One of the areas I have been playing around with lately is essential oils and coming up with different combinations to diffuse in my diffuser.
I came to essential oils in a somewhat shallow way. I enjoy "smelly" things. Particularly scented candles! However, my husband @eulersidentity often complains that my beloved scented candle give him a headache. On a mission to keep things smelling good in my home, I stumbled upon essential oils and the method of diffusing. I figured since these oils were "natural", Norman would be less likely to complain about the scent.
I use this diffuser which I bought off of amazon. It is a diffuser that works with water:
It works really well and is an affordable option for those thinking about getting into diffusing essential oils.
Initially I played around with oil combinations just because I liked the way they smelled, but along the way I started doing more research and experimentation, and found some blends that also have more holistic or healing purposes.
Here are some of my favorite combinations and what I use them for.
Cedarwood and Lavender
Ok so this smells amazing, think woodsy with a bit of that floral lavender creeping in. However, this one has some serious power as a sedative. If you are feeling stressed, want to relax, or are looking for a good essential oil combination to diffuse before bedtime, this is a great option. I use about three drops cedarwood (it is strong) and four drops lavender.
You can read more about the benefits of cedarwood here:
https://doterra.com/US/en/blog/spotlight-cedarwood-oil
Lavender, Rosemary, and Lemon
As you can tell, I am really into lavender! Honestly, it smells so nice and fresh, and Norman enjoys it too, so I diffuse it a lot. I like to use this blend as a room deodorizer. It is a really refreshing and clean herbal scent and the lemon adds that nice hint of brightness as well. Rosemary is very good for the respiratory tract, so I like to think of this blend as "cleaning" the air vs. masking unsavory smells.
For this blend, I typically do 2 drops rosemary, 3 drops lavender, 3 drops lemon.
You can read more about the benefits of rosemary here: https://doterra.com/US/en/blog/spotlight-rosemary-oil
Eucalyptus and Peppermint
Ok. During the month of Mid-May/Early-June, I gave up drinking, but that is a different story for a different day. Early June I ran a 10K and then went house hunting with my husband and mother in tow. I was incredibly stressed from the house hunting experience and decided to have a glass of wine afterwards to calm my nerves. Well, it turns out not drinking for a month, undergoing physical and emotional stress, and then downing a glass of wine in a matter of seconds is not a good idea. I wound up with a RAGING headache.
Most normal people would take Advil to alleviate the headache (which I did); however, about six months ago I bought two giant bottles of Advil on super sale thinking I was getting a good deal. Turns out, the joke was on me because the Advil was going to expire in three months, and as my engineering husband so astutely pointed out, no two humans can consume 1,000 Advil within the time span of three months. So here I am with a horrible tension headache, expired Advil, and no hope for relief...until it dawned on me...essential oils! After some quick research on the interwebs I discovered that a lot of oils can help with headaches: peppermint, lavender (see this guy is good for everything) and eucalyptus among them.
I whipped out my diffuser and dropped in four drops peppermint and three drops eucalyptus. Within thirty minutes my tension headache was gone--expired Advil be damned!
You can read more about eucalyptus here: https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/essential-oils/health-benefits-of-eucalyptus-essential-oil.html
Last but not least, I leave you with an essential oil which you can certainly blend, but that I have been using on its own quite often recently.
Bergamot
This essential oil has a citrusy and woodsy smell. It blends well with citrus essential oils like lemon and lime. I use this oil for stress relief. The more I write this post, the more I realize I sound like I am stressed out most of the time. While not exactly the case, I do become stressed or anxious fairly easily, so hey, that's why I diffuse oils right?
You can read more about bergamot here: https://doterra.com/US/en/p/bergamot-oil
I am always on the quest to find new essential oils to use! What is your favorite essential oil or essential oil blend ? How and why do you use essential oils? Share YOUR knowledge with me in the comments section below.