You’ve probably heard the hype surrounding essential oils. But how do you know if they’re for you? Ask yourself these questions to find out if they fit in to your lifestyle.
Updated October 2023
How do I know if essential oils are for me?
There has been hype surrounding essential oils. And with reason – they are powerful!
If you’re on the fence about whether or not essential oils are right for your family, I want you to ask yourself these questions –
Does my lifestyle warrant the use of essential oils?
Am I concerned about the purity of what goes into my body?
Do I see my health as an investment?
There are so many different ways we can look at how essential oils can fit into your lifestyle. Do you want to create your own scents? Is a holistic lifestyle something that interests you? Do you want to simply change the types of products you use?
Let’s chat a bit about each of those and more to figure out if essential oils are for you.
My essential oils journey
I began using essential oils because I could control how potent they smell. More oil = stronger smell. However, I fell in love for them when I realized they supported some of my personal ideals. Our family strives to eat healthy, live off of the land and support our bodies how they were designed by God to function. We try to get a decent amount of sleep every night. We also try to eat well, drink enough water, reduce stress, so on and so on.
We also wanted to find natural alternatives to some of the toxic chemicals that are all too common in products we use every single day. As a career fireman, my husband is at a nine percent higher risk of contracting cancer and a 14 percent higher risk of dying from it than the general population. Mesothelioma, brain cancer, skin cancer, colon cancer, leukemia. He’s more at risk for anxiety, depression, PTSD, and marital unrest. Knowing he was in a career field that was exposing him to so much bad, we started looking for the good. We quickly found it wasn’t in our home.
What’s so bad about the products in your home?
There was aluminum in our deodorant. Why? Because aluminum helps prevent sweating. Which is great – that’s what I want my deodorant to do. But that exposure could also cause aluminum to build up in your body which can lead to neurotoxicity – read – you can become paralyzed or even develop breast cancer.
Well lets create a warm environment that will help him calm down after he’s had a stressful day at work. We’ll get some body wash he likes and maybe light some candles. Wrong again. There is study after study showing the negative effects of things like parabens, artificial colors and more found in American beauty products. And we’re using these things on our daughter? Finding out some of that information led me to look at my makeup, which I probably shouldn’t have done.
According to the FDA, “Under U.S. law, FDA does not have the authority to require cosmetic manufacturers to submit their safety data to FDA, and the burden is on FDA to prove that a particular product or ingredient is harmful when used as intended. We make these decisions based on reliable scientific information available to us. FDA can take other countries’ decisions into consideration, but we can only take action within the legal and regulatory framework for cosmetics in the United States.”
So when you see “fragrance” on the back of your product bottle, the company that manufactures that doesn’t have to say what went in to creating that perfume. In fact, the European Union outlawed almost 1,400 products from being added to beauty products. The United States has outlawed 11.
So what should we look for?
My husband and I look for four things when we’re considering some of the things we let in to our lives:
- longevity
- quality
- purity
- investment
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Longevity
Unfortunately, we lost my husband’s paternal grandmother last year. Not unfortunately, she was 98 years old. Everyone who knew her when she was younger knew her dinner consisted of vegetables she picked from her abundant garden. She lived that home-grown lifestyle my husband and I so admire.
Essential oils give us that. While using essential oils, we know we’re supporting our bodies how they were designed by God to function.
Quality
My husband and I view a lot of things through how its going to impact the quality of our lives. Will it enhance it? If it won’t, we consider whether or not we want to include it in our lives.
Purity
When you peruse essential oils at the grocery store, did you know that many of them aren’t actually pure oils? Some brands cut their essential oils with carrier oils, like jojoba oil.
That’s why they’re so affordable!
May I suggest you do your research and truly question the quality of your oils. If they’re coming from your neighborhood grocery store, are they the quality you’re willing to use in and on your body?
That’s not to say you won’t make mistakes when it comes to ensuring the quality of what you put in and on your body. You should have seen how much pumpkin pie I ate at Thanksgiving. And let’s be honest – it wasn’t organic.
Investment
We get one body. And we want to help it function as best as possible.
Our goal come retirement is to be as physically comfortable as possible when we’re 70 years old. Making sure that we’re exercising and sleeping properly will help get us there, but we also have a responsibility to try and avoid things that we know can cause cancer!
We break down investment in to three areas. Resources, community and time.
Do I have the resources to achieve this? Let’s be real – most of us do.
Do I have the community around me to help me achieve my goals?
Finally, time. Do you have the time? God talks about breath being like a vapor. When you’re looking at your time on earth like this, how can you not make the time to make sure it’s as joy-filled, healthy and peaceful as possible?
Questions to ask yourself.
If you still aren’t sure about whether or not essential oils are for you, ask yourself the following questions:
- Are you a marathon runner or a sprinter? Your health is a daily effort, not a magic pill you can take. If you’re willing to do the work every day then yes, essential oils are probably for you.
- Do you purchase only quality products when it comes to your health? Yes, essential oils are probably for you.
- Are you proactive instead of reactive about your health? Yes, essential oils are probably for you.
If you still aren’t sure about where to start, follow me on Instagram! I have a lot of information out there about natural beauty products, how to source products locally, and more.
Before you go…
Follow me on Instagram for more wholesome living tips!
Start your essential oils journey with these Lavender DIY bath bombs
Check out these other great blog posts
So You Want to “Go Natural”? Here’s How to Make the Switch
Helpful Links
These are products I use and love in my own essential oils journey! As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
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