What are your favorite oils?

[MamaSam]

Brand and oil? I'm thinking of getting tea tree,lavender, and peppermint at least,but what brand?

[sweetpeas]

I like Mountain Rose Herbs, but if I need something asap I get Aura Cacia or another brand whose name escapes me, that the nearest health food store sells.

The 3 you mentioned are a good starting point What are you wanting to do with oils? That's been my approach . . . when I have a specific use for an oil, I buy it, over time my collection has grown

[MamaSam]

I'm wanting oils good for several things..not something we'll never use..burns,cuts,scrapes,colds,etc..

[sunflowermom]

I'm new to young living, but so far I really like peace & calming and lavender.

[MidnightCafe]

We use peppermint, eucalyptus and rosemary all for colds - in an infuser, in the bath or diluted in a chest rub. Diluted clove for mosquito bites. Frankincense in an infuser for purifying the air. Sandalwood for things that might scar. Ylang-ylang to make me happy... I am allergic to lavender or I'd probably use it for everything!

I buy Veraditas because it's local. Or I buy Aura Cacia or Wyndmere. I am not convinced that there is anything all that special about the super expensive brands, and I've done an awful lot of reading. (No tomatoes, please. It's just my personal opinion.)

[november]

I have been using Butterfly Express for a year and a half and have no complaints. Their oils work very well for me and fit within my budget. The oils I use most are Deliverance (aka Thieves), peppermint, lavender, tea tree oil, and lemon.

[Hannah Elise]

Frankincense is probably my favorite, simply because of the gains we saw in ds1's speech when we started using it with him.

I love Valor blend, but I've been out of that for a while. Such a stress-reliever for me (especially diluted in epsomnsalts in a bath)

Ummm... I keep a roller of Stress Away blend on the kitchen windowsill for those rough days when I can feel myself getting all tense.

I combine Lavender, Joy blend, and Peace & Calming blend in an old bottle and keep it handy to apply during meltdowns. It's not, like, some instantaneous thing, but it -does- bring him "back to himself" (aka, out of cortisol-driven fight-or-flight mode) sooner than when we don't apply it.

Thieves blend for when we are fighting something and/or will be traveling, etc, and coming in contact with who knows what. Planning on using it when ds1;starts preschool, too. Wish I had known about it back when I used to work in preschool, actually.

Also, peppermint topically during migraines for some pain relief.

---------- Post added at 10:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:50 AM ----------

Originally Posted by sweetpeas

The 3 you mentioned are a good starting point What are you wanting to do with oils? That's been my approach . . . when I have a specific use for an oil, I buy it, over time my collection has grown

.
What she said. I started out with Young Living's premium starter kit, because it had many I was interested in (frankincense, Peace and Calming, Thieves, lavender, peppermint) and came with a diffuser. Found that other oils in the kit had uses for us, too (Valor and Joy), with Ash's behaviors as well as for things like repelling ticks (Purification). It also started me out as a distributor, though admittedly, things have been so crazy over the past couple of months with early pregnancy that I haven't put much time into that.

But yeah, figuring out your focus andnadding things from there is a great strategy. We've mainly replaced the starter kit oils as we've run out, and also added some oils that are focused on helping with ds1's autism (cedarwood and copaiba). But helping ds1, and boosting ournown immunr systems, has been our major focus.

[Soliloquy]

I have found so many uses for frankincense---bee stings, sprains, infections, etc. I got a free bottle from doTerra. I get lavender oil from a local lady that grows tons and tons of lavender and distills her own oil. My other oils are either doTerra, Young Living, or Be Young. (Aura Cacia has given me headaches so I avoid them.)

[Virginia]

Lavender- for our diffuser. And in a bath with epsom salts.
Tea tree oil- can be used for homemade cleaners or in your shampoo or on your skin (diluted)
Lemon- can be diluted and ingested for multiple health benefits
Peppermint- for headaches (it works wonders for me) and nausea

Those are the four I have right now. I'm an EO newbie

[Soliloquy]

Oh yes, peppermint for headaches/migraines!

I buy a roll-on from doTerra, it's called Past Tense. It stops my headaches right away. And I've been getting them less frequently since I started using it.

[RealLifeMama]

For the OP- I use those three and would definitely add eucalyptus to the list for sure if you plan to use them for colds or stuffy noses.
The other one I use a lot is sweet orange. For over a decade, I have made my own all purpose cleaner with TTO, Lavender, and Orange oil.

Other posters...
What do you use to diffuse them?
Do you use them straight or dilute them when you put them on skin?

[MidnightCafe]

I use an old-fashioned soapstone diffuser, the kind with a bowl shaped top & a tea light candle underneath. I would like a fancier diffuser, but they're too far outside my budget right now. I *do* love the one I have, but it doesn't do as well as an electric diffuser would.

Most essential oils should not be used directly on the skin without dilution. I dilute with sweet almond or coconut oil because that's what I have on hand.

[Virginia]

I have a fan that I bought at Whole Foods. You put a few drops of EO on a cotton square and put it inside the fan- it reminds me of those Glade air fresheners you plug in to the wall, except it's not all toxic and stuff

Dilute before putting on skin. Except peppermint; I have done straight on my temples, but just one drop of oil. You don't need a lot, ime.

[MidnightCafe]

Word of caution: Peppermint Oil directly on your body can also have the opposite effect of helping a headache and can CAUSE a massive headache if you are sensitive.

[Soliloquy]

Past Tense doesn't help my 10 yo. It does help me and my DH. It's very true that it's not across-the-board helpful.

I just found this recipe for homemade hairspray. I will probably just use lavender and rosemary oil. I love geranium oil but don't have any extra $ right now. Clary Sage is supposed to be good for menopausal stuff so I should put that one on my list.

http://doterrablog.com/diy-herbal-hairspray/