Oils Perfect for Fall

Make Your Own Thieves Salve!

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     Cold and Flu Season is almost upon us again. The season where everywhere you go you'll see Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers, and not without reason! No one want to be sick and there are some scary illnesses floating around out there! But the problem with alcohol-based sanitizers is that, not only are they filled with chemicals that many questions have been raised about their safety, but they ultimately dry out your hands, making you at increased risk of illness through your cracked, dry skin!

     I've come up with an alternative solution. Theives Essential Oil from Young Living has some very powerful germ killers in it such as clove, cinnamon, rosemary, eucalyptus and lemon. There's a simple salve you can make at home with just a few ingredients that will be an excellent germ killer and help keep your hands soft and moisturized as well!

     Ingredients

1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

scant 1/4 cup beeswax pastilles

Young Living Theives Essential Oil

     You could use a different carrier oil other than Extra Virgin Olive Oil, but first let me make a case for why I made this choice.

     Firstly, Olive oil is excellent for your skin! Your first and best defense is to keep your skin, ESPECIALLY your hands, well moisturized. Secondly, Olive oil has antibacterial properties of it's own. You could use plain Olive oil and it will work fine, but the extra-virgin will have more of the beneficial properties of the Olive tree in it. Thirdly, it's one of the most readily available oils out there, which makes it an easy ingredient to pick up!

     This recipe takes less than a half hour (usually only 5 or 10 minutes except for waiting for the oil to cool!)
     Heat the Olive Oil and beeswax in a small sauce pan over medium-low heat until the beeswax pastilles melt completely.  I stir occasionally as it melts.

    
     Take off the heat, and make sure you have a thick enough salve by taking the spoon you stirred it with and placing it in the freezer for 1 min. Then check the thickness of the salve that's on the back of the spoon.


    
     Let the oil sit out on the counter until it's cool enough that you can touch it without getting burned. (around 90 degrees F on a thermometer) It should still be liquid-y and easily stirred. Then add your Theives Essential Oil. I add about 20 drops, but I go more by smell. When the oil has a distinct smell of the oil blend, I stop. I caution you to not add too much! Cinnamon, in particular, can cause skin irritation if you use too much so better to add too little. You can always slightly warm the salve when it hardens in a hot water bath and then add more after. But it would be difficult to fix if you add too much!
 

   Pour your finished salve into containers. I really like to use glass baby food jars for this. Glass jars are really best for essential oils. Plastic or tin can cause things to get into your salve that you would rather not! Often you can find a mom friend who has some baby food jars to give away! But if not there are plenty of great glass jars to be had, this one (1.5oz.) and this one (4oz.) are both nice.

     Here's how we use it:

• On our hands when we leave a store or public place. Several of our little ones still suck their thumbs. I'm so thankful not to have to worry about them putting their germ-filled hands in their mouths, or all the chemicals from hand-sanitizers!
• On our feet under cotton socks when we are starting to feel ill. Your feet have very large pores, so this is a great place for your body to absorb it readily.
• On our necks when we have a sore throat. You know the one I'm talk about, the sore throat that means "sickness is coming!"
• For cuts, scrapes, and mosquito bites. There are several of Young Living oils that are great for all of these. Since we have lots of little ones running around and lots of scrapes, we switch up what we use depending on what's close by!

     We hope you try it and like it as much as we do! Feel free to leave us a comment and let us know what you think or ask any questions you may have.

Nothing I say here should be construed as medical advice. If you have medical questions, please ask a qualified medical professional. 

 

A New Blog and a First Post!

Some of the links on this blog page may be "affiliate links", which means if you click on them and buy something I may receive a compensation. This needs to be acknowledged at the top of every page according to the FTC regulations for bloggers.  Thank you!    

 

     Hello! I've decided to open this new blog and dedicated it just to learning more about therapeutic grade essential oils, you may have met me from my other active blog Fir and Cypress and I'd be so happy if you follow me here as well. I chose to keep the two blogs separate, because I know that not everyone is interested in learning more about natural health care through essential oils and I wanted to make sure all my readers had a choice whether they were interested or not.
     This blog will be dedicated to learning more about achieving the best health you can, recipes and tips, and my personal experiences with essential oils. Let me tell you a little about the story that brought me to here.
     I have always been someone who is interested in natural health. One of my favorite places to go as a child was the "health food store". I loved those black Panda licorices and the sesame seed and honey candies. I also loved to sniff all the Rachel Perry lip balms.

Anyone else have fond memories of this?

      I guess scents have always been important to me. They say that the olfactory memory is the longest, and I know that scents can sometimes bring back a memory for me, that I have otherwise forgotten.

     Fast forward to the more recent past, my husband lost his full time job about 4 years ago, leaving us without medical care for us and our (at the time) 3 children for over a year- and before I have anyone say something like, you could have gotten free insurance from the government, let me just add that it's a LONG story that involves a lot of applying and re-applying, falling through the cracks, lost paperwork and a whole lot of other incredibly maddening subjects that I would rather NOT re-live.

     And, of course what's the first thing that happens when you loose you insurance and have not a penny to your name? Well, you and your children get sick of course! Out of desperation, my dabbling in alternative medicine got super serious- super quick! I started to find foods, herbs, homeopathics and essential oils that would help us fight through illnesses and injuries. At the time, I had heard some really great things about Young Living's oils, their quality and excellent care they took of their plants and distilling process, but I just couldn't afford anything I didn't already own. So I started with what I had available, or what I could find for free in my yard and did my best.

     This is an important piece of my story that I don't want you to miss! I started with other lower-quality oils and I had some success with them. I read a lot of people who talk about other brands and say they smell bad or they don't work. That wasn't my experience. In fact, I probably would never have tried Young Living Oils if I hadn't been impressed with essential oils in general. So as I continue on the journey of keeping my family healthy, I did eventually save up enough and really want to try the highest quality brand I could find. Because, quite frankly, I am a born skeptic, and I have a very hard time believing what I haven't experienced for myself! I would also say that I am extremely frugal and I dislike spending more money when I can get the same product somewhere else for less. But, as I learned from experience, I may be able to get a pot at the dollar store, and it may cook my food for me, but it won't have the same quality or even healthful properties as my more expensive and better quality cast iron.

 

     And this is what I found with essential oils as well. Though other brands did help me and smelled pleasant to me, Young Living's quality still impressed me further and I found my results to be even more impressive! I really believe in the quality this company puts forth and I am happy to endorse their product.

     In the coming weeks I have some recipes (both for eating and for body care) some helpful information and some fun giveaways that I will be sharing with you!! I am happy to answer any questions that I can or hear your thoughts through the comments section or by email, and if you are interested in the oils themselves and would like to check them out further, click the picture link below and it will take you to my Young Living page.

I am not a doctor or medical professional. Nothing I say on this blog should be construed as medical advice. Please contact your qualified health care provider for specific medical questions you may have.