What's In Our Cupboard: Essential Oils

Great as a disinfectant and anti-bacterial. We want to advise that while tea tree oil can be a great treatment for acne use, it is also important to take caution around the lips and mouth as it should not be ingested. Chad formulated an incredible hair tonic with apple cider vinegar, tea tree oil, rosemary oil, and a few other essential oils. I usually start my showers with soaking and scrubbing my scalp with this and then leaving it in the rest of the time I am in there. Yes, it may feel a little itchy but when you rinse it out and dry your hair, I promise you won’t regret it. Tea tree oil is also great for a cleaner. Having a house full of immune compromised people makes it nearly impossible to clean with big box cleaners that contain any kind of chemical so most of our cleaning products, we make ourselves. Tea tree oil is a staple for everything from scrubbing the floors to wiping down medical equipment in our home. 

It can be a little overwhelming for some with it’s crisp, clean, feeling but if you can get past the bit it is an incredible oral solution that can potentially help with dental pain or sensitive gums. We like to take a spoonful of coconut oil with 1-2 drops of peppermint oil and a couple other essential oils depending on what we are targeting, and gargle for 15-20 minutes. Another great use is for pain relief. Our daily skin rub, our diffusers around the house, and in a warm bath with some Epsom salt, are just a few of the ways we use peppermint oil. 

Another excellent antibacterial and detoxifier. Another essential oil we ad to our household cleaner and degreaser as well as putting a drop or two in the mop bucket. When we are feeling under the weather a couple extra drops of lemon in the diffuser at night can help kill some of the bad bacteria in the air. The only thing to remember with lemon is that it is photo-toxic, so if you are treating your skin with it, it is best to wait approximately 12 -24 hours before being exposed to direct sunlight.  

One essential every family with young children should have in their home. The stress that can be caused by our several doctor appointments, trips to the inpatient unit for blood transfusions, and taking care of the business, can leave every member of the family a little on edge and extra moody. A couple drops behind each ear can be extremely calming. I sometimes will put a few drops on before we get to the doctor’s office to help relieve any pre-appointment jitters. Another great use is added to an Epsom salt bath for sore muscles or just for a little relaxation.  

One of our favorite aromatic essential oils, as well as its diversity in helping treat a multitude of ailments. We diffuse this every single day through out our entire home as well as adding it to our daily chest rub (the recipe for this is can be found in our home hacks section) and in our hair tonic. Frankincense is an all-around excellent pain reliever, wound healer, and smells incredible. One thing to keep in mind is if you are pregnant, you should not use Frankincense as it can induce periods.  

 This oil is an essential staple of any house hold cleaner, hair or body treatment, or even just in a diffuser through out the house. However, Eucalyptus cannot be ingested so use with caution when using around the lips or mouth. Eucalyptus is an incredible germ fighter and anti-bacterial. This is another essential oil that is used through out our entire home on a daily basis.  

A must have for tooth pain and general dental maintenance. We add 1-2 drops on our daily spoonful of coconut oil to help freshen breath, fight tooth pain, and ease sore gums. A couple drops on a qtip directly applied to an exposed nerve or aching tooth can act as an incredible pain reliever.

A sweet-smelling oil and more commonly known as a house hold spice. We love to use fresh ground cinnamon in our coffee for an added energy boost without the sugar crash by 10 am. Cinnamon around our house is used to freshen the air and in a hot Epsom salt bath at the end of a long day to relax and unwind. It is important to remember that cinnamon oil extracted from the leaves, and cinnamon oil extracted from the bark are very different. When choosing your cinnamon double check that it is sourced from cinnamon leaves, typically this information is found in the ingredients section on the label. Cinnamon bark has an extremely strong scent and has little to no aromatherapy benefit.

Believed to be one of the first essential oils to have been distilled and one of the most versatile oils you will find. Containing alpha-pinene and himachalol it can aid in pain relief and help with various skin conditions such as eczema and dry scalp. It is not safe to ingest orally as it can cause nausea, vomiting, and digestive problems.