What are Essential Oils?
Essential oils are aromatic, concentrated plant extracts that are harvested from flowers, herbs, trees, and other plants (including citrus fruit!) They are composed of volatile aromatic compounds (which means they have an aroma and their molecules rise quickly into the air). The type of compounds/constituents present in an essential oil determines both the oil’s aroma and the benefits it offers (the science is pretty fascinating).
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If you rub your fingers over a mint or basil leaf, for example, you know that your fingers will now smell like the plant - that’s because some of the plant’s essential oil just transferred to your skin! Essential oils help to attract pollinators and help to deter insects and other animals. Essential oils also help protect the plant from disease and drought, and help transport nutrients to important parts of the plant.
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Essential oils are extracted from plants through steam distillation, cold pressing or resin tapping (these processes draw the oil out of a plant and separate the oil from the other plant material and water.) When extracted and concentrated, the essential oil is much more potent than dried herbs and far more powerful than the original botanical. For example, it takes over one pound of peppermint plant material to make a 15-ml bottle of Peppermint EO! 75 lemons are needed for a 15-ml bottle of Lemon EO! And 27 square feet of lavender plants are needed for a 15-ml bottle of Lavender EO! This is why unadulterated essential oils are not cheap!
Young Living's Promise
Are all brands of essential oils the same? No! In the US, the FDA does not regulate essential oils. Even if the label on a bottle of essential oils says "100% pure" or "therapeutic grade" - that doesn't necessarily mean that it's true. You see, there are so many factors that go into distilling essential oils - distilling essential oils is an art and a science. If a company cuts corners, quality suffers tremendously. Cutting corners may include things like using the cheapest bidder to provide pre-distilled oils. Using pesticides/herbicides to increase crop yield. Adding fillers, including synthetics, to stretch the product. And eliminating important constituents to improve the smell (missing constituents = lacking any benefits). If you're thinking to yourself...hmm, I wonder why my Walmart oil isn't doing anything to help me...there you go. If you want to see the benefits of essential oils, you need to use essential oils of the highest quality - essential oils containing the maximum amounts of chemical constituents.
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You truly need to know your brand and company inside and out. Young Living has been around for 25 years – they are the world leader in essential oils. Young Living’s commitment to purity and stewardship is embodied in a unique, proprietary process called 'Seed to Seal.' It’s a promise of integrity. No other company can match what Young Living does to ensure the purity and potency of the highest quality essential oils on the market.
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Young Living owns many of their own farms and they work closely with other co-op farms all over the world, creating jobs and boosting local economy in those communities. 'Seed to Seal' means there are no pesticides used, no synthetic chemicals, and no weed killers. The plants are harvested at their peak. They're distilled on site (again, without synthetic chemicals) and they’re put through vigorous testing processes. Young Living has state-of-the-art testing equipment - far exceeding any other essential oil company's equipment. Every batch of essential oils is tested MANY times. If there is ANY impurity, the batch is discarded. Third party labs are also extensively used to test the oils.
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You can actually visit Young Living's farms during the planting and harvesting seasons - and participate! Young Living members can plant seedlings and even observe the distillation process!
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Click the button below to learn more about 'Seed to Seal!'
How to Use Essential Oils
Topically
The average woman applies over 300 chemicals to her body each day! So many of the products that we use contain ingredients that are hormone and endocrine disruptors. They can cause loads of health issues. Why? Your skin is your body's largest organ and has the ability to absorb certain things. That means certain dangerous chemicals and ingredients are absorbed into the blood stream and your organs. Yikes. Just like what we eat/drink can affect our health, what we breathe in to our body and put on our body can also affect it!
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Enter essential oils – single oils have ONE ingredient and are actually GOOD for you and offer health benefits to the body. Essential oil blends are just a combination of single oils.
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Essential oils can be used topically during massage, incorporated into beauty/skincare products, or added to your bath. They can be applied to your skin to ease tension, promote relaxation, and minimize minor discomforts.
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Common places of application include temples, behind ears, back of neck, chest, abdomen, bottoms of feet, and back. Scroll down to the bottom to read some safety tips!
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Aromatically
To use essential oils aromatically, you can inhale directly from the bottle or use a diffuser. Because of their composition and volatility, as soon as you open a bottle of essential oil, the oil mixes with the air you breathe. Your lungs easily absorb the essential oil molecules. Diffusers release and disperse water and essential oil molecules into the air. And they smelll sooooo goood!
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When you breathe in essential oils, their molecular compounds reach your alveoli, along with the oxygen in the air. You have about 700 million alveoli in your lungs; they are thin filters that transfer oxygen from your respiratory system into your bloodstream. Since alveoli are so thin, essential oil molecules get absorbed very easily from your respiratory system into your bloodstream and then travel quickly to other parts of the body!
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Essential oils can also affect your Limbic System. This system controls your mood, memory, behavior, and emotions. How does this happen? There are many smell receptors in the lining of your nose, and when you smell something good or bad, these receptors send a response to your brain (like when you instantly gag changing a dirty diaper!) When a scent arrives to the Limbic System, your body responds by releasing unique chemicals into your brain, causing a reaction. That is why sense of smell can have a profound impact on your emotional state.
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Because candles, plug-ins and other synthetic air fresheners can create all kinds of health problems, diffusers and essential oils are amazing alternatives and can make ALL the difference in your health! Leave behind the soot, fragrance and synthetic chemicals/ingredients!
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Internally
Young Living uses two different labels on their essential oil bottles. The solid-colored labels have directions for topical and aromatic use. The white labels have directions for dietary use.
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Not all essential oils are safe for dietary use. So Young Living did the smart thing and took all of the oils that ARE safe for dietary use and bottled them twice - one with a solid-colored label (because they can still be used topically/aromatically) and one with a white label (Vitality - used for dietary use). Exact same oil in both bottles, but per FDA regulations, they need to be labeled separately.
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For example, regular Peppermint (with the solid label) and Peppermint Vitality (with the white label) are the exact same oil.
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Make sure that the oil you are ingesting has a a white Vitality label OR a counter-part with a white Vitality label. And please do not ingest oils from other brands - I only recommend Young Living.
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Remember, a little goes a long way. Start with one drop and make sure it is diluted in food or a beverage. Vitality oils can be used to promote wellness or add flavor/spice to your favorite drink or recipe (peppermint hot chocolate, anyone?!) These Vitality oils can be a HUGE time saver. Instead of chopping herbs, zesting/juicing citrus fruits, etc...just add a drop or two of Vitality oil to your recipe! And, Young Living essential oils aren't imitations or synthetic flavor extracts...they are the REAL DEAL. They can also save you money and food waste...we all know how quickly fresh produce goes bad!
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Safety Tips
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Because essential oils are super concentrated, we like to apply them using a carrier oil. A carrier oil is any fatty oil like fractionated coconut oil, sweet almost oil, jojoba oil, and even olive oil.
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Carrier oils help to prevent any sensitivities and help essential oils to spread farther (preventing waste!) A good rule of thumb is to use 10% essential oil to 90% carrier oil. Roller bottles are an easy way to apply EOs. You can buy roller bottles on Amazon – 10 ml rollers are standard size. Use about 20 drops EO and top the rest of the way with carrier oil. Click 'Oily Blends & Recipes' at the top to see ideas for roller bottle blends!
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Make sure to use enough carrier oil with spicier oils such as Cinnamon and Clove. Also, Peppermint and Wintergreen can create intense cooling sensations, so use enough carrier oil with those, too!
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Also know your photosensitive oils. How many of you have ever used lemon juice in your hair to lighten it? The sun reacts with the lemon juice. Same goes with lemon essential oil and other citrus oils. So do not apply them to skin that will have contact with lots of sun – or you may get a sun burn! If you do apply to your skin, wait 12-24 hours before getting lots of sun - or cover with clothing. Covering with sunscreen won't do the trick. If an oil is photosensitive, there will be info on the bottle!
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Do not put essential oils directly in your ear canal or eyes.
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When in doubt, read the label!
