Update: Winner of the giveaway is Stacy Welch! Thank you to everyone who entered!
Lately it seems like I’ve been hearing about essential oils pop up all over the place in conversations and social media. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve always been a little skeptical. I’m not a super “natural” or “green” type of person, and honestly all the magic potions and oil remedies that I’ve heard about seemed a little far fetched.
A few months back, a Mommy’s Me Time reader, Rachel Chipriano, reached out to me and shared her experience using essential oils. She mentioned that her children typically got sick all winter long, and they were repeatedly on antibiotics for ear infections or were doing rounds of nebulizers and inhalers for respiratory issues. Then she shared how they started using essential oils, and they didn’t go to the doctor all winter long.
I was amazed by her story. Last winter we spent way too much money on co-pays and antibiotics at the pediatrician. Like her kids, mine had ear infections or something else going on CONSTANTLY. We had to switch to stronger antibiotics from time to time which made it an absolute nightmare to change diapers because they’d all get the runs from it! It seemed endless. Baylen ended up with so many ear infections that he had to get tubes.
So, when Rachel asked if I’d be interested in reviewing Young Living Essential Oils, I felt compelled to give it a try. She sent me the Young Living Premium Starter Kit, and gave me some tips and suggestions on what worked well for her. When I received the package, it felt like Christmas! The kit included the Everyday Oils collection, a Home Diffuser, and all the literature you need to get serious about implementing them into your life.
I have been having so much fun exploring essential oils. I’m definitely still a beginner and have a lot to learn, but I’d love to share my honest experience with you so far. As a reminder, I am not a doctor. I am a mom, trying to do what’s best for our family. Any information and advice I’m giving is meant to help educate and inform. Not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. My statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. As always, you should check with your health care professional before starting something new.
Okay, let’s jump in.
What are essential oils? Some fun facts…
Essential oils are highly concentrated liquids distilled from plants. They are much more potent than fresh or dried herbs, so you can use much less. In fact, one drop of peppermint essential oil is equivalent to 26 cups of peppermint tea!
Essential oils are older than traditional medicine, and date back up to 6,000 years! They are mentioned in the Bible 180 times!
Essential oils are used for aromatherapy, massage therapy, emotional health, personal care, nutritional supplements, household solutions, and so much more.
What I’ve learned is that there are a few different ways to use essential oils. You can either diffuser them into the air, with the Home Diffuser, or you can apply them topically to the skin or other surfaces.
The Home Diffuser is extremely easy to use. You fill it up with water, add a few drops of your choice of essential oil, and plug it in. Within minutes you smell the amazing aroma.
I started the diffuser right away with the Thieves oil, which is known for its cleansing abilities. It has been university tested to show that it kills 99.96% of airborne bacteria. I’ve been diffusing that about once a day to clear the air of germs we bring home with us.
During the evening hours, I’ll diffuse Peace & Calming, and in my experience, it totally chills the kids out.
When Baylen had a cold and fever, I diffused Peppermint and rubbed a little on his neck, and it helped him to breathe easier and broke his fever.
As I mentioned in my post the other day, I’ve been using essential oils in my kids baths. I’ll add some epsom salt, baking soda, coconut oil, and some lavender, and let the kids soak. It detoxes their bodies and relaxes them before bedtime.
Jake and I have taken a lavender bath and have also mixed the oils with some olive oil and used it for massage oil. AMAZING!
I’ve also learned that the bottoms of feet have some of the best pores for absorbing, so I put Thieves oil on the bottoms of my kids feet every other day or so to proactively built their immunity.
Thieves is also great for household cleaning. I mixed it with my mop water and mopped the wood floor with it, and it smelled amazing. Word of warning though, wear gloves if you do this. The oil soaked quite rapidly into my hands and dried them out big time.
Let’s see, how else have we used it so far…oh, Jake had a cold and I had him drink lemon and theives in his water.
Rachel also included a bottle of RC, because she heard that we’d been battling colds. I’ve applied that to our chest and throats, and it’s been extremely soothing.
So far, it seems to be improving our overall health and lifestyle. While we’ve been sick with colds, we haven’t had any ear infections or need to antibiotics since we started using it. It may be a little too early to tell if that’s due to the essential oils, but I am definitely going to continue using them because I only see them as an added benefit.
In fact, I even decided to join Young Living as a wholesale member so that I can take advantage of the discounts when I reorder. To join as a wholesale member, you need to purchase one of their options for starter kits, but since the Premium Starter Kit seemed like the best value, I actually ordered another one of them. I’m looking forward to having a second diffuser so I don’t have to keep moving it from downstairs to upstairs!
If you’re interested in giving essential oils a try, I’d highly suggest starting with the Premium Starter kit just so that you can really give it a fair shot by using a good selection of the oils. The Premium Starter kit costs $150 when you join as a wholesale member, but then once you’re a member, you get a 24% discount on future orders. You also get access to Facebook support groups that give recommendations and answer common questions. And, you have the option to share your experience with other people and if they decide to give Young Living a try, you’ll get a percentage back to help pay for your kit.
Like I said, from my perspective I think it’s definitely worth it to keep exploring essential oils for our family. So far the results have been great, and spending $150 is nothing compared to how much we spent at the doctor last year!
If you’re interested in trying out Young Living Essential Oils, here’s a link to sign up to become a member. You’d be signing up under me: Join Amber’s Young Living Team.
Rachel has also offered to do a giveaway for Mommy’s Me Time readers! She will be giving away a Wellness Oils Mini Collection! It includes three essential oils: Citrus Fresh, Ravintsara, and Thieves.
There are a few options to enter. One option includes joining a Facebook class that Rachel and I will be hosting where she’ll share information for beginners or people who are new to essential oils and want to learn more.
Another option is to Like Rachel’s Facebook page where she’s constantly sharing helpful information.
A third option is to follow Rachel on Instagram!
Enter using Rafflecopter below. The giveaway is open now through Thursday, January 8th. US mailing addresses only.
Thanks for letting me share my experience with you! If any of you decide to take the plunge, I’d love to hear about YOUR experiences! For those of you who already use them, please leave a comment and let me know your favorite uses!
XOXO,
Amber
5 Comments
Thanks for sharing, Amber! We’ve been trying YLEO since September, and have had mostly positive experiences. I agree that it makes a wonderful addition to a bath, it’s a stellar massage oil, and it’s a great way to add a scent to your house with added health benefits. Here are some additional thoughts just from our family’s experience 🙂
– I finally ordered a book called “Gentle Babies” which has helped offer a guide for using EO on our children safely. One thing I’m convinced of is that EO are potent and powerful, so I’ve toned down a lot with them on the kiddos until I learn how they affect them. If you do some reading (even outside of young living), opinions differ about what oils are safe for babies / children and how much you should use. This world is confusing, but after a couple months of just slathering them on thinking “These are pure, so they can’t hurt”, I treat them more like medicine. Just our preference!
– We’ve found that while YLEO provides a lot of benefits and have exciting uses, they have not been a magic bullet for illness with our children, and I’m sad that it’s sometimes presented that way. I had high hopes that our kids would be super duper healthy this year, and even with EO, they still get sick. I do enjoy having some other tools in my mommy tool belt to deal with coughs and colds, but overall I noticed that I probably had unrealistic expectations (or maybe some people do have amazing results and we use it incorrectly?).
– Also after some research we no longer ingest EO. There are several schools of thought on this, but after doing some research outside of the YL bubble, I probably personally air on the side of caution so we’ve pulled back our use in this area. Again, just a personal preference – but I didn’t really have any idea about any other views until I looked into it for myself.
We enjoy Young Living and I’m a wholesale member too! I plan to continue using them where it makes sense for our family, and I enjoy hearing how they are helping other people. My main point is that it’s good to sometimes read and hear things from outside the company as well just to help balance expectations and hear another perspective. It’s helped me best understand how to use them for our family. Blessings to you and your sweet family!
Hi Emily! Thank you SO much for sharing your experience! I love your perspective, that they aren’t necessarily a cure all or miracle worker, but that they can definitely add benefit to the family! I’ll need to get a copy of that book you were talking about! Thank you!!!
Hi Amber! I was wondering, do you use the oil on Case too? I am thinking about giving this a try in our household. Thanks for sharing!
Wow! I have been seeing a lot about essential oils here lately and have toyed with the idea of joining. I have a question, though. When I looked on the YL website, I can’t find the Premium Starter Kit that you bought. There are different options, but none look like the one you described. Thanks!
Hi Ashley! If you click on this link, and then select become a wholesale member, fill in your info, then click to the next page, the options for start-up kits should appear there! https://www.youngliving.com/signup/?site=US&sponsorid=2388850&enrollerid=2388850