Tip of the day—Essential Oils

I was talking with a new mom at our church about essential oils this weekend.  Even though I’ve mentioned using some of these on the blog before, I thought it might be a good time to post again.

Tea Tree Oil—

• Add a few drops of it to a bottle of shampoo.  This helps reduce the risk of your children getting lice.  Thanks Radeana for this tip!
• Add a few drops of tea tree oil to the wash when cleaning cloth diapers.  It helps to disinfect the wash.
• If you have acne, add a drop of tea tree oil to a blemish at night.  Be careful not to get this in or near the eyes.  This helps to heal and disinfect the spot.

Peppermint Oil—

• Mopping Water—in a few gallons of water, add around a 1/2 cup or so of vinegar.  Add a few drops of peppermint oil to make things smell better.  Mop your kitchen floors. 
• Keep it out of reach of children and pets as it can be poisonous when consumed in large doses.
• Add a bit of peppermint oil to your bath or shower to help wake you up.
• Add a few drops of peppermint oil to unscented lotion and shake.  This will feel great on your tired or sore feet and legs.
• I have a friend who would make a wet compress with a hand towel and add a couple of drops of peppermint oil.  She would put the compress on her head when suffering from a headache.  She said it almost always made her feel better.

Thieves Oil or Medieval Mix—A mixture of oils used by grave robbers to prevent them from catching the plague. 

• I would put a drop or two on our daughter’s shirt tags when she was a baby to help prevent her from getting sick.  She had very sensitive skin, and so I wouldn’t put it directly on her.  Putting it on the tag was a way to keep the oil from staining her clothes.
• Add a couple of drops of it to unscented liquid hand soap for a hand sanitizer.
• Checkout the new soap by Colette Souder of Rainwater Farm that has Thieves Oil in it (“It takes a thief”).  What a great idea!
• I have a friend who boils a pot of water and a few drops of Thieves Oil as an air deodorizer for her home.
• Now that our daughter is older, I’ve started adding a few drops of this to her bath for cold prevention.

Clove Oil--

• One of the best uses for clove oil is to help soothe a tooth ache.  It tastes much better than that yucky stuff you buy in a tube at the pharmacy, and I think it works much better.  You can usually find it at neighborhood pharmacies, as many of the mainstream pharmacies are no longer carrying it.

Eucalyptus Oil--

• This is my go-to oil for when I’m congested or have a cold.  I add a few drops of it to a hot bath.  The steam helps to clear my nasal passages as Vick’s Vapor Rub would. 
• Make your own Vicks by mixing some unscented lotion with a few drops of eucalyptus oil and rubbing it on your chest. 

Lavender Oil--

• This oil is probably best known for its somniferous quality.  (Since somniferous is one of my favorite words next to pumpernickel and loquacious, I had to throw it in.)  Add a few drops of it to your bath at night to help calm your nerves and relax.
• Use lavender oil instead of peppermint oil in the mopping recipe I included above.