If you just met me, know me well or have read my Facebook feed even once, you likely know that in the last year I’ve become a full fledged, freak flag flying, essential oil wearing nut job. I have flipped our household upside down with my reading and research and quest for healthier household options. The change has not been lost on my family. Our dog recently became ill and the three year old said, “Let’s put some oils on him.”

That’s my boy.

I know some of you think my obsession with essential oils is crazy. Nutty. Wackadoodly doo. I’m totally cool with that because I’ve been called a wackadoodle for lesser things. Lots of times.

Like the time I had a second baby….. essentially just after I had the first baby.

Or the time I had a fourth baby. Surprise!

Or the time I decided to stand on a chair to take an aerial picture of that fourth baby being bathed just hours after he’d been born. (Ok, that was really dumb and I appreciate Nurse Lisa for firmly asking me to get down rather than calling me cuckoo.)

A few years ago I made fun of the ‘oil people’ and their stories. I thought they all probably smelled like patchouli oil. Which reminded me of the dorms at Indiana University. Which reminded me of marijuana smoke drifting up from the floor below. Which reminded me of the girl in my yoga class who didn’t bathe and had armpit hair 6″ long. No lie. Which made me assume the oil people all played hacky sack and wreaked of body odor.

Regardless of possible personal stench, I kept reading about the benefits of using essential oils and was intrigued. I had little experience with the oils for many years. However,  I enjoyed them during massages and salon treatments back in P4K.

Pre Four Kids, that is. Back when I had money to spend on “stupid” stuff. Which really just equates to stuff for me. Back when I had a spare $5 to spend on something other than slime ingredients.

Back in the day I was gifted a massage while on a work trip somewhere in Southern California. We were at a meeting in Palm Dessert which has to be known to be the most arid place on earth. If they don’t use that on their tourism ads, they’re missing the boat.

Imagine living in your oven for a week.

Long story not as long, I was dying with some weird, Midwesterner-sent-to-the-desert sinus cavity issues. The masseuse asked if I’d allow a sinus massage using oils. Ok, sure,  whatever. He didn’t smell like patchouli so I wasn’t scared. He performed some squishing of my cheekbones with peppermint oil and some other oils I didn’t quite recognize and the craziest thing happened……

Crazier than me standing one legged on a chair with a weak pelvis after delivering a baby…..

My sinuses opened up and I could breathe. I will spare you the gory details since you just had to read a bit about my labor and delivery. Sorry ’bout that.

So, after years of living with many kids and a dog and wondering what it would be like to have a house that smelled like a lavender field rather than a locker room, I started asking a presumably smelly oil person some questions. It took months of back and forth before I committed. Eight months to be exact. She was kind and answered every question with solid info, which again surprised me because I assumed all oil people were high all the time.

I kid, I kid.

This woman took time out of her busy schedule, likely missing hackysack lessons and dread lock making sessions, to answer my questions. She had options for my desire to make our house smell better but it appeared there was more to this oil thing than just pleasant smell. Options for congestion and sniffles and tummy upset and stress and sleep issues and aches and pains and sore muscles.

But I didn’t budge. Because, you see, I’m a pharmaceutical sales rep. A drug rep.

I. Sell. Drugs.

Legal drugs, of course. I have primarily made a living selling pharmaceutical medication for the last 18 years. So, for this lady, making the jump into the essential oil world seemed about as likely as a Wall Street executive joining a commune.

Fortunately my husband pulled the trigger and ordered a starter kit (think assortment of most widely used oils) as a gift. Which is good because he’s much more likely to join a commune so I could blame the personality shift on him if someone harassed me for my hippieness.

I used my diffuser (this little machine that creates a mist using water and oils) the first day I received my kit. Just a few drops of a Christmas Spirit blend that made the house smell like oranges and clove and merriment. Amazing.

A few days later, after overindulging in holiday sweets, my stomach hurt. Before opening the medicine cabinet, I opted to do a little research to see if there was a non pharmaceutical option. One of the little essential oil bottles was recommended for belly issues. It didn’t smell great, which I thought truthfully defeated the whole purpose of having these oils in my house. Despite the interesting scent, I rubbed that stuff on my stomach. And I felt better. Quickly.

Several days later, after enjoying full-on family fun (read as forced family fun) over Christmas break, my head was pounding. Turns out peppermint oil increases circulation. (Hence the head clearing in P4K California years earlier.) A drop of peppermint oil mixed with coconut oil across my forehead and the problem was solved.

With a few surprising little revelations under my belt, I took 2017 as a year to delve into all of my all natural options. I looked at each and every area in our home where we could use a healthier alternative. Skin care. Household cleaning. Health and Beauty products. Stress reduction……because we are very much now in Post Four Kids days.

“Why?” you might ask.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, the American Cancer Society projects worldwide cancer cases will increase 50% from 2012 to 2030.  (I’m a sales rep by day and I will be the first person to admit I despise, abhor, detest people who sell from a point of fear. So, I hope you’ll take that last bit of data as education versus doomsday fear mongering.) We are living in a day and age where every bit of data about every single product is at our tiny little fingertips. It has NEVER been easier to research the who, what and why of everything we put into, onto and around our bodies.

However, many of us are blindly using products because we’re either too busy to stop and research or we’re simply trusting that the companies making these products have our best interest at heart.

I fell into both categories.

If you subscribe to either theory, perhaps it’s time to adjust your mindset. Take five minutes, download the Think Dirty app (I promise it’s family friendly) and check five products on your bathroom counter, makeup drawer or cleaning cabinet. Your mind will be blown. I promise.

I had a house full of products made by companies promising they were looking out for the ‘next generation.’ Fully natural, shiny, beautiful and full of rainbows and butterflies. LOOK AT THE LABELS. Many of these products are made from synthetic, man made, hormone impacting, corrosive alkali, respiratory distress inducing ingredients. Even the ‘organic’ and ‘all natural’ brands. Even the high-priced, nationally-marketed, touted-by-a-celebrity-swearing-she-is-looking-out-for-you products.

I took all 365 days in 2017 to check for a holistic option in that little starter kit before I ever reached for a pharmaceutical or mass marketed option. I started researching alternatives for cleaning products, air fresheners and my routine household products that would instead allow me to use my little jewel toned bottles of essential oils in my starter kit.

The healthy, hemp necklace wearing gurus call this Ditch and Switch. This occurs when you consciously replace a harmful product with something less likely to cause you to grow an extra eyeball. Until they can guarantee that it will be centered in the back of my head to ensure I can see my sneaky kids, I have zero desire for an extra eyeball.

Surprisingly, it’s much easier than I expected. Wool dryer balls instead of a dryer sheet, which are one of the nastiest, most chemical laden products in your home. Homemade foaming hand soap made with plant or fruit oils instead of the tropical smelling store bought kind. Because what plant or fruit do they use to make neon blue Beach Dreams hand soap. None. The answer is none. It’s a big blue bottle of chemicals and I always thought the idea was to wash the bad stuff OFF our hands. But I digress……

I have listed a couple of my favorite product links below. 

Don’t misunderstand….I STILL sell drugs. I will not hesitate to use modern medicine when needed. We are so appreciative of our personal doctors, nurse practitioners and healthcare system. But I LOVE having options. I love having an alternative to the standard approach to healthcare for our family. I love clearing out my medicine cabinet bottles and replacing with little glass bottles and healthier options. I love having an option outside of immediately digging for a bottle of pills.

I am no doctor. I don’t even play one on TV. I don’t pretend to understand everything related to biology or pathophysiology. Or a tenth of it.  I am not here to give treatments for diseases or illnesses. I have simply taken the research one day at a time based on the needs of my family.

I will NOT be calling you telling you I can treat your illness with oils. I will NOT tell you not to dunk the person who tried to cure your cancer with special vitamins into a vat of their own special vitamins. But if you’re looking for options for stress or sleep or digestion or focus, do your own research. If you like the idea of natural over synthetic, you have choices.

If you have sleep troubles in your home, I have an option. In fact, I have several.

If you need a go-to tummy upset/indigestion/car sickness/nausea reliever, I have a suggestion.

If you’re dealing with stress from time to time, I have something for you. If you’re not, you need to immediately unfriend me. But tell me your secret before you go.

If you suffer from cardiac issues, I’ll hand you some lavender to sniff while I tell you to

CALL YOUR CARDIOLOGIST.

Seriously, people…. I love these oils but I’m not an idiot.

So if you’re curious and have no idea where to begin with essential oil info, I have three suggestions:

1. Join me on Facebook at Lemony Emily’s Oil Page for education and information. No strings attached. I promise never to beg you to buy, sell or host anything. EVER.
2. If you’re local, come to a class at my home or host your own class. Learn, ask and smell. Again, no strings attached. I like my friends and don’t have any desire to lose them by way of the pressure oil sell. Puhlease. If you’re not local, keep an eye out for the online classes I host monthly. (Next live class- Feb. 4th at 4 PM. Next online class- Feb. 1st at 8:30 PM CST. Check Lemony Emily’s Oil Page for details.)
3. If you’re ready to make a switch in your own home, I would love to help you. Do the Think Dirty app homework and come up with three areas to switch. Easy peasy.

I have one word of caution—DO NOT, I repeat do not, purchase oils from a big box store. Third eyeball issues again.  I have chosen to exclusively use Young Living essential oils because of what they call their Seed to Seal promise.  Long story short, I know how they grow and manufacture their oils and I feel completely comfortable that when I diffuse, apply or ingest Young Living oil, I’m getting 100% pure, therapeutic grade oil. For example, YL peppermint is just peppermint. Totally and completely peppermint oil from the plant. Not diluted peppermint. Not peppermint with synthetic additives. Not peppermint plus nasty solvents. Not peppermint bottled by some guy in another country and sold out of the back of his truck.

In summary:

-Oils are a fantastic way to support various body systems. Sleep, digestion, respiratory and immunity to name a few.

-Oils are a great way to make your home NOT smell like it houses six people, forty pairs of cleats and a dog.

-Oils are available to all regardless of dread lock status. I have lawyer, doctor and teacher friends who use their oils on a daily basis.

-Oils are easy to use. If I can do it, anybody can do it. Join me for a live or online class or email me at Emily@TickingTimeMom.com for more information.

-Oils have not made me crazy. I was this way to start.

If you’re interested in a Premium Starter Kit of your own, I’m offering a kit sale special here for all TickingTimeMom readers. Click here for more information!

Anyone who shares this post and notes ‘Shared’ in the comments will be entered to win a Young Living goodie bag valued at $40.  Items include Thieves Hand Purifier, Cinnamint Lip Balm and Lemon Vitality essential oil! One winner will be drawn on 2/6/218 and posted in this updated blog.

Regardless of your oil interest, I hope 2018 brings healthy choices and opportunities to ditch less than healthy habits for healthier, natural options!

Happy New Year!