There's An Oil for That

There are a few things in this world that are essential: a comfy pair of shoes…the right hair color…chocolate…and…oils. No matter what your ailment, there’s an oil for that. Burned your hand?...rub lavender on it. Have an upset stomach?...drop some peppermint in your bottled water. Arthritis in your knee?...drink ginger tea. Mosquitos bothering you?...rub eucalyptus on your bare skin.

A friend of mine started selling essential oils, so I invited her over to demonstrate her product for my daughter and me. My daughter is a natural yoga/vegan/no leather/hemp purse kind of a person, and I thought it would make a good Christmas present to buy her some oils. Friend told us all about the oils – I learned that oils can be used topically, taken internally, or diffused into the air. Some oils are much stronger than others and should not be used on the skin at all or should be used in conjunction with a carrier oil such as coconut or olive or avocado. Nothing like a yummy face salad before going to bed. She demonstrated with a drop of lemon oil on a Styrofoam plate. Within 10 minutes, the lemon oil had eaten a hole through the plate. I may not be a fast learner, but I quickly concluded that one does not use lemon oil to get rid of wrinkles.

Once we received our oils, we were very excited to start our daily regimen. I put lemon and peppermint in my water every day to purify my digestive system. I diffused cloves as an antioxidant protection. Daughter began her facial routine.

For our convenience, these little bottles of oil are somewhat color-coded. Lavender for lavender (duh), yellow for lemon…well…you get the point. However, there are a lot of green oils – sage, oregano, rosemary, eucalyptus – each one having its unique therapeutic benefits.

Daughter was preparing for bed one evening and grabbed her oil of choice to invigorate and purify her skin. She mixed it with some coconut oil and proceeded to rub it all over her face. HOLY MOTHER of ROSEMARY! DOUBLE FACE PALM! SCREAMS! Only after-shave Kevin in Home Alone could relate to what was happening. Daughter had picked up the bottle of oregano instead of the eucalyptus. Oregano is used to kill fungus and help kick a cold. You can imagine what it did to her face. Visions of lemon oil versus Styrofoam danced in her head. Her first instinct was to wash it off with water – no – wait – oil and water don’t mix. More coconut oil – where’s the Costco-sized bag of avocados? - grab the bottle of olive oil. There’s gotta be an oil for that!

Essential oils are great – but it is essentially imperative that you are careful when using your essential oil of choice. No essential oils? Eat chocolate.