Using Rollerball Bottles with Essentail Oils

One of the wonderful things about essential oils is the variety of ways in which they can be used or incorporated into your lifestyle.  One of the most confusing things about essential oils is the variety of ways in which they can be used or incorporated into your lifestyle.  Yup.  You read that right.  For some this will not be a burden as they will love the idea of experimentation and the minimal rules but for others it can be hard not to be told exactly how something should be done.  Today I want to address just one issue that I get lots of questions on and that is rollerballs!

About Rollerballs
Rollerballs are glass bottles with plastic tops that include a little ball that allows the insides to spread along the skin as you move it, or roll it.  You can get all fancy and get metal tops too.  They come in a variety of sizes but the most common is 10ml.  Now for those of us that have not been keeping up with our conversion charts, it is helpful to know that 10ml is just about 2 teaspoons or 1/3 ounce.

Having a handy chart like the one pictured will give you all sorts of ratios and conversions so you don't need to do the math.  As implied we use rollerballs for topical application.  It can be used with essential oils neat but, in general, it is a popular way to dilute your essential oils which I feel is an important aspect of essential oil safety.  To learn more about essential oil safety and why you would use oils topically, see this prior post.

There are many online stores that provide supplies for essential oil usage and sell rollerballs in lots of different sizes.  I find the best deal for 10ml rollerballs on Amazon, usually getting 24 for $7-10.

Why Rollerballs?
Personally, I find using rollerball bottles incredibly convenient!  I can have my favorite single oils or blends or special recipes all set and ready for use.  That means I don't have to think about dilution each time I use them and my hands do not have to be covered either.  This is important to me when I use essential oils on others too.  I have small children and use much more diluted doses on them.  It's hard to accomplish using just a drop or two with so much carrier oil to get the appropriate dilution each time.  I'm also left with a greasy kid while it absorbs.  Finally, when I am applying essential oils to them for a specific purpose, I do not need to also apply it to myself.   In short, rollerball bottles allow us to have what we need when we need it in an easy to use method.

They are also easy to travel with!  Why take your entire essential oil collection when you can grab some pre-diluted mixes.  They are easy to toss in a bag or purse and have with you.  Yes, you can take them on an airplane.  The normal liquid rules apply.  In fact, they are just so easy to put anywhere.  Keep some on the night stand, bathroom, by your kids room, or take a few for work...one bottle has now gone a long way in your household!

How to make up a rollerball
The simple recipe: add your desired drops of essential oil, top the rollerball with your carrier oil of choice (such as fractionated coconut oil), add the roller cap and twist on the outer cap.  Done!  TIP: Guess what, you can even just fill one halfway (using half the recipe for your sized rollerball bottle) to see how you like it.  That allows you to experiment and add more essential oils or carrier oil if needed.

Of course you need to decide what oils to put in your rollerballs but once you know, you can consult a chart like the one above to determine the amount of drops you want to use.  I personally, like to start small for the simple reason that why should one use more when only a small amount will do.  There is some testing involved in essential oil usage.  What works for me, may not work for you.  Also, over time, you begin to learn how certain oils work with your body.

I know everyone would like me to tell them exactly how many drops they should use.  I really can't, it's personal and it can vary by the essential oil you are using.  I will say that for a normal, healthy adult, consider starting somewhere in the 2-4% range for daily or frequent use and see how it goes.

A word of caution
There are lots of essential oil recipes out there.  I would suggest that instead of taking each recipe you see for face value, that you get a simple reference guide to use as well.  Compare the properties of the oils used in the blend to understand why they would or would not work for your desired purpose.  Sometimes there is room for substitution.  And finally, consider the right amount of drops for you.  All blend recipes can be decreased in proportion as needed.

Love your Lemon!

Lemon essential oil is one of the least expensive essential oils yet is sometimes overlooked next to all those other ones.  Cold expressed from the rind of the lemon, it takes approximately 75 lemons to fill one 15ml bottle of essential oil.  So just what can you do with this amazing essential oil?  Well, here are some things to try:

• Cleanse and purify the air by adding it to your diffuser
• While you are cleaning the air, you will also be cleaning your diffuser.  In fact, many suggest running lemon through your diffuser at least weekly to help keep it running smoothly.  You can then wipe out the empty diffuser with a soft cloth.
• Use it to cleanse your body and aid in digestion.  It is a simple way to enhance your water but if you choose to ingest essential oils please be sure you are using a high quality essential oil.
• Support your respiratory system, especially when seasonal and environmental threats are high.
• Promote a positive mood.  Sniff from the bottle, rub a drop between your hands, or diffuse!
• Add a few drops to a spray bottle and clean your counters, bathroom, and other surfaces.
• Add to olive oil and use as a furniture polish
• Remedy the early stages of tarnish on silver or other metals
• Can't get that label off a bottle - use lemon oil to rub away the sticky residue!
• Remove stains, even permanent marker.

And there you have it!  Ten simple ways you can make this essential oil work for you!

Only one word of caution.  Lemon essential oil is photosensitive.  If you choose to use it directly on your skin, be sure to avoid direct sunlight for 12 hours.

Using Essentail Oils for Weight Management

I am always learning more and more ways that essential oils can support us in our overall wellness in a natural and safe way.  I have watched others pop pills or follow fad diets to lose or maintain a good weight.  It scares me what some people are willing to ingest for this effort and rarely, under either method, do I witness them being successful with their maintenance.  I am a clear advocate for trying your darnedest to just eat real food.   Really.  I'm not good at depriving myself of food groups and since I don't have any food allergies, I don't see why I need to. I try to eat good, whole food at least 90% of the time.  Yes, I still like to indulge.  Again, no depriving here.

However, it is not always simple to steer clear of the delights or cravings and that is where we can use our natural, plant-derived friendly essential oils to help us when we need them.  Here are some oils and how they can help you with your weight management.

Please note that most oils can be used in three methods: aromatically, topically, or by ingestion.  You should only ingest essential oils of the highest quality and purity.  If you do not know how to use essential oils safely, please take the time to learn before trying any of the items mentioned below.  I am happy to help educate you.  Only high quality essential oils should be ingested.

1. Grapefruit.  Not only motivating and uplifting, this citrus oil can help you curb your cravings.  Ingestion or diffusion are the preferred methods for this purpose.  Topically, grapefruit can also help your body with gentle detox along with breaking down those "storage areas" that have built up and are preserving toxins within.

2. Ginger.  This one is super useful for easing digestion.  If you are changing your diet, you may notice a period of detox that is less than pleasant.  Ginger is a great tummy soother and can help ease any bloating or gas.  It is also a great energizing oil that can help you get through that afternoon slump.  You can ingest ginger or apply it directly to your stomach.

3. Lemon.  Not only can this fresh scent put you in a positive mood, but it naturally cleanses the body and aids in digestion.

4. Citrus oils.  Sometimes it can be hard to stop drinking sugary beverages or even sports drinks that may not be that good for you.  Try adding citrus oils to your water for a fresh, energizing taste.  Aside from grapefruit and lemon, try lime or tangerine!

5. Cinnamon.  Another supporter of healthy digestion, cinnamon helps provide you with an balance that will keep your cravings in check.  Please do not apply cinnamon bark essential oil directly to your skin, dilution is required.

Dishwasher Detox

Interesting story, well, maybe not, but it proves a bit of a point so bear with me.  When building our home my husband and I were picking out new appliances and saw a dishwasher that was self-dispensing.  What?  We just dumped in the detergent and pushed a button every time we needed the dishwasher to run and didn't have to think about filling it up for months.  Sounded quite perfect for two busy professionals.  Then something happened.

The Governor of Wisconsin at the time signed a new law limiting the amount of phosphates permissible in dishwashing detergent.  This isn't a bad thing.  The issue was that the store shelves now had a mix of phosphate and phosphate-free products on the shelves.  And so our purchases followed suit.  The "bad thing" was that we were not aware that mixing phosphate and phosphate-free detergents caused them to solidify a bit.  Yeah, not so great for an automatic dispenser.  Sadly, it took a while for us to notice but we eventually did and try as I might, I just didn't want to take the entire dishwasher apart to fix this issue since I could still add detergent the old fashioned way.

I had been making cleaner and greener choices for the rest of our cleaning products but the dishwasher was last on the list.  Why?  I just never found good reviews on eco-friendly products!  Well, I decided it was time to give something new a try, and we tried a few products that weren't so great and finally settled on something so-so for a time being. You want to know the most interesting part of this??  I bet you do!  A short time later our dishwasher dispenser was clogged no more!  These environmentally friendly cleaners had done their job, and then some.  Our dishwasher had detoxed! And that my friends is very interesting to me.  Doesn't that say something about the power of green cleaning?

Well, I bet you are wondering what we liked, didn't like, and now like.  Our first step was the Seventh Generation Dishwashing Pods.  They get a positive rating from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) as an "A" on a scale of A to F.  However, we did not like them.  Our dishes were not clean and a bit streaky.

Next we ventured over to The Honest Co. and tried out the Auto Dishwasher Gel which is also an "A" product according to the EWG.  Same problem.  Next up, The Honest Co. dishwasher pods which get a "B" rating.  They work pretty well and we used them for quite a bit of time.  We did have to be diligent in rinsing our dishes, but it seemed to at least be working out ok.

Several months ago we tired two new things.  First, Branch Basics cleaner concentrate, a 100% plant and mineral based cleaner.  This product is not listed in the EWG database.  All that is required is 1-2 tsp of the concentrate per wash.  You can also mix up the all-purpose blend (which I use for my counters anyway) and spray the dishes that may be tougher to clean before putting them in.  Works like a charm!  It does take some experimenting to get the right amount so you do not get streaks, but that is simple enough and soon you are just squirting in the right amount.  The second item we tried was Ava Home Dishwasher Detergent by Ava Anderson Non-Toxic.  These pods are also not listed in the EWG database.  We found these too work great!  Cleaned well and dishes came out streak-free.

I currently have both in my home.  Although I most often reach for the Branch Basics because I am able to wash my dishes for about 20 cents less than with the Ava Home pods, but it is also not a huge price to pay for the conviences of a great non-toxic, eco-friendly cleaner!

If you want to review your products, you can check out the EWG Guide to Healthy Cleaning.

Class Announcement for November and December

Should I take a vitamin?

I've wanted to write about vitamins for a while now but haven't because of the overwhelming amount of contradictory information currently available.  I think the issue is that our culture is just becoming much more interested in food sources and supplements in general, and current research is lagging behind.

Let's just start with a basic question - Do I need to take a vitamin?  Well, stage of life or health issues aside, the answers here don't add up either.  For example, LiveStrong.com has an article on it's site dated September 8, 2015 stating "Healthy individuals can usually get sufficient vitamins from a healthy diet, but some people may require more." 

On September 11, 2015 the Council for Responsible Nutrition cited a doctor working with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention on a newly released report outlining the vitamin deficiency issue in most Americans.  She had this to say,"This mantra that Americans get all the nutrients they need from food is simply not true and the data demonstrates it is false. It is much harder than you think to get the nutrients you need from food alone.”   The report goes further to state "Dr. Low Dog illustrated this point by outlining what the average person would need to eat in order to get the minimum recommended amount of many individual nutrients. For example, in order to get the recommended 18 milligrams of iron per day through food, you’d need to eat four cups of raisins, 15 cups of broccoli, three cups of cooked spinach, 10 ounces of beef liver, or 45 ounces of chicken breast. She noted that meeting the minimum amount of nutrition is especially difficult for low-income Americans who can use Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) assistance to purchase candy and soda, but not multivitamins."

If that's true, I think it's safe to say that many of us would benefit from the vitamins received in a supplemental vitamin.  On to the next question.

It seems like taking any vitamin is a great start to boasting your daily nutritional intake but with a huge market to pick from it's hard to know what is best.  Again, this appears to be an area that is evolving as new research is being completed.  One big difference is deciding whether to take the standard synthetic vitamin that has been gracing the store shelves for decades or to instead take a whole food (or food-based) vitamin.  Again, it's tricky to find a concrete answer on this issue as many people seem to side with just taking a vitamin, any vitamin is better than not.  However, if we examine what the difference is between these two types of vitamin supplements, it may help you decide.

So, what is the difference between synthetic and whole food vitamins?

• Synthetic vitamins are produced in a laboratory to be as close as possible to naturally occurring vitamins while whole food vitamins are derived from food sources.  This method leaves the entire vitamin complex intact.
• Synthetic vitamins provide an isolated vitamin but whole food vitamins provide nature's intended complex structure of the vitamin, mineral, enzyme, coenzyme, antioxidant...you get the picture.  This is an important distinction because your body cannot process the intended vitamin without the rest of the structure in place.  Taking a synthetic requires your body to use existing resources to process it and if it cannot, it is eliminated.
• Since whole food vitamins are derived from food sources, the process to manufacture them is more costly than the laboratory based counterparts.  Therefore, whole food vitamins generally cost more than synthetics.
• Beware of fillers!  Many synthetics have artificial colors, preservatives and other binders, and may even contain allergens.  It's important to be mindful of these issues with whole food vitamins as well; however, in general they do not contain allergens.  Many are gluten free. For more information on labeling and things to look for, see this article.
• For a discussion on synthetic vs whole food sources of specific vitamins, see this article.

In conclusion, it's nice that there is a choice to make.  The supplemental industry is growing and evolving.  From a personal perspective, I have chosen to consume a whole food vitamin to complement my mostly whole food diet.  I can honestly say that I can notice the impact they have on my body and my energy specifically.  I think another essential component is the addition of a high-quality Omega supplement as well, but that's another topic entirely!

Essential Oil Safety

When talking about how we use essential oils in our family, I get a lot of questions about the safety of essential oils.  While technically the answer is dependent upon the oil being used, in general essential oils are incredibly safe and effective.  They generally do not have side effects - the most common side effect being skin irritation which you can usually avoid if you learn how to use your oils properly.  Before I get into more detail here, I do have to say a few things on a personal note:

1. You have every right to decide how to treat your body.  Use oils, use pharmaceuticals, use them both!  I'm not here to judge your choices.  However, make sure you are informed.
2. I think we should all be curious about what we put in and around our bodies and that means we should be equally curious about how essential oils can play a role in our daily lives as the personal care products we use, the cleaners we use, and the pharmaceuticals we use.  Let's stop blindly taking things without asking.
3. Instead of closing our minds to what we do not know or understand, let's begin to wonder and learn.  No one is doing things perfect.  We are all just trying our best.

Now, back to essential oils safety.   First, it is important to know that there are three ways in which essential oils are used - aromatic, topical, and internal.

Aromatic use of essential oils is often referred to aromatherapy and is done by adding drops of essential oils to a water based diffuser.   The oils are released into the air and inhaled.  Often 1-5 drops are used at a time, depending upon the diffuser size and the duration of diffusion.  In general, it is often preferred to have 15-20 minute diffusion times but it is not required.

As it sounds, topical application of essential oils occurs when you apply the oil directly to your skin.  Many essential oils are gentle enough that you can apply them directly from the bottle - think lavender for example - but if you have sensitive skin or are applying oils to children they should be diluted with a carrier oil.  A common carrier oil is fractionated coconut oil.  Aside from reducing any skin sensitivity, a benefit to using a carrier oil during topical application is the ability to spread the oil over a greater surface of the body.  This also allows you to massage the oil into the skin more effectively, increasing blood flow and oil absorption in that area.  Since essential oils are volatile aromatic compounds the carrier oil slows down the oxidation process allowing your body to absorb more oil.

Topical dosage amounts and frequency are important when using oils safely.  With an acute issue you may need to reapply frequently.  In general 1 drop of essential oil to 3 drops of carrier oil is an appropriate adult dosage.  However, we all have to learn what our bodies can tolerate.  I'm including the below reference picture for further explanation as I feel it is great guide. 

As is noted in the "helpful note", start with a minimum dose.  You can always add more!  If you have not used essential oils before, you will be amazed at how effective one little drop can be.

One safety concern with topical usage is photosensitivity.  You will want to avoid direct sun exposure if you are using an essential oil with this constituent.  These are generally citrus oils such as bergamont, grapefruit, lemon, lime, and orange.

Second, you do not want to apply essential oils inside your eyes, ears, nose, or any other sensitive body part.  Common areas of topical application include the bottoms of the feet, the wrists, the base of the neck, and behind the ears; however, there are many reasons you may apply them elsewhere.

When choosing to use essential oils internally, please make sure you are using a pure therapeutic grade essential that is approved for internal consumption.  Many bottles are labeled with supplemental facts as is required by the FDA with their GRAS (generally regarded as safe) designation and this lets you know if the oil is safe for internal usage.  In general 1-5 drops may be used depending upon the oil and the purpose.   It is best to spread out your dosage as much as possible taking no more than 20 drops within 24 hours. 

Allergic reactions are often a concern to people who may have an allergy to specific plants.  In general, essential oils do not contain the protein molecules and, therefore, cannot cause true allergic reactions.  Sensitivity reactions can occur but since they are not true allergic reactions, often times users can still enjoy the benefits of that essential oil using a different method.

It is worth noting that just because something is an essential oil does not mean it is safe.  There are some essential oils that are known carcinogens and should be avoided, such as sassafras, calamus, yellow camphor, brown camphor, and wormwood.

So to recap:

1. Learn about your essential oils and in which methods they may be safely used - diffusion, topical application, or internal usage.
2. Follow basic dosage guidelines remembering that you may need to apply more often and can always increase the dosage if needed.
3. Consider using a carrier oil with topical application to avoid skin sensitivity and only apply them to safe parts of your skin.

Note: This information has been compiled from many different sources as well as general knowledge gained from experience.  For that reason I have chosen not to site specific sources unless otherwise noted.