Living with autoimmune disease and hormonal syndrome takes a lot of work, and I am thankful for a mostly positive outlook. And as a helper type person, I look to help others while leaving my oxygen mask dangling. So, with each entry, I try to move the needle of thinking of how to care for myself better a little more without seeing it as selfish. But unfortunately, my spirit was parched, so I signed up for a women’s retreat.
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I hesitated to do it, but I needed to feel better! My energy and stamina were slowly robbed, and feeling sluggish had become a normal feeling. Even after resting for over a year and letting knee injuries heal, I knew I had to seek help beyond the traditional medicine I had been relying on for years. I was barely making it through the day without a long nap.
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We hear the news-- the numbers of daily cases have doubled, and it's October. Some kids are back in school and more are returning. Parents are discussing whether or not to allow their children to go house to house for candy. And the family Thanksgiving tradition is not the same without everyone around the table, so who's coming?
How do we stay healthy from viruses and air-born diseases when we are supposed to self distance ourselves? Can we afford to gather with others yet?
One proactive thing we can do now is build up our natural defenses instead of depleting them. Here are ten ideas:
Crafting is therapeutic and can give you a sense of accomplishment. Who doesn't need that in their life right now? I've collected and created five Do It Yourself Fall projects to give you a sense of control over something with a wonderful gift for yourself at the end. Some recipes are quick and some take a bit more effort and time. Pick one or all five FALL recipes to make for yourself or gift to a friend. Whether it's to pamper your skin, save time diffusing, making a perfume that inspires you, a bath scoop (bomb) that helps you relax after a hard day, and a face mask spray that uplifts and sanitizes to keep you safer. With a bit of planning, you can create many things with these recipes and become a gifter extraordinaire.
The time it takes to complete each product varies but is not long and making sure you have the ingredients is the most mental work. It may seem expensive at first to make all these, but once you have the supplies, you can repeat these recipes many times and they will provide dozens of gifts for your friends or oil team! You can change the oils for the seasons too. To make things easier, there is a comprehensive list of ingredients and supplies at the end of this article.
Here are the recipes and directions for each autumn inspired project. Happy crafting!
MONDAY
Diffuser Bomb
Recipe "Pumkin Pie"
In a 2 oz labeled dropper bottle add the following Young Living essential oils and swirl:
20 Cardamom
10 Orange
10 Cinnamon Bark
10 Clove
After you fill your clean ultrasonic diffuser with the proper amount of water per manufacturer directions, add a portion of of the premixed oils and diffuse. You can vary the amount to your preference that day, so start with less to add more as you desire. It should last about a week diffusing on your lowest diffuser setting and using it once a day. Feel free to mix a larger batch if you love the aroma and want to diffuser more than once a day.
TUESDAY
Pumpkin Face Mask
This cool fruit mask brightens, tightens, and tones your face and smells divine.
2 T canned organic pumpkin puree
2 t honey
1 egg
3 drops Young Living Frankincense essential oil Beat the egg in a small bow.
Add the pumpkin puree and mix well. Add the honey and Frankincense and stir well. Use a fan brush (or your fingers) to apply the mixture all over your face, avoiding the eye area. Let it sit for 20 minutes and do something quiet. Rinse and notice the glow on your skin!
Store leftovers in fridge for up to 3 days. Since this mask exfoliates your skin, don't use more than once a week. You can freeze the leftover pumpkin puree in ice cube trays. Once the pumpkin is frozen, pop them out and store in a freezer container. Thaw 2 cubes in the fridge overnight to use the next day for that glowing appearance.
WEDNESDAY
Perfume Roll-On
I recommend using tree oils to help create a calming perfume. The Japanese take Forest Bathing seriously, since walking in a tree filled area is soothing to the psyche.
In a 10 ml glass roller bottle, add
5 drops Young Living Northern Lights Black Spruce
5 drops Idaho Grand Fir
Carrier oil (like Fractionated Coconut or Grapeseed Oil, see explanation chart in previous post)
Roll perfume on your pulse points (Pulse points are located on your wrist, behind the ears, at the bottom of the throat, the inside of the elbows or behind the knees. They are the warm areas because of how close the blood pumps near the skin's surface, therefore making an ideal area to apply perfume. ) Reapply every 3-4 hours as desired.
THURSDAY
Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) Bubble Bath Scoops
- 1.25 C Baking Soda (aluminum free)
- 1 C Citric Adic
- .5 C SLSA
- .25 C Pumpkin Powder
- .25 C Milk Powder
- .5 t Orange Mica
- 1C Cacao Butter
- 1 t Polysorbate 80 or PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate
- 40 drops Young Living Cinnamon Bark Essential Oil
- 1 pipette Clear, Pure Vanilla (I recommend this one, which lasts a long time and can be used for baking.)
- 15 drops Young Living Nutmeg Essential Oil
- 10 drops Young Living Ginger Essential Oil
Sift dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Whisk slowly until the ingredients are combined. You may want to wear a face mask to mix with the SLSA being a very fine powder. Melt cocoa butter in microwave for 20-30 seconds and stir (add increments of 10 seconds and stir until completely melted), then set aside for 10 minutes. Stir Polysorbate 80 and essential oils into cocoa butter.
Pour melted oil mixture over the dry ingredients and knead with vinyl gloved hands. It should feel like cookie dough.
Pack and press mixture tightly into the scoop, flattening the back side of the truffle. Release the truffle onto a lined tray. Place the remaining 11 scoops on the tray with space between them to help the drying process. Leave truffle scoops to dry for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight. Oil safety: cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger are not suitable for sensitive skin, kids under 10 and not safe during pregnancy.
FRIDAY
Face Mask Sani-Spray
This recipe is both aromatherapy and cleanser for re-wearable cloth masks between thorough washings. Bonus fact: Thieves oil is also an immune booster!
10 drops Young Living Thieves Essential Oil
10 drops Orange Essential Oil
Mix oils in a 2 ox Spray Bottle with 2 T 60% isopropyl alcohol or higher, fill with filtered water. Spray 2"-4" away from face mask (not on face) on both sides. Let dry for 1 minute before donning mask.
Feel free to comment below or share your DIY handy work using these ideas on social media, tag me so I will see it @shawnsoilytestimonies. Here's to a crafty and great smelling FALL!
Comprehensive Ingredient List for all recipes:
Young Living Essential Oils-
Cardamom
Orange
Cinnamon Bark
Clove
Nutmeg
Ginger
Thieves
Frankincense
Northern Lights Black Spruce
Idaho Grand Fir
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Carrier oil (Fractionated Coconut or Grapeseed)
Baking Soda (aluminum free)
Citric Acid
SLSA
Pumpkin Powder
Milk Powder
Orange Mica
Cacao Butter
Canned Organic Pumpkin Puree
Honey (raw, if possible)
1 egg
Polysorbate 80 or PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate
Clear, Pure Vanilla (I recommend this one, which lasts a long time and can be used for baking.)
60% or higher Isopropyl Alcohol
Comprehensive Supply List:
Kitchen supplies (mixing bowls, spoons, flour sifter, lined baking tray)
2 oz dropper bottle
10ml glass roller bottle
2 oz glass spray bottle
Makeup fan brush (optional)
Ice cube trays (optional)
Vinyl gloves optional
Sandwich zipper or small cellophane bags
2" x 2" labels (preferrably printable vinyl)
So far, you have a printable Beginner Blending Journal, a set of blending tips using your nose, and some grounding oil blending tips; now I give you tips for therapeutic blending.
Blending oils for the use of physical or emotional support is one of the key reasons I started using Young Living essential oils over 6 years ago. I was gifted a pocket version of the reference book I recommend. You will need to purchase a good essential oil reference guide. I recommend this one. Anyone who signs up with a Premium Starter Kit with me, gets a spiral bound pocket Essential Oils Desk Reference. There is too much information collected on hundreds of oils for anybody to know off the top of their heads.
You have head tension and you want to make an eo rollerball for it. There are lots of oils for this in the reference book, like Peppermint, Aroma Siez & M-Grain by Young Living, Rosemary and even the YL Roller "Deep Relief." Since it only takes a several drops of eo in a carrier, this makes your oils go further and more cost effetive!
So, you put the top two single eos for this recipe in a 10 ml roller with the carrier oil of your choice. Only make a half recipe to use at first.
So, I'd put 2 drops of Peppermint and Rosemary into a roller with fractionated coconut oil. Roll it on the troublesome area and wait to see if it works. If it does, you are golden! Sometimes you can roll it on a different place, like the back of your neck for head tension, read the recommendations in the reference book.
Here are the oils you can use for dilution, called carrier oils.
Carrier Oil | Comes From | Properties/Facts |
Almond | Almond nut | Skin nourishing & soothing Ok for babies & adults Allergic reaction possible |
Avocado | Avocado | Skin nourishing Combines well with other carrier oils |
Coconut | Coconut | Very skin nourishing May cause breakouts FCO-liquid form is fractionated |
Grapeseed | Astringent oil Not used alone as carrier on infants and young children | |
Jojoba | More of a wax in a liquid form Can use in small amounts with other carrier oils Great for scalp and skin softening | |
Olive | Olive fruit | Rejuvenates & nourishes dry skin Strong odor Organic, first cold press, virgin best |
Rose Hip Seed | Only use in very small amounts with other carrier oils Very regenerative, healing oil, useful for scarring and other skin conditions | |
Sesame Seed | Sesame Seeds | Powerful odor, so use in small amounts with other carrier oils |
Sunflower Seed | Sunflower Seed | Minor skin nourishing Strong smell, use in small amounts with other carrier oils |
YL V-6 Vegetable Oil Complex | Great blend of coconut, sesame, grape seed, sweet almond, wheat ger, sunflower and olive oils Allergic reaction possible | |
Wheat germ oil | Very nourishing to skin, hair & scalp Allergic reaction possible |
I used fractionated coconut oil (FCO) the most, then Grapeseed bc it is cheap in the baking aisle. I order FCO on Amazon, you can refer to my Amazon List for specific things I buy.
Be sure to use your printed Beginner EO Blending Journal from my previous blog post as you create these therapeutic blends. Make sure you label your roll-on so you know exactly what it's for.
As you practice the art (and science) of blending essential oils, you will love having grown in skill and having a written record of your progress.
Keep on blending!
If you haven't gotten a good therapeutic oil starter kit yet, I can help you. Check out what I can offer here.
Disclaimer: This article is not meant to aid in curing, diagnosing, or treating.
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