we have zero opportunity for glass to clang against glass, and a quiet clothes drying experience

And they kinda look pretty on the dryer, too, right?! I'm loving this!

Our clothes smell great! They are static free, and so I'm reaaaally glad I came across this idea online and morphed it into my own!

To use the oils as a cat-pee deterrent, I just take a dry ball, and put a drop of essential oil on it, and place it where I want the cat to avoid. It smells forever (I've had some out for over a week, and they still smell strongly to the human nose), and it's safe for kids etc etc. Nothing to get damaged or spill etc. This would work well as a cat scratching deterrent too, if they are going for something they shouldn't, place a ball there, and they'll not go near!

The oils are a little yellow in colour, so they "dye" the white wool - it' doesn't affect functionality at all

So now, when "leaving clothing out" to fold later, I just place a ball on top, to keep the cat away! Works like a charm! I've left stuff out for days, just as an attempt to bait him and test the system, and he won't go near it! (When grabbing a "dry" ball, I give it a good smell, sometimes the smell - leftover from it's dryer experience - is still pretty strong, and doesn't need another drop of oil added)

And just because I had the craft supplies out - Our flosser "container" was a re purposed kitchen counter container that says "Tea" on it (you can see the metal sign from the inside of the container still). These flossers seem to be essential to not only the kids dental health, but mine. I've had lots of cavities, so I need to be careful with my teeth ongoing, and flossing is just one of those "things" I just always don't do. Until I starting using these things, now it's easy and convenient and I floss alllll the time! 

So I covered it in burlap, and now it matches the bathroom a little better, don't you think?

*I use lemongrass, applied neat, to a cluster of veins on my legs that is "burst" giving a bruise appearance. Dr says ablation procedure is the only way to get rid of the vein cluster, but many people have seen visible vein reduction (spider veins etc) by applying lemongrass, so I am trying it - It can't hurt and will only help, so why not?:-) We use Purification for seasonal allergies and stuffy noses. Brian and Kenna swear by it (along with their Lemon, Lavender, Peppermint mixture - they are our worst allergy sufferers).

So, even if you don't have a cat problem to solve, these dryer "sheet" alternatives can be used effectively and affordably, and aren't adding any extra chemicals into your life!

NOTE: You can use only water if you choose, vinegar adds an added 'softening' agent, but using only water will still reduce static and give a great smell to clothing if using with oils. Or another option would be to just use vinegar and water, with no oils - this would give soft and static free clothing, but it wouldn't have any smell to it, for people that are sensitive to smells. The odor from the oils left on clothing is, in my opinion, light and fresh - not as potent as a normal dryer sheet - and better smelling. The oils are absorbed into the wool balls and will not get "oil spots" on your clothing. I suggest using Young Living Therapeutic grade oils.

Wool dryer ball aficionados out there also insist that using them cuts down drying time by up to 25%, thereby saving money on your energy bill. I think I've noticed this to be true too, although I'll need to pay closer attention to the clock!

Let me know if you have any questions about this! Happy Laundry Day(s) :-)

Oily Recipes

Just wanted to share a few recipes - mostly for my own sake, so I don't forget them - and not really coming up with a good system for keeping the recipes in a place where I can easily access, and share with others, so this works:-)

There is a popular allergy recipe, known as LLP, or Lemon, Lavender, Peppermint. We've (especially Brian and Kenna) have been suffering from seasonal allergies for a few weeks. The pollen count in our area is *insane*, and is literally visible - pollen will coat your car (and everything else) as you sleep, and then get washed away in the rain, causing almost florescent coloured yellow puddles. For people that are very sensitive - this is a nightmare. I've adjusted to it fairly well over the years we've been here, but Brian still gets affected. Runny nose, sinus pressure, low grade headaches, fatigue - and it probably lasts about a month or so, spring and fall.

After a few weeks of complaints from him (he refuses to try OTC solutions like Claritin or Zyrtec, has he hasn't yet found one that doesn't make him sleepy and "off" feeling - even the non-drowsy varieties) - I decided to mix up the "allergy bomb" and have him try it. Oils save the day again! I used my old Stress Away bottle, as it was empty and had a roller ball fitment on it.

I mixed 10 drops lemon, 10 drops lavender, and about 8 peppermint (recipe suggests equal amounts of each for diffusion, but didn't want the peppermint too strong applied topically. It's very strong and the fumes can make your eyes water). I didn't dilute this LLP mixture with any carrier oil, and he "rolls on" his sinuses and the neck/behind ear a few times daily.

After only one day, he commented on how well it worked, and how much better he felt. He uses it probably 3 times daily, rolled on, and has been doing so for about a week, and with no more allergy complaints!!

In the picture you can see a mason jar - that is my belly/stretch mark "cream". It is 12 oz grapeseed oil, 10 drops lemon, 10 drops grapefruit, 6 drops ginger, and 6 drops peppermint. Massage in after shower and before bed. This should help "shrink" belly and lessen the appearance of stretch marks. 

I have been using this for about 3 weeks, and so I have a little longer to go until I can say for sure how it's working. However, I think there's been some improvement!!

Using grapeseed oil as a carrier is really recommended. It absorbs faster than coconut or olive oils, and doesn't have a thick or greasy feel to it at all. 

And finally Thieves "Tea" is great for soothing a sore throat when you are feeling sick or have a cold and scratchy throat. Remember, Thieves is not only anti-bacterial, but also anti-viral, so it really helps in getting rid of things that conventional medicines cannot. It's a mainstay in our home, we love it.

Add to hot water

1-2 drops Thieves
2-3 drops lemon
honey - sweeten to taste

Oregano and Frankincense

Well, I posted awhile back that I bought some essential oils from Young Living and have been loving them! Thieves seems like a miracle worker to me!

Make no mistake about it, I am not saying we don't need conventional medication, or doctors. We are able to help our health and comfort so much by medications. But there are many many things that medicines can't cure. Even a doctor will tell you, it's just a virus, and nothing they can do. And there are many (many!) medications that are just synthetic versions of the components found in an essential oil - why bother to recreate something that nature makes perfectly? Because you can't patent a plant. It all comes down to money.

So for run of the mill, daily health, I have been really encouraged by using the oils. I ordered a "starter kit" because it was a good deal - but the only oil I really "wanted" was Thieves. Since I now had 10 other oils also, I did some research. What can I do with them?

I read that Frankincense was great for removing skin tags and reducing the appearance of moles. I mentioned this to Brian, who is basically a walking mole-y freckle. He had what I would consider a mole, but he says was a skin tag. The biggest one I've ever seen. Well, by applying Frankincense (in my case, Sacred Frankincense, which is all I had - Frank is from Somalia/Yemen and from the Boswellia carterii, and Sacred Frank from Oman and the Boswellia sacra). Anyway, by applying Sacred Frank, neat (undiluted), just a drop at bedtime, after about a week he said it was hurting (kinda behind his arm where he couldn't really see it), so I checked it out, and the area where it was attached to his skin was quite red, and the mole itself was darker and incredibly smaller. Over the next day or two, it continued to shrink, and fell off, and the skin healed over smoothly and clearly. We were in total amazement!! He's had similar removed before at the dr's, which was also effective (they cut them off), however - those visits cost about $150. As a side note, Frankincense smells soooo amazing. I had always been curious about what it was like, as it was a gift to Jesus from the Wise Men. The smell is almost addicting, and I can't compare to anything else I've ever smelled. It also tastes great in water!

Brian, again, the guinea pig in this "experiment" got a wart on his foot, presumably from the first Spartan Race he ran in March 2014. It grew, and we did all the typical treatments. Compound W, freezing, cutting etc. It wasn't going away, at least not quickly, and they spread. He now had many warts on the bottom of the same foot. We kept plugging away at traditional methods, with no or extremely slow success, as he kept getting more warts. Then Kenna got a wart. Then within a few days I noticed a second wart on the same foot. I was not interested in having her go through all the same methods we'd been battling with Brian, so I enlisted some oily help. Oregano. It didn't come in my original kit, but I ordered it for this experiment.

Oregano is an extremely spicy oil, and has many of the properties of the Thieves blend, it is anti-viral, anti-bacterial etc...and it kills the Human Papilloma Virus, which is what causes most warts, I read online. Applying this neat (undiluated) to the warts, and they were gone from Kenna in a couple days. Success! So then we started with Brian. His would be the true test, as this was now November, and he'd been battling the warts for 8 months now, and they were much larger and "deep rooted". He applied Oregano, neat, to his heel/all the areas with warts. It took about 2 weeks, and he noticed no more pain (he was having pain walking on them), and they were shrinking...and gone! In less than a month, we got rid of about 11 warts from his foot!

So cool, right?! We were really blown away at their effectiveness. There are many uses! I've used Lavender to cure pink eye (put surrounding the eye, not in the eye), and to heal skin burns from baking. A blend called DiGize has really helped Brian when his tummy is feeling "sick", it has quite a few oils in it, fennel being one of them, and that is the one that carries the smell, I think - so it's sorta black licorice/stinky smelling, but effective!!

*Note - I use and recommend Young Living Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils. They are tested and guaranteed pure. A label from the healthfood store saying "pure" does not mean the same thing, and chances are you will not see good results (if any), from using a "store brand" of oil, which is unfortunate, and sad - but true. I read of so many "complaints" using a supposedly "pure" essential oil, and when they switch to a therapeutic oil (young living) they can see the difference! The FDA does not regulate essential oils, and there is no standard - anyone can put anything on a label. The product may contain a pure therapeutic grade oil, while also containing (or "cut with") other things, which may or may not be pure, but in any case are not what you are in the market for, if you are looking for something pure. Young Living using outside testing for more than 30 years to guarantee the purity and effectiveness of the oils.

Healthy Living

I'd thought I'd write a short post about how effective essential oils have been for us recently.

We are not generally unhealthy, but the run-of-mill colds, allergies, and flu's will sometimes get us down, with the best of them. Unavoidable. Years ago, when Kenna was up-all-night (she was around 2 years old I think), I knew she had an ear infection, and I was just hoping to make it through the night with a liiiiittle bit of sleep. I remembered reading about the effectiveness of garlic in such situations, so I searched for the magazine in my livingroom stash of magazines, found it, and made a batch. She slept through the night. I posted about it here. 

I have used this tincture VERY effectively since then, and although not a "cure" in extreme cases, if you catch it in advance, you certainly will cure it and avoid the dr's and a prescription. I've used honey, cayenne pepper and garlic to swallow for sore, sore throats - red and swollen - but never turned into anything requiring medicine.

In fact, Brooks is 7.5 years old, and has never had a prescription in his life. I find this amazing, and contribute much of this to the "mixtures" of natural health things I've made him eat or apply when he's feeling bad. Kenna has had her share of ear infections, but most of them were prior to discovering some alternate ways to help her.

Grey has a weakness for the croupy cough - a normal cold for us seems to go straight to his chest. We've been here before - coughing so mightily and frequently, he can't sleep and neither can I, trying to help him. He's had bronchitis before and in August, we were rapidly heading down that path - it was happening again, just like it had in the past.

He had a fever since that Saturday night. I was managing it with Tylenol, but also trying to let the fever do it's job, so I wasn't over medicating...but it wasn't working really well. I was using some over the counter cough and cold meds fairly aggressively, especially at night to try and help the continual coughing. That wasn't working. It hit the point, in the middle of the sleepless Tuesday night, and I knew he would have to go to the doctor's in the morning. It was just too bad, and it was only getting worse. Somewhere in my no-sleep delirium, I remembered essential oils - friends of mine have been using them for a long time, and I wondered if they could help. First thing in the morning, before calling the Dr, I contacted a local person who I thought might have some oils I could try. She did. We drove over and got Thieves. (I already owned Young Living's Peppermint oil)

Thieves: It's a Young Living essential oil blend (therapeutic grade), and is 99% effective at killing all bacteria. I was warned that this is generally better at maintaining good health and prevention than it is at curing a full blown sickness, but it can improve health overall, and cure sickness also - and I had nothing to loose, except a Dr's appointment and a round of meds, so I thought we could try it just for 1 day and see how it worked.

RECIPE:
I mixed about 15 drops of Thieves into extra virgin olive oil. I applied this to the bottoms of his feet and massaged it in every hour-ish, and then put socks on. Every few hours, instead of Thieves I would do Peppermint oil, neat (undiluted) on the bottom of feet. I also mixed about 10 drops of Thieves into organic honey, along with a  few drops of lemon oil and peppermint oil, for taste (The lady who sold me her Thieves gave me a few drops of lemon, thankfully, as I didn't have that one). I had him eat the honey also every hour-ish, just about a teaspoon at a time.

He'd had a fever since Sat evening, and by Wednesday at noon, after about 4 hrs of oil treatments his fever broke, (and it never came back). By Wed afternoon his cough had so noticeably diminished it was shocking. That night, he slept through the night without a single coughing fit. I was AMAZED. Within 48 hours, he never coughed again, his cold AND cough completely gone. I couldn't believe how sick and miserable he has been - compared to how quickly he got over it! I have never seen anything like it.

A few weeks later my friends son got a really high fever (103) with no other symptoms for a day. I gave her my Thieves and Peppermint to try. It worked for him too! Fever gone in record time, and whatever he was getting didn't turn into anything - he was all better.

So I was pretty convinced:-) Haha!! Brian, who calls this witchcraft (in jest), also is kind of amazed at how Thieves and Peppermint have lessened his brutal head cold - it's not completely gone yet, but almost is, and all the symptoms are alleviated when he places a drop of undiluted Thieves under the tongue! He just finally "gave in" to the "hype" and tried it Friday for his cold, and today (Monday) he actually is keeping the bottles in his pocket so he can re-apply all day long, as he can feel it working.

Honey: with Thieves, peppermint and lemon. It doesn't taste terrible! In fact, it tastes WAY better than the honey, garlic and cayenne pepper I used to make the kids eat, so they are happy:-) And in the dropper bottle, Thieves in olive oil, to apply to children's feet.

Young Living Essential Oils are safe for babies, children...and everyone! (The application may be different based on age). Please don't ingest or apply another brand of oils, unless you have done THOROUGH research. Young Living oils are safe for consumption, and at this point, the only ones I trust. They are carefully distilled and not cut with any synthetic properties (an oil saying "pure" on the bottle does not mean it's the only thing in there).

If you have any questions about using these oils for your kids, or health, please feel free to ask! I do not know everything (or much!) outside of my personal experiences with this, however, I do have quite a few good sites, and resources at my disposal to help.

(Thieves is a Young Living proprietary blend of Clove flower bud oil, lemon peel oil, cinnamon bark oil, Eucalyptus radiata leaf oil and rosemary leaf oil)