Two Different Oils, Two Different Functions
So this week I was tasked with two things in relation to essential oils, or rather learning about essential oils. One is kind of interesting while the second is kind of gross, but equally as interesting.
So here it is...
Number One-- This week I got an e-mail asking if I would mix up a couple of rollerballs for someone. This isn't uncommon for me and is something that I rather enjoy doing. This person's request was a little bit different though, she wanted an allergy roller and a headache roller; however, she also indicated that she was pregnant, which was something that I hadn't really dealt with before. Let me set the record straight here, I'm twenty-five and I've never been pregnant nor do I plan on being pregnant in the near future. With that being said I can't say I know a tonne about how essential oils should be used while a woman is pregnant. Obviously there has to be care taken, but up until this week I was completely clueless otherwise. So anyways, the number one question I had for myself when I read that she was pregnant was this -- is Peppermint safe to use for pregnant women?-- It may seem like an odd question, but it is a valid one if you know anything about the oil and who should be using it. You see, I read somewhere a while ago that indicated that Peppermint should be avoided for infants and toddlers, and used sparingly on any other child below the age of ten, and since both rollers called for Peppermint. So based on all of that I wasn't sure if it was a safe oil to use during pregnancy. I ended up taking my question and doing a little investigation; I used "The Essential Life", which is a great resource to have if you're an essential oil used. Anyways, I went to the section on pregnancy and instantly found the answer to my question. It turns out that Peppermint is safe to use during pregnancy, but here is the part that I found interesting, once the baby has come and a mother is breastfeeding, Peppermint should be limited during that time, because it can slow milk production in some women. Interesting right?
Number Two -- This week my father was complaining of a corn on his foot. TMI I know, but stick with me. So anyways, He was complaining of this corn and he ended up calling my sister to ask her what he was supposed to do, mostly because I told him he should go to the spa and get his feet done, which he nixed right away. So my sister suggested that he soak his feet and scrub them, and then apply an oil to it. I was a little bit skeptical but I obliged and looked up which oils were good to use on corns, and turns out that there are a lot; in fact there are five that "My Essential Life" suggests including -- Ylang Ylang, Lemon, Clove, and the one that I used, Arborviate. Arborviate is one of several oils that I have in my collection but have yet to truly put to the test so when I saw it and actually looked up the oil I was a little surprised that it was good for fungal problems. I took the oil and put three or four drops into a small dish along with a teaspoon of FCO and I mixed them together. I was a little skeptical as to whether or not it would work, but I gave my dad the mixture so that he could apply it to the problem areas. A day went by and I didn't really give a thought to the events of the night before until my dad asked for more. He told me that it really worked and that he'd like to apply more. I was like really? It actually worked? So there you go, there is one use for Arborviate that I can actually attest to, it's a great oil to get rid of those nasty corns that I'm sure we all have, but we don't like to talk about.
So there are two new things that I learned about essential oils this week. What did you learn from your oils?
Until next time...