An essential oil is a liquid that is extracted from the leaves, stems, flowers, bark, roots or other elements of a plant. Young Living Essential Oils are primarily extracted through careful steam distillation but also through cold pressing. The purest essential oils are far more powerful than the botanicals from which they were extracted. Even though the word "oil" is used, they're not really oily-feeling at all. Most essential oils are clear with the exception of a few that are amber or yellow in color.
Essential oils have been used for thousands of years for cosmetic purposes, as well as for their spiritually and emotionally uplifting properties. The chemical composition and aroma of essential oils can provide valuable psychological and physical therapeutic benefits. These benefits are usually achieved through methods including inhalation and application of the diluted oil to the skin.
Need something more specific?
I diffuse Peppermint in my classroom to help improve mental clarity and improve concentration. I also rub it on my son's belly (diluted with a carrier oil) to help sooth an upset stomach. I diffuse Lavender at night to help my family calm down and prepare their bodies for sleep. I mix 2-3 drops of lemon with water and spray on my counters to sterlize it and I also add a drop of lemon to my laundry detergent to freshen our laundry.
How are they applied?
Young Living Essential oils can be used internally, aromatically and topically.
Internally - All single oils may be used as dietary supplements by dropping into empty capsules to swallow or dripping in the throat or under the tongue.
Aromatically - All of the oils, including blends, may be diffused or inhaled directly from the bottle. When inhaling, either directly or through diffusion, it takes only 22 seconds for an oil to reach the brain!
Topically - All of the oils can be applied to the Vita Flex points on the feet, added to bath water mixed with Young Living's Essential Oil gel base or Epsom Salts, applied topically on location or used with body and foot massage. Essential oils are often diluted with a carrier oil (sweet almond oil, grapeseed oil, sesame seed oil, etc) or applied neat. Check the Essential Oil label for proper topical usage. When applied topically, it takes 2-3 minutes for an oil to reach the bloodstream, 20 minutes to affect every cell in the body and 2.5 hours to fully metabolize.Not all Essential Oils are Created Equal!
Unfortunately there are no industry standards that test for the actual quality and purity of essential oils. The only standard is that there has to be 10% of the actual oil in a bottle to be labeled 100%. That's very misleading but it helps to explain why the other brands of "100% Pure Essential Oils"are so much cheaper. Most I've seen have list on the back in tiny print that it contains only 20% of the actual oil. What normally makes up that other 80% is junk (carrier oil, synthetic oil, residues of plant, pesticides and toxins).
I use Young Living Essential Oils because they're the only company to offer the Seed to Seal promise. They have set the standard for essential oil purity and authenticity by carefully monitoring the production of their oils from the time the seed is sources until the oil is sealed in the bottle. They apply the most rigorous quality controls possible to ensure that our families are receiving essential oils exactly the way nature intended. Young Living's oils are never diluted, cut or adulterated.
