My journey into a more natural way of life has occured in a series of steps.
I started out by learning how to actually cook food from scratch. (No more boxed mixes, packages, or cans…)
Then came the home food production. (Gardening, dairy animals, home raised meat…)
And most recently, I have developed a strong desire to learn how to care for my family’s health in a more natural, logical way than running to the doctor’s office for every sniffle or sneeze.
I had heard a lot of hype about essential oils for a long time, but I stubbornly held out for quite a while before trying any of them.
Needless to say, once I did, I was hooked.
At first I just purchased a few random oils from the local health food store. But the stern warnings on the labels saying “Do Not Ingest!” kinda scared me off.
Thankfully, soon after that I was introduced to doTERRA: a brand of high-quality essential oils that are safe for topical, aromatic, AND internal use.
After using a few of the oils and seeing the results, it didn’t take me long to sign up as a consultant. I find myself reaching for my oils multiple times per day.
A few of the ways I use my doTERRA essential oils:
- I diffuse them in my living room to help with allergies or just to freshen things up. It only takes a few drops in the lotus diffuser.
- I use 2 drops each of lavender, peppermint, and lemon in a gelatin capsule and swallow to help manage my seasonal allergies.
- My husband has severe asthma and has found that Breathe combined with Lime helps to cut down on his inhaler use. I also use Breathe when I feel a bit “wheezy” from my hay fever allergies.
- We place 3 drops of DigestZen in a gelatin capsule and swallow for heartburn.
- I mix up a fly spray using TerraShield to naturally repel insects on my horses and milk cow.
- Hubby quickly cleared up a case of athlete’s foot by using oregano.
- I used oregano to treat a wart on my leg.
- I like to use lemon, melalueca, or the citrus oils in my homemade cleaners, or when I mop the floor.
- I add lavender and lemon to my homemade laundry detergent.
- I will be adding lavender to the next batch of homemade udder salve I mix up.
- I use lavender and TerraShield when the flies attack my dog’s ears and leave open sores.
- I use take several drops of On Guard in a capsule when I feel a cold coming on. It knocks it down immediately!
- We like to treat cold and flu symptoms exclusively with oils- no modern medicines required.
- I used On Guard to clear up several cases of mastitis
- I used Purify and frankincense to treat a nasty dog bite on hubby’s hand– with zero conventional antibiotics of any kind!
- I diffuse the oils in my home to clear the oil and make it smell pretty. No more candles that give off nasty, toxic stuff.
- And the list goes on…
Are doTERRA oils more expensive than the ones that you can buy at the health food store?
Yep.
But when it comes to essential oils, you get what you pay for… So, I don’t mind paying extra for something that I can be confident in. doTERRA’s oils are rigorously tested to ensure quality and purity:
“doTERRA’s Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade essential oils are guaranteed to be 100% pure and natural and free of synthetic compounds or contaminates. They are subjected to rigorous mass spectrometry and gas chromatography testing to ensure extract composition and activity. doTERRA’s 100% pure essential oils represent the safest and most beneficial essential oils available today.” (From the doTERRA website)
Here’s some more info regarding essential oils and doTERRA:
- You can download the full doTERRA product catalog HERE.
- What exactly are essential oils?
- How long have essential oils been in use?
- The 3 main ways to apply essential oils
- How are essential oils made?
- Using oils safely
- More about the doTERRA company
You can also browse my online doTERRA store to purchase oils and learn more about doTERRA products. (For ways to save money on your doTERRA purchases, click HERE.)
There are many other oil companies out there, but I went with doTERRA and I couldn’t be happier with my decision.
Ready to try some doTERRA oils for yourself? There are several options available- click over to my step-by-step guide on purchasing oils for details.
If you have more questions about essential oils or doTERRA, don’t hesitate to contact me. I’d love to chat with you!
(And just in case you were wondering, making a purchase through my online store does give me a small kick-back that helps to support the work that I do on The Prairie Homestead. Of course, you are under no obligation to use my link if you choose not to.)
Please know that I’m not promoting these oils in an effort to “get rich quick.” They have truly worked for me and my family and I can’t help but want to share them with my readers.
Jill, I’m interested in learning more about how you make a fly spray for your livestock using the TerraShield blend. We too have a mini farm, and are looking for more natural fly control. What other ingredients do you use in your fly spray? If I were to buy a bottle of the TerraShield how much fly spray would that make? Thanks!
If you want some advice from the beduin women here I am happy to help. Honey is the best medicine for diaper rash that can come from teething sometimes even with a vigalent mom changing her child often, or that even antibiotics seems to only help slightly, put honey and it will be gone within the day even. Also nigella seeds are very useful for many illnesses even just when used to sniff when wrapped in a thin fabric during broncitis or when crushed and applied, eaten etc for various ailments and are just tasty added to the tops of breads before baking! I stick to these things mainly as I dont trust many hospitals that seem more after money than health, so I too try to see what I can do first. Herbs esp are very useful when you find out what ea can do
I would also love to know about fly spray! One of the biggest troubles I have- yucky flies! I am interested in info about consultant benefits as well.
Thanks!!
Chara
Hi Chara,
I’d love to send you some info on being a consultant, as well as the fly spray. Would you mind sending me an email at jill (at) theprairiehomestead (dot) com and I can send you more info?
Wow! I use essential oils for everything and rarely does a day go by that I dont use them. Ive used them for years and Ive never even heard of that brand! Learn something new every day I guess! Im glad youve found EOs, they have kept us out of the doctors many a time! Blessings!
When air quality is poor I have a chronic cough (mostly during foggy days, rainy and snowy seasons). I was wondering if anyone else suffers from this and what essential oils might give me some relief?
Great question Charlotte! the doTERRA blog just addressed this issue: http://doterrablog.com/using-doterra-essential-oils-to-help-counteract-bad-air-quality
There are some great ideas there!
So how do you find out what to use what oils for? Is there a book to order?
Hi Erin,
I have a variety of books that I like. My 2 favorites are: Modern Essentials (available at http://www.aromatools.com– it is a doTERRA book, just FYI) and The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy by Valerie Ann Worwood.
Thank you for all of the homestead info. I am a city girl now living the life of a country girl with a passion for learning how to become a better homesteader. I am raising chickens (for eggs only right now) I want to have meat chickens one day! I am recently milking my goat and we are about to try goat meat for the first time! Oh we raise our own beef as well. I am loving this way of living but I often get frustrated at how expensive whole foods and essential oils are. I have used essential oils some… I have used eucalyptus for my kids coughs, I’ve used oregano on their feet as well when they have a cough. I am trying to use the oregano oil or tea tree oil on my daughters wart but she says they burn? I know oregano burns bad as I had a personal experience with it on my face! OUCH! I would love to learn more I did sign up for the e-book you offer but I can’t find it in my e-mails. I am really interested in becoming a doTerra consultant if it doesn’t cost me a fortune. I am on a budget and I don’t have tons of extra time (I homeschool my 3 kids). I would love to make a little extra income but mostly receive discounts on the doTerra oils. Is it really worth it? I really don’t want to end up in debt over essential oils lol!! (I know the health benefits are worth it) I’m just wondering financially if its worth it? Thanks for the help and for all the homestead tips you share!
Hannah- I’d love to tell you more about doTERRA. I definitely think it’s worth it.
I’ll send you an email ASAP!
read your post on your hb’s dog bite wound! love how simple yet effective natural remedies can work over western medicine. we have been so out of touch with the natural world and its wonders as we are constantly bombarded with ‘modernity’ and conditioned to simply buy rather than using traditional knowledge or making our own. some might even scoff but they really are missing out what nature has to offer! agree modern medicine is wonderful in the right time / circumstance, and I am uber grateful for what it can also offer.
there is another EO oil called helichrysum (must be the Italicum species cos of the chemical properties) and apparently it is has amazing healing properties too! thought you might be interested! uber expensive and I just placed an order for 3ml and so looking forward to receiving it! (though I’ll rather not have the need to use it! but i reckon it’ll be handy to have nearby since I’m quite the clutz at times!)
Yes! I actually contemplated using helichrysum on the bite, and almost did. However, I had heard that sometimes it can act as a liquid band-aid and seal the wound. Because of that, I decided against using it, since I wanted the wound to continue to stay open and drain for a while (since it was a deep puncture.)
Just curious how you healed your wart. Was it just straight oregano essential oil? I have a planter on my foot that will not go away! Thanks!
Yes, I used straight oregano– although if I got it on the surrounding skin, it did burn a bit. I had it almost completely gone, but then I had my baby and in all the hustle and bustle, I stopped putting the oil on it. So, I still have a little wart left– plan on finishing it off with oil though.
Some people say they’ve also had luck with putting melaleuca and/or frankincense on warts.
Hi Jill
Thanks for all the great info on essential oils, really enjoyed reading it.
Have you heard of much research being done on the use of EO to get rid
of staph infections. I followed your link in your e-book but I haven’t been able to find info on how to use the oils and for how long. We’ve been battling staph infections in the form of boils and cellulitis for two years now. All the doctors do is give us more antibiotics and anti bacterial wash( yes with triclosan, and after your recent blog I’m throwing those out!!!). But nothing will get rid of them. Would be very grateful for any suggestions. Oh and we’re in Australia so not sure if we can get the doterra oils here.
Hi Jillian,
I would start out trying melalecua and/or the On Guard blend on the staph– I’ve heard good things about both of those in regards to MRSA, etc. I would probably start out fairly aggressively at first– maybe even as often as twice per day. You might want to dilute the oils in some sort of carrier as well. I’m pretty sure you can still have doTERRA oils shipped to AU– I can look into it to be sure, though.
I’d like more info on doTERRA. could you send me some info.
Hi Sandy, I’ll send you an email.
hey there jill!
i noticed you mentioned you used essential oil ON GUARD when you had mastitis. can you tell me more about that? i had mastitis three times while nursing my son, and would love to know more about this oil. thanks!
Hi Sarah!
On Guard is a powerful anti-biotic/anti-viral blend that contains wild orange, eucalyptus, rosemary, cinnamon, and clove. I’ve used it in several instances–
The first time, I just barely felt the mastitis coming on (had a little lumpy spot, and it was painful). I immediately started taking the On Guard (several drops in a gel capsule) 2-3 times. It was gone within 24 hours.
The next time, (about a month later) it started out the same– but I didn’t take On Guard as quickly, and by that evening, I felt horrible– aching, chills, shivering, etc (I’d never had mastitis like that before…). I took some On Guard before bed and told myself that if I wasn’t better by morning, I would definitely be going to the doctor. When I woke up the next morning, I was 100% better– no lump, no pain, no chills.
You can also use lavender topically to massage any lumpy spots– just make sure it’s wiped/washed off before baby nurses. Hope that helps!
Please understand that the following statements are not a personal attack on you; but they are aimed at companies such as doTERRA and Young Living. All pure essential oils (that is, any oil derived directly from a plant source, usually by distillation) are therapeutic in nature. Admittedly, there is a gray area with labelling of product (some products may say that the ingredients feature “pure oils” which one might assume means the same thing as essential oils, which they are not) but the so-called certification of “therapeutic grade” or “medical grade” essential oils serves only as an elitist distinction to further alienate the common working man and woman from using such products. Essential oil companies of all sorts perform many different forms of testing to ensure safety and a higher standard of product. The Certified Therapeutic Grade distinction is merely a way to market oils. Have they done the testing? Of course they have. But the government has no qualifications for certification, nor does it even certify such products. I would like to refer you to the following article:
http://wingedseed.com/blog/2009/11/19/one-more-time-there-are-no-fda-certified-pure-therapeutic-grade-essential-oils-part-i/
I have been working with essential oils for over 15 years and have used many different brands. The bottom line is that what determines the quality of the oil is the plant itself, and the conditions that it was grown in. You can get amazing quality essential oils from Now (www.nowfoods.com) and you don’t have to become a part of a multi-level marketing scheme or pay outrageous money for something as simple as lavender oil.
I believe that a consumer should always be educated and informed. I can completely understand that starting out with something, you will be drawn to what people say is the “best” out there. But by all means, you should always pay attention to who is saying it. Ask questions. Research it. If you go to a company’s website searching for an answer to a question as simple as “what makes your product better” and the only answer you find is “because it’s certified” or “because we say so”, then you should be wary. I have studied herbs and aromatherapy for years now and the best teachers are always the ones who can tell you scientifically why a plant or oil works the way it does.
I really hope that you do take this into consideration. Do I think it will change your mind completely? No. I’m not that egotistical or foolish. But I hope it will at least make you think about what you are doing. If you like the products you purchase from doTERRA and choose to stay with them, then wonderful. But I hope you will do so with the opened eyes of an informed consumer. Aromatherapy is such an amazing, wonderful modality and it deserves to be enjoyed by everyone.
Yours in sincerity,
Lily
Hi Jill,
I was wondering what type of EO you would recommend for a swollen lymph node. I have had a problem with a lymph node being swollen, I went to a dr to rule out anything serious but since the dr said it’s just swollen if I go back he will most likely give me antibiotics…which I would like to avoid! Thanks in advance
Hi Tara! I’m not a doTERRA rep and I am not familiar with their oils but I do use a lot of essential oils. I just actually experienced some swollen lymph nodes and there’s a couple things you can do. 1) At the swollen lymph node gently press and drag your fingers down (towards heart) a few times. This can help the lymph node drain. This was recommended to me by my chiropractor. 2) Have a chiropractic adjustment and 3) If you want to use oils I’ve had a great success using a few drops of eucalyptus oil mixed with a carrier oil (I generally use a fragrance free, good quality lotion) and massage into the swollen areas. I see you posted this over a month ago so I’m sure it’s cleared up by now, but for future use you have a few tips. Good luck to you!
Thanks so much for chiming in Nicci!
Absolutely! I just started following your blog and I love it!! I a lot of my own home preserving and while we have 20 acres to live on, we are deep in the woods with a large pond and not much space for my nice giant garden I had at our previous home
but I love taking the natural route and treating ailments with oils (our biggest success has been ear infections, going from once a month on antibiotics to less than one per year for the kiddos! I love essential oils and love to share any tips I can as well!) You are definately my kind of homesteader!! Thanks for making such an interesting and informative blog!
Thank you for the tips Nicci!
I was wondering what, in your opinion, the difference is between young living and doTerra oils is? and why you chose doTerra.
thanks!
Hi Cyndi,
There are several reasons I prefer doTERRA over Young Living.
1. I think that doTERRA has more stringent testing methods than YL does. Purity of my oils is of utmost importance to me.
2. I don’t like all the controversary around Gary Young– the founder of YL. A quick Google search will yield some disturbing results. Of course, I don’t know him personally, but it’s enough to make me uncomfortable.
3. Lastly– I’ve been turned off by many YL reps– I’ve found them to be quite aggressive and borderline rude on many occasions. I’ve been attacked on my blog and FB page for choosing doTERRA, and I don’t appreciate that. I feel like my oils will speak for themselves, so I don’t feel the need to criticize other’s choices.
But in the end, it’s a personal decision, so I encourage you to research for yourself.
Hope that helps!
Love the oils!
My family uses them all day and everyday!
Putting it simply it is very easy to educate yourself with the oils. This company and other Doterra oil users offer endless ways to use the oils. It’s that simple!
Alexandra:)
I agree– they are awesome, huh?
Hi Jill, I am trying to get your ebook about essential oils but unless I unsubscribe and resubscribe, I can’t figure out how to get it.
Please send me a link so I can download it. I love all your great information.
Thanks,
Barbara
Barbara– send me an email at jill(at)theprairiehomestead(dot)com and I’ll make sure you get a copy!
Where can I buy some pure whey. I like your baking ideas also when I start working out I would like to take some orally to suppliment my protein intake.
Thank You Bruce
Hi Bruce,
Real whey can’t be purchased at the store (at least not that I’m aware of)– you’ll have to make it yourself. The easiest way is to get a carton of natural yogurt and strain it through a cheesecloth. The liquid that drips out will be whey that you can use. You can also get it as a by-product of a lot of different cheesemaking recipes. I would think it would be a good protein supplement too!
I am new to EO. In an effort to help alleviate some of the symptoms associated with RSV I decided to try an alternative method. My son is 4 months old and was diagnosed with RSV 3 weeks ago. Now the only thing left of it is cough/congestion. In doing some research I found that using lemon (read on a blog by a mother that used it on her daughter) would help with the congestion. I also have some OnGuard that I have used a few times, but see that it probably really should have been used when the symptoms first started. I did not use a carrier oil with it because I was told that DoTerra is so pure it can be used straight out of the bottle. Should I have diluted it. FYI: he didn’t seem to have any probIems with it. I just bought NOW lemon EO yesterday because that was what was available and made a 1% dilution with coconut oil. Do you have any other suggestions? I will most certainly be checking out the books you suggested. I have not used the lemon yet and hope I didn’t
cause any harm by not using the OnGuard in a carrier oil.
Thanks,
Heather
Hi Heather,
I would recommend always using On Guard with a carrier oil (it contains some “hot” oils like cinnamon and clove). And if you are applying any oil to a little guy, I would always dilute, no matter what you are using. However, I don’t believe you caused any harm– just keep it in mind for next time. Hope they help him!