As I type this it all seems like common sense now, but looking back I realize I was like most women with essential oils. I assumed they would provide only the best + natural health benefits without the risk. I believed in the power of plants, I still do, actually even more so now.
As you probably already know, we've been using & loving essential oils for a long time. It all started with my Young Living starter kit. When I ran out of my all time favorite - Frankincense - I thought it was time to research other essential oil brands. After reading article after article & looking over all the brand websites I found one that I thought I should try. Rocky Mountain Oils. Today I'm going to tell you all about the main reasons I decided to add RMO to my collection. I think you'll like all them just as much as me.
1. Quality
Quality should always be the #1 focus when comparing oils.
Their mission is to improve the quality of life for each customer by only providing the highest quality of oils. Their S.A.F.F.E. promise is a guarantee that the oils are 100% pure, natural & authentic. They are free from of synthetics & fillers. The coolest part is the batch # on the bottom of each bottle. You can enter the number on their website to find the third party GC/MS test results report.
2. Cost & Shipping
Who loves free shipping!? We all do! I absolutely love that I can go online, order the oil I want & not have to worry about spending $9+ on shipping alone. I was shocked to receive my first order in two business days. RMO offers competitive & affordable pricing. Take a look at the Blend of Rose, it's perfect for those that don't want to spend $200+ on a small bottle of Rose.
3. Product Selection
They have oil singles, blends, kits, roll-ons, skincare & more. The AvaShield product line offers home cleaning & personal care products, such as toothpaste, cleaner concentrate (similar to Thieves cleaner concentrate), & foaming hand soap. You can compare their product blends to Young Living & DoTerra here.
4. No Membership Requirements
You don't have to join in order to receive membership discounts. You can go online & order whatever you wish, checkout with your credit card or PayPal, & the product(s) ship for free & fast. Super easy & convenient. After talking to my friends & family about YL for years this was a big factor in their buying decisions. It was just too hard.
5. RMO Oil'ty Club Rewards Program
If you wish you may join the Oil'ty Club. You'll get points for every dollar you spend, when you create an account, on your birthday, and for liking their social media pages.
6. Safety & Education
While other EO companies shy away from giving functional usage ideas, you'll find suggestions & ideas on the product pages. They have a blog & an Essential Oils 101 page to help beginners learn along the way.
7. Website
Modern & easy to use website.
8. Pre-stickered Bottles
The top of each bottle is labeled & great for organization.
I'll be posting more about my experience with Rocky Mountain Oils in the weeks ahead. I have a long list of new diffuser & roll-on blends I'm going to create with all the oils I've added to my collection.
So you've got a Young Living Starter Kit, now how do you use the oils? The ways to use the oils are truly endless & I'm literally learning something new about them every single day. I was just talking to a friend about switching out our dryer sheets for wool dryer balls. Not only are we going to save money & help the environment by ditching the toxic dryer sheets, but now our clothes are going to be free of toxic residues. We add a few drops of essential oils before throwing them in the dryer & they come out smelling amazing. Magnolia's clothes are currently being dried with Orange. It's crazy how much we do, because we've always done it a certain way, and we are clueless as to the side affects it may have on our health. I can see a shift in our society to be more focused on health & well-being & it makes me so happy to see people take charge of their health.
Today I'm sharing a 12-Day Oily Challenge using all the oils in your new starter kit!
Day One // Lemon
Add 1-2 drops of lemon to your water for digestive health. Use a glass or stainless steel container. I do this every single day!
Day Two // Lavender
Add 2-4 drops of lavender in your bath for skin support & a restful night sleep. And if you're not into baths put it in the diffuser by your bed before drifting off to dreamland.
Day Three // Peppermint
Diffuse peppermint for an afternoon pick-me-up.
Day Four // Frankincense
Apply 2-4 drops to the desired area for skin support or on the back of your neck for emotional support. Add a few drops to your face lotion to help with fine lines.
Day Five // Copaiba
Apply on the skin with a carrier oil, such as fractionated coconut oil or jojoba oil, for muscle support or take in a veggie capsule to support immunity.
Day Six // Thieves
Diffuse Thieves and apply topically for added immune support.
Day Seven // Purification
Add 2-4 drops to clothes for a refreshing scent or add 2 drops on a cotton ball to freshen the air.
Day Eight // Digeze
Massage onto the abdomen for digestive support.
Day Nine // Panaway
Apply 2-4 drops to an epson salt bath post workout routine for muscle support.
Day 10 // R.C.
Apply 1-2 drops with a carrier oil, such as fractionated coconut oil or jojoba oil, and apply topically for a soothing aroma.
Day 11 // Stress Away
Apply on the wrists or back of neck for an uplifting scent & relaxation.
Day 12 // Ningxia Red
Enjoy a nice 1 oz taste of a chilled glass of this refreshing drink.
Day 13 // Bonus Day
Get creative. Think of another way to utilize an oil(s) from your starter kit. Which ones might pair nicely together? Try a few drops lemon, lavender, & peppermint in your diffuser for a refreshing scent & seasonal support.
Quick Tips
Oils can be applied topically (check recommended dilution), they can be diffused aromatically, or ingested (if they have the vitality label).
Well this weekend flew by in a blink of an eye! I hope you had a happy one. Today I'm sharing about the Young Living Starter Kit. I bought my first one about four years ago & I got a new one for Christmas. I've been wishing for the Aria diffuser for a lonnnng time & it is even more beautiful in person. Every morning after my cup of coffee I get it going with my oil recipe for the day! What I love the most about essential oils may be the very thing that makes someone new to oils hesitant. There is A LOT to learn. I read about & learn new things about oils each day. There are endless way to use them & support your overall health. One of my 2018 New Years resolutions is to slowly rid our home of toxic chemicals & bring in healthy alternatives using YL essential oils. In many ways this change is going to save us money in the long run. For example, I now make all of our cleaning products using Thieves.
If you are hesitant about using essential oils, let me tell you, I understand. In the beginning, I wasn't quite sure where to begin. I felt inspired to learn about them & one day I decided to jump in and give them a whirl. I cannot tell you how happy I am to have taken the leap. What I've learned over the past four years is that there is plenty of fun inspiration out there & unlimited resources. Whatever way you wish to learn, whether it's on Instagram, blogs, Pinterest, Facebook, a book, etc. it's a fun process. There is nothing to be afraid of with the oils & only an abundance of health benefits.
With the purchase of a Starter Kit you’ll become a Young Living member & will get 24% off retail on ALL future orders!
You'll get a Home Diffuser of your choice with different price points depending on the one you select. Also, in the Starter Kit are 11 of the most popular oils.
Lavender Oil: relaxing, sleep-promoting, skin support (burns/cuts/scrapes), balances emotions. I use Lavender every single night. I apply it directly to my skin, on my neck, wrists, and bottom of my feet. I often diffuse it, mixing it with other oils like Joy & Lemon, I also add a few drops to my bath water.
Lemon Oil: cleansing/detoxing, supports gallbladder/liver/kidneys, stain remover, degreases, & removes sticky residue. I add two drops of Lemon oil to my water each morning. It supports metabolism, weight loss, & lymphatic drainage. And it tastes great!
Peppermint Oil: helps digestive system, opens/soothes airways, soothes sore muscles & joints, energizing. One of my favorites to diffuse for the fresh scent.
Frankincense Oil: supports immune system, emotionally grounding, supports skin health & promotes healing. Great to use on the face mixed with Jojoba oil morning & night, helps with fine lines & blemishes.
Copaiba Oil: helps body deal with irritation & injury, swipe inside your cheek for relaxation. Sister to the cannabis plant, beautiful to diffuse with orange. Best of all it can be massaged on baby’s teething gums.
Thieves Oil: blend of oils that are POWERFUL against germs and support the immune system. Diffuse it, swipe onto the bottoms of feet, take in capsules. This is the one that saved my sister & me from a Christmas cold. Mix it with coconut oil in a roller ball & apply to the spine for the best immune support.
Purification Oil: eliminates odors, calms bug bites & stings, contains Citronella which repels insects. Diffuse after cooking a strong smelling dinner & make your home smell fresh again.
DiGize Oil: helps your digestive system do what it needs to do! Rub onto belly, drop under your tongue, or add to capsules. Great tummy support!
PanAway Oil: soothing and comforting to sore muscles and joints, its kind of like icy-hot.
Stress Away Oil: the name says it all, helps your body cope with stress, relieves tension & nervousness, promotes relaxation.
2 NingXia Red pouches: an AMAZING superfood juice that contains 10x the amount of antioxidants of any superfood you could buy at the grocery store. Supports immune system, overall wellness, vision, digestion - everything. Pop it into the fridge & enjoy chilled 1-2oz/day.
Sample sachets & sample bottles for sharing!
One AromaGlide Roller Fitment to turn one of your oils into a roller-bottle!
Below is a blend I love to diffuse & I call it Over the Rainbow because it smells happy!
This is the Aria diffuser and the clouds smell beautiful. Magnolia & I are obsessed with it.
Please feel free to email me with any questions. It'd be my pleasure to answer any of your questions or to tell you more about the life changing oils. Also, you can read more about getting started with Young Living here, along with a link to the page to see the Starter Kit options.
Product links to all the oil accessory goodies can be found below.
Let's talk about HAIR! One of my favorite subjects.
Before I had Magnolia I heard a lot about postpartum hair loss. I tried not to get too caught up in it and figured if it was going to happen there wasn't much I could do to stop it. Thankfully I didn't notice much loss, but I did make sure to do a few things to take care of myself and my hair after having her. I found this article on hair loss to be very helpful and it explains WHY it happens. It's actually because you have thicker hair during pregnancy, so technically your hair shouldn't be much thinner than it was BEFORE getting pregnant. And good news, by 6 to 12 months postpartum you should be back to your normal hair growth cycle.
Here are my tips for healthy hair:
1. Eat a healthy well-balanced diet and drink water all day long.
2. Take a multivitamin every single day. I take these postnatal/lactation vitamins before bed each night.
3. Use a quality shampoo & conditioner.
4. Limit washing and heated appliances. I wash my hair twice a week and I do blow dry and either straighten or curl with each washing. In between washing I use a dry shampoo on day two or three.
5. Brush your hair and massage your scalp daily. I can't do this if my hair is curly, but if its straight I like to take the time to brush it morning and night.
6. And, last but not least, apply MERMAID HAIR. The recipes and application details are below.
Apply to scalp and massage in for two to three minutes. Leave on for a few hours before washing. I do this once a week.
Mermaid Hair Leave-In Conditioner
In a two oz amber glass bottle
5 drops of Lavender oil
5 drops of Rosemary oil
Fill bottle with unsweetened coconut milk
Apply to scalp after washing and before drying. I do this after each washing. The spray bottle should be left in the refrigerator and the cold spray feels incredibly refreshing.
Rosemary oil when applied over the scalp helps stimulate hair growth. Many people also claim that it can prevent baldness, slows graying, and can be used to treat dandruff and dry scalp. More about it here.
Lavender oil possesses hair growth-promoting effects. It can also deepen the depth of hair follicles and thicken the thermal layer. More about it here.
I have a recipe that I've been using on my eyelashes and I'll share it here soon. Mermaid Hair will work on your eyebrows too!
Please let me know if you have any questions and to read more about joining the Young Living community click here. I love my oils and all the usage possibilities are endless, safe, and very beneficial for our entire family.
Since having Magnolia I pay attention to every single thing that we bring into our home. One way to eliminate worry from cleaning product toxins and accidents is to simply eliminate them all together. Before trying Thieves, I honestly did not think that was possible, but it is! One bottle of Young Living Thieves Household Cleaner concentrate is $22. You can make about 30 bottles of all purpose cleaner or glass cleaner. You can actually save money and make your home safer - win win!
After our baths Magnolia and I both enjoy the calm aroma of Gentle Baby mixed with coconut oil. This essential oil blend was my first new oil purchase after having Magnolia. I feel much better having her nursing and sleeping on my chest when I know exactly what ingredients she's touching and breathing. In the past I'd lather up with a strongly synthetic scented body lotion after my shower or bath, and now I feel like it's important to be more conscious about what I'm using. We definitely aren't an all-natural-everything family, but I'd like to think we are slowly moving in that direction.
I've always loved essential oils and I bought my first Young Living starter kit a few years ago. Life got crazy busy and all my oils were packed away. Just when I needed them the most I had forgotten about the wonderful benefits. I did start using them again casually during our IVF process, and I used lavender and peppermint during childbirth. Now after buying a few new ones and my favorite Joy blend, I've started to diffuse daily, along with applying topically the blends and sprays I've mixed together. I love to add a few drops of Grapefruit oil to my water and it is very refreshing during this summer heat.
I do believe I got out of the habit of using my oils because I had them in a basket hidden away. Now I have them out in the kitchen and it's a great reminder for me to use them throughout the day. After I start brewing the morning coffee I will start to diffuse our oils in the living room while Magnolia is playing. I apply Joy on my heart after my shower and before running errands. My new favorite is Valor and I use it on my neck when I feel tension developing. I drink water constantly. I've always drank a lot of water, but now with breastfeeding I literally carry my water with me from room to room throughout the day. Adding Grapefruit oil to my water adds a nice zing and its helps with weight management. I've still got a few pounds of baby weight to lose so I'll take any extra help I can get!
I shared this sugar scrub that I use every other day or so and it's really the best scrub I've ever used. It's so nice to have exfoliated skin before using self tanner. The best part is I know exactly what is in it and when I run out I can make a new batch in just a few minutes.
I plan to share a few other recipes here soon, like the one I use on Magnolia's skin every night after her bubble bath.
For me, the key to incorporating essential oils into my life is to have them organized and easy to reach. I wanted to share a few photos of our oils in our kitchen. I found the little acrylic organizer at Target in the dollar section! It was only three dollars and what a steal.
During my college days I went to the tanning bed. I don't have many regrets in life, but if I could go back in time I'd definitely tell myself to protect my skin from sun damage and I'd say "stay out of the tanning beds!" I can't go back in time, and all I can do now is take care of my skin and nourish my body. Magnolia will learn the importance of taking care of her skin at a young age.
Now that's its summer and I'm wearing dresses I need my legs to have color. I started using Lavera Self Tanning Lotion last summer when I was pregnant with Magnolia. I researched self tanners that were free of chemicals and toxins and this is the one I found and loved.
Self tanners always go on better when your legs are smooth and exfoliated. I wanted to share this easy and all natural Sugar Scrub Recipe with you.
Ingredients:
One cup of sugar (brown or white)
1/4 cup of oil (coconut, almond or jojoba)
10-15 drops of essential oil
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and then move to your glass jar. For mine I used white sugar, coconut oil and a few drops of almond oil, with 10 drops of YL Lavender and 5 drops of YL Gentle Baby. I added pink Himalayan salt on top for the finishing touch. Peppermint is one of my favorite essential oils, especially during the summer, but since I'm breastfeeding I cannot use it.
The sugar scrub really only takes a few minutes to whip up and it smells delightful. You can have fun with the essential oils and make it smell anyway you wish! We've been diffusing the Gentle Baby around the house lately and it's very calming. I added a few drops to my body oil before getting dressed yesterday and I loved smelling it on my skin throughout the day.
If you're looking for an organic self-tanner I'd recommend the Lavera. I apply it once or twice a week to my legs and it gives me a warm natural glow without looking fake.
