5 DIYS FROM THE PREMIUM STARTER KIT
This post is contributed by One Drop member – Sonia Xu Qi Ting.
5 DIYs using Premium Starter Kit Essential Oils
If you have been wondering what other ways you can use the essential oils in your premium starter kit other than diffusing and applying topically. Keep reading, this is the article for you. You may be surprised that how much money you can save by just D-I-Y-ing.
LAVENDER PILLOW MIST
Spray this onto your pillow before you hit the bed – Lavender is one of the most trusted essential oil that supports restful sleep.
What you’ll need:
- Lavender essential oil – 10 drops
- Unscented Witch Hazel – 1 teaspoon
- Distilled water
- Tinted glass spray bottle (60ml)
What to do:
- Add Lavender essential oil, 1 teaspoon of unscented witch hazel into the spray bottle and fill up with distilled water. Shake before each use. You may wish to spray inside of the pillowcases if your sheets/pillowcases are light colors, as the oil in the mist may stain.
BYE BYE ANTS SPRAY
If you noticed there’s trail of ants marching in your kitchen, this is the secret recipe for you. Bonuses – toxic free and smell great!
What you’ll need:
- Peppermint essential oil – 10 drops
- Lemon essential oil – 8 drops
- Unscented Witch Hazel – 1 teaspoon
- Rubbing alcohol
- Distilled water
- Tinted glass spray bottle (60ml)
What to do:
- Add essential oils and unscented witch hazel into the spray bottle. Fill up the rest of the bottle with an equivalent portion of distilled water and rubbing alcohol. Shake before each use and spray on the ant trails you find. Repeat this daily till the ants are gone.
(Note: Turn away your face if you are spraying this mist onto areas that are above your eye level, so as to avoid the mist from getting into your eyes. Don’t make this noob mistake like me, and trust me you will get very teary eyes – Tested and proven!)
FUNKY SMELL BUSTER
This is THE effective toxic-free smell buster that works every time! I have tried this for poop-nami accidents that happened in baby’s room/car, food smell that lingers in all your rooms after cooking because you have an open concept kitchen, smelly shoes and freshening up your post-bombing session in the toilet – It works every time.
What you’ll need:
- Peppermint essential oil – 15 drops
- Unscented Witch Hazel – 1 teaspoon
- Distilled water
- Tinted glass spray bottle (60ml)
What to do:
- Add Purification essential oil, 1 teaspoon of unscented witch hazel into the spray bottle and fill up with distilled water. Shake before each use.
RELAXING EPSOM SALT FOOK SOAK
Need some extra help to relax your tired feet after a long day of standing or workout? This recipe works well for my family.
What you’ll need:
- Lavender essential oil – 10 drops
- Peppermint essential oil – 8 drops
- Epsom Salt
- Glass container
What to do:
- Add Epsom salt into glass container (do not fill up to the brim as you need some space in the bottle to shake things up later), followed by the essential oils, close the lid and shake container to give it a good mix.
How to use:
- Scope 2 tablespoon of essential oil infused Epsom salt into a tub of warm water (water level to be at your ankle), soak your tired feet into the mixture for 10 minutes.
FOAMING HAND SOAP
What you’ll need:
- Lavender/Thieves essential oil – 20 drops
- Unscented Liquid Castille Soap – 4 tablespoon
- Distilled water
- Foaming Soap Dispenser Bottle (250ml)
What to do:
- Add distilled water into the bottle till about 75% full, followed by essential oil and unscented liquid castile soap, top up distilled water as needed (Leave about 1.5cm space from the brim). Tighten the foaming pump and give it a good shake to mix up the soap solution. (This sequence produces the least foam/mess when you tighten the foaming pump).
Last but not least, remember re-use the bottles after you are done, they just need a good wash.
We only have ONE planet – Earth.
Reduce, reuse, and recycle.
If you like Qi Ting’s articles and would like to purchase the Young Living oils or have further clarifications, please connect with Qi Ting via her Facebook page – My Aroma Diary.
If you are ready to sign up as member to purchase, you can click here. I would love to support you in using the oils for yourself and your loved ones.
AGING GRATEFULLY
This post is contributed by One Drop member – Gennet Song.
Right on the onset of this sharing, I want to say I am a ‘moderate’ and a subscriber to holistic health and that everything is connected. Not one single modality is the be-all and end-all for my health. This is just my personal philosophy and while I may focus my sharing below on essential oils, this is just the tip of the iceberg of my journey of wellness.
I believe what I think, affects what I feel, and what I feel affects how my body reacts. Without going too far back into the decades of my life, I want to look on my current health and wellbeing as a total package. It’s important to me that I trust and believe in what I choose to do.
Physical health is of utmost importance to me. My motivation is that I maintain my strength and vigor to be a healthy mom to my furkids, Avante and Marvelicious, and my partner, Jacq. That’s why Gary Young has been and remain such an inspiration – the way he has been playing father to his 2 boys, taking them on physical activities, into the mountains and stuffs when (I believe) he must have been in his sixties!
I am 62 and so happy to be alive and well. I say that because both my parents died from cancer before their fifties! Therefore, I always have the belief that my health will be compromised by my genes and family health history! I take every clean bill of health from my regular health checks as a blessing and I am blessed to be alive!
Now…how do I use the products to support me?
First thing first for me then is taking on and keeping my chemical messengers (hormones) working – especially when science tells me I no longer produce them.
So, my daily ritual are with these 3 MUSTS:
- Progessence Phyto Plus (better still if I can get my hands on Progessence Plus from US) to regulate my non-existent Progesterone.
- Clary Sage – to manage my Estradiol level and
- Myrtle to support normalizing my thyroid. Thyroid – growth hormones.
I do this ritual of marinating myself after shower at least 2 times a day with the 3 musts: –
- Progessence on inner arms, above elbows, or below elbows to wrists, or on my neck. I use up to 8 drops each time. Sometimes less.
- I use Clary Sage on my inner ankles – where my reproductive areas reflexology points are, or sometimes just around my abdomen.
- I use Myrtle on my throat area.
I feel as a woman, they are my support angels to keep me at my feminine best.
Another favorite part of my ritual in the morning is with Brain Power. It is said that consistent and long-term use of Brain Power slows down the aging process, as the oils in this blend are high in compounds that increase pineal, pituitary and hypothalamus activity. Again, I am looking for the growth hormones and melatonin. Like most women, I have prior exposure to hair and beauty products that have petrochemicals. And it helps with cleaning up petrochemicals and brain fog. Everything I need to stay clear headed, motivated from Brain Power.
Liver health is important to me. Here is one of the powerhouses to clearing my body of toxin build up. I used either GLF, Juva Cleanse or Juva Flex daily topically over my liver area. When I finish one bottle, I will rotate to another oil to help my body better.
And finally, my inner health. People who know me usually see me as a calm person. I am not so calm internally. It is necessary for me to create my calm and balance each day with starting my day in meditation. The early morning quietness helps me to sit with a less busy mind, to pray, meditate and create my day. My favorite oils for my morning sitting includes usually those with peppermint or citrus in the blend. Oils such as Believe is great, Transformation is a good wake-up oil…or anything that supports my intention for the day such as, Into the Future, Highest Potential etc…
Overall, I am looking forward to thriving even more as I move forward in age and wisdom. There are so many things that I am incorporating mindfully – observing my thoughts and feelings throughout the day, making sure I eat right, exercise, and most of all enjoy all that I choose to do or not do.
If you like Gennet’s articles and would to find out more, please go to her website here. If you will like to purchase the Young Living oils or have further clarifications, please drop her a message here or email her at gennetsong@gmail.com. If you are ready to sign up as member to purchase, you can click here.
HOW TO PROTECT OURSELVES AND OUR FAMILY IN PHASE 2
This post is contributed by One Drop member – Marissa Loh.
How to protect ourselves and our family in Phase 2
Covid-19 has turned our world upside down and forced us into staying home with our families for an extended period of time. Much of the global media attention has been on lamenting the loss of lives, livelihoods and freedom, with much focus on the fear that pervades due to battling an unknown and invisible virus with no vaccine or viable treatment. However, amidst all this, we can also be grateful for the slowing down from our hectic pace of life, to spend quality time with our families, and an overall greater awareness that health is wealth, and prevention is better than cure.
Now we’re in Phase 2 with the economy reopening, it’s back to work and our children are back to school. Is there anything we can do to protect ourselves and our family? Of course there is! When we empower ourselves to know better and do better, we don’t have to live in fear anymore. Hooray!
There’s a famous saying from Sun Tzu’s Art of War: 知己知彼，百战百胜 which means you are assured victory in each of your hundred battles if you know yourself and your enemy well. In this case, we will do well to have a better understanding of Covid-19 and how our body’s immune system works.
Covid-19 is a coronavirus, and as with all viruses like the flu, it can’t survive without a host. Viruses therefore need living hosts to reproduce and spread through droplets exchange via coughing, sneezing or close contact. Therefore, as promoted by all health organisations and governments, the best way to protect ourselves from catching the virus is to avoid the droplets exchange.
Protection Tip #1: Practice social distancing, wear a mask to create an additional barrier and exercise good hygiene – wash hands regularly or use hand sanitisers, disinfect surfaces, and avoid touching your face.
For this, you’ll want to use effective cleansing products that are also gentle on skin without any harmful chemicals since you’ll be using it very often and harsh products can dry or irritate skin, which may cause even more problems. Here are some of my favourites:
- Thieves Foaming Hand Soap makes it easy to lather, rinse, and get on your way! With a plant-based, instant-foam formula, skin is left feeling clean and refreshed but never over-dried. Contains no sulfates, dyes, synthetic fragrances, or harsh chemicals.
- Thieves Hand Sanitiser (called Hand Purifier in Singapore) kills 99.99% of germs effectively yet gently without any nasty chemicals. Safe for children too, so make sure they each carry one wherever they go!
- With 72% ethyl alcohol, you can safely disinfect surfaces with Thieves Spray, which has been included in NEA’s Interim List of Household Products Effective Against Coronavirus. You can also spray your face mask with Thieves Spray (tip: let it dry before wearing) for added protection.
One of the reasons why there’s so much fear regarding Covid-19 is because there are currently no viable therapeutics or vaccines. Antibiotics are useless against viruses (antibiotics are only effective against specific types of bacteria) and the usual treatment for viral infections is only symptomatic relief (such as medication to lower the body temperature) and advocating rest to allow the body to heal itself. Therefore, it is important to ensure our health is in tiptop condition, to give ourselves the best chance to fight this virus!
Protection Tip #2: Adopt healthy lifestyle habits for optimum wellness in all aspects of your life.
The basics cannot be ignored – drink more water, have enough rest, eat nutritiously and keep active. These take care of our physical health but did you know there are 6 pillars of wellness? Besides physical, our emotional, mental, environmental, social and spiritual health plays a part in our overall wellness too! Studies have shown that negative emotions and stress adversely affects the immune system. (1, 2)
So do take breaks from your work (especially if you’re working from home and the work/life boundaries are blurred), relax yourself with activities that feed your spirit and soul, and find time to connect with what matters to you.
Here’s where essential oils work really well as mood enhancers, and there’s in fact a science to it. You see, as soon as an aroma reaches our nose, it immediately connects with the olfactory bulbs inside the nasal cavity. These bulbs are actually part of our brain, and they send messages directly to the most primitive parts of our brain: the limbic system. That’s where memories and emotions are stored, and influences our behaviour responses and mood management too.
That’s why something as simple as inhaling an essential oil from your palm or from a diffuser may improve sleep, enhance mood, reduce the symptoms of anxiety disorders, and improve quality of life. (3)
Try it for yourself! Stress Away, Peace & Calming and Harmony are great ones you can breathe in to bring about an oasis of inner peace and positivity even if the world around you may be caught up in crisis mode.
Besides these usual healthy practices, there’s still more we can do to proactively boost our body’s natural immune system in order to build up our natural defences and create an effective wellness shield.
Protection Tip #3: Boost your immune system from the inside out
Your immune system acts like a security system that kicks into high gear when it senses invaders that threaten your health. The good news is, you can help your natural immunity by strengthening it with nutritional supplementation with no regrets or negative side effects, only better health naturally!
Here’s my top 3 supplements for extra support during this critical season:
- NingXia Red: a delicious superfruit beverage that combines whole NingXia wolfberry puree, a superfruit blend of blueberry, aronia, cherry, pomegrate, tart cherry, and plum juices; natural stevia extract; grape seed extract; pure vanilla extract; Orange, Yuzu, Lemon, and Tangerine essential oils. It’s a powerhouse nutrient infusion that everyone can enjoy and can help prevent against oxidative stress, supports eye health, and provide energy throughout the day.
- Life 9: With a huge proportion of our immune system in our gut (4), we would be wise to ensure a healthy gut by populating it with good bacteria. Life 9™ is a proprietary, high-potency probiotic that combines 17 billion live cultures from 9 beneficial bacteria strains that promotes healthy digestion, supports gut health, and helps maintain normal intestinal function for overall support of a healthy immune system.
- Inner Defense: reinforces systemic defences, creates unfriendly terrain for yeast/fungus, promotes healthy respiratory function, and contains potent essential oils like oregano, thyme, and Thieves® which are rich in thymol, carvacrol, and eugenol for immune support.
Protect yourself and your family with this safe and effective wellness SHIELD because Staying Healthy Is Easy with Life-giving Defences!
References:
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324090
- https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn4116-brain-study-links-negative-emotions-and-lowered-immunity/#ixzz6R21VuGjm
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/315481
- https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/research/advancements-in-research/fundamentals/in-depth/the-gut-where-bacteria-and-immune-system-meet
If you like Marissa’s articles and would to find out more, please go to her facebook page here. If you will like to purchase the Young Living oils or have further clarifications, please drop her a message here or email her at marissa.loh@gmail.com. If you are ready to sign up as member to purchase, you can click here.
MANAGING PUBERTY
This post is contributed by One Drop member – Ranna Seah.
It was recently that I noticed my 10 year old daughter was spending a lot more time in the toilet. She was experiencing tummy aches and even though she tried, there was no ‘output’ into the toilet bowl…if you get my drift. Then that was when it finally dawn on me that she was experiencing stomach cramps…then I realised…ohh…it’s starting! And rightfully so. I remembered I had my first period at the end of the year I was 11 years old. And legend has it that the daughter will have similar experiences to the mother. So I started preparing and I put together this set of graphics to help mothers going through the same circumstances with their precious ones.
First up, we have to understand the Signs of Puberty for the girls and boys:
Puberty starts when the brain begins to send signals to the body to prepare for changes. Then there will be physical changes to the body and they start to sweat more too. And because the request for boys were heard after I released the information about girls, I did some research about boys and puberty too. It seem that the physical change for boys are more gradual than girls so they have more time to adjust and accept. However for boys, it is also a challenge (I feel) to deal with voice change and sometimes get made fun of. Boys can really carry jokes a tad too far than girls sometimes…
Here are the products to support your child going through puberty from top to toe:
It is definitely important that we do a ditch and switch to their toothpaste, shampoos and shower gel. Endocrine disruptors, sometimes also referred to as hormonally active agents, may be found in those chemical compounds in those daily self-care products that we use. We should avoid using plastic bottles too as there are endocrine disruptors in them too. These disruptions can cause developmental disorders and make puberty even more uncomfortable it already is.
The endocrine support oils are a bit different. For girls, I will chose Geranium, Endoflex or Ylang Ylang as the flower oils tend to signify more for beauty as well and dedication. For boys, I will go for Mister. Idaho Blue Spruce and SclarEssence (this blend is good for girls as well).
The highlighted spots are where you will get the endocrine supportive oils on for your growing child. And please remember that they are semi-adults now, so it is very important we ask them for permission to oil them. We are also indirectly empowering them to say no so when the circumstances arise for them to say no, they will be able to say ‘no’.
I have to pay attention to the ‘growing pains’ because my daughter is very sensitive to changes of her body like me. So all the growing and stretching are uncomfortable for her. And if you do not have what I listed for support in the image, I’ve found OrthoSports Massage Oil or BodyEase Massage Oil or simply V6 + Lemongrass + Wintergreen helped her too. So you are free to put together oils that work better for your child than what I suggested. And I will love to hear and learn from you what else helped too! 🙂 We all learn by sharing and exchanging notes.
And this set…emotionally…we need to support our kids. If you are one of those super grounded mummies who practise Yoga and have a vegan diet, you may know or experience mood swings your growing kids might have. I get them a lot. And I find that one of the biggest reason why I flew into rage sometimes…it is usually due to a lack of confidence. So if you can help your child stay grounded, confidence…that can really help them a lot.
Number one favourite for confidence other than Valor (yes yes please use Valor too!) Believe…Ylang Ylang (self-love), Acceptance that what they are going through are necessary. And finally…if your child is taking this transition to teenager/adulthood hard…help to shift them with TraumaLife. Put over their heart, around their ears and let them inhale from palm.
After putting together all the products I wished I had when I was going through puberty, I realised that Young Living has a very impressive range that really go from head to toe and inside to outside. I wished I had Mirah Hair Oil then…for it was during my puberty that my hair suddenly grew thicker, coarser and fizzy. It was so hard to manage for me then and was one of the reason for my lack of confidence as I was unable to accept the change. So for my daughter, I made sure I get some Mirah Hair Oil on for her and the Acne Cream really helped supported and cleared her little pimples. Phew…and hurray for Young Living.
For the full set of images that support the girls through puberty, click here.
For the full set of images that support the boys through puberty, click here.
If you like my articles and would like to purchase the Young Living oils or have further clarifications, please drop me a message here or email me at fabulana@gmail.com. If you are ready to sign up as member to purchase, you can click here. I would love to support you in using the oils for yourself and your loved ones.
NEW OIL: LEMON VERBENA
This post is contributed by One Drop member – Kaye Ng.
Young Living has released a new single oil this month – LEMON VERBENA! Have you heard about it? First up, THIS IS NOT A CITRUS OIL! So it is not the same as Lemon EO at all.Lemon Verbena is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family Verbenaceae that is native to South America. It is a perennial shrub or subshrub growing to 2–3 metres high. It has long, glossy, pointed leaves that are slightly rough to the touch and emit a strong lemon scent when bruised – hence the name.
Lemon verbena leaves are often used to add a lemon flavor to fish and poultry dishes, vegetable marinades, salad dressings, jams, puddings, Greek yogurt, and beverages. The leaves are also used in potpourri, or to make herbal teas and as a liqueur flavoring. It has also been widely used as traditional medicine in Latin-American countries.
Some of the more common medical uses of Lemon Verbena include support for the digestive system, skeletal system esp for joints, respiratory system, and the integumentary system. It also helps relax and aid sleep. (webMD)
On a more practical note, Lemon Verbena purifies and refreshes the air when diffused, cleanses the skin, provides a fresh cleansing boost to household cleaners, and smells amazing! This is your go-to cleansing and uplifting oil!
Here are some other practical ways you could use this oil:
- Create a spa-like atmosphere and brighten your day when you diffuse this uplifting scent.
- Combine Lemon Verbena with a few drops of Peppermint or Spearmint essential oil for a yummy, fresh-smelling home.
- Add a rollerball on top for quick topical application and to use it as a daily perfume!
- Enhance your favorite DIY sugar scrub, lotion, or Epsom salt recipes with a few drops.
- Add it to your household cleaner! Take your cleaning up a notch by adding a few drops of Lemon Verbena to your Thieves Household Cleaner.
And here are some diffuser recipes from YL which you can use with the Lemon Verbena EO.
If you like my articles and would like to purchase the Young Living oils or have further clarifications, please drop me a message here or email me at kaye@onedrop.sg. If you are ready to sign up as member to purchase, you can click here. I would love to support you in using the oils for yourself and your loved ones.
