Frankincense, A Biblical Oil

We are all familiar with the story in the Bible of the wise men bringing a gift of Frankincense and Myrrh to the baby Jesus, but we may not understand the real value of their gift until we begin to understand the power of essential oils. Perhaps the most precious of the ancient oils was Frankincense. Frankincense, Sandalwood, Myrrh, and Cinnamon were considered very valuable cargo along caravan trade routes and were often valued more than gold. The natural aromatic compounds found in the seeds, bark, stems, roots, flowers and other parts of plants are fifty to seventy times more potent than herbs. For instance one drop of Peppermint essential oil is more powerful than twenty-eight cups of peppermint tea. Throughout history essential oils have been known for their medicinal and therapeutic benefits.

Frankincense has been proven to be effective when used topically, internally, and aromatically.

1.  Some ways to use it:

• Combine frankincense with Soothing Blend or Marjoram to help reduce muscle, joint, and bone pain. Massage two drops of each with fractionated coconut oil into the large joints like the knee and the shoulder. Half the dose for smaller joints. Reapply as needed.

• Place one to two drops of Frankincense under the tongue 1 to 2x daily for overall health.

• Oil pulling with Frankincense will help reduce gum disease and slow gum recession. Add one drop each of Frankincense and Protective Blend or Melaleuca to 1 to 2 tablespoons of fractionated coconut oil. Swish for 20 minutes, spit into garbage, and brush teeth!

• Minimize the pain of headaches by placing one drop of Frankincense on the pad of the thumb, pressing the oil on the roof of the mouth for several seconds.

• For restless legs, apply two drops of Frankincense with carrier oil to the bottom of each foot and massage.

2.  Frankincense is beneficial for various skin conditions including the lessening of wrinkles and the reduction of age spots.

• Apply Frankincense neat (undiluted) to help uneven skin tone.

• Add a drop of Frankincense to your moisturizer.

• Apply undiluted to acne or breakouts.

• Apply with a little fractionated coconut oil to wounds to reduce scarring.  It is also great for stretch marks while pregnant!

3.  Frankincense helps on a daily basis.

• Apply to the temples for stress relief.

• Apply to the brain stem and neck 2x daily to help lift your mood.

• Add Frankincense along with the respiratory blend and massage on chest and throat respiratory support.

Add Frankincense to any essential oil to enhance that oil's properties.  Think of it as "the kicking it up a notch" essential oil.

5 Tips to Getting Started

Often when people get interested in essential oils, they are not quite sure where to begin.  There are numerous oils and countless ways to use them.  Fortunately, Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade essential oils are safe so diving right in and figuring out as you go works well.  That is what I did along with many of my friends.  However, it would have been nice to have a little more guidance at the beginning.  Here is a simple list of tips that I wish I would have had:

1.  Less More Often

One of the common sayings that essential oil users like repeating is "Less More Often."  Perhaps this saying should be used when it comes to many aspects of your health. If you are training for a marathon, would you run 20 miles one day in the month and sit on the coach the rest of the month? - No. Would you swallow a whole bottle of vitamins in one day? - No.

I find that a drop or two of lemon oil in my water everyday does wonders for me. If I feel a scratchy throat or something coming on, I might blast it with a drop of oil (Melalueca, Clove, or Lemongrass) every 15 minutes or half hour for a few hours and then back off to a couple of times a day. I certainly would not empty an entire bottle in a few minutes.

2.Carrier Oils 

Carrier oils are useful when working with essential oils because most of the time oils should be diluted. Essential oils are quite powerful/potent. Some are even considered "hot" like oregano or tingly like peppermint. If you ever apply an oil and feel like it is too strong, quickly slather a carrier oil on top. Do not try to wash it off with water. Oil and water don't mix, right? Carrier oils do not lessen the effects of the essential oils. They actually assist in the absorption of the therapeutic properties and diminish evaporation of the essential oils.

Carrier Oils include coconut oil as well as fractionated coconut oil (liquid coconut oil), grapeseed oil, jojoba oil, olive oil, and safflower oil.  These can be picked up at a local grocery store.  I would have to recommend coconut oil (solid and/or liquid).  This oil is mild enough to use around your eyes.  Plus, it has many beneficial properties by itself and has a long shelf life.  A few of the other oils on the list can go rancid.

3. Information Resources 

There are many resources to learn about oils.  Besides this blog (of course), I recommend:

Dr. Axe
Healing Our Homes
Little Blog Cabin

Those sites are great to get you started.  In the future, you'll probably want to purchase the Modern Essentials Book, Emotions and Essential Oils Book, the Essential Life, and possibly the app (Android or Apple).

4. Additional Supplies 

When you get started, you hear about making cleaning supplies, roller-bottles, health sprays, lip balms, and just about anything. You also see little sample bottles with stickers on top. It is fun to share oils, but you might not know where to get these supplies. For your first time trying something, you might want to head to a store like Sprouts. You can get individual roller bottles and spray bottles there.  If you like making the blends and happen to find millions of recipes on Pinterest and all over the internet, then you'll want a cheaper place that sells them in a pack.  Here are a few websites you can order from:

AromaTools
My Oil Business
Wholesale Supplies Plus
Amazon Supplies

5. Avoid Plastic

Because essential oils are very powerful, they tend to disintegrate synthetic materials like plastic and especially Styrofoam. Unless you are doing a science experiment, you should keep oils away from these materials. That includes drinking a drop of lemon or wild orange in a plastic water bottle or cup.  Glass or stainless steel work much better with essential oils. I added links to the ones at AromaTools, but I have seen similar ones at Target or various other stores around town.    

I hope this list helps you as much as I am sure it would have helped me. Please feel free to email me if you have any other questions: frecklefacegirl01@hotmail.com.

Oil Pulling for Beautiful Teeth

My friend, Tiffany, who introduced me to essential oils, is a huge fan of oil pulling and loves to get other people to try it. You might have heard about oil pulling before. It seems to be popping up everywhere, like here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNnOqbUSViA
WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/features/oil-pulling
PubMed: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18408265

There are plenty of more places like blogs, fashion magazines, and holistic websites, but I thought I'd link some of the more mainstream websites. I have read quite a few articles about it. The most positive sites claim that oil pulling can rebuild cavities or completely improve your overall health.  The PubMed site refers to a study saying that oil pulling reduces Streptococcus mutans, which causes cavities and is linked to heart disease.  

I am pretty sure Tiffany does it almost every day and she feels it is worth it. My mom has a friend who lives near us that swears by it too. Over a year ago, she was visiting her daughter overseas when she suddenly experienced a horrible toothache. Not wanting to find a dentist there, her daughter googled holistic remedies. Oil pulling came up and she gave it a try.  Her toothache stopped being painful and she has been hooked ever since. She told us that it has helped her in many ways including giving her amazing relief of her horrible dry mouth. Her problem sounded quite severe.

When I've done it on a regular basis I had random people compliment me on my white teeth.  How often does that happen? Apparently more when you are oil pulling.

Trying oil pulling is rather simple, you don't need anything special just one of these oils:

sunfloweroil
sesame oil
coconut oil

I happen to prefer coconut oil even though in the cooler months it has to melt in your mouth before you can swish. I also like to add a drop of essential oils mostly for taste enhancement, but they have therapeutic benefits as well.  I like peppermint and Protective Blend. After swishing for 10 to 20 minutes, I spit it into a paper cup and throw it away. Next, I brush my teeth and that's it.  My friend often does her oil pulling in the shower to knock it out while she is busy doing something else.  20 minutes of oil pulling does seem long if you aren't distracted.

Hidden Freckles

It is no secret that I have freckles. In fact, there are many people at my family reunions with freckles. I have gotten use to them over the years and have even grown to appreciate them. I realize, however, that it is a visual sign of sun damage. The video above shows that people often have sun damage that they aren't even aware of. Sun block is great for preventing future damage, but what about what has already occurred? I'm sure it is no surprise to anyone who is learning about oils, that there are oils to support healthy skin! Here are the a few of main oils that seem to make a difference for me:

Geranium
Lavender
Frankincense