Essential Oils! How have they helped you???

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Birdy989
Birdy989 Posts: 52 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm addicted to essential oils -- I signed up with Young Living back last summer, and am a full blown addict now. LOL

I use oils all the time to help with running pain, relaxation, energizing/mood enhancement, etc. I have a few favorites I like to rub on my wrists and neck before working out. I also do add a few drops of lemon or grapefruit oil on occasion to my water.

But other than that, I don't use any oils specifically for weight loss. Has anyone tried any specific protocol, or found something that has helped them? What oils really helped you along your journey? My biggest concern lately seems to be water retention -- no idea why I'm retaining water more than usual, but I am. I'd love to know if anyone has used EOs to help combat that.

Thanks!

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Replies

  • Sheseeksstrength
    Sheseeksstrength Posts: 138 Member
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    I have heard that grapefruit and lemon help with water retention.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
    edited March 2015
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    I find it very concerning that you aren't diluting them before topical use and that you are ingesting them. Those are the first two things taught in naturopathy. No wonder so many legitimate essential oil shops hate this new crop of essential oil sellers, it's giving them a bad name through misuse of the oils.

    ETA: Your water retention could very well stem from ingesting the oils. Switch to putting lemon, cucumber and peppermint in your water. Real foods, not the oils.
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
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    I have a lot of friends who sell them, and went in with a very skeptic mind about these because they were part of a multi-level marketing type thing. Well I should have stuck to my gut. Dropped a ton of money on them and saw zero results from anything. I will say they may have pleasant aromatic scents but that's about it.

    Have yet to find any scientific or medical proof that they work, so I'm still convinced that the people who use them are experiencing a placebo effect.
  • toadg53
    toadg53 Posts: 302 Member
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    I went to a Young Living round robin last Sunday. They had 14 tables set up with different oils. You spent 5 minutes at each table. A distributor explained each oil, uses, etc. It was so interesting. I'm going to order the starter kit. My friend and I were covered in different oils by the end of the afternoon. I sure slept well that night !!
  • triciab79
    triciab79 Posts: 1,713 Member
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    Hmm I heard the whole thing is a giant scam. Does anyone have some independent research that I can look at that shows that these products have any effects (non placebo) at all? I am always a bit skeptical of the latest miracle, especially when they cost an arm and a leg and have so many pyramid scheme like sales pitches.
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
    edited March 2015
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    I looked into them, until I saw that both young living and doterra have been in trouble in the past for selling practices. no thank you.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    I'm thinking scam...WebMD doesn't recommend ingesting them.

    http://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/tc/aromatherapy-essential-oils-therapy-topic-overview
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,712 Member
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    I would not buy them through any type of distributor or MLM scheme, but I use a few oils that I buy from Walgreens (or a health food store like Vitamin Cottage).

    I use lavender oil diluted in water and the add rubbing alcohol to a little spritzer and that is my homemade air freshener. I use a few drops of grapefruit or peppermint oil in safflower or grapeseed oil (again in a little spritzer) as a body lotion. It is pretty oily so I actually like to use this after my workout when I take a break in the sauna. And I use Tea Tree oil for a multitude of things. I put a couple drops in whatever lotion I'm using because it is great for my skin (but only a tiny bit). It works great to clear up a pimple or blemish. Just a tiny dab on a Qtip a couple times for a couple days and it is gone with no red mark left behind.

  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    Here's some blogs from naturopaths that say not to use them internally and to dilute them when using externally. If you were not told those things when you bought them then they were only in it for the money.

    http://naturopathicpediatrics.com/2014/09/08/essential-oil-safety-danger-essential-oils-seizures-children/

    http://www.granolaliving.com/2012/07/why-we-dont-offer-doterra-young-living-or-other-multi-marketing-brands-of-essential-oils/
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    I play around with EO's, mostly for the scent rather than any pharmaceutical effect (I make my own lotions and potions including hair care stuff and candles). On the other hand, I really love my foot soak made with epsom salts. I add peppermint and rosemary EO's which give me a lift and eliminate any foot odor. I buy my oils from a retail/wholesale seller to soap makers called Camden Grey. Prices are much better and the quality is very high compared to these MLM sellers.
    camdengrey.com/
  • NiqueKristan
    NiqueKristan Posts: 152 Member
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    Native American nutritionals is a wonderful reputable brand.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    edited March 2015
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    Everyone I know (and I know quite a few) who sells them says that you will die young and painfully if you don't use them. They all turned from nice people into maniacs wanting to shove essential oils down your throat. Essential Oils has ruined two perfectly good friendships for me, and promises to do more. I don't get it.
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
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    These things are just another money-grubbing MLM scheme. They smell nice (well some of them stink, sorry) but that's it.

    No real effects. If you want to use essential oils for the smellz, buying them cheaply at a health food store will suffice. You also probably shouldn't eat them.
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
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    usmcmp wrote: »
    I find it very concerning that you aren't diluting them before topical use and that you are ingesting them. Those are the first two things taught in naturopathy. No wonder so many legitimate essential oil shops hate this new crop of essential oil sellers, it's giving them a bad name through misuse of the oils.

    ETA: Your water retention could very well stem from ingesting the oils. Switch to putting lemon, cucumber and peppermint in your water. Real foods, not the oils.

    This, too^^

    I have tons of friends on FB who have fallen for this crap and are constantly rubbing them with abandon all over their kids and ingesting them. It's ridiculous.
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
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    usmcmp wrote: »
    I find it very concerning that you aren't diluting them before topical use and that you are ingesting them. Those are the first two things taught in naturopathy. No wonder so many legitimate essential oil shops hate this new crop of essential oil sellers, it's giving them a bad name through misuse of the oils.

    ETA: Your water retention could very well stem from ingesting the oils. Switch to putting lemon, cucumber and peppermint in your water. Real foods, not the oils.

    Yeah!! If you want to use them the homeopathic/naturopathic way, you have to keep diluting them until there's no measurable amount left in the solution. The oil does nothing, but essence of oil is miraculous. pfffft. amateur.
  • teephil
    teephil Posts: 135 Member
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    I love you guys!
  • charliesangel13
    charliesangel13 Posts: 25 Member
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    I use Lavender (mixed with a carrier oil of course) to help sleep. I mix lavender and frankincense with coconut oil(as a carrier) to use as a moisturizer on my face. Prior to that I was just using coconut oil on my face. The EO gives it a nice fragrance plus clears up any blemishes pretty quickly. I don't sell anything and I don't buy from sellers. I pick them up at my local health food store. I love the NOW brand. Most of them are 100% oil and you can read lots of reviews on amazon in regards to quality. NOW also offers organic oils in some of the them.

    I also make homemade cleaners with the lemon and lemon grass.

    I use them to replace everyday toxic products, I guess you could say.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    sullus wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    I find it very concerning that you aren't diluting them before topical use and that you are ingesting them. Those are the first two things taught in naturopathy. No wonder so many legitimate essential oil shops hate this new crop of essential oil sellers, it's giving them a bad name through misuse of the oils.

    ETA: Your water retention could very well stem from ingesting the oils. Switch to putting lemon, cucumber and peppermint in your water. Real foods, not the oils.

    Yeah!! If you want to use them the homeopathic/naturopathic way, you have to keep diluting them until there's no measurable amount left in the solution. The oil does nothing, but essence of oil is miraculous. pfffft. amateur.

    That's not what I meant. A drop of oil is concentrated. It has to be diluted. Sort of like how you shouldn't eat the contents in a bag of tea, but you soak it in water until it is an appropriate dilution of the substance in the bag. If you leave the bag in the water too long the tea will be too strong. If you don't dilute the oils they could do more harm than good.

    *I do not believe in using essential oils, but if I were to rant against their use entirely I would be ignored. I can at least advocate not using them in a potentially harmful manner.
  • Birdy989
    Birdy989 Posts: 52 Member
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    People, you don't need to reply that it's a scam -- that's not what I was asking. I've had first hand experience with them helping me with depression, cluster headaches and really bad PMS. Plus, I have close friends who have seen them help kids with night terrors, ADD, and one gal who is recovering from PTSD thinks they're the biggest blessing that has ever dropped into her lap. If you don't like them, then you don't have to use them. They gave me my life back this winter when I usually spend my winters with Seasonal Affective Disorder, gaining 15 lbs and hibernating under a blanket. Instead, I've become a runner and ran several 5Ks on my treadmill and just ran 5 miles for the first time last week. Usually by this time every year, I'm smoking forbidden cigarettes and in tears because of the depression I feel from the weight I gained over the winter. I'm comfortable ingesting certain oils, and am even more comfortable with the MLM platform of this company. So please... if you have negative things to say, keep that to yourself. I wasn't asking what hasn't worked for you. I'm curious to know what HAS worked. Thanks!
  • punkuate
    punkuate Posts: 127 Member
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    If you believe the oils are why you've seen positive results, who are we to tell you otherwise?

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