Wonderful White Fir

This week in our EO spotlight, we're looking at white fir. I hope you're enjoying these posts as much as I am, they remind me of all the great uses for my stash of oils.

Scientific name: Abies alba

Common extraction methods: steam distilled from needles

Properties: Anti-arthritic, anti-catarrhal (inflammation of mucous membranes), antiseptic (pulmonary), expectorant, stimulant, and analgesic (painkiller).

A Look at Clove Essential Oil

For our EO spotlight this week, let's take a look at clove.

Scientific name: Eugenia caryophyllata

Common extraction methods: steam distilled from bud and stem

Properties: Anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-infectious, anti-inflammatory, anti-parasitic, antiseptic (strong), disinfectant, analgesic (painkiller), immune stimulant, antioxidant, anti-tumor, antiviral.

Applications: Dilute this oil before topical use; I recommend a 2% dilution for adults (10-12 drops per 1 oz carrier oil) and a 1% dilution for children (5-6 drops per 1 oz carrier oil). Diffuse.

All Purpose Healing Balm

As you probably know, I love the All-Purpose Salve That Solves it All. I am also very fond of the All-Purpose Healing Stick. Recently, I sent my brother a 5mL roller bottle of the healing stick and his response was, "Can you make me something more like a paste or cream?" Although he liked the idea, the healing stick is wet and can drip (but in my opinion evaporates quickly). 

So for weeks I've been thinking about how to make something more like an over-the-counter first aid cream. Then one day it hit me and I had that wonderful "light bulb" moment. I decided to combine two of my favorite things - the above mentioned Salve That Solves it All and my lip balm recipe, affectionately called Kweli Kisses.  Voila! 

September is National Preparedness Month

A friend mentioned that September is National Preparedness Month and that got me thinking..."How prepared am I?" The answer is, not very. I figured, if I'm not that prepared, it is likely that others aren't as well. So I thought, maybe we should get prepared together!

My cousin, Jen, is prepared. I like to tease her about being a prepper. I also joke that if there's a nuclear winter or a zombie attack, I'm too much of a wimp to want to stay alive. Jen was kind enough to offer some tips from her personal experience to help us all get prepared (or as I like to call it, "prepped"). Here's what she had to say: 

Practical Peppermint

Back to our EO spotlight...Today let's look at peppermint. To me, this is a very strong smelling EO and I find that it overpowers other EOs when mixed into a blend. So, as a word of caution, make sure you take that into account when measuring prior to blending EOs. But, on the upside it is an invigorating oil and is a great one to wake up your senses.

Scents of the Season

Fall is my favorite season! 

Having said that, I'm not ready to give up summer just yet. We've still got a good two weeks left before the autumnal equinox. Officially that's September 22 at 4:44 pm per the Farmer's Almanac - since I was born at around 1:00 pm, I'm still a summer baby. To enjoy the last few weeks of summer and get you ready for fall, I wanted to share my favorite scents of the season.

Getting Back to School with Essential Oils

I love back to school time. Pencils, blank notebooks, ruled paper, paste....ah, the memories. While I haven't been in school in over a decade and we (the hubs and I) aren't sending any wee ones off to school, I know many of you are getting ready to or have already started the school supply preparations. In further preparation, I wanted to provide ways essential oils can fit into your back to school needs. I searched high and low - online and through my blogger friends' posts - to find you some great resources for getting back to school with essential oils. 

Here's what I found: