Estrogen Dominance and Using Essential Oils

Those of us with estrogen dominance need to be very careful of any hormone or hormone mimicking elements that enter our bodies including what essential oils we use.  Our system is already so overloaded with estrogen and our liver is most likely not able to keep up with the flushing of our system from the extra estrogens circulating in our blood.  Your body is already producing its own estrogen and our fat cells as they are burned are releasing more estrogen into our system.  We are also ingesting phyto and Xeno estrogens from our food, beauty products and environment.  The last thing your body needs is a slathering of essential oils that also mimic estrogen. 

Unfortunately almost all essential oils with the exception of citrus oils contain some level of phytoestrogens.  All of your citrus oils such as lemon, lime, mandarin and orange contain little to no phytoestrogens and should be the first oils you reach for in use for body products such as lotions, shampoos and deodorants.  Coincidently citrus oils, especially lemon is very good for your liver and will help restore its full function in boosting your ability to flush out extra estrogen. 

Tea Tree, Lavender, Cinnamon and Peppermint happen to be on the high end of the phytoestrogen scale.  Now in a person with balanced hormones and a healthy liver, these phytoestrogens will be no big deal.  They will not turn your sons into girls or make your husbands grow breasts.  Under normal conditions their liver will simply flush out the phytoestrogens as waste.  However as we all know those of us with Estrogen Dominance are not dealing with a normal output of estrogen or a healthy perfectly functioning liver. 

I saw the most marked improvement in my hormones such as more regulated cycles, less bleeding and a lessoning of PMS symptoms when I cut out all essential oils except Citrus oils.  Now I don't mean I don't use them for medical intervention.  If I have a burn I still put lavender on it or if I am cut I still apply yarrow.  What I no longer do is apply them liberally for emotions, perfuming, and in my body products.  I would typically in times past apply oils every few hours throughout my day for a myriad of causes.  I also now look to see if one of the citrus oils will work for my ailment before I rely upon the other oils.  I do hold out hope that as my body is naturally producing less estrogen and more of my fat cells dissipate I will be able to go back to regular oil usage, however for now my body can't handle it.

Next week I will discuss in detail how you can use your citrus oils to help your liver, which will in turn help your body flush excess estrogen.

If you missed the other articles in this series regarding Estrogen Dominance please visit them by clicking below.

TREATING ESTROGEN DOMINANCE NATURALLY

ESTROGEN DOMINANCE: PHYTOESTROGENS AND XENOESTROGENS

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Estrogen Dominance: Phytoestrogens and Xenoestrogens

Anyone stuggling with estrogen dominance has to reduce the amount of estrogens cycling in their system.  If you take a progesterone supplement and all of the receptors are full of estrogen the progesterone can't do its work. 

I'm sure you have already heard from your Doctor that if you lose weight your symptoms will get better.  I have heard that quite a few times, however as you all know, when you are estrogen dominant the weight comes off very slowly.  So it is difficult to reduce the amount of estrogen by just cutting down on your fat cells.  So just to be clear, yes you need to lose weight but in the mean time you need to work on cutting out estrogen from other sources.

Xenoestrogens are chemically or synthetically derived and, while they differ from estrogens your body produces they can minic the effects, contributing to your overload.  So you need to avoid Xenoestrogens from heated plastic, shampoos, conditioners, lotions, laundry soap, sunblock etc.  The list of products containing estrogens is very large.  To be safe read the ingredients and unless you have verified that each chemical on the back is not a Xenoestrogen DO NOT put it on your body.  On this blog you can view some ideas on getting started such as going NO POO and making your own Lotions.  Making your own laundry soap or using soap nuts is also an option. 

Phytoestrogens are one of the category of Xenoestrogens and they are limited to estrogen mimics that come from plants.  Unfortunately almost all essential oils fit in this category on some level.  Now normally if your body didn't need that estrogen and your liver was functioning properly the estrogen components of the oils would be flushed out of your system, however with those of us that are estrogen dominant that is not the case.  As you use your essential oils you are in essence adding estrogen to your already over loaded system and your liver can't keep up.

Stay tuned for the next article to view a listing of essential oils that do not contain a significant amount of estrogen mimics and those that do. 

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Treating Estrogen Dominance Naturally

Estrogen dominance is a hormonal imbalance effecting many women around the world and is difficult to treat.  Modern medicine offers few solutions and it can be an emotional taxing situation.

Some Common Symptoms of Estrogen Dominance include:
Thyroid Disfunction (Cold Hands and Feet)
Early Onset Menstruation
Decreased Sex Drive
Excess fat gain around abdomen, hips and thighs
Fatigue
Gallbladder Issues
Infertility
Irregular Menstrual Cycles

The list can go on so for a more complete listing and description of how the imbalance happens visit Here.

I have been struggling with this hormonal problem since I was 11 and started my first period.  In the last few years my symptoms have become even worse including gallbladder issues, long periods up to 6 weeks at a time and hair loss just to name a few.

It was only the past couple of months I have come across information that is changing my life. There is so much I have learned, it would be hard to fit it into one blog post so I will do several over the next couple of weeks.  If you are estrogen dominant please make sure to subscribe to my blog so you don't miss any.  

As all of you have probably gathered I am an avid user of Essential Oils.  They have changed the health of my family in so many wonderful ways, however I can now say with confidence they have worsened my hormonal imbalance because I wasn't using them with enough knowledge.  I will expand on this concept in future articles. 

Your body produces estrogen and progesterone naturally during certain times in your cycle.   When you become estrogen dominant that basically means there is too much estrogen in your body and when it is time for the progesterone to be released your body can't produce enough to balance out an already estrogen overloaded system. 

The excess of estrogen can come from many sources and is in a large part due to the environment we live in with chemicals, plastics and meat and dairy hormones.  However generally the reason you struggle with estrogen and your friend or neighbor doesn't can be attributed to your liver and your fat deposits.  God designed your liver to be a wonderful filter for your body.  The liver can take excess estrogen from the body and process it right out which is why so many women can live in the same environment we do and not have any fertility problems.  However, when your liver gets overloaded or fatty then it can't keep up with all of the estrogen and it gets stored in your fat deposits.  So now you have estrogen from the environment coming in, plus the estrogen your body is producing, plus estrogen from your fat deposits which creates a vicious cycle of never ending estrogen your liver can't possibly filter properly.

Sounds hopeless doesn't it.  Well as I will show you in the next couple of articles it isn't.  We will just have to take some extra steps that others don't, in order limit estrogen exposure and boost our liver function.

In the next article we will discuss environment estrogens including phytoestrogens and Xenoestrogens and how to avoid them.  Some essential oils are phytoestrogens so it will be important to learn which ones are and to find alternative oils to use.  

I have now written several other articles in this series.  Click below to read more about Estrogen Dominance.

Estrogen Dominance: Phytoestrogens and Xenoestrogens

Estrogen Dominance and Using Essential Oils

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Frankincense for Your Eyes

I'm sure many of you are in the same aging boat that I am sailing in.  As I have gotten older my eyesight has declined.  Now I have great vision with no need for glasses, however I have noticed that some things just aren't as sharp as they used to be.  My husband on the other hand struggles with vision mostly due to his computer cubicle job.  That many hours staring at a computer
screen has caused him to need glasses and I can see the years tick by as he get thicker lenses.

To restore his vision he has tried several things:

1. Pinhole Glasses:  You may have seen these advertised on various health websites and we don't have enough data yet to determine if they are helping.  I will say he looks ridiculous when he wears them, like a giant fly really.  So the amount of time he is willing to subject himself to that level of humiliation isn't enough so far to see results (plus I won't let him leave the house with them on).

2.  See Clearly Method:  We received a set of DVDs from a friend that is a method for correcting eyesight based on the concept your eyes are muscles and if you "work them out" they will become stronger and you will see better.  Again this method was very entertaining.  Try looking as far right and left as you can without moving your lips as you do it.  Not easy, is it?  So again this method is very labor intensive.  You have to do these exercises often with the DVD and he had a hard time making the time commitment.

3.  Frankincense Essential Oil:   After I read about the benefits of Frankincense on eyesight he decided to give it a try.  He puts 1-2 drops of Frankincense in his hand with no carrier oil and then he rubs his index finger in the oil and rubs it onto each of his temples.  He says that the frankincense provides greater clarity to his vision and brings everything into greater focus.  He is able to read without his glasses and will set them down and not notice they are off.  The effects last about a day so he applies it every morning.


Now vision problems vary in type and severity.  My husband's mostly deal with blurriness when reading or working on the computer.  However Frankincense has so many different uses and it is beneficial to the brain so it won't hurt to give it a try for your vision and see what it can do for you.

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Incurable People: In God's Timing

According to Laree Westover in her book Butterfly Miracles with Herbal Remedies there are no incurable diseases only incurable people.

The fourth type of incurable person is:

Someone whose "time has come."  We are not supposed to live forever in this world, nor are we meant to  be completely free of trials and troubles.

As natural healers we often get so caught up in what remedy to use, rather it is herbal or essential oil, that we may neglect to consider the spiritual side of healing.  We are tri-partate beings after God's own image.  Just as He is Father, Son and Holy Ghost so are we Spirit (mind) Soul (emotions) and Physical body.  How the three parts of our being play into our overall health is not easy to understand.  I do not claim to have complete answers but I do know that to neglect the spiritual side of our life when we are dealing with disease would be a grave mistake.

Is your illness a trial from God? Is He trying to teach you something or work on a sin or character trait in you?  Is your heart filled with un-forgiveness?  Are you bitter or angry? Are you feeling guilt from unrepented sin? 

Your emotions and sin can and do cause illness.  However only you can search out the answers with God.

Another consideration is the curse of death.  It entered into the world due to Adam's sin and everyone is appointed a time to die. This concept is very deep and personal.  I by no means have any clear answers or guidance on determining if this is a factor in your illness, however I hope I gave you some things to think about.

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Are you Incurable? Emotional Gratification

This week I am continuing to explore the concept those traits that make our diseases incurable.  In the Butterfly Express published book Butterfly Miracles with Herbal Remedies it lists the third type of incurable person as

"People whose illness is feeding some emotional need or pattern, or people who are deriving some benefit from their illness"

This is a hard one to deal with because in charity we are to think no evil of someone's illness or their intentions, however I'm sure we have all came into contact with someone we suspected got an emotional gratification from chronic illness.

Symptoms to look out for in yourself and those you love that indicate this emotional gratification would be:

• Does their description of the illness accompany an expression of an emotion in the same conversation?  For example "I was so mad at my husband and then later that day I got a migraine" or "That woman makes me so angry the way she talks to me.....  I am having that pain in my chest again"
• Does the person use their illness to gain sympathy from family and friends?  Does their life and their every conversation revolve around the illness?
• Does their countenance reflect the symptoms they describe? 
• Do they use their illness to get out of obligations or as an excuse to avoid dealing with situations or people in their lives?
• Are they actively seeking a solution to their illness?

After fighting with a neck injury for many years I can definitely see in myself the emotional gratifications I seek through the illness.   I can see how it sometimes feels good to have others giving me attention and using my illness to get out of things I don't want to do.  It can be a convenient excuse.  If you see yourself in any of these symptoms evaluate your heart and choose today to walk a different path through your illness.  Just because you are seeking some emotional gratification doesn't mean that the illness is any less real.  It does mean that you may be standing in your own way of getting better. 

If you believe you or someone you love is making themselves incurable because the illness is meeting an emotional need consider sharing or trying the following suggestions.

1. Pray and seek God's attention for your illness.  Share your symptoms and emotional needs with the Lord and try to unburdon your friends and family.  
2. Focus on serving and listening to others for a while.  Ask about their lives and bear their burdens, getting the attention off of yourself.
3. Try to improve your countenance.  Yes your back may hurt or you may be tired, but attempt to uplift your countenance. A merry heart is as good as medicine.
4. Seek attention for positive things in your life such as your accomplishments, service to others and your talents.
5.   Forgive!!!!  If you have anger and bitterness you must forgive for your own health.  You may say "They don't deserve it" or "They haven't said they are sorry".  So What???  You will hurt yourself the most by your unforgiveness.  In my experience Anger and Bitterness are the leading causes of illness in this country.
6. Count your blessings.  Focus on all the good things in your life and take your every thought captive.  Focus on those things that are good and pure not on the negatives in your life.  

Encourage yourself this week to get well and stop standing in your way!!

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Are you Incurable? Personal Responsibility

"There are no incurable diseases-only incurable people!!  

Last week, we were discussing this quote from the Butterfly Miracles Herbal Remedies book and  I wrote about those who were incurable because they lacked follow through. This week I want to talk about those who are incurable because of lack of interest and personal responsibility.

The second type of incurable person is:

"People who are not interested in thinking and learning and taking responsibility for themselves.  It is almost impossible to know every symptom, every feeling and every nuance of a person's health and accomplish as much good for them as they could accomplish for themselves by taking some responsibility and obtaining even a little bit of knowledge."


Essential Oils and any alternative medicine require you to spend time doing research, reading and experimenting with remedies.  In our current lifestyles, for the most part, we rely on others to do our thinking and researching for us.  Often when we go to the doctor, we sit in front of the "expert" and leave doing exactly what they say or more specifically taking the pill or having the surgery they suggest.  Rarely do people do research or spend time thinking about their health in our mainstream society.

I assume that by your reading this blog, you are interested in your health, which is the first step.  If you are already seeking knowledge then work to increase the knowledge and understanding of the health of your family members through reading and journaling.  It is a good idea to keep a symptom journal for each of your family members.  How can you start to see patterns or know if a remedy has worked if you don't have data?  This journal can also include the essential oils/herbals tried and diet changes you have made.  The more specific the better.


This concept meant the most to me as I have dealt with friends and family around me.  There are so many that I know would be helped by the knowledge I have gained.  However before we invest the time and money into offering alternative remedies make sure the person is ready to take responsibility for their health.

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Are you an Incurable Person?

I was reading in the herbal remedy book written by LaRee Westover and published by Butterfly Express and I found this treasure of a concept.


 There are no incurable diseases-only incurable people!


This may be the single most important concept I have ever read or written about in regards to essential oils and healing.  Reading further LaRee breaks down and defines who incurable people are.  I would like to take a look in this next series at each of her categories so we can examine if we are, with our actions and attitudes making ourselves incurable.  The book says:

Incurable people fall into the following categories:

a.) People who will not follow the program outlined, or follow through with what is needed on a regular basis.

Seriously, how many of us are standing in our bodies way of healing itself?  I know I'm guilty.  I can't count the number of times I set out on a regime of herbs and/or oils and I fail to follow through, which is why years later I am still struggling with the same ailments.  Whether you spend thousands of dollars on a naturopathic doctor or you devise your own plan from reading websites and books, if you don't follow through with the program there will be no healing.

A key to the above concept is "Regular Basis".  Herbs and Essential oils need to be used with consistency.  There are times in first aid type situations where oils and herbs can work immediately, however for long term disease or chronic conditions it may take weeks or months of working with an herb for your body to fully heal.    We must have the fortitude and self discipline to stick with a program to give our bodies the time they need to regenerate healthy cells.

So lets together commit that we are not going to be incurable people!!  If we start a program lets promise to give it at least 3 months to work before we even think about changing it or stopping in discouragement.   For my family, I am committing to putting deliverance on my son's feet every morning and night to help his immune system.  I am setting calender reminders in my ipad and phone so that we can have victory over his weakened immune system.  What program are you on and what is your commitment?
Stay tuned for the next article for the second category of incurable people.

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Grief for a Baby Boy

The loss of someone you love is filled with emotional and physical stresses that are indescribable.  Everyone's road through grief and loss is unique.  Emotions can range from devastation to anger and we will look at some of those emotions in more detail in a later article.  Physically your body goes through sleepless nights, exhaustion and a weakened immune system.  While essential oils can do nothing to ease your grief or make your loss any less painful, they can help your body cope with the range of emotions and situations you may face.  As your emotions change and evolve essential oils can help ease some of the intensiveness of your feelings,  allowing you more perspective. 

Oils such as Lavender, Roman Chamomile, Rose, Palmarosa, Sweet Orange, Clementine and Anthropogon can be used during your grieving process.  Butterfly Express also sells several blends such as Believe, Heart Song, Trust, Baby Me, Whispering Hope, Wisdom, Letting Go, Sanctuary, Magi, Millenia, Benediction, Reconciliation and Turmoil.  You can click on any of the above oils to view their descriptions.  The oil you will use will depend on the circumstances of your loss and how you are feeling.  You can apply the oils as a perfume on your chest, neck and behind your ears.  You can also soak in a relaxing bath by adding the essential oil to baking soda or Epsom salt.  My favorite would be to add the oils to either a personal diffuser  necklace or a home diffuser and have the essential oil continually surrounding you.

The subject of grief was brought to my mind by a very tragic event that happened to a family in our church.  They were new to our church body and their walk with Jesus.  On New Years Eve their car was rear ended by a drunk driver and their 2 month old baby boy was killed.   Here is an article about the crash.   Robert Cecola Jr went to be the Lord and my heart breaks for his dear mother.  If I am crying writing this down, I can only begin to imagine how she is feeling.  This family was in the process of moving from Texas to Illinois and had all of their possessions in the car that was totaled.  They are in desperate need of love and support.

For the month of January MyButterflyOils will be donating 20% of the profits to this family.  If you are considering ordering any essential oils please pray for this family and know a portion of your order will bless them.

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New Year's Resolutions and Essential Oils

I know we all set New Year's resolutions but I wonder if you are like me and set the resolutions but in the back of your mind you doubt they will last or that you will be able to accomplish them.   Sometimes we need a little help or boost to get us down the right track.  There are some essential oils that can help.  Below you will find the most common New Year's resolutions for 2012 and some oils that may help you accomplish your goals.

1.  Lose Weight:
Weightless is a blend that I have had some good feedback on.  It   helps with appetite and craving   control and can be applied  topically to help with cellulite.

2.  Get Organized:

 Sometimes our lack of organization is due to our frantic minds.  We have so much going on in our lives ordering our own thoughts can be a challenge.  IQ is one of my favorite oil blends for mental acuity.  It helps in focus, mental clarity and mental  fatigue.  It also smells very good in a masculine way.  I like it when my husband wears as a cologne.

3.  Spend Less and Save More:
     One of the most significant costs in my household is medical.  Alternative medicine can get costly.  So this year we plan on focusing more on prevention.  We will be adding nightly foot rubs with Deliverance oil to our bedtime routine.  Massaging the oils, especially doing the vita flex technique will help to improve your immune system.  Deliverance contains Cinnamon, Clove and Oregano the most powerful viral and bacterial fighters in naturally healing world.

4.  Learn Something Exciting
     What better time than the new year to commit to studying about Essential Oils.  There are some amazing resources out there on the topic and the knowledge will help your family and friends.  If you are looking for just the basics I would recommend the  Butterfly Miracles with Essential Oils Book.  They have released a new copy that is easy to use and has some great reference charts. It is an easy read and full of info to take your oil use to the next level.

5. Quit Smoking
    If you are resolving to lengthen you life and avoid the perils of lung cancer or know of someone who is committed to quitting, then there is an oil to help.  Clove oil has been used to help with cravings. You place a drop on your tongue and it helps reduce your craving as well as make the cigarette taste terrible. 

What are some of your goals this year?  Perhaps there is an oil that can help.  As for me an my house we will be focusing heavily on preventative medicine!

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Using Essential Oils for the Hoidays

Happy Holidays everyone!! As we all start extending the hand of hospitality this season I thought it would be good to see how essential oils can help us get our homes and hearts ready for company. Nothing gets you in the right mindset for the season than the wonderful smells associated with the holiday. A wonderful bonus to using essential oils verses candles, air fresheners etc is the antiviral and antibacterial properties in the oils.  You will be scenting your home while helping to keep your air free of germs.  Your essential oils can be used in several ways.

1.  In your Diffuser. This is of course the easiest way to spread the scent to your entire home. 
2.  Add a few drops of essential oils to a pan boiling on the stove. 
3.  Burn a candle (plain scented is best) until a wax puddle forms and then add a drop or two of essential oil. 
4. Refresh new or old potpouri by adding drops of essential oils.
5. Make your own room spray by using filtered water and drops of EO.  Add the drops until when you spray you are getting a nice strong smell.
6. Add essential oils to your tree, especially if it is fake.  Either make a room spray to mist on the tree or just add drops here and there to the branches to give your fake tree a refreshing pine smell.

Those are just a few ideas, however essential oils for scenting are only limited by your imagination.  Here is a list of my favorite Holiday Oils.

Single Oils

1. Cinnamon Bark
2. Clove
3. Cassia
4. Allspice
5. Pine

Oil Blends

1.  Bountiful
2. CinnamonBear
3. Holiday Spirit
4. Spice C

I hope this gives you some ideas on how to use your oils to make your season a little brighter.  Stay tuned this month for articles on:
Making Gifts with Essential Oils

The Gifts of the Wise men

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Essential Oil Pain Relief

This past weekend my wonderful husband and I had a weekend planned at a bed and breakfast in Ardmore Oklahoma.  The Shiloh Morning Inn has 70 acres including some wonderful walking trails with hidden couples hammocks.  So I was very excited as I headed to my husband's work on Friday to make our way out of town.  In the parking lot as I walked around the vehicle I fell over a large crack in the sidewalk.  I twisted my foot and landed on my knee.  It was very painful and I had had to sit there for a few minutes before getting up. As we drove the hour and a half to Oklahoma my foot was in a lot of pain on the side.  Elevated on the dashboard I got the most relief, but when I put my foot back on the floor the pain was almost unbearable.

Thankfully I had packed my oils and I had recently read about a pain formula method using essential oils.  This pain method used your feet and a series of oils to determine the cause of the pain and help treat it.  .

B    for Bone = Wintergreen

C    for Circulation = Cypress

I    for Inflammation = Copaiba, Peppermint

L    for Ligaments = Lemongrass, Helichrysum

M    for Muscle = Marjoram

V    for Virus = Oregano


 If you are working on yourself access your pain level.(pain scale between 1-10, 10 being the worst).  Apply the oils one at a time to the Vita Flex point for the spine on the feet and do the reflex 3 times on each foot.  If you don't know the vita flex points just google the term and you will see many charts under images.

Start out with Wintergreen for the bone  and just work your way down the list.  After each application give it a few minutes then re access your pain.

FOR EXAMPLE:
After doing the reflex 3 times on each foot, you should walk (or if unable to just try to move the injured area a bit)  around and see if the pain level has dropped.  If it has dropped then you know that some of the problem is being caused by bone.

Now apply Marjoram and see how this effects your pain. Then use Lemongrass to see if some of the problem is coming from ligaments.Continue this process with each oil on the above list until most or all of the pain had dissipated.

You can then go to the location of the injury or source of the pain and apply all the oils you saw results with from your feet.

For my ankle I actually skipped the diagnosis stage and just went ahead and applied all of the oils, except oregano, to my injury about every 2 hours.  Within 12 hours I could put weight on my foot and with 48 hours all pain and discomfort were gone as if the injury never happened.

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Postpartum with Essential Oils: Part 4: Your Emotions

Bonding with your baby is the most natural thing in the world RIGHT?  Well not always.  As your hormones are changing and your body is hurting the exhaustion and stress may make motherhood an extreme challenge emotionally.  Thankfully, there are some essential oils that will help.  

Unity, a blend by Butterfly Express or another similar blend by any other company will help in the first few hours after birth.  It is the perfect oil to diffuse as you place your baby in their father's arms or allow them to meet their siblings for the first time.  It will help bring peaceful loving feelings to all who are in the room.  Unity contains: angelica, orange bitter, frankincense, geranium, hyssop, lavender, mandarin, neroli, palmarosa, rose, rose geranium, sage, sandalwood, spikenard, spruce and ylang ylang, all of which are high frequency oils.  


Post Partum Depression can be treated in many of the same ways as other depressions, but a hormone balancing oil can also be of benefit.  Oil blends such as Heart Song, Tranquility, Trust and Unity will be helpful.  Geranium ,a wonderful smelling essential oil, can minister to your hormones and your emotions.

To use essential oils for emotions you can dilute the oils with a carrier oil and then apply to the body almost as a perfume behind the ears and along the neck.  You can also diffuse the oil, sniff directly from the bottle or wear on a diffuser necklace.

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Postpartum with Essential Oils-Part 3: Milk Supply

Breastfeeding your baby is the most wonderful and natural part of postpartum.  However it is not always as beautiful and natural as you would hope when problems arise.  Essential oils can help smooth out the process so you and your little one will be satisfied and happy.

To start off right, a few hours after birth start applying Clary Sage essential oil under your arms diluted with carrier oil.  This will help bring in your milk strong and more quickly.

If you are struggling with the amount of milk you are producing essential oils can help.  Fennel or Basil applied with a carrier oils directly to your breasts will help increase your milk.  Peppermint with a cold compress applied directly will help to reduce your milk.

That sweet little baby can at times wreck havoc so if you have sore or cracked nipples apply German Chamomile or the blend Baby Me.  Make sure to clean yourself before nursing.

Finally the worst problem you can encounter while nursing is Mastitis.  Peppermint or Lavender will be a great help for the pain. With Mastitis the best help is prevention so if your nipples start to crack treat them right away so it doesn't turn into mastitis.  Tea Tree can also be a good help in clearing up the nasty infection, so apply with a carrier oil directly on the inflamed infected tissue. 

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Postpartum with Essential Oils Part 1

So your beautiful blessing from God has arrived and you are done with all of the changes to you your body right?? Wrong, your body is still transitioning and may need some support along the way.  Stay tuned for several articles this week with tips on oils that will help carry you through the first few weeks after birth.

For our first article let's look at the oils that may be helpful in the first few minutes after birth.

Retained Placenta:  Rub Basil diluted with a carrier oil on your abdomen and then get up and move around  a bit.

Hemorrhage:  Of course be careful with this one and yield to your midwives direction, however having these oils on hand at your birth may save you a trip to the emergency room.  Ylang Ylang and/or Helichrysum can be helpful by causing the uterus to clamp down.  Apply by diluting with a carrier oil and applying to the abdomen. You can use Geranium in the same way .  Geranium oil also aids in the contraction of the uterus, pulls together stretched and dilated tissues and constricts abdominal blood vessels. Cayenne Pepper tincture or capsules will also help slow a hemorrhage.  Combine the tincture with water or juice.  You can go as high as 30-40 drops and continue often until the bleeding slows. Shepherds purse tincture under the tongue can also help.  I'm sure you are hoping and praying for an uneventful delivery, however make sure you are prepared with at least one oil/herb for hemorrhage.

Re-Aligning your Body:
Millenia is a must have for post postpartum.  It will help to fold and firm the uterus.  It also helps your pelvis and hips move back into their proper position.  Dilute Millenia with a carrier oil and apply to abdomen, lower back and along your hips.  Do not use Millenia until the placenta has been delivered or you.

Check back later in the week to read more about  postpartum depression, bringing in your milk, baby bonding, umbilical cord care and perineum care.

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Finally Off My Thyroid Medication

A good friend of mine used essential oils and diet to come off the thyroid medication she has been taking.  I know that Thyroid is a common problem so I asked her to write up her testimony to share with all of you.

In 2008 I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism after a bout of rapid weight gain, multiple miscarriages, ice cold hands and feet.  Healthy thyroid levels are said to be between (depending on reports) 0.30-3.0 or 0.5-5.0.  My numbers came back at 47, which was obviously out of bounds.  I was put on medication, I fought for a non-synthetic thyroid replacement and was eventually given the prescription for it.  My mom gave me a book written by an endocrinologist that focused on types of thyroid problems and their natural solutions.  He pointed out that even the natural medication that I was taking would tell my thyroid to stop working since I was taking thyroid orally.  For my type of thyroid I needed to eliminate all gluten (which was biochemically similar to the T-4 thyroid production).  In addition to that I added the Endo-Relief essential oil to my gluten free diet to regulate my thyroid.  I use a drop of carrier and a drop of Endo-Relief and rub it unto the TOP big bone and knuckle of both my big toes.  My results?  Last thyroid count was at 0.83, my best numbers ever, and I was able to finally carry a baby full term.  I've now been using it daily since 2009.

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Calming a Hurt Child

If your children are anything like mine, when they get hurt often getting them to calm down so you can address their problem is the hardest part.  They may kicking, screaming or crying.  Sometimes I don't even know where the injury is or what happened.  I have also experienced them guarding the wound because they are afraid I would hurt them.  This can be frustrating and add more stress to my already anxious heart.  That's why when my child comes to me with an injury the first oil I grab is Tranquility by Butterfly Express.  There are also equivalents made by YL and DoTerra. 

Tranquility is a combination of oils including blue tansy, geranium, chamomile German, lavender, palmarosa, patchouli, orange sweet, tangerine, ylang ylang.  

The smell is a combination of floral and wood, which when you first open the bottle is not going to be your favorite scent, but after wearing it for 5 minutes or so it really grows on you.  I use this oil often for my own stress and anxiety but for this article I will describe two incidences with children where this oil was invaluable.


Scenario 1:  We had a driveway that was slanted towards the road so my son and his friend were enjoying sitting on their tricycles picking up their feet and racing down the hill.  Of course with my mother's instinct I could forsee the future injury, but the boys were ecstatic and their fathers seemed to be having just as much fun so I went inside the house to keep from fretting.  Lo and behold a few minutes later here comes my husband at a run carrying my son with blood running down his face.  My son was screaming and crying in much distress. I couldn't immediately see the wound because of all his blood so my first thought was I need to slow down the bleeding so I can see the wound to see if we need to go to the hospital or if it is minor, however with him in such a state of distress trying to get him to hold still became the first priority.  I got the tranquility first and started putting drops on the front of his shirt then under his nose and he immediately started quieting to where I could place him on the counter.  Then I used blue yarrow to stop the bleeding and he was out the door and back to racing withing 5 minutes.  


Scenario 2:  Even though I know the power of oil sometimes they still amaze me.  I was at church and some children came into our fellowship hall with a young boy about 5 who was screaming and crying.  They said he had been stung by a wasp.  A lady grabbed him and took him to the kitchen and made a baking soda and lavender paste to draw out the poison, which worked wonderfully well, however the boy was still very upset screaming, crying and calling for his father.  I took my Tranquility, put two drops on the front of his shirt, a drop on my finger for under his nose and then a drop on his neck.  It was amazing to see how quickly it worked.  He had calmed down before I even got the lid back on the bottle.  I had him take some deep breaths with me and within just a minute he was ready to get down and wasn't in anymore pain or discomfort.  Many of the women around me were amazed at how quickly the Tranquility worked.


So keep your Tranquility nearby, taking the time to put just a drop or two on your child before dealing with the crisis with be worth it.

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Refining your No "Poo" Process and a Giveaway!!

It seems as with any natural healing process, we must all put on our scientist hat to discover the exact combination that will give us the results we are looking for. My No "Poo" or no shampoo journey has been no different. As I updated you on my previous No Poo posts, I have been using the baking soda and apple cider vinegar method for quite a while with good success. However it wasn't perfect and I have since learned some very valuable steps that has made my hair feel even better and I have had many compliments on the look and feel of my hair. So I would like to share my refined hair routine start to finish.

Step 1: Prepare the Ingredients

• I prepare about a weeks worth of baking soda and vinegar rinse at a time to save more time over the week. I first put a stock pot of tap water on to boil. This is a new step I recently learned that has made a significant difference in the feel of my hair. Instead of boiling out the water you can also use rain water or distilled water. I plan on switching to distilled water later on in the month and I will update you on, if that is different. After the water has come to a boil I let it cool for about half and hour and then I am ready to make the baking soda wash. 
•  I fill a glass measuring cup to the 2 cup line with water and add 2 TBSP of baking soda (if you have less oily hair you can reduce to 1 TBSP), stir and add to my shower container.  Your shower container can really be anything, I use a 32oz spray bottle.  Repeat until shower container is full.
• Then add Lemon Essential Oil.  I use apx. 30 drops.  Experiment with the amount.  The lemon oil will aid in cutting oil, cleaning grime and leaving a more clean feeling. 

• Next I prepare my rinse.  Take your rinse container; I use an oil floor cleaning squirt bottle and fill it 1/4 to 1/3 full of apple cider vinegar.  Then fill the container the rest of the way with your previously boiled water.
• Then add apx 30 drops of Rosemary Essential Oil.  Rosemary is wonderful for shine, body and richness of color.

Step 2: In the shower

• First I take the baking soda wash and shake the bottle then apply liberally to the roots of my hair allowing the wash to run through my hair.  I then massage the mixture all over my scalp and rinse out.  It is worth noting here I have a shower filter so my shower water is reasonably filtered.  If you don't likewise have a filter, it would be best to use distilled water to rinse your hair.  You will have the best results if the tap water never touches your hair.
• I have heard of some who at this stage rinse their hair with lemon juice.  I haven't yet added this step just because I haven't been to the store to buy the lemon juice, however to try it just fill a small spray bottle with lemon juice, spray onto hair and rinse.
• Finally I shake the vinegar rinse and pour over my hair.  I use apx. 1-1/12 cups per shower and then rinse out.
• This final rinse with water I always to in as cold of water as I can stand.  This will seal the cuticles of your hair and leave it more shiny and less prone to damage.
• As of this point I am still washing my hair every 2 days.  I am hoping by adding the lemon juice step and the distilled water, perhaps I can reduce the amount of times per week I wash.  I'll update you!

Step 3: After the shower

• After the shower I always try to let hair air dry before styling in any way. I don't even brush  or comb it until it is dry.  This will avoid breakage.
• When dry I will style and then add Argan Oil.  I bought my first argan oil at Sally's Beauty Supply, but found it was mixed with a few questionable ingredients, so I went online and purchased some pure Argan oil.  The Argan oil will smooth down any fly aways and give your hair an amazing shine.  I would consider this a luxury step as the oil is expensive, so I usually only do this step when I am going somewhere important and want my hair to look its best.

Step 4: Once a week

• I read this amazing blog about an woman from India who had beautiful shiny hair and she said she learned hair care from her mother and the generations in her family.  Her hair secret was Coconut Oil.  So I tried it and the results were wonderful.  
• Once per week I take my hair when it is slightly damp (if not from a shower then I spray it with a spray bottle) and I coat it in coconut oil.  I take the hair section by section and go from root to end so that the hair is completely saturated.  
• Then I put it in a bun on the top of my head, cover my pillow with a towel and go to sleep.  In the morning I wash my hair as stated above.  It may take 2 baking soda washes to get all the oil out, but it is worth it.

All women who are naturally minded, there really is no reason to not switch to this method.  Shampoo and conditioner is expensive and damaging to your hair and completely unnecessary!!  If you don't have the immediate results you are looking for play with some of the ingredients and amounts, but don't give up. 

For this week's Giveaway I want to challenge you to try one or more of the above steps and report on how it works for you.  The winner of this giveaway will receive a coconut oil and a lemon essential oil.  So sometime over the next week either try the baking soda wash, vinegar rinse, argan oil or coconut oil overnight and then post a comment letting us all know how it worked for you.  A blog comment will be worth 4 entries.  See the app below to see the ways you can gain one entry. a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Essential Oils and The Sun and a Free Essential Oil!!

We are in the height of summer and even though we all know the the dangers of overexposure to the sun and the nasty consequences, we usually slip up one way or another and get a sunburn.  A sunburn can be as severe as heat, blistering and peeling or more mild with skin tightness and tenderness.  However no matter how mild, a burn is still a burn whether it is from the sun, boiling water or a curling iron and the steps to treating all of the above are basically the same.

Maybe not quite this Bad!!

First determine if the burn is still retaining heat.  If it is warm to the touch then your first step is to release the heat from the burn.  This part is most unpleasant, but fill a bathtub or for a smaller burn area perhaps just a tub of water, with as cold of water as you can get, even adding ice if you have it.  Submerge the burned area in the water for at least 10 minutes or until the burn is no longer hot to the touch.  If your burn is on your face, this may be a bit more challenging.  I would get as many washcloths as you have, fill a bowl with water and put the washcloths in, then stick in the freezer.  This will give you a continuous supply of very cold cloths to lay over your face.  I would lay the cold cloths over your face and change as soon as the cloth starts to warm up.

Once the heat has left the burn you can start the healing process.  As with any burn the only essential oil you need is Lavender.  If you don't have any Lavender you can try Eucalyptus in a pinch.  Apply the lavender neat (which means strait on with no carrier oil) to the burn and repeat every few hours.  If the Lavender isn't giving you the relief you need for the sunburn symptoms such as pain and swelling, you can also get Aloe Vera (pure) and add the lavender to it and apply to the burn.

Make sure to stay out of the sun for at least 2 days after the burn appears to be healed while the skin is regenerating.  It is also a good idea to go ahead and use the lavender for a few days as well to encourage healing.

In honor of all of us that have been sun burned or will be in the future, I would like to give away a free 10 ml bottle of Lavender from www.mybutterflyoils.com.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Decrease Healing Time of Broken Bones

As most of you know, my sweet husband, broke his ankle playing soccer with the children at church.  We are nearing the end of our journey with this handicap as he is set to stop wearing his boot on July 18th.  So I wanted to recap all of the natural remedies we used to speed the healing.  For supplements we went with Standard Process (our favorite source of herbs and supplements) and he took Boswellia complex (to reduce pain and inflammation) and wheat germ oil (to help with tissue regeneration).

For essential oils we used:  Lavender ( aid in scar healing), Lemongrass (for tendon, ligament and tissue healing), Paine Oil Blend (for pain of course) Deeper Blend (for sore muscles around the break and on the other leg because of the way he had to walk), Wintergreen (pain and soreness) and Millenia Blend (to realign the bones).

As much as I hope none of your families have to go through a break like this, I do hope this information will aid in healing more quickly someone else's loved one.

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