New to Essential Oils?

Are you new to essential oils? So am I! Let's begin this journey together, shall we?

I first got into essential oil as my little boy had just started daycare and was constantly getting sick. I read somewhere that diffusing certain oils could help boost his immune system so I thought, why not give this a try? The doctors couldn't do anything to help as they said his immune system just needed to adapt on its own and eventually he would stop getting sick. As every mom would know, it's really hard to see your little one suffer without doing everything you can to make it better. Enter essential oils.

What do you actually need? Well for me a diffuser is a must. I personally use a Doter one, although I am currently on the lookout for another diffuser - preferably one that is quite small and has an intermittent setting so that I can have one in my bedroom and one in E's bedroom.

I also have a couple of diffusing jewellery bits from Lava Essentials, namely their Dainty Triple Lava Minimalist Essential Oil Diffuser Bracelet, in gold, and their Lava Pendant Minimalist Single Lava Bead Essential Oil Diffuser Necklace, also in gold. These have allowed me to diffuse my oils at work without bothering anyone as I work in an open plan office.

Next on my list from Lava Essentials is their Boho Carrying Case for Essential Oils. This isn't a must have as such, but as my oil collection grows, I think that having a bag that can hold all or most of my oils will make it easier to store and carry the oils around from room to room. I also have my eye on a couple bags from Etsy - mostly ones to carry the oils with me to work - I'm trying to decide if I need a bag for just a couple of oils or if I need a bigger bag to carry more with me everyday.

As most people probably do, I started with Doterra oils. The ones I got are On Guard, Easy Air and Smart and Sassy. 

On Guard is Doterra's immune system boosting blend .and part of their Protective Blends It contains Wild Orange Peel Oil, Clove Bud Oil, Cinnamon Bark Oil, Eucalyptus Leaf Oil and Rosemary Leaf Oil. If you sniff this oil straight from the bottle, be warned - it stinks. It really truly stinks. i don't know what it is, some say it's the Clove Bud Oil, but I'm no expert so I don't know. But please, don't let that put you off, like it almost did me. Once you diffuse this, the smell gets a lot better. It even becomes pleasant after a while. This blend has definitely been helping E with his colds. He hasn't been getting them as often anymore which is fabulous!

Next is Easy Air, part of their Clear Blends. I got this one to help ease E's breathing when he has a cold and I have to say that it has been working pretty good. It contains Laurel Leaf Oil, Eucalyptus Leaf Oil, Peppermint Oil, Tea Tree Leaf Oil, Lemon Peel Oil, Cardamon Seed Oil, Ravintsara Leaf Oil and Ravensara Leaf Oil.

Smart and Sassy, part of the Active Blends, was a bit of an impulse purchase and I haven't really used it all that much. All I can say is that it does smell nice.

Although Doterra advises that their oil is suitable for consumption, I have read too many articles stating the opposite that I am not game to try that. Not on my 14 month old, not on myself. If I were to ever consider this, I would first seek advice from a doctor, and so should you. 

After purchasing these 3 oils and the Doterra diffuser, I became hooked.  Unfortunately, this can be quite a costly addiction so I researched to see if I could find cheaper alternatives to Doterra oils and lucky for me I did! Eden's Garden is another well-known company that makes essential oils and they are a lot more affordable. Don't let the cheaper price tag fool you though. The quality is just as good as Doterra Oils. I won't get into why I think the price varies so much - I'll let you do your own research on that, but just know that the quality is equal to Doterra.

I was a bit overwhelmed the first time I placed an order from Edens Garden. There are so many oils to choose from! They have single oils, blends, roll-ons and oils that are suitable for kids. After much time spent on their website analysing all the oils, I decided to purchase the Create your own 12 set of oils. It was for me, the most value for money. In this order, I got a mix of 6 blends and 6 single oils. The 6 blends were the Healthy Hero and Sniffles and Sneezes blends from the OK for Kids range, Head Ease, Cleaning, Fighting Five and Immunity. The single oils were Lemon, Spike Lavender, Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Sweet Orange, and Tea Tree. I think that this was a good mix to get started. I also got the car diffuser and use the Healthy Hero blend in that one when travelling. 

I have to say that I was quite happy with my order and the customer service at Edens Garden is fantastic. I was so happy with them in fact, that I placed another order a couple of weeks later. I will not list everything I got, but rather I'll put a picture below. This time I was looking at getting some oils that would help the house smell like autumn and winter as it is that time of year here in Australia. 

Next on my list to try are the roller-ons. I'd love to give that a go. I haven't been quite game to make my own mix for topical use so it would be great to try these ones where all the maths has already been done for you!

Are all these oils necessary? Certainly not. But just know that once you start with oils, you will find it really hard to stop - it is really addictive! I have also been slowly reading up on essential oils and their uses and once I know more about this, I will write a post about what essential oils you absolutely need and how to use them, as well as the best books on essential oils I have found. So keep an eye out for more essential oil posts in the future.