“Mommy, I need oil!” I hear it everyday for a variety of reasons, and it reminds me how much we have incorporated essential oil use into our daily lives. We are what you would call an OILY family.
If you follow my Facebook page, you might have seen a photo of the silicone essential oil diffuser slap bracelets that my sons wear. Every morning, they ask me to drop oil onto the felt pad inside.
Even my husband, who doesn’t use as many natural personal care products as I do, slathers beard oil on every morning, made by yours truly, with essential oils. Our home is a much calmer, aromatic place because of the oils – we love to diffuse!
What Are Essential Oils?
Essential oils have actually been around for thousand of years. They are not really oils, as they don’t contain the fatty acids that oils contain. Instead, they are known as the “life-blood,” or most important part, of a plant.
They are extracted from the plant through careful steam distillation, resin tapping, and cold pressing. Essential oils can be extracted from many different parts of the plant, including leaves, flowers, bark, roots, fruit peels, and resin.
The National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy (NAHA) describes the biological role of essential oils within plants. “Plants produce essential oils for a variety of purposes,” including, “protecting the plant by their antifungal and antibacterial nature.”
Benefits of Essential Oils
Essential oils are highly concentrated and a little bit goes a long way. They are comprised of naturally occurring chemicals that for us, have therapeutic benefits. With proper dilution, they can be applied topically to the skin, and they can also be diffused and inhaled.
Tests have shown that oils reach the heart, liver and thyroid in three seconds when inhaled! They are found in the bloodstream in 26 seconds when applied topically! In a normal healthy body they leave in 3 to 6 hours.
So, we use essential oils to support overall health and normal function of every one of the body’s systems (respiratory, endocrine, lymphatic, circulatory, nervous, muscular, etc.). Just as they do in the plants from which they’re extracted, they can support our body’s normal immune response and reinforce our systemic defenses.
I use essential oils in many of the natural personal care products that I make, as they promote skin and hair health.
Essential oils create unfriendly terrain for yeast/fungus, which makes them a wonderfully fragrant, effective option for cleaning in the home.
Essential oils also boost energy, and give a sense of balance, grounding, and focus. For this very reason, I am diffusing oils as I write this blog!
