Frankincense. Where do I even begin? It has so many uses I have had to really prioritize my favorite ones and it is also the oil I’ve become most protective and conservative of.

My favorite use for frank is my most recent discovery. It’s got potential for replacing the antibiotic for me which is huge. I loathe relying on them and was excited to have had success using frank in combination with thieves to knock out a sinus infection.

My second favorite is just knowing that daily use could restore cellular health. For anyone with illnesses that could be impacted by cellular restoration, this is major. (Read between the lines.)

My third would be what frank can and has done for my skin. It dramatically minimizes fine lines and also some of my major frown lines, as well as completely annihilating acne which I have battled unsuccessfully since age 11. I am beyond impressed with frankincense!

Citrus fresh has one of the most pleasant fragrances of all of the oils that I have. It’s a blend of tangerine, grapefruit, lemon and spearmint.

Citrus fresh is a favorite of mine to diffuse, since the spearmint is good for immunity and for calming crazy kiddos. I also can be more liberal with diffusing it since it is not an ingredient of any of my rollers or creams, so I don’t worry about conserving it for other purposes.

I have high hopes for citrus fresh in months to come. Once I get a second diffuser, my plan is to take both the diffuser and citrus fresh to school to use in my classroom. It relaxes, calms, uplifts, and helps improve concentration. Yep, I think my students could certainly benefit from that.

I love lemon oil in my water, but at school I could see adding it to my water there through the day to switch things up. It is yummy!

Citrus fresh is a happy oil to have around.

So happy I waited to post on this one. I was tempted to choose it right out of the gate, but have discovered new uses just in the past few days that have me excited!

Originally I used it solely to manage my lower back pain, and let me tell you, that use alone is priceless. I had been taking a prescription pain reliever for my bulging disc, as well as a muscle relaxer which both came with terrible side effects. The panaway completely relaxes my back and relieves the pain and is allowing me to be off these other meds!

Recently, I read to use deep relief for sinus pain and pressure. I did not have deep relief, but read that two is its main ingredients were peppermint and wintergreen (main ingredient in panaway). I made a blend of peppermint and panaway and it knocked that sinus headache out really quickly! Also eliminated the sinus pain and pressure I was having.

I also very recently tried panaway for cramps and was very happy with the results.

Panaway is my go to oil for pain!

Stress Away quickly became my favorite oil, right out of the gate, for several reasons:

1. It’s my favorite fragrance. Lots of gals say Joy is their favorite and wear it as a perfume, but Stress Away has become my signature scent.

2. This is not easy for me to share with you, but I have been embarrassed of and struggled with sweaty palms my whole life. I was always mortified when anyone would try to shake or hold my hand. Since using Stress Away, I can’t say it’s completely eliminated, but I’ve seen a drastic improvement (like from sweating all the time to only in super stressful situations.) That is huge for me y’all!

2. It takes the stress away! It’s one of the key ingredients in my anxiety blend. I’ve forgotten it a couple of times and reverted back to my old sweaty palm self. I’m now so conservative with it because I need it for that blend.

3. I love having it with me with it’s handy roller fitment attachment so I can reapply during the day.

4. AC gets nervous in new situations and using either the Stress Away or Valor helps her to be brave!

I love Stress Away!

Sometimes you don’t realize how valuable something has become in your life until you’re forced to be without it.

A couple of days ago, I ran out of purification yesterday. It’s been ordered and it’s on the way, but I’m antsy and checking the front porch steps obsessively, ready for it to arrive.

What’s so great about it?

First and foremost, for me, it’s the number one acne fighter in my face roller. Since I started using coconut oil to wash my face in combination with the roller, my pores and fine lines are less visible, few if any breakouts, and my sun spots are fading!

Second, it’s part of the one-two punch that keeps the kiddos healthy. If you’ve been following my posts, you know I give a lot of credit to thieves for keeping viruses and sickness at bay, but I do diffuse and pair it with purification. Purification purifies and deodorizes the air, and paired with thieves we have an immunity powerhouse.

I also get relief for a sore or scratchy throat when I rub a drop of purification on my neck.

I have loved dropping a cottonball with a drop of purification in our diaper pail, cat box, or inside a pair of smelly shoes. It completely eliminates odor.

I’m sure there are other uses but these are my favorites. I’m ready to see that little brown box!

Joy is aptly named. It promotes what it’s name implies which is great for anyone who struggles with irritability, anxiety, mood swings, depression, cramps or PMS.

It’s a blend of 10 different oils, including bergamot, ylang ylang, rose, lemon and tangerine.

Many love it as a perfume or to wear in a diffuser necklace. I love the way it smells but I’m sensitive to fragrances so I wear it on my feet.

I don’t leave the house without it!

Lemon oil was the first oil I ran out of for a couple of reasons:

A) I use two drops in my drinking water each day, and it’s a delicious sweet lemon taste vs. sour lemon juice. Here’s why I make sure to drink lemon water each day, and you should too:

http://complete-health-and-happiness.com/happens-body-drink-warm-honey-lemon-water-morning/

Be sure to only use glass bottles or glasses when using lemon oil!

B) It’s a key component for my allergy trio. Must have this time of year!

Some of my other favorite uses for lemon include: fever reducer for kiddos and it’s a must for my sore throat/cough spoonful (thieves/lemon/honey).

Lemon oil is a staple around here!

If you told me I could keep one essential oil and all the others would be taken away, I’d have a really tough time deciding, but Thieves would be near the top of my list just for what it’s done for our family. (Thieves is an essential oil blend of clove, lemon, cinnamon, eucalyptus and rosemary oils.)

Here are my top 3 uses for Thieves:

1. Immunity.

Before Christmas (and before Thieves) we were in and out of the doctors’ office like a revolving door. If strep, pink eye or a stomach virus was going around in my girls’ classrooms, they were getting it.

Since then we have been diffusing Thieves each evening when the girls get home from school and applying diluted Thieves to their feet each night. We also keep and use daily a homemade hand sanitizer on my desk at school and on Anna Claire’s backpack and lunch box with the star ingredient, Thieves.

Fast forward to today, and we have had zero doctor visits or days missed from school due to illness. The one variable that has changed in our home is our use of essential oils.

2. That feeling you get when you think you might be getting sick. As a teacher in a public school, I have had several of these moments! A teaspoon of honey, thieves and lemon later and I am back in the game. (Tastes terrible, works great.) This same spoonful has become my go to for scratchy throat or cough. Gone almost instantly.

3. Teething. When I took essential oils on as a lifestyle change, I was determined to replace as many of our OTC and prescription meds as possible since I hated being dependent on either and disliked how they made me feel. Hardest to let go of was pain reliever for the baby’s teething. When one of my babies are hurting, I need a way to put a stop to it quick. And let’s face it, ain’t nobody got time for screaming and crying with no relief.

Then I read heavily diluted Thieves could be used on baby’s gums for teething. I made a batch but it was weeks later before I was able to actually try it and let me tell you it was instant relief for Madeline. She was all smiles! And I was a skeptic turned believer.

Disclaimer: these were my personal results and used based on research and with consistency. Also, Young Living oils are pure therapeutic grade oils, able to be safely ingested and used orally; please do not attempt these uses with brands that are not pure therapeutic oils, state “for aromatherapy use” or say they cannot be ingested.

Stay tuned each day as I continue this little tour of my premium starter kit and how we’ve incorporated EOs into our daily lives.

Since receiving our starter kit, I’ve been most surprised by the many uses of lavender, especially with children.

I knew it smelled great and relaxing, but it has replaced so many products in our home that have blown me away!

Lavender has replaced cold/allergy meds and antibiotic ointment for my kiddos. It’s the star ingredient in the eczema cream I use for the girls.

I use a drop of lavender in my mascara for longer lashes (encourages hair growth). It’s a key component of my face blend, focus blend, anxiety blend and allergy blend, it helps us all sleep, I could go on! (Btw, many of the oils for major blends mentioned above are in the starter kit!)

And these results were with therapeutic grade lavender. Not “for aromatherapy” use varieties or types say they cannot be ingested. All lavender essential oils are definitely not created equal. (Please don’t drop some random lavender oil in your mascara, y’all! That’s your eyes we’re talking about.)