Oil of the Week - Peppermint

I can't believe I haven't blogged about peppermint before. Peppermint is an everyday oil in our house. *giggle* It's also one of the oils included in our Everyday Oils Collection. My youngest son, Lei & I have allergies and daily we use a combination of lavender & peppermint oil in order to manage those allergies and remain symptom free. I put lavender on our faces before we go into a situation where we may encounter an environmental allergen. We put a drop of peppermint oil in the palm of our hands and sniff. Using this oils protocol, we've been allergy drug free since 2010. You can read all about that in this post.

 More uses for peppermint oil include:

• respiratory infections
• cold sores
• fungal infection/candida
• digestive problems
• headaches
• nausea
• skin conditions (itchy skin, vericose veins, eczema, psoriasis, hives)

Mamas, my absolute favorite use of peppermint oil with minis is to bring down a fever. Friday night, my oldest son had a fever. I don't know how high because we're currently without a thermometer but he had a headache so that means it was 102 or higher. I put 5 drops of peppermint oil on the bottom of his feet and within an hour, his fever had gone down. His head didn't hurt. He was sleeping soundly and his skin was no longer hot to the touch. You must have peppermint oil in your medicine cabinet.

Oil of the Week: Lemongrass

As I was pondering this week's oil of the week, I saw the lemongrass sitting on the desk and decided that this would be perfect.I recently felt guided to order lemongrass essential oil. I"m always curious when my intuition leads me to a new oil. When I placed the order, I didn't have any specific use for the oil in mind. Instead, I had some free product points and I looked for some oils to add to the order.

Last night, I felt guided to add lemongrass to my epsom/sea salt footbath. After the footspa, I felt completely relaxed and ready for bed. Tonight, in researching the benefits of lemongrass essential oil, I found that it's a sedative. Got bouncy minis? Slap some lemongrass on their feet. Be forewarned that lemongrass can irritate sensitive skin. If you're applying it anywhere other than to the bottom of the feet, be sure to dilute it with a carrier oil such as sweet almond or grapeseed oil.

A few drops of lemongrass on the bottom of the feet and this could be you...

Other uses for lemongrass essential oil include: 

• Treat ringworm by combinging 3-5 drops of lemongrass with 4 oz of a carrier oil and apply topically, on location several times per day until the ringworm clears up.
• Lemongrass works as a natural insect repellent. Add 10-12 drops to 8 oz of water. Pour mixture in a spray bottle and spray directly onto skin. 
• Diffuse or direct inhale lemongrass to alleviate discomfort from sinus/respiratory infections.
• Make your own carpet refresher by adding a few drops of lemongrass to baking soda. Sprinkle mixture onto carpet and leave for a few moments. Vacuum as usual for fresh smelling, disinfected carpets.