If you've read through my blog, you've noticed that I talk about essential oils. I really got into them a year ago when Emma, then 7, had a fungus growing under her fingernail. It looked like little pebbles growing out from under her nail bed, causing the nail to arch and grow around it. It looked awful!
For weeks I tried over-the-counter-better-wear-a-hazmat-suit-to-apply-this anti-fungal cream. It didn't work. I was disappointed and worried that she'd have to get this fungus surgically removed. After talking with my homeopathic doctor about it, she suggested using Melaleuca Oil. I'd never tried anything like this. Honestly, I always looked at essential oils as hippie type of stuff. But, I was desperate so I gave it a try.
Within 2 weeks, her fungus was gone and her nail went back to normal. You couldn't even tell she ever had anything there. I was amazed! This launched me into months of research on essential oils.
Here is what I learned about essential oils you can buy in the health food store, which is how I started out:
- There are no strict guidelines for essential oils. The only guideline set up by the government to be able to call something pure is that 2-5% of what is in the bottle you purchase at the store has to be pure essential oil. Everything else is just filler. They don’t have to tell you what else is in it. You don’t know where your oil comes from and if it’s been processed with pesticides. That's why it will say on the bottle, "not safe for consumption" or "DO NOT ingest" or "call poison control if you ingest this". This is how companies get away with putting 100% pure on their products. It doesn't all have to be pure. Yet, the government says it’s generally safe to put on your body. In fact, did you know that of the 70,000 chemicals being used commercially, the EPA considers 65,000 of them to be potentially, if not definitely, hazardous to your health?
That is not good enough for me. These synthetic oils can cause side effects. They could be deadly, depending on what they decide to put in their bottles as fillers. You could have an allergic reaction to something you didn't know was is in the bottle because they don't have to print it. Why would I take that chance?
I loved the idea of essential oils as a natural alternative for treating my family's cold and sickness. But, I knew there had to be something better out there than what was available through my local stores.
Through a friend, I heard of doTERRA Essential Oils. Here is what I learned about doTERRA's oils - they are:
- Naturally powerful antioxidants - help to create an unfriendly environment for free radicals.
- Lipid soluble - They CAN penetrate cells to kill viruses and bacteria, unlike antibiotics. They kill the bad cells while leaving the good cells intact. So when you or your child has the flu and the doctor tells you to wait it out, you can do something to kick it in the butt!
- Steam distilled (the oils are extracted using low heat over a long period of time) or cold pressed extraction (as in extracting oils from fruit)
- No side effects
- No fillers
- No fragrances
- 3rd Party Tested (see definition below)
- 70 times more potent than dried herbs
- So small in molecular size that they can quickly penetrate the skin
- doTERRA wanted higher regulations/standards than what the government had set up, or, not set up. In order to accomplish this, they came up with CPTG – Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade. This means that pay extra money to ensure that every bottle of oil they sell is, in fact, 100% pure essential oil. They do this by having 2 different laboratories (3rd Party Testing), who don’t know about each other and not associated with doTERRA, do the testing. Once it is confirmed that the chemical constituents and properties of the oil is pure, only then is it labeled CPTG.
So, when you buy a bottle of doTERRA Essential Oil, the WHOLE bottle is actually pure - no fillers or ingredients that are harmful for you. Because of that, there are three ways to use them:
- AROMATICALLY - Diffuse in a room to purify the air, change emotion, or kill airborne viruses and bacteria.
- TOPICALLY - Apply directly to skin during massage or for topical therapy. Apply directly to area of concern. The oils penetrate within 20 seconds of application!
- INTERNALLY - Consume as a dietary supplement for targeted wellness. Yes, you can consume these oils! That's because what the label says is in the bottle is actually in the bottle, the ONLY thing in the bottle!
You can even cook with them! I use them to make my own cleaning products, as well.
There is so much more I can tell you, but I'll stop so your eyes don't glaze over. I'm so excited about these oils! We've been using them for months now and they have literally changed our lives. I can't tell you how freeing it is to be able to treat our sickness at home, without the use of antibiotics and dangerous medicines.
Please don't get me wrong, I believe in modern medicine. I believe there is a place for it. But if I can treat my family with natural options that come straight from the earth God created, why wouldn't I choose that? God knew what He was doing when He created the earth. He has given us everything we need to sustain. These oils have blessed our family, and those around us, so much.
If you would like to talk further about the oils, please email me. If you would like to do some research on your own, here are some resources:
learningdoterra.com (great site for learning what an essential oil is and how to use them)
everythingessential.me (great site for hearing personal stories and recipes for various ailments)
builddoterra.com (watch webinars on essential oils and much more!)
My oil store (you can see what oils we have available and what they're used for)
Enjoy!
