Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Alchemists; making potions since 1600.

So last summer there was a class at the yoga studio on using essential oils. I went to it with a couple of friends, Shelley and Paula, and it turns out that Shelley knew all about using essential oils because her daughter uses some to manage her son's asthma.

I had no knowledge of oils at all, but it was very fascinating, and I started buying bottles of oil for my own use as I learned more about their uses.

One of the first ones I used was called Calming the Child, and it's still one of our family favorites. It smells fantastic and we use it to help keep Hurricane Maddy down to a dull roar.

Then a couple of months ago, I found out that my niece, Jenna, is a dealer for Doterra essential oils, and wow, I have been having so much fun since then! She knows how to use oils to treat minor medical problems, and she's been a great resource! She has a blog here, if you want to see some of the things she is talking about. She's the one I call when I need to know how to treat something!

So I've stepped up my use of essential oils for health and well-being, and you know what the funnest part is? Mixing up blends of oils to treat things like colds and rashes. I got so excited last night when I was looking for a bottle to mix up a blend to treat the eczema spots that I have behind both ears!

I needed a bottle to put my 'potion' in, and I found a plastic squeeze bottle in the kitchen cabinet where I stash medicines like Advil and Neosporin, you know, the stuff you need sometimes and you just keep it in a cupboard so you can get to it.

The bottle originally contained calamine lotion, and it had an expiration date of May, 1996! So I didn't feel bad about pouring it down the drain and rinsing the bottle. I washed it out thoroughly, and then I mixed up my potion and labeled the bottle. (It was a recipe that I found on someone else's blog, but sometimes I find them on Pinterest, too!)

I took a picture of the eczema spot that Kim has on her back before I started treating it last night with my potion, and if it starts showing improvement, I'll post pictures!