I was talking to a friend about essential oils, thinking she already had a basic knowledge about them. She surprised me by asking, “But what would I use essential oils for?”

I had to smile inside and chuckle a little. She was asking me about essential oils as if they were as useless as moondust. Essential oils can be used for soooo many things. Healing, cleaning, cooking, and grooming are among the things I use them for. I know some people use them for gardening and pet care too. The big plus to using them is that they don’t have any toxins and therefore side effects.  Who knows, maybe some day we will find that they can be used for gasoline!

Well, until then, I will cover what I already know that they can be used for.

Healing

Whatever ailment you have, chances are that an essential oil can help your body cure that ailment. All the OTC drugs, with their nasty side effects, can be replaced by essential oils.

Here are some examples:

• pepto bismol, with its artificial colors, can be replaced with fennel essential oil
• a mentholatum rub, with its toxic ingredient of turpentine, can be replaced with eucalyptus essential oil.
• lavender essential oil can soothe sunburns, burns, rashes, and any skin irritation
• tea tree oil works great to fight yeast infections. If you have ever had a vaginal yeast infection, you have my sympathy. Just dilute with a little coconut oil and put it right where the itching is. You can make “tampons” out of cocoa butter with a few drops of tea tree by scooping out balls, adding the oils, then freezing and then inserting when they get hard.
• lemon, lavender, and peppermint used together can relieve hay fever. Take 2 drops of each every 15 to 20 min.
• peppermint oil is a natural fever reducer

Summer Fun

To relieve bug bites, layer peppermint oil with lavender. The peppermint will take the itch away and the lavender will act as an antihistamine.

Lemon oil is great at removing grease from barbecue grills.

A fun alternative to soda is to add a few drops of lemon oil or other citrus oil to water and stir. Add stevia for sweetness. For the bubbly effect, make homemade kefir soda here. You can find some fantastic flavors from oils to use, like tangerine, lemon, lime, or wild orange. Or make spearmint basil lemonade, found here.

Cleaning

Lemon or tea tree oil diluted in water are great at disinfecting. You can also use lemon, or any citrus oil, to remove Sharpie marker off walls or other hard surfaces!

Grooming

My youngest child is now potty-trained, so I don’t use baby wipes like I used to, but when I did, I loved making homemade baby wipes with lavender and tea tree oil. The recipe for baby wipes and recipes for other personal care items are linked here.

I brush my teeth with baking soda and a drop of peppermint oil. It sure makes holistic toothpaste shopping a lot cheaper and easier.

For toxic-free deodorant, you can a tiny bit of fractionated coconut oil with a drop or two of your favorite essential oil, like tea tree, under your arms. Now you don’t have to find a deodorant free of parabens or aluminum.

I hope that gives you some ideas for nontoxic living! Cancer has risen to epidemic proportions in our society, and I do wonder if it has to do with the increase in man-made chemicals we are bombarded with. I prefer to minimize my exposure to them by using these essential oils.