Bug Repellent & Sunburn Spray DIY Recipes

A few weeks ago, Tiffany hosted a make & take class that featured Bug Away Spray and After Sun Spray. She shared the recipes she uses for both. Everyone got a chance to buy the blue bottles and make the items themselves. They were quite a hit and we thought it might be nice to share them on here.

I made labels for the bottles that I decided to share with you for free.  Here are the jpgs:

The best thing to do is to save them to your computer and place an order from Moo.com.  Essential oils aren't particularly friendly with regularly printed labels. This way, you can have high quality stickers with a vinyl coating.  

Happy Easter!

It is a good day to diffuse spring scented oils.  I am using uplifting ones - lemongrass and wild orange.

Essential Oils for Kidney Support

Back in 2003, I started experiencing strange pains in my back. They were easy enough to
ignore, so I did. Not too long after that, I started having sharper pains just below my
stomach on the sides. I remember the time frame, because it started before we came to
Houston for my brother's wedding at Christmas. I mentioned it to my mom. I decided that
it hurt more when I was drinking soda, so I stopped drinking soda.

A month later, the pain increased, so I went to the doctor. He had me pee in a cup. He told
me that nothing was wrong because there were no white blood cells in my urine. I didn't
know what to think about that, so I just left and went about life. Fortunately, the pain didn't
continue hurting too much longer after that.

Fast forward to the spring of 2008. I had a toddler and little baby only a few months old,
when I started having the same pains again. This time, they were MUCH worse. One
Saturday, we went to a party for a friend's son. On the way back, I was in excruciating
pain. I called my mom and she told me that it is probably kidney stones. She told me to
drink lots of water and go to the doctor or hospital. I decided I would call a doctor on
Monday. I am one of those silly people that only go to the doctor if I am on my death bed,
so you can only imagine what it would take to get me to go to the emergency room at
midnight. Apparently, a tiny (4mm) kidney stone will do the trick.

There is a reason that most people compare this pain to giving birth. I had just given birth a
few months before, so it was easy to compare. I can tell you that I would rather give birth
because at least you get something positive out of that agonizing experience. The hospital
gave me a CT scan and a prescription for pain killers. I left the hospital not feeling any
better. Pain killers may be great for someone who feels like they are dying of pain, but not
the best thing for a woman who is nursing a baby. The next few days were less than fun for
me. Trying to pass that huge stone was NOT pleasant. I visited a urologist after that and it
all came down to the fact that I don't drink enough water.

Fast forward again to 2013. Do you see a pattern here? It is not that I wasn't trying to
drink more water. I guess I am just not that successful at it. This time, as soon as the
pains started, I knew exactly what it was. I also knew that if I went to the doctor, I'd most likely be
told to drink lots of water and let it pass. I looked up remedies online and came across the
olive oillemon juice remedy. I put 2 TBS of olive oil and another TBS of lemon juice in a
shot glass and downed it. The pain subsided rather quickly. When it came back, I did it
again.

I also mentioned my kidney pains to a friend, Tiffany. She had recently started
using essential oils and was kind enough to give me my first bottle of lemon oil. She told
me to add a drop or 2 to my water to support my kidneys. Within a few days of doing these 2 things, my pain was gone. I finally felt like I had a good solution.

I guess I have to wait to 2018 to see if the pattern is completely broken, but I am doing my part to support my kidneys in the mean time. I drink lemon oil in my water on a regular basis, which
makes drinking water more appealing.

I have mentioned what I have used and liked. There are other great oils to support kidney function including lemongrass, cinnamon, juniper berry, clary sage, wild orange, rosemary and coriander.

Sourcing Lemongrass Oil

When buying essential oils, I prefer ones that are from the indigenous area. Part of my reasoning has to do with quality and the other has to do with the world economy. This means that I am helping to build an economy often in areas that are struggling. Lemongrass Oil is a great example of this. It comes from Southern India.

Not surprisingly, lemongrass oil has a lemony scent, but you can also detect grass and a slightly bitter essence. Historically, the plant has been used for infectious illnesses, fevers, and as an insecticide. It is very cleansing/detoxifying. I like to add 2 or 3 drops to my bathwater when I want to take a soak.  

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.

Why the Holistic Quest?

Five years ago my daughter, Tiffany, began having unexplained pain in her joints as well as suffering with incredible fatigue.  This began shortly after the birth of her fourth baby.  She could no longer run or exercise and was frustrated with her inability to "keep up."  In a search for answers we began a journey of trying to discover, through the medical profession what might be wrong.  We visited various medical specialists, including a Gynecologist, an Orthopedist, a Rheumatologist, and an Oncologists; none of whom had an answer for her.  For two years, we went from doctor to doctor, but no one could identify her problem.

Finally, we found a doctor who was an amazing diagnostician.  She did blood work that had never been addressed before and ultimately came up with a diagnosis of Lyme Disease.  She prescribed antibiotics, including six weeks of infusions three times a week.  After a year of antibiotic therapy, there was no change for the better in her blood work.  During this year Tiffany did lots of reading and began to make dietary changes and to identify issues associated with depletion of good gut bacteria.  She believed her crucial good bacteria was being destroyed by antibiotics.

We decided she would quit the antibiotics and we would look for another answer. I found a medical doctor who had a more holistic approach for us to consider.  He spoke about a combination of supplements, lifestyle changes, balancing hormones, nutrition deficiency correction, and dietary changes.  He happened to also mention essential oils, explaining that in ten years he felt the use of essential oils would greatly surpass that of western medicine.  He went on to explain why he believed what he had just said.  It was at that moment I believed we had an answer to prayer and something we could do to take the place of the antibiotic therapy that had thus far yielded nothing positive.

It was at this time we began researching essential oils and the companies that sold them.  We were the most excited about what we saw in one brand, and then our real journey began taking us to where we are today.  Tiffany's blood work has continued to improve and her symptoms are diminishing.  As we experiment with alternative solutions for other conditions, we continue to be amazed at their effectiveness.

We have done lots of research into many health promoting practices that strengthen our immune systems. We hope to use this blog to share the things we're learning on this journey towards wellness.