young living - Stuff Parents Need

My Skin Condition and How I’m Changing It (DIY Sugar Scrub Tutorial)

April 17, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 31 Comments

I was diagnosed with Keratosis Pilaris at the age of 6. This is a very common skin condition that is also called “chicken skin” (and by the way, if anyone ever calls my epidermis “chicken skin” it will be ugly…what a horrible nickname for this condition!). I’m sure you know someone who has this, and perhaps you have it, too. It usually manifests on the arms and legs, and looks like really bumpy skin that is also quite blotchy.

I’m 33 years old now, so it has been a part of my life for 27 years. And I can tell you already that little Layah is going to have it. Not sure yet about Darah. It’s very normal for me, and it doesn’t cause me too much grief. I mean, it is what it is. I can’t remember what it is like to have smooth skin on my arms and legs. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t REALLY like to have smooth skin again! So when I heard folks on a oils facebook group talking about how using essential oils is helping with Keratosis Pilaris, I was ALL OVER IT. Treating the condition with oils typically involves two steps: using an exfoliating scrub, followed by a moisturizing cream. I made both of these concoctions about 10 days ago.

My Results After 6 Uses

So I’ve used these products about 6 times now, and I will say this: visually, my skin doesn’t look any different. Still splotchy. Still bumpy in appearance. Again, I’ve only used this combo 6 times, so it is too early to determine what the final result is going to be. But was I hoping for a miracle? Of course I was. And so, it was a bummer not to be able to look at my arms and tell a difference.

BUT…my skin feels VERY different! I have been touching my arms so often over the last week, because I just can’t get over how smooth they feel. Do they feel like the arms of someone who DOESN’T have KP? No, at least not yet. But do they feel like the arms of someone who DOES have KP? No, not anymore! They are in this in-between place. And I for one absolutely love it!! And even if you don’t have KP, this is a great scrub for dry skin, too!

DIY Sugar Scrub for Keratosis Pilaris

So the first step is to exfoliate. And you need to exfoliate with the right stuff, friends! I’ve bought TONS of exfoliating over the years, and none have come anywhere close to working as well as this homemade version.

Ingredients

1 cup coconut oil (buy the good stuff…not the cheap version…it matters!)
1 cup cane sugar (I chose cane sugar because it seems slightly less fine that regular white sugar so it has more grit)
8 drops lavender essential oil

I cut the recipe in half for my first attempt (just in case I didn’t like it…but I LOVED it, so go ahead and make the whole thing!). Use a medium sized glass bowl. DON’T use plastic, as essential oils will eat plastic! True story.

Add the sugar, and then the coconut oil. Coconut oil is solid at room temp. I microwaved it for 8 seconds to soften it a bit. That’ll all you need for it to work with you…it melts very quickly. Do not fully melt your coconut oil before making this, ‘k?

Now it’s time to add your lavender. Your skin goes through quite an ordeal when it is being exfoliated, and the lavender is there to soothe. It is important to get the good stuff so that the impact you are seeking is there, and not just the scent. I have used Young Living in the past, but I also feel comfortable recommending Plant Therapy.

Mix all of your ingredients together with a fork until well combined. Then transfer to a glass container with a lid. The glass is important; essential oils will “eat” through plastic!

And if this whole oils thing is all new to you, I’ve got some other great articles you can check out to learn more. I got into the whole thing as a skeptic, myself, so if you have your doubts about it, I TOTALLY relate!

Trying Essential Oils as a Skeptic

How to Get Started with Essential Oils

Natural Allergy Relief

My TV segment on natural allergy relief and Young Living

DIY Shower Disks for Congestion

Essential Oils for Weight Loss

How to Get Free Essential Oils Without Starting a Business (It’s EASY!!!)

Use Lemon Essential Oil to Safely Remove Crayon Marks

How to Get Rid of Hiccups with Peppermint Oil

How to Strengthen Brittle Nails with Essential Oils

Back-to-School Germ Relief with Thieves

How to Neutralize Bathroom Odors in a Flash

How I Support My Lungs and Sinuses Throughout the Seasons

April 1, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 50 Comments

I am sharing my experiences in this post, and not attempting to diagnose or prescribe treatment. Always consult a medical professional if you have questions about ways to treat medical conditions! Affiliate links may be included; I only promote what I love!

I live in one of the worst places in the entire nation for pollen counts. Evidently Chattanooga is like Club Med for pollen. This is where pretty much all of it comes to PARTY HARD.

Ok, I know not ALL of it is here. There are a lot of you out there in other parts of the country sniffling right along with me, and just trying to make it through Spring without your nose or your eyes being permanently damaged from all the tissue applications they are receiving.

I turned to my growing collection of oils to see if I could find something that would support my lungs and sinuses and encourage proper nasal function. I learned about a trio that many people apply topically. It consists of 2 drops each of lemon, peppermint and lavender, along with carrier oil, like almond oil or coconut oil.

This idea seemed promising, but it doesn’t help any of my other family members, who might also benefit from the health benefits the oils may offer.

That’s when the lightbulb went off for me. What if I diffuse those oils every morning? When you diffuse oils, everyone in the room reaps the benefits. And I have found that, indeed, this method is working out just great for my family. I diffuse the trio every morning while we are having breakfast and getting ready for the day, and it seems to really make a difference with our wellness and our nasal functions throughout the day! I have noticed that the effects start to wear off by late afternoon, and that’s when I just swipe one drop of lavender across the bridge of the nose of anyone who seems stuffy. That seems to straighten things out until the next morning! 🙂

Looking for Support?

I have all the info for you about how to get started with essential oils whenever you are ready to look into it. If your budget allows for it, I would recommend going for the premium starter kit, as it comes with all of the oils for the trio (plus 8 more!) and the diffuser. By ordering a kit, you become a wholesale member, which simply means that you can order products at a discount from here on out (but you aren’t under any obligation to order anything else, if you don’t want to!). If you aren’t ready to become a wholesale member just yet, I can also place an order for you using my own wholesale membership so you can still get the oils you want to try at a discount. I love to share my perks with others! 🙂

What are you currently using to support wellness throughout the seasons? I’d love to hear what, if anything, is working for you!

More essential oils posts:

Trying Essential Oils as a Skeptic

How to Get Started with Essential Oils

DIY Shower Disks for Lung Support

Essential Oils for Weight Loss

How to Get Free Essential Oils Without Starting a Business (It’s EASY!!!)

How to Get Rid of Hiccups with Peppermint Oil

How to Strengthen Brittle Nails with Essential Oils

Support the Immune System During Back-to-School Time with Thieves

Use Lemon Essential Oil to Safely Remove Crayon Marks

How to Neutralize Bathroom Odors in a Flash

So You Want to Try Essential Oils? How to Get Started

March 26, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 20 Comments

Ever since I told my little secret (which is that I have been using essential oils, even though I was a pretty big skeptic about the whole thing), people have been approaching me with lots of questions about how they can get started. I thought I’d get it all written down in one place so everyone can see the answers, because for every one person who has asked me these questions, there are likely several more of you who are wondering the same thing but haven’t asked, yet!

Step 1: Learn With Us!

I’m part of a small Facebook group started by my friend Kayla called Oil Love. It’s a friendly, no pressure environment where we can feel free to ask questions about using essential oils and share with each other what we are learning, and what works for us. If you are trying to determine if essential oils are right for your family, the Facebook group is a great place to start.

Step 2: Get Signed Up!

Ok, so Young Living makes incredibly AWESOME products that I trust and that I am certain you will love. They ROCK OUT at producing the best of the best essential oils. They do NOT rock out at making the sign up process simple and completely intuitive. That’s ok, I can help with this piece!

When you go to sign up, you have two choices: you can sign up as a retail customer, or you can sign up as a wholesale member. Think of signing up as a wholesale member like signing up for Costco or Sam’s Club. You are going to be offered discounted prices if you go this route (24% off, which can add up quickly!). If you sign up as a retail customer, you are under no obligation to make any specific purchase and can buy a much or a little as you like.

If you sign up as a wholesale member, you are required to buy a starter kit. You have several options from which to choose, and I will tell you which one I STRONGLY recommend in just a minute. Please know that once you sign up as a wholesale member, you are NOT required to make additional purchases every month if you don’t want to. Young Living does have an Essential Rewards program that you are eligible to enroll in and that does ship out monthly, but I will cover what that entails in a different post, so don’t worry about it for now. All you need to remember is that aside from a starter kit, which is a one time purchase, wholesale members are not committing to additional purchases, so fear not!

Um, Why Does Young Living Need My Social?

I definitely gave this part of the enrollment form my sideways glance. Always ask questions any time someone is asking for your social security number! I do have the reason for you in this case, though. If you sign up as a wholesale member, then you are eligible to earn commissions and referral bonuses if your friends ever make purchases based on your recommendations. Young Living has to report those to the IRS, and hence, they must have your social security number on file if you ever earn any money by referring folks to them. You are NOT expected to start selling essential oils by becoming a wholesale member. Young Living just knows from experience how friends talk to friends, and how sales often get made, not really even on purpose, and they want to pay you, even for those accidental sales! 🙂 Think of it as similar to when you share Zulily or a Groupon deal and earn credit for spreading the word. Same kind of thing!

Which Starter Kit to Select

Ok, so while there are several different kit options in section 2 of the enrollment from which you can choose, if you want my opinion, there’s really only one great option, and that is the premium starter kit (the very first kit you can choose from the selection). The bad news: it is the most expensive, at $160. The good news: It is BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS the best deal on the site. You will get 11 different essential oils (including the VERY expensive frankincense), as well as a diffuser in this kit. The other kits only come with tiny sample packets…not really enough to get a good feel for if you even like the oils. The premium starter kit has a retail value of around $300, and it gives you SO many great oils that can do SO many things. It really is the perfect way to get properly introduced to Young Living and to essential oils, in general. It’s how I started out, and I have zero regrets about my purchase. In fact, I wish I could purchase it again, to tell the truth!

Wait, Do I Need TWO Starter Kits?

I was very thrown off guard when I got signed up and saw section 3 of the enrollment form, which was for yet another starter kit of some sort (these are called essential rewards kits). Please note that step 3 on the enrollment form is completely OPTIONAL and you can skip right past it without selecting something! I totally skipped it, myself. Be sure to click the button at the bottom of the list that says, “No, thank you.”

What If I Want Wholesale Pricing WITHOUT Becoming a Wholesale Member?

I can help you with that, too! I can place an order for you at any time using my wholesale membership benefits. As long as you have PayPal, we can work something out so that you can get your oils at the wholesale price. I signed up for the membership so that I can get the best possible price for oils, and so that I can share that discount with others, so just let me know if you want me to place an order for you!

Step 3 (Optional): Get a Reference Book

I got MUCH more comfortable with essential oils once I ordered and read through the Essential Oils Pocket Reference. Not everyone may agree with me, but I think if you are hoping to use essential oils for more than just 1 purpose, then this guide is going to be extremely useful. It helps you understand the science behind essential oils and gives very specific recommendations for which oils to use and how to use them for a wide variety of conditions.

Ok, so now that you know all of your options for learning about and purchasing oils, you are ready to go! If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to email me at stuffparentsneed (at) gmail (dot) com. I’m here to help!

More essential oils posts:

Trying Essential Oils as a Skeptic

Lung and Sinus Support During Allergy Season

DIY Shower Disks for Congestion

Sugar and Essential Oils Scrub for Keratosis Pilaris (bumpy skin)

Use Lemon Essential Oil to Safely Remove Crayon Marks

How to Get Free Essential Oils Without Starting a Business (It’s EASY!!!)

How to Get Rid of Hiccups with Peppermint Oil

How to Strengthen Brittle Nails with Essential Oils

Back-to-School Germ Relief with Thieves

How to Neutralize Bathroom Odors in a Flash

Disclaimer: I’m sharing my own personal experiences and opinions, and am not claiming that you will have the exact same experience or results that I have. I am also not offering medical advice of any sort. Always consult with your doctor if you have questions or concerns before trying essential oils.

Getting Into Essential Oils as a Skeptic

March 18, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 43 Comments

I’m happy to be sharing my story with you all, but please know that I am not intending to diagnose, prescribe, or promise cures for any conditions. Always consult with a medical professional if you have questions about combining essential oils with a prescription regimen.

Just about two months ago, my friend Kayla Aimee started telling me about the wonderful results she was seeing for her family by using essential oils for things like supporting the immune system and helping occasional sleeplessness. I could hear the excitement and passion in her voice, especially since she is NOT the type to ever try to push a product on someone, and so I ordered a kit of essential oils from her, just to try some stuff out.

And I will be the first to tell you that I wasn’t really sure what I was getting into, but I was pretty darn sure that it wasn’t going to work for me. I’ve purchased essential oils before at health food stores, and I’ve NEVER EVER been impressed with the results I have received beyond them making a room smell good. I never found that they helped me relax, fall asleep, or did much to improve skin problems.

When my oils arrived, I started doing a little experimenting. I started by using a diffuser to get some of the oils in the air so I could enjoy smelling them, and also see if they helped do things like wake me up, energize me, or calm me down (depending on the oil or oils I used). And I did feel as though they were working, although I was still skeptical: this could just be a placebo effect, and be the result of me wanting them to work (because I had just spent $150 plus shipping on this large kit of oils and I didn’t want to feel like a total fool, you know? ).

And then I decided to purchase the Essential Oils Pocket Reference , and I actually spent a great deal of time recently just reading over it. It helped me tremendously! I got to read about the science behind essential oils and how they are distilled. I also read about the lack of regulations across the industry and the subsequent extreme variance in quality and helpfulness of oils. The guide also offered some specifics about how these particular oils are produced, and that helped me understand why they are lauded by so many thousands of people and seem to produce outstanding results. On the practical application side, the reference book gave detailed recommendations for which oils to use (and HOW to use them) to address a wide variety of wellness issues. They distill in small batches (it would be more profitable to distill in larger quantities) and they third party test every batch they make. , and I actually spent a great deal of time recently just reading over it. It helped me tremendously! I got to read about the science behind essential oils and how they are distilled. I also read about the lack of regulations across the industry and the subsequent extreme variance in quality and helpfulness of oils. The guide also offered some specifics about how these particular oils are produced, and that helped me understand why they are lauded by so many thousands of people and seem to produce outstanding results. On the practical application side, the reference book gave detailed recommendations for which oils to use (and HOW to use them) to address a wide variety of wellness issues. They distill in small batches (it would be more profitable to distill in larger quantities) and they third party test every batch they make.

Here’s an example of their commitment to consistent quality: they recently became out of stock of an oil that I love called Valor. I wanted to order more, but noticed they were out of stock. When I inquired about when more would be coming in, I couldn’t get a definitive answer. It could be as early at 3 weeks, or as late as 2 1/2 months. I was a bit frustrated at this answer, as it just sounded like someone in the ordering department REALLY screwed up!

As it turns out, this is just a reflection of the dedication the company has to quality. They had a batch of product come in that didn’t meet their expectations, and rather than put out a product that folks were already lined up to buy, they opted to wait for the next round. And you know what? That one may not make the cut, either, which is why they aren’t making any promises. I totally respect that, because many companies would choose to sell something that was “close enough” in quality.

As I have spent a bit more time getting used to the oils and learning about different ways to use them (diffusing, topical application, and ingesting), I have been becoming a bigger and bigger fan. I have realized that these oils contribute to better health for my own family, as well as for other families. And at the end of the day, one of my very favorite things to do is to come up with strategies that solve problems. When I get to do that, I’m in my happy place. That’s why I blog about products and services that I love (or don’t), love to share ideas that are quick and easy and get the job done, and help busy parents like myself find ways (big and small) to make day-to-day life just a bit easier and more fun. That, my friends, is why 4 1/2 years after starting this blog, I’m still jabbering away!

I can’t wait to share more with you about how essential oils are supporting wellness left and right in my home. I purchase these oils regularly so I signed up for a membership with Young Living, which means I get to place an order each month with discounted prices, as well as discounted shipping. I’ll keep you all in the loop about when that order is coming up, because I’d be happy to include others on it (helping my readers find solutions AND helping them get the best price? I’m in heaven!!!). If you’d like to join a small facebook group I’m in just to learn more about oils and how to use them (it is NOT a sales-y places, just a sharing place), then feel free to join the Oil Love Facebook group!

More essential oils posts:

Supporting My Lungs and Sinuses Throughout the Seasons

DIY Shower Disks for Congestion

Essential Oils for Weight Loss

How to Get Started with Essential Oils

Use Lemon Essential Oil to Safely Remove Crayon Marks

How to Get Free Essential Oils Without Starting a Business (It’s EASY!!!)

How to Get Rid of Hiccups with Peppermint Oil

How to Strengthen Brittle Nails with Essential Oils

Support a Healthy Immune System with Thieves

Have you ever tried essential oils? Did you have a disappointing experience like I did at first? Do you think I sound like I’ve gone off my rocker just a wee bit? And do you have any questions about oils or any problems that you are curious if oils might potentially help with? I’d be delighted to try to find the answer for you!