If you’re like me, you struggle to get every last drop of essential oil out of the bottle.

And especially when it comes to the more expensive oils like rose, sandalwood, and jasmine, I don’t want to waste anything. Every drop is expensive.

I came up with an easy solution to using those last few stubborn drops. You can hear it in the one-minute video below.

How about you? Do you have any tricks for using up every precious drop? If so, I’d like to hear them, so please share in the comment section below.

eScentually yours,

 

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It’s the month of February and Valentine’s Day, so that means love is in the air. What better representation of love than a rose?

Years ago I found a lovely little book by Kate Greenaway called the Language of Flowers. Kate was an artist and writer in the late 1800s with a distinctive style the French coined “Greenawisme.” Her artwork captured the things that were the epitome of childhood in that century: bows, ruffles, ringlets, cherubic faces, tea parties, flowers, and the like.

I turned to the page in her book that lists rose, and low and behold, she details 33 different types of roses and their meanings! The very first one of the list is simply rose, and it’s meaning is love.

Rose Essence Beeswax Perfume

As I sit here writing this, I am, quite coincidentally, wearing a heart locket filled with my Rose essence beeswax perfume. As I open the locket and smooth some on my wrist, I can’t help but smile at the happy fragrance. As an aromatherapist, I love to create fragrance with rose. It improves almost everything you blend it with.

Besides smelling heavenly, rose essential oil, Rosa x damascena, is a beautiful oil that is associated with the heart, compassion, love, and forgiveness. Historically, it is wonderful for mature skin and for the female reproductive system including everything from irregular menstruation to menopause. It also relieves anxiety and is a gentle antidepressant.

True rose essential oil is one of the most expensive oils on the market. One milliter can cost from $27 to $39, which makes it about $2 to $4 per drop. Because of the pricing, rose oil is often sold as a 5 to 10 percent dilution in jojoba oil. You can also purchase rose absolute, which is about half the price as the pure oil. It is still lovely, but not quite the same as the pure oil.

Create Your Own Rose Fragrance

Whatever type of rose oil you may have, it will make an altogether lovely cream, perfume, or oil blend. To create a light rose fragrance, purchase a 1/3 ounce glass roller bottle and fill it one-quarter of the way with jojoba oil. Add 20 drops of rose oil and then fill  the bottle up to the halfway mark with jojoba oil. Gently swish the oils together and sniff. Add more if you would like a stronger aroma. This is perfect for any occasion.

Love Poetry

As I turned to the back of Kate’s little book, I found a poetry section with a poem called “Go, Lovely Rose” by Edmund Waller. In this poem, Waller addresses the rose and tells it to speak to his love for him.

Go, lovely Rose—

Tell her that wastes her time and me,

That now she knows,

When I resemble her to thee,

How sweet and fair she seems to be.

 

Tell her that’s young,

And shuns to have her graces spied,

That hadst thou sprung

In deserts where no men abide,

Thou must have uncommended died.

Small is the worth

Of beauty from the light retired:

Bid her come forth,

Suffer herself to be desired,

And not blush so to be admired.

Then die—that she

The common fate of all things rare

May read in thee;

How small a part of time they share

That are so wondrous sweet and fair!

Yet, though thou fade,

From they dead leaves let fragrance rise

And teach the maid

That goodness Time’s rude hand defies;

That virtue lives when beauty dies.

 

Have a love-filled day!

eScentually yours,

 

 

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I saw the familiar yellow school bus in our neighborhood this morning, definitely heralding the end of summer—at least for the academic calendar. Back to school is always an exciting time for kids and parents alike, albeit for different reasons! Whether your children are just starting their school career, are somewhere in the middle, or are heading toward graduation, aromatherapy can support a wellness lifestyle throughout their entire year. Let’s look at some possibilities of how to do that.

Safety First

In discussing children and aromatherapy, I first want to set a few important guidelines.

1. Always keep your essential oils out of the reach of children. Cute tiny bottles may entice a child to take a drink, but most essential oils are poisonous to consume undiluted.
2. Do not use essential oils on premature babies. They have high skin permeability, so it is not recommended.
3. Remember, essential oils are highly concentrated, at 75%-100% stronger than the herb of the same name. So the rule for children (and adults) is to dilute, dilute, dilute! We’ll discuss proper amounts in this post.
4. Do NOT let children ingest essential oils unless they are under the supervision and advice of a doctor or certified clinical aromatherapist with years of experience in this practice.
5. For children under 5 years of age, use aromatherapy products for acute conditions such as illnesses, skin conditions, injuries, infections, and emotional upsets.
6. Do not use dermal (skin) applications of aromatherapy products everyday on children 5 and under. There is the possibility of creating sensitization and increased likelihood of developing allergies. Olfaction and inhalation is the preferred method of application unless you are treating an acute condition.
7. Do not place undiluted essential oils or highly concentrated blends of oils around the nose or mouth of children under age 2. This could cause respiratory distress.
8. Keep in mind that hydrosols are gentler to use with children than essential oils.
9. Avoid the use of menthol or 1,8 cineole-rich essential oils until the age of 2, such as cardamom, Niaouli, eucalyptus, and peppermint (avoid until the age of 30 months).

Now that we understand a few basic safety rules, let’s consider some ways you can choose to use aromatherapy for wellness throughout the school year. We’ll focus on the oils that have a safe record with children when used in the proper dilutions. As a side note, if you’re sending any aromatherapy products to school with your children, it’s always a good idea to inform the teacher and/or school nurse.

1.Handling Stress

School is often a mix of good and bad stress. While I have many happy memories of my school days, I also remember the times when projects, tests, and social stresses became overwhelming. My first weapon for combating stress is prayer. Praying for your child each day and targeting your prayers to the specific demands of that day is important. Make it a daily habit. Whether your child is struggling with the newness of classes, teachers, and students or looming deadlines of tests and projects, prayer can help tame the stress monster in your child’s life.

Next, I like to calm the physical reaction of stress with aromatherapy. It is proven that the scent molecules of aromatherapy when inhaled travel from the olfactory nerves directly to the brain and have an effect on the amygdala, which controls our emotions. When it comes to treating stress or depression, one of the quickest routes is through inhalation. Using a diffusor at home or making or purchasing a pocket inhaler that your child can take to school are two possible ways to handle this. Here’s a favorite simple synergy to help combat stress:

Calming Synergy
20 drops lemon
10 drops lavender

Combine this synergy in a glass 1-dram bottle to be used in a diffusor or an inhaler. To use a diffusor, you could choose to add 7 to 10 drops of the synergy to your water-based diffusor or follow the directions for a nebulizing diffusor. To make a personal inhaler, you may want to add 10 drops to the inhaler for a child who is in the 3-4 year age range and 20-30 drops to the inhaler tube for older children (see directions under Immune System below).

If you like scientific information, you may want to check out this study from Iran on diabetic children and the effect of orange essential oil on their stress levels.

2. Focus and Concentration

After-school time can get crazy in most families. Snacks, sports activities, play time, and youth group can all be vying for time and attention with homework. When your child does sit down to work on projects and homework, she may need some extra help to focus and concentrate. Two good oils to try are rosemary and sweet orange. Historically, Rosemary stimulates and enhances the memory while sweet orange uplifts and relieves anxiety. Try diffusing this synergy, using in an inhaler, or making a room spritzer and spray in the air as your child is studying. I’ve made this in a 2 percent dilution, which is just right for pre-schoolers through young teenagers. You can up the oil count a bit for older teens or try a blend of 15 drops Rosemary and 10 peppermint for a stimulating, refreshing aroma. Adjust the amount to your preference.

Study Spritzer
1-oz spray bottle
Distilled water
16 drops sweet orange essential oil
4 drops Rosemary essential oil

If you are using a plastic bottle, make the synergy first in a small glass vial or shot glass. Fill the spray bottle to the “shoulder line” with water (the shoulder line is when the bottle is considered full, not the neck line) and then add the synergy. Shake well before each use. If you like a milder aroma, use a 2-oz spray bottle at the same dilution rate. If you are using a glass spray bottle, you can mix the synergy directly in it and then add the water. Shake well and spray.

3. Immune System

Once kids are back in school, it’s not too long before the first bug hits and absentee calls start flooding the office. 2020 update: with Covid-19 a huge concern, doing what you can to boost the immune system should be the goal. That includes everything from focusing on healthy foods to teaching proper hand washing to using a preventive inhaler.

The idea is to try to strengthen our children’s immune systems so even if they do get sick with any type of illness, it will hopefully be a mild case. This recipe comes courtesy of Jade Shutes of The School for Aromatic Studies.

Preventative Inhaler
15 drops Rosalina
10 drops Frankincense
5 drops Saro
Empty inhaler

Mix the synergy and soak the inhaler pad until it has absorbed the mix. Assemble the inhaler and you’re good to go. I’ve found that most of my inhalers last for months, and they are easy to refresh by adding a few more drops to the pad. You can also purchase replacement pads as well. Your child can take the inhaler to school and use throughout the day. You could also make this synergy and store it in a one-dram bottle, adding 7-10 drops to your diffusor.

4. PMS Help

It’s difficult when girls have to miss out on school or life because of painful menstrual cramps. Most women have memories of missing—or being miserable through—some major event because of PMS woes. The combination of these three oils in a 3 percent dilution of a carrier oil may be enough to help relieve the suffering. Drinking a cup of herbal tea such as chamomile may help too!

Massage Oil for Cramps
1 ounce organic jojoba or sesame or other carrier oil
8 drops Ginger (Zingiber officinale)
6 drops Clary sage (Salvia sclarea)
5 drops Mandarin (Citrus reticulata)

Combine the synergy first in a glass vial. Fill the bottle halfway with oil and add the synergy. Swirl around or shake gently and add the rest of the oil. Shake again. Massage onto abdominal area.

5. Sleeping

Sometimes children just can’t seem to wind down at night, especially if they’ve been busy with lessons and studies right up until bedtime. There is definitely something to be said for allowing children time to just be kids during the day by building in time for play and de-stressing. But for those nights when sleep just won’t come, essential oils may help. German chamomile (also called Blue chamomile) is one of my favorites. It’s beautiful blue color is soothing and the aroma is milder than Roman chamomile; just to warn you, though, this is an expensive oil. If you don’t have any of the German variety, you could substitute lavender with some sweet marjoram or a drop of Roman chamomile.

Sleepy Massage Oil
1 ounce of carrier oil of your choice
12 drops of German chamomile (1.5% dilution)

Mix the oils together and store in a bottle. Massage onto the bottom of your child’s feet or on the back. The massage is incredibly relaxing, too, and may help calm and settle your child.

These ideas are just the beginning of the way aromatherapy can support a wellness lifestyle. Seek credible advice from a certified aromatherapist or expert in the field. Research as you go and don’t fall for dangerous fads that encourage unwise practices. Safety is your top priority as you explore the wonderful world of holistic health and healing that is aromatherapy. Here’s to an aromatic, successful school year!

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Essential Oil Uses

As I’ve been studying aromatherapy over the last two years and starting my business, I’ve found some tips on essential oil uses that make life a little easier! I thought it might be helpful to share with you a few of the tools that I use when creating butters, balms, salves, synergies and all kinds of other fun things for my product line.

If I can save you you some time and frustration, then I’ll know I’ve done my job. Just click on my Facebook Live video to see some of my favorite suggestions. Let me know what you think and please share any of your favorite items in the comment section.

Botanically yours,

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I have fallen in love with sweet orange essential oil.

I just can’t get enough of it lately. Maybe it’s because it’s early spring, and I am ready for sunshine and balmy breezes to replace the gray, chilly days of late winter in Indiana. Or perhaps it’s because of the uplifting properties of orange. Whatever the reason, I’ve been using orange a lot lately in my synergies and products for clients.

More Than an Aroma

While there’s no denying the lovely aroma of sweet orange, this essential oil doesn’t just smell good; it’s also a valuable addition to aromatherapy products because of its main therapeutic properties:

• Anxiolytic (anti anxiety)
• Antidepressant
• Nervine

Historically, sweet orange has been used for the conditions of  anxiety, depression, agitation, challenging behavior, and disturbed eating patterns. So it’s not a stretch that this essential oil is known for being warming, happy, uplifting, and cheerful. Honestly, it smells like sunshine in a bottle.

3 Ways to Use Sweet Orange

Let’s look at some ways sweet orange can brighten up your life.

1. Sunshine Whipped Body Butter. One of my favorite ways to use sweet orange is in a whipped body butter. I recently made a whipped body butter for a client using sweet orange and lemon essential oils. It’s a bit of a process to make, but, oh my, the results are well worth it. This body butter looks and smells like the lightest, most luscious whipped cream frosting you’ve ever seen. I could barely refrain myself from sampling it! Here’s a picture as I was whipping it in my mixer. I make mine with a mango seed butter, coconut oil, and jojoba seed oil base. I then add the essential oils, including lemon essential oil for its uplifting and immune-enhancing properties as well. The orange and lemon complement each other nicely and create a heavenly aroma.
2. Keep Calm Inhaler. Inhalers are such a convenient way to take aromatherapy with you wherever you go — they’re actually one of my biggest sellers. Compact and unobtrusive, they slip easily into a purse or pocket, yet they deliver a powerful dose of aroma whenever you need it. Inhalers are easily customized to whatever condition you’re trying to address. When you’re feeling uptight, make up this blend of sweet orange, vetiver, and ylang ylang. Its a simple process:
   • Get an empty inhaler and add 2 drops of vetiver, 8 drops of ylang ylang, and 15 drops of sweet orange to the cotton insert. Cap it and you’re ready to go! Here’s the simple recipe. If you’d rather not make it yourself, you can order one at my online store.
3. Diffuser. Sweet orange makes a lovely blend with many other essential oils to diffuse for a quick pick-me-up. One possibility it to diffuse 4 drops of sweet orange with 4 drops of lavender and 4 drops of bergamot for an uplifting home fragrance. Keep in mind that if you use the water type of diffusors, orange oil may stain the water reservoir a bit. I have found that adding about half water and half vinegar to the diffusor and running it for a few minutes cleans it up. Also, take a Mr. Clean Magic sponge and that does the trick too.

Sweet orange is a versatile essential oil and can be used in myriad ways. Use my ideas as a starting point and let me know what you come up with in the comment section below.

Contraindications

Important: Always keep essential oils out of the reach of children as they can be dangerous and even fatal if ingested in large amounts. Treat essential oils as you do medication: safely stored away from little hands.

Some citrus essential oils are phototoxic, especially the ones that are distilled, rather than being extracted through cold expression. Be careful of sun exposure if you are using citrus oils dermally.

I hope you fall in love with sweet orange as I have. It is a cheerful addition to any home. If you don’t want to experiment with the oil yourself, you can order from my store. Products are available for both shipping and local pickup if you live in the Indianapolis area!

Escentually yours,

 

Brilliant leaves, crisp apples, and chilly temperatures herald the coming of fall and winter. Unfortunately, along with the changing of the season also comes exposure to colds and flu. Let’s be proactive and explore some ways we can stay as healthy as possible during the next few months. In my next few posts, I’ll explore how aromatherapy and herbs can support us through the fall and winter.

One of the most basic things we can do to fight nasty bugs is to keep our homes clean. I know, it’s a battle, especially with children in and out of the house, but here’s an essential oil cleaning solution that will help you quickly mop up messes and leave a lovely aroma behind. No chemically smell here.

Aromatherapy Spray Cleaning Solution

Keeping your home clean can help prevent the spread of germs that make us sick. Perhaps you love using essential oils in creams and for inhalation, but haven’t considered using them while cleaning. Well, with the antimicrobial, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties of

Here’s a quick rundown of some of the main therapeutic actions of each oil as it pertains to cleaning (I’m not covering all their properties, e.g. for healing or emotional issues, just cleaning). Historically, these oils have been known for the following properties:

• Eucalyptus: antibacterial, antiviral
• Lavender: antibiotic, antiseptic
• Lemongrass: antibacterial, anti fungal, antimicrobial, antiseptic, antiviral
• Rose geranium: antibacterial, antifungal
• Tea tree : antibacterial, anti fungal, antimicrobial, antiviral

By no means does this cover all of the EOs that would be useful in a cleaning solution. This one includes some of my favorites. How about you? Have you concocted a cleaning recipe that works wonders for you? Let us know about it in the comment section.

Here’s to a healthy fall and winter!