Living That Oily Life

When you get your starter kit, what do you do with it? Here is how I use each of the oils in the starter kit. There are soooo many other ways, and I can also show you how to get ideas with the resource app I will help you get.

Oils that you get in the starter kit:

1. Copaiba: I use this as a base in my homemade perfume. Smells yummy and I combine it with spruce, tangerine, and vanilla extract (and water and witch hazel. Let me know if you want the recipe or info on how to make your own perfume). Heaven!

2. Thieves: I use this in a roller (I can show you how to make these, it’s easy!) on the bottom of my feet when I feel like I’m getting sick.

3. Lemon: cleans so much. Gets sticky stuff off. I used it to get pitch off my hands! I also used it to clean the spilled mineral makeup that had stained my quartz countertop. It comes off when nothing else worked! Add it to your water for flavor. Diffuse it to smell like sunshine.

4. Peppermint: probably my overall favorite oil, besides valor. I dab it on my head straight when I’m getting a headache. I’m not trying to say this can cure any disease so don’t tell the FDA, but it is very soothing to me and that’s all I’m saying I’m writing. I carry it with me everywhere. I’ve also used a drop in water when I don’t have gum and my breath is gross, or to help settle my stomach.

5. Digize: for stomach issues, just apply topically. The smell of fennel is a little too much for me. But it wooooorks. I made a roller with digize and some peppermint (to distract me from the smell) and it totally works!

6. Citrus Fresh: I diffuse this all the time at work. It’s very calming and helps me feel focused. It’s also the oil that my boss loves the smell of, and since we share an office, this is key!

7. Frankincense: great for skin. I make my own moisturizer with it, but you could also put a few drops in your regular moisturizer. I’ve used it in bath salts. It has a rich scent, it could also be a good perfume base note. I used enough of it that I ran out, so sadly I haven’t used it in a while.

8. Raven: I use Raven when I’m feeling sick, especially any kind of congestion. I made a roller that I put on my neck, chest, and back. I diffuse it as well.

9. Lavender: all of the things. I will mix it with epsom salt and baking soda to make homemade bath salts. It takes two minutes maybe and then I keep them in a pretty jar on my counter for whenever I have time for a bath. Okay. Not that often. If I burn myself, I’ll put it on the burn and it feels much better. For a sunburn, I put a few drops in my aloe lotion. Of course I diffuse it, often mixed with other oils. Lavender and peppermint together is delicious! Sometimes I’ll use a toothpick drop in a cocktail or in lemonade.

10. Stress Away: this is a blend that contains a bit of vanilla extract. Vanilla is my favorite scent, and there’s no such thing as vanilla essential oil. This blend is the answer! I have a small bottle at work that I smell when things are overwhelming to help me remember that work stress is a small thing. It smells delicious. I also diffuse it sometimes at bedtime.

11. PanAway: I have two back up bottles of this, besides the open bottle on my oil rack. I love the smell (it has a bunch of mints in it) and I use it when I have sore muscles. I have also used it in bath salts, but you need to do this in moderation because some people don’t like the tingling feeling that mint will give you!

12. Tangerine: I mentioned above that I use it in my perfume. I also diffuse it- so freaking good. Some people use it in water.

Hit my up if you have more questions, or tell me what your favorite oil is!

Jillian

Essential Oils for Dogs

I once saw my sister put a few drops of oil on her crazy hyper boxer/ lab/ pitbull mix and I was shocked to see Bailey calm down in maybe a minute. I had never seen anything like it, and I had been close to this dog for a long time. That moment was when I started to think it would be worth trying on myself. Yes, that’s right. I translate results on a dog to myself. What can I say? I love animals! I think animals are much more honest with themselves about their bodies than we are, they follow their instincts. We explain everything away until we’re not sure what works and what doesn’t. Bailey’s calming blend is Stress Away, Lavender, and carrier oil; but there are so many other great things to try. For my Shiba Inus, I swear by T-Away. My friends and I call it doggo magic oil. For my two anxiety ridden rescue dogs, it calms them right down and helps ease their fears of strangers and loud barking. My neighbors appreciate it.

Before you get started, please read the info in the top graphics about precautions and starting slow. Also, check out the dilution chart below. To dilute an oil, simply mix it with a carrier oil. A carrier oil is typically a vegetable or nut oil of your choice. My personal favorite is sweet almond oil, but you can use almost anything. I don’t dilute my T-Away, because it comes diluted and my dogs are very fluffy. I would dilute it further if they were short haired, but I just take a drop and rub it behind their ears.

DilutionChart

My favorite story that I’ve heard lately is of a friend that started using essential oils on felt pads as scent markers for his newly blind Shiba Inu, O-ren. By putting small felt pads on the walls in areas where she was having trouble finding her way, and adding a different oil to each location, he was able to help her navigate again. She was hitting her head on a wall frequently, and now she doesn’t anymore! He puts a drop on each of the two pads every other day, and she feels safe. A 5ml bottle of essential oil has around 85 drops in it, so a bottle used for this purpose would last five to six months. Another really cool thing is, she also gets the benefits that the oils themselves give her (of course, if you were to do this, you would want to research which oils were safe and beneficial for your dog to breathe in). Please contact me if you have any questions about using oils with your dogs!

Essential oils can be used to make almost any product you currently use for your dogs, but you will end up with a product that you know is safe and improving their health. Rachel Rice worked with the Happy Oilers to create these graphics for all of us to enjoy! Let me know if you try any of these recipes. I have used quite a few myself, and I love them! If you would like to purchase essential oils, check out my info page on how to order, or just click here to sign up directly!

courage spray recipes

Check out my disclaimer page for more info on treating medical conditions.

Are there any other recipes you would be interested in seeing for your dog?

Jillian

DIY Essential Oil Moisturizer and Eye Cream

Ingredients on the counter

The first thing you may notice is that there are a lot more ingredients on the counter than in the recipe. Well… that’s because I also made body butter, but it SUCKED. So, we’re not going to be sharing that recipe just yet.

You may also notice there is an alcoholic root beer with the ingredients. It’s not part of the recipe, but I do recommend adding it to your shopping list. You’re going to be whipping moisturizer for a while!

Moisturizer recipe

This was honestly meant to just be moisturizer, but it turned out pretty thick and makes an awesome eye cream. Here is the recipe:

DIY Moisturizer and Eye Cream

1/2 c shea butter

2 T sweet almond oil

3 T arrowroot powder

1 T water

10 drops frankincense oil

10 drops lavender oil

Melt shea butter in a double boiler with almond oil, until liquid. Transfer to a freezer safe bowl and freeze for 15 minutes, until the outside edges are becoming solid but the center is still liquid. Then whip with a mixer until you have reached your desired consistency (this took me about 10 minutes). Add arrowroot powder 1 T at a time, it should make it a bit thicker and less greasy. I needed to add a little water at this point, as well. Then add the essential oil(s) of your choice. If you plan to use this during the day, be sure you are not adding any oils that are photosensitive, and always make sure your oils aren’t oils that will burn the skin (an example of one NOT to use would be cinnamon). Leave me a message if you have questions, and see my disclaimer for info about essential oil use!

Melting shea butter

I don’t have a double boiler, so I put my shea butter and almond oil in a Pyrex measuring cup in a pot of boiling water. This works great because it has a handle, pour spout, and measurements, but if you do this be super careful when taking it out. I wore huge oven mitts to avoid a steam burn.

Oils out of the freezer

This is what mine looked like when I took it out of the freezer- almost like a candle that has been burning for a while.

Whipping moisturizer in a bowl

I mixed for a while after this, until it looked almost like butter. I ended up with a really thick cream. If you want it thinner, I would try 2 T of arrowroot powder and a little less whipping time.

Moisturizer in the jar, with the lid off

This recipe filled up two 2 oz glass containers, which I just labeled with super basic info. You could make it way cuter, but I… have no excuse. I didn’t. But I do still like how it turned out.

Finished moisturizer

I have been using this for two weeks now and I really like it so far. I use it as night cream, and then just under my eyes during the day. I chose these two oils to add because frankincense may help with scarring and wrinkles, and lavender may help with acne, sensitive skin, and wrinkles. I used the shea butter because it won’t clog your pores (my other option was cocoa butter, which definitely will!). Sweet almond oil is in between, but I used it because I just bought some and it’s good for sensitive skin. Let me know if you try it!

Jillian

How to Make Dry Shampoo

ingredients for dry shampooMy hair is so greasy, it makes me want to scream. I am done with washing my hair every day, so dry shampoo is a must.

I decided to try making my own for two reasons: my current product is white, and a pain to rub into my dark hair; and ever since I downloaded the Think Dirty app (NOT what it sounds, it tells you how toxic your products are and makes you want to throw away everything you own) I have been freaking out about everything. 10 is the worst score something can get.

Think Dirty app- Bumble and Bumble dry shampoo
Bumble and Bumble has some dry shampoos that do pretty well in the app, but of course not the one I happen to have (which cost something like $30). You can make this dry shampoo for super cheap, and you can customize the amount of cocoa powder you add to help it blend into your hair. I started with 1/2 T. of cocoa powder and went up to 1 T. I might even add more. For light hair I would start with just a tiny bit, or maybe even skip it. I simply mixed together the dry ingredients and put a little in my hair to test the color. Then I added more cocoa until I was happy, then stirred in the oils.

dry shampoo recipe

Recipe for those who can’t view the image:

Dry Shampoo

1 T arrowroot powder (can substitute corn starch if you don’t have any. It also might be available in the spice section of the bulk bin department at your local store)

1 T baking soda

1/2 t – 1 T (or more) cocoa powder, adjust to hair color

2 drops rosemary essential oil

2 drops lavender essential oil

Mix dry ingredients together in a small bowl. When well blended and the color is to your liking, stir in the essential oils. I chose rosemary and lavender because they can help to promote hair growth and decrease dandruff. You can use any oils that work for you! Please see my disclaimer here for more info about the use of essential oils.

finished dry shampoo, inside salt shaker

When you’ve finished your dry shampoo, you can store it however you like. Some people just use a bowl and apply it with a makeup brush. Please let me know if you’ve tried this method! I didn’t have an extra brush, so I decided to try a salt shaker. If you do this, I highly recommend you put stickers over most of the holes OMG. I shook it over the top of my head and stuff was a little touch and go for a bit. Let’s just say, I didn’t quite realize how quickly it would pour out! The good news is, my new dry shampoo has bears now!

hair before and after dry shampoo

These are definitely not the most flattering pictures of me, but I wanted to show you my hair before and after I tried out the finished product. Pretty good, right?!

Another interesting thing is I tried this last night, then used just a tiny bit this morning for volume. My head doesn’t itch today, and usually it does with my normal dry shampoo. Victory!

Let me know if you try the recipe!

Jillian