Lemon Oil for Sore Throat

Last week I had a sore throat.  After a day of whining about it I felt like I remembered something about lemon oil and sore throats.  Not doing any research (not the smartest) I decided to put two drops into a gulp of water and swallow it.  It worked like magic.  For a couple of hours.  Which is better than no hours.  I repeated this several times over the 5 day period of sore throatiness, and it worked every time.  It seemed to work even better the less water I used and sometimes I would gargle it for a few seconds as well.  It was simple and I was happy.  The end.

P.S. Remember that this is just what I did, and you have to decide if it is good for you or not.  The end.

Tea Tree/Melaluca Oil for Nail Fungus

This is a disturbing topic.  But I must share.  Only read on if you are not easily grossed out.  Seriously.  Sorry in advance.

Several years ago I got athlete's foot from a ghetto gym locker room.  (Thanks Bally's!)  I took too long to treat it (terrible mistake) and it got into one of my toenails.  My parents made fun of me as the youngest person ever to have toenail fungus.  Super rude.  I tried several drugstore medicines, and while pregnant with my first child I started to see a little bit of improvement with one (maybe because my toenails were growing faster than the fungus could keep up?), but not a cure.  Near the end of that pregnancy I got a pedicure with my mom, and they kindly spread it from my second toe to my big toe.  In other news I will never get a pedicure again, and neither should you unless you know they are sterilizing to the extreme.  But back on topic!

Years later I still have it in the first toe and it has gotten worse in my big toe.  Over the years I have again tried different over the counter remedies which have provided no help whatsoever.  Another option was to take prescription medicine to kill it, but this medicine in the past has been very expensive (there are now generics) and VERY bad for your liver.  Like they test you in the middle of your 3 month course of medication to make sure you aren't experiencing liver failure bad.  That obviously gave me great pause, and the fact that I have been pregnant or nursing for the past long while meant it was not likely going to be an option for me.  I had heard in the past that tea tree oil (or melaluca) worked for some people on nail fungus, and once I got into oils I decided to give it a go.  I hoped that the strength of this oil and it's anti-fungal properties would help.

For the past 6 weeks I have been applying a drop or so to each toenail morning and night, making sure to get it underneath and also all around the nail bed.

Results:
-Within two or three I stopped having pain in both the nails.  Before they were ultra sensitive and hurt if even slightly touched.
-Within 2-3 weeks I started to notice a real change in the big toe nail.  It seemed as if the yucky fungus under the nail started to crumble and come out when scraped (after being soaked by being in the shower).
-Around 5 weeks enough had cleared that I was able to cut off part of my big toenail, (the fungus is only in the right half of the nail) making it easier to reach the lower down fungus with the oil.

I took a before picture, but the interim results are too scary for a during picture.  I hope to post a before and after photo in several months when I finish ridding the fungus from the big toe.  As far as the second toe, I have not had as great of success.  The pain is gone, but it doesn't seem to be eliminating the fungus as well.  I wonder if that is because it has been in that toenail longer, and is therefore worse.  My new plan of action with this toe is to file it down as much as possible (on the top) to allow the oil to better penetrate it.  If I don't see results from that I will likely Oregano instead.  I will keep this blog posted with more success...

Sorry for the worst grossest post ever!  I just want anyone who is having this problem to get help if it works for them too! :)

Lucious Lip Balm

So I figured out a recipe that I love for amazing lip balm.  Part coconut oil, part beeswax, and a bit of essential oils for tastiness, and it's perfect!  Then I found the cutest metal sliding tins, and decided I needed to open shop.  So if you are in need of some great lip balm, check it out.  Maybe someday I'll share my secret recipe. :)

So far I have created Lavender Orange, Peppermint, and Lemon Lime.  All super tasty.  And free shipping!

http://getfoxlips.etsy.com

Luxurious Coconut Oil For Extra Dry Skin

Image courtesy of wiangya / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Essential oils often need to be diluted, and one of the most popular choices is coconut oil.  I happened to see some in a jar at the grocery store (next to the other cooking oils) and grabbed it.  (I also saw a giant tub today at Costco.  Maybe next time...)  What is funny is that the coconut oil that I bought is a solid at room temperature, but melts at 75ish degrees (that is super scientific of me).  So pretty much you grab a tiny chunk out and it turns to oil in your hands.  For some reason I think this is funny.  Anyway.  I have been using it for diluting oils to use on my guinea pig children, and as a result have a glob of it in a bowl sitting on my bathroom counter.  I decided that my poor, dry, cracked, awful winter heels could really use some.  Ready for a recipe?

Luxurious Coconut Oil
1 tsp coconut oil
1 drop lavender

This amount will last you for a long time, as I have been using mine for about a week and still have a ton.  (And I have been using it on my kids feet as a nightly foot massage which they have been loving.)  This stuff is made of miracles.  My poor painful hideous feet are getting softer and healing!  I put it on at night, then throw on some socks, and surely enough that magical coconut oil (and lavender which makes it smell nice) is curing them.  I think if I would be more diligent and put it on in the morning too I would get even better results.  So, if you have dry anything, I highly recommend this.

P.S. This doubles as a calming solution which is safe to use on kids.  As I mentioned, I massage this on their feet at night.  Also the lavender is good for putting on cuts to help with healing.  I have been putting it on a wound on my daughter's chin, but I have no idea if it is helping.  (It's not like I'm going to put it on half the cut but not the other half...) But she likes it.

Tasty Water

Image courtesy of Somchai Som / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The main reason I love essential oils is they smell wonderful, and of the few of them I have tried, they taste great too.  I already love water, and drink a ton, but this is a great and easy way to give water some variety.

Tasty Water
24 oz cold water
1 drop of oil
And ice so you feel like you are fancy.
(If you feel like it is too strong you can obviously add a bit more water.)

Suuuuper easy.  So far I have tried and loved: grapefruit, peppermint, and orange.  I have also tried it lemon and although I liked it I didn't love it.

It is also important for me to point out that you should only be ingesting oils that are labeled for consumption.  Several companies make oils that are pure (not diluted with other oils, chemicals, etc.) so make sure that you only are using something that you are as certain as possible is ok for you!

I suppose there are probably some health benefits to drinking water like this, but mostly I just like it for the taste.  Here are a few:

Potential benefits:
Grapefruit: appetite suppressant, mental stress, withdrawals
Peppermint: alertness/energy, cools body, really good for all sorts of digestive problems
Orange: anxiety/fear, elevates mood, digestive problems
Lemon: elevates mood, good for colds & sore throats

P.S. I am not a doctor, so just pretend this is your friend telling you about something they've learned.  Use good judgement!!

Homemade Laundry Soap

Image courtesy of Keerati/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

After reading 20 almost identical recipes on the internet, I just picked the one that seemed most common.

Homemade Laundry Detergent 
1 bar grated laundry soap (I used Fels-Naptha but I am pretty sure you could use anything)
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax
20ish drops of essential oil of your choice (this time I used grapefruit)

I started by grating my bar of laundry soap on the smallest holes on my regular grater.  Next I added the other dry ingredients into a big jar with a lid.  I let my 4-year-old shake it for a while until it seemed pretty well mixed up.  Next I added the essential oil until I thought the smell was strong enough.  This will vary by which scent you are using and how much you want it to smell, hence 20ish.  Then it was back to shaking.  You could also add a few drops to the detergent right before it went in instead, but I can't be messing with bottles and carefully dropping drops in at laundry time, as I am normally juggling a baby in my arms at the same time.  When you are ready to do the laundry you just measure out a tablespoon (or a bit more if your clothes are really dirty) and you are good to go.  I bought a cheap coffee scoop at the grocery store which is 2 Tbs and works really well to have something to leave with the soap.  Also you will either need to use warm water in your wash to dissolve the soap or dissolve it before hand in a little bit of water and add it.  And apparently you should add all laundry soap to the bottom of the top-loading washer (hello, how long have I been an adult and not known this?) before putting your clothes in so it can dissolve better/have more time in the water.

I love this recipe.  I am a cheapskate and so I am always buying cheap laundry detergent, which often leaves me with super stinky stuff.  This way is even cheaper and smells amazing!!  It is also safe for HE/front loading washers.  Enjoy!

P.S. I bought the ingredients (except the oil) at the regular grocery store (Winco) by the other laundry soaps for much cheaper than the above links on Amazon.  I just included them here so you can see what they look like.  Or if you can't find them.

Getting Started

Several weeks ago my cousin's wife invited me to a class on cleaning your house with essential oils and homemade cleaners.  This was particularly well timed, as I had recently been handing my small children spray bottles filled with a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water, and had been wanting to make my own laundry soap for months.  I liked being able to give my kids something non-toxic to clean with (otherwise they would surely be spraying each other in the face with windex, etc.) but I am pretty sure no one loves the smell of vinegar.  At the class (party) she gave us some different ideas on how to clean and make it smell delicious.  Not only that, but apparently different essential oils are anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, etc. etc.  Who knew?  Not me, but I considered it a great bonus, as I was really just looking for something to make my laundry and cleaners smell better.

That day I only bought lavender, but I left the class with the idea of essential oils stuck in my head.  I started thinking about all the ways I could use them, and scoured the internet for more uses and more information.  I won't lie, I was becoming kind of obsessed.  Shortly thereafter I signed up to sell oils, admittedly only to get the sweet discount.  But now that I am finding a lot of awesome uses and resources I wanted to put something out there for others.

I am kind of a skeptic when it comes to magical potions and solutions, as are most people.  Yesterday I got a hold of a book about the properties of most of the essential oils, and their potential uses and benefits.  I pretty much devoured the entire thing, and came out feeling hopeful.  Now I don't pretend that I think essential oils will cure every last thing or even help every person, but I do think they have some great value.  This blog will be dedicated to things I have actually tried and seen work, recipes I have actually used and like, and maybe a few stories about how I use my family for guinea pigs.

Enjoy!