Uses for Peppermint Essential Oil

Research shows that inhaling peppermint essential oil helps trigger a sense of fullness after meals, enhances your sense of taste and smell, and improves concentration and mental activity. Applied topically, peppermint oil leaves a soothing, cooling sensation that can alleviate pain.

Add a drop to herbal tea to help aid in digestion.*

Inhale before and during a workout to help boost your mood and reduce fatigue.

Massage several drops on your abdomen, place a drop on the tip of the tongue or wrists, or inhale to soothe minor stomach discomfort associated with travel.*

Rub 1 drop on your temples, forehead, over the sinuses (avoid contact with eyes), and on the back of the neck to help soothe head pressure.

Place 2 drops on the tongue and rub another drop of oil under the nose to help improve concentration and alertness.

Diffuse for energy and mental clarity.

Combine with lavender oil for a soothing and invigorating body, neck, or foot massage.

Apply to the back of the neck and shoulders repeatedly to keep energy levels up during the day.

Massage 2–3 drops onto the chest or drop into a humidifier to ease discomfort associated with winter and to support normal breathing.

* This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Uses for Lavender Essential Oil

Lavender essential oil has a sweet, floral, herbaceous aroma that is calming and soothing. Often used for relaxation, lavender oil offers balancing properties that boost stamina and energy, is highly regarded for skin care and beauty, and is often used to cleanse minor cuts, bruises, or skin irritations.

Massage into the back of the neck or the bottom of the feet for calming.

Rub a drop on your palm and smooth over pillow to aid with sleep.

Soothe a minor burn by applying 2–3 drops to the affected area.

Place a drop on the tip of the tongue, around the navel, or behind the ears to soothe minor stomach discomfort associated with travel.*

Relieve dry or chapped skin by rubbing it on the affected area.

Rub several drops onto scalp area to help soothe minor irritations.

Add a few drops to a cotton ball and place in closets and drawers to scent linens and repel moths and insects.

Reduce or minimize scar tissue by massaging it on or around affected areas.

Place a few drops on a wet cloth or dryer sheet to deodorize and freshen your laundry.

Diffuse to minimize seasonal reactions to pollen and dust mites.

Apply 2–3 drops to relieve itching and soothe skin.

* This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Making Young Living Lavender Essential Oil

Essential Oils for MRSA?

Can essential oils effectively help eliminate MRSA?

MRSA (or methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus) is bacterium usually found on the skin and/or in the noses of healthy people. While normally harmless at these sites, it may get into the body through abrasions, cuts, wounds, surgical incisions, or indwelling catheters. The infections may be mild (pimples or boils) but can escalate to infection of the bloodstream, bones, or joints.

Although MRSA used to be mostly a hospital-acquired infection, "community acquired" MRSA has been in the news much lately, especially among people involved in contact sports.

Here are reports of research findings on using essential oils for MRSA:

Aromatherapy oils 'kill superbug'

Essential oils 'combat superbug'

Essential Oils Found to Fight Bacteria

Young Living created a proprietary essential oil blend called Thieves that has been university tested and found to be highly effective against airborne bacteria.(1) The blend includes the following essential oils: clove, lemon, cinnamon bark, eucalyptus radiata, and rosemary.

Click here to download a booklet about Thieves essential oil and products (PDF).

Click here to buy Thieves essential oil.

(1) Sushil K. Shahi, A. C. Sukla, et al., “Broad Spectrum Herbal Therapy against Superficial Fungal Infections,” Skin Pharmacol Appl Skin Physiol. 000; 13:60–64.

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and drug administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Biblical Essential Oils

If you are interested in biblical essential oils, Young Living Essential Oils offers a boxed set called Twelve Oils of Ancient Scripture™. This set contains the 12 most significant oils found in the Bible, and includes an audio CD that explains the twelve oils.

• Aloes/sandalwood (Santalum album) is used in skin care, enhances deep sleep (stimulates the release of melatonin), and supports the female reproductive and endocrine systems.* This essential oil is uplifting and relaxing.
  
  
• Cassia (Cinnamomum cassia) has a sweet, spicy-hot fragrance. It is a physical and emotional stimulant and gets the blood and mind in motion, and is also known as an aphrodisiac. Cassia may reduce drowsiness, irritability, pain and frequency of headaches, and it makes a warming liniment to relax tight muscles, ease joint pain, menstrual cramps, and increase circulation.*
  
  
• Cedarwood (Cedrus atlantica) has a warm, balsamic, woody aroma. It is relaxing and soothing when used for massage, and can be used as a dietary supplement to maintain healthy lung function.* Cedarwood has long been used as a beneficial ingredient in cosmetic preparations for oily skin.
  
  
• Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) has a fresh, herbaceous, slightly evergreen aroma is refreshing and restores feelings of security and stability. Cypress is also beneficial for oily or troubled skin. Cypress has a calming, soothing effect on the irritable, angry, and stressed-out person, and is particularly helpful in times of turmoil and transition.
  
  
• Frankincense (Olibanum -- Boswellia carteri) has a sweet, warm, balsamic aroma that is stimulating and elevating to the mind. Useful for visualizing, improving one's spiritual connection, and centering, it has comforting properties that help focus the mind and overcome stress and despair. Frankincense is considered the holy anointing oil in the Middle East, where it has been used in religious ceremonies for thousands of years. More recently, it has been used in European and American hospitals and is the subject of substantial research. Frankincense is also a valuable ingredient in skin care products for aging and dry skin.
  
  
• Galbanum (Ferula gummosa) has an earthy aroma. It was used in ancient temple ritual incense anointings associated with springtime. Galbanum supports the immune, digestive, respiratory, circulatory, and other body systems.* It is also useful as an aid for troubled or mature skin.
  
  
• Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) has a fresh, woody scent that is slightly sweet. Hyssop is noted for its purifying properties, and is considered one of the strongest anti-viral essential oils. It contains natural molecules from nearly every class of compounds found in therapeutic essential oils, yet it is still quite gentle. It is one of the oils recommended for treatment of herpes simplex, and can work effectively for many other viral infections.*
  
  
• Myrrh (Commiphora myrrha) has a rich, smoky, balsamic aroma that is purifying, restorative, revitalizing, and uplifting. It is a helpful aid to meditation, having one of the highest levels of sesquiterpenes available. Sesquiterpenes are a class of compounds that have a direct effect on the hypothalamus, pituitary, and amygdala, the seat of our emotions.
  
  
• Myrtle (Myrtus communis) has a clear, fresh, herbaceous scent, similar to eucalyptus. Supportive of the respiratory system, skin, and hair, it has been researched for its effects on glandular imbalances* and its soothing effects when inhaled. It is also helpful for meditation and lifting the spirit.
  
  
• Onycha (Styrax benzoin) is mentioned in Exodus 30:34 as an ingredient in the Holy Incense to be diffused in temples of worship. Onycha oil is also a powerful antiseptic and facilitator of rapid healing.*
  
  
• Rose of Sharon/cistus (Labdanum -- Cistus ladanifer) is calming and uplifting and helpful for meditating and counseling. Cistus can be diffused or use topically with massage oil. As a dietary supplement, it also helps maintain healthy lung function.*
  
  
• Spikenard (Nardostachys jatamansi) was highly regarded in India as a perfume, health-supporting herb, and skin tonic. Prized at the time of Christ, it was used by Mary of Bethany to anoint the feet of Jesus before the Last Supper. This is a relaxing and soothing oil for the skin.

* This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Click here to purchase Twelve Oils of Ancient Scripture. (When you arrive at the site, click Products, then click Essential Oils, and look under the heading Essential Packs.)

Aromatherapy Notes

You may hear about the concept of aromatherapy notes. "Note" comes from perfumery, where the evaporation rate of essential oils are categorized as notes. The speed at which a fragrance evaporates depends on its specific weight and energy.

• Top note – quick evaporation. Top notes tend to be light, fresh, and uplifting. Examples are bergamot, eucalyptus, lemon, orange, peppermint, and pine.
  
  
• Middle note – average rate of evaporation. Middle notes are often warm and soft fragrances. Examples are chamomile, geranium, juniper, lavender, and rosemary.
  
  
• Base note – slow evaporation. Base notes are often intense and heady. Examples are cedarwood, clove, patchouli, and sandalwood.

The character or impression of an essential oil changes as it evaporates into the air over time. If you want to compare the evaporation rate of different essential oils, make a few smelling strips out of any absorbent white paper or natural undyed material. Put a drop of a different essential oil on three strips, and come back to sniff the strips over a period of time to see how the aromas change.

Knowing about aromatherapy notes is useful when blending essential oils. You generally want to avoid mixing oils that all have the same note. Many people consider a good blend to be one that contains each of the three notes, but there are no hard and fast rules.

Essential Oils for Chakras

Using essential oils for the chakras is a way to help balance body, mind, and spirit.

Crown Chakra: neroli, rose, frankincense

Brow Chakra: rosemary, juniper, hyacinth, lemon, pine, angelica seed

Throat Chakra: chamomile, linden blossom, cypress, petitgrain, basil, peppermint, hyssop, rosewood, rosemary

Heart Chakra: rose maroc, bergamot, melissa, ylang ylang, mandarin, tangerine, geranium, jasmine, lavender

Solar Plexus Chakra: juniper, cedarwood, coriander, black pepper, lime, hyssop, marjoram, cardamom

Sacral Chakra: sandalwood, clary sage, fennel, cardamom, elemi, benzoin

Base Chakra: myrrh, patchouli, vetiver, rosewood, thyme, balsam de peru

Choose essential oils appropriate to the mind, body, spirit, and character of the person.

Source: The Fragrant Heavens by Valerie Ann Worwood. If you are at all interested in the spiritual aspects of aromatherapy, I highly recommend this book.

Aromatherapy and Prayer

Aromatherapy can help contact the spiritual because it helps us focus and concentrate, helps relax mind and body, and opens the heart. In The Fragrant Heavens, Valerie Ann Worwood discuses the blocks that may prevent people from praying and communicating with divinity. For each of these blocks, she suggests some essential oils that may clear the block.

Fear: frankincense, cypress, cedarwood, Roman chamomile, sandalwood, basil, ginger, bergamot, cinnamon.

Guilt: jasmine, pine, rose otto, juniper, clary sage benzoin, clove.

Unworthiness: frankincense, cedarwood, sandalwood, neroli, ylang ylang, clove,cardamom, mandarin, geranium.

Unwillingness to receive: rose otto, neroli, roman chamomile, lavender, mandarin, orange.

Inability to let go: pine, carnation, lemon, coriander, frankincense, cypress, cardamom, myrtle, juniper.

According to Worwood, "Which essential oils you use for spiritual purposes is very much up to you. This is a personal journey, and a matter of personal choice... For each person a fragrance will resonate at a different tone and rate. Find which oils or blends resonate with you and keep those fragrances close to your heart."

If you are interested in exploring essential oils used in the Bible, Young Living has a boxed set of oils called Twelve Oils of Ancient Scripture that includes an audiotape explaining the oils. (When you arrive at the site, click Products, then click Essential Oils, and look under the heading Essential Packs.)

How Essential Oils Affect the Body

Excerpted from Aromatherapy – Part I: How Do Essential Oils Work? by Danny Siegenthaler.

The Way Essential Oils Affect the Physical Body

When aromatherapy oils are applied to the surface of the body, either using massage, baths, compresses, creams, or lotions, they will have an effect locally (that is, the site at which they are applied), and systemically (that is, throughout the body). The systemic effect occurs when essential oils are absorbed through the skin into the lymphatic circulation, and they are then dumped from the lymphatic circulation into the blood stream.

Once the oils are circulating in the blood, they are carried to their TARGET ORGAN(s), where they exert a therapeutic effect on the specific tissues. Every oil has its own Target Organ; for example, Juniper oil targets the urinary tract and kidneys in particular, with secondary effects on the Digestive, Respiratory and Reproductive Systems. Chamomile Oil targets the Nervous System by way of which the oil can then exert a broad effect on many other body systems, such as the Digestive Tract.

Even when essential oils are inhaled only, say in the form of a steam inhalation for a cold or as a fumigator for a background "psychological" effect, the oils will be absorbed across the mucous membranes of the Respiratory Tract and lungs into the blood stream. The oil’s effect can then travel around the body very rapidly.

If essential oils are taken orally, their absorption through the mucosa of the stomach and into the blood is very rapid. Very few essential oils are actually ‘digested,’ which is fortunate as their therapeutic principles may well be altered if this were the case.

The reason why oils behave in this manner in the body is that the molecules of which they are composed are organic molecules and very small indeed.

Helichrysum Essential Oil

Helichrysum essential oil is steam distilled from Helichrysum italicum flowers (also known as Everlasting or Immortelle). This somewhat costly oil has a sweet, spicy scent. For effective use, make sure you buy oil made only from Helichrysum italicum, as there are other Helichrysum varieties.

Helichrysum oil has been studied in Europe for regeneration of nerves, improving skin conditions, and reducing inflammation while speeding healing. You can use it for acne, psoriasis, eczema, varicose veins, scars, and muscle pains.

This essential oil contains anti-inflammatory sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, meaning that it may be useful for conditions involving inflammation, including sports (and other) injuries and joint pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

Helichrysum essential oil also contains neryl acetate, which has relaxing effects that can reduce tension of the tissues in the area of an injury.

Helichrysum is the only essential oil that has certain regenerative diketones, which may support wound healing and scar reduction.

Another use of helichrysum is for tinnitus (ringing in the ears): Massage 1-2 drops on temples, forehead, and back of neck.

How Do You Know Your Helichrysum Essential Oil is Good?

Internal Use of Essential Oils?

Is it safe to take essential oils internally? It's a controversial topic.

First, some background. The world of aromatherapy has three main schools of thought:

• The British school teaches the dilution of essential oils and their application (often through massage) for relaxation and balancing. Almost everyone who follows this line of thought advises against taking essential oils internally.
  
• The German school relies mostly on the aroma of the oils, rather than direct application.
  
• The French school treats essential oils as medicine, including internal use of essential oils.

What does the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have to say? In Title 21--Food and Drugs, Chapter I--Food And Drug Administration, Department Of Health And Human Services, Part 182--Substances Generally Recognized As Safe the FDA includes essential oils that the FDA recognizes as generally safe.

Many people believe that essential oils Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS) or certified as Food Additives (FA) by the FDA may be safely taken internally as dietary supplements.

If you are considering internal use of essential oils, follow these guidelines:

• Know why you want to use the oil and what you expect from it.
  
• Make sure the essential oil is GRAS.
  
• Make sure you use only high-quality, therapeutic-grade essential oils (such as Young Living). A lesser quality oil may have side effects or may be ineffective.
  
• Use common sense. Essential oils are potent. One drop may be enough. You can overdose on anything. Discontinue use if you feel any adverse effect.
  
• If in doubt, get professional advice.