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Essential Oils
We use essential oils, in some way, almost every day. We use them in the shower or bath, when we are cleaning, to add a great scent in and around us, and more! Essential oils are natural and a great source of benefits both physically and mentally. We love using them for simple remedies, muscle aches, clean counters and furniture and also for putting a smile on our faces. There is a lot of information out there, but I’m hoping this will simplify essential oils for you and give you an idea of how you can incorporate them into your home and lifestyle. Let’s take a look at the extreme basics of essential oils.
What are essential oils?
Essentials oil are an extracted product from a plant or tree. The oils that come from these plants give the scent, or essence, of the plant. These scents have healing properties for both your mental and physical states. These oils can be produced through distillation, expression or cold pressing. Distilling happens when you heat up the liquid you are working with to make steam. The steam vapor can be collected and used after the original matter is evaporated. Want an easy way to try this? Try distilling your own water instead of buying it in the plastic gallons at the store! (Note to self for future DIY Project!!) We hope to one day have a still so that we can distill many of our own essential oils down the road. Definitely a wish list item for us!
Benefits of Essential Oils
Essential oils are used to treat everything from anxiety and stress to headaches. They are used to aid in digestion and help to boost energy levels. Here at Tin Box we use Eucalyptus often to help ease muscle aches, peppermint for congestion, vanilla and lavender for helping us rest, lemon for cleaning and many mixtures of scents for different purposes. We recommend pinpointing your symptom or challenge and doing a little research about which oil is right for you. Have questions about what might work for you? Just ask! We love to see your comments and questions and are happy to help. Comment below or on social media and we will help you find something perfect for yourself.
How to Use Essential Oils
There are many ways to use these essential oils. Aromatherapy, applying topically or by ingesting are all ways to enjoy and attain the benefits of these amazing oils. Aromatherapy is inhaling the scents. You can use a diffuser or humidifier to accomplish aromatherapy. Applying essential oils to your skin is something I would recommend researching before actually doing it. Some essential oils are not appropriate for direct contact with skin, but those that are should be diluted with a carrier oil before applying. Ingesting oils is another thing to look into before taking these oils into your body. It is best to know what you are looking to accomplish before starting a regimen of any kind. For internal use apply a couple of drops to a glass of water, apple cider vinegar or put a drop under your tongue. The research part of this may sound a bit scary, but it is as simple as asking your doctor or just googling it. Just make sure you are using a reputable source for your questions.
What to Look for
If you are using essential oils at home for just small purposes here and there, I would recommend Wholesale Botanics or Young Living.
We use such a high quantity of essential oils that we must buy them in very large quantities to keep up with the demand. We look for oils that are pure and do not have any synthetic oil or additives. We will not use oils that have chemicals in them and we look for brands with good reputations for quality products. It is important for us to make and sell the best we possibly can and we do the research to make sure we get you a quality product.
Tin Box products that use essential oils are: Shower melts, bath bombs, scrubs, salts, DIY how-tos on our blog and more. We have plans for new products down the road and plan to incorporate essential oils where we can.
So what do you think? This guide to the extreme basics of essential oils will be enough to get you started and we can’t wait to hear what you think and how you use your oils! Let us know as you move forward what works for you and what doesn’t. As always, ask questions and continue learning along with us here at Tin Box.
Thank you for reading, Beth