Let’s start with why I started Young Living. At the time I had been using essential oils for a very long time, maybe around 10 years or so. The problem was I really didn’t know that much about them. I knew lavender was the “cure all” and tea tree was good to add to my shampoo and the deodorant I was making at the time. We used lemongrass because it was my husbands favorite scent, patchouli because it was my favorite scent. I knew that I loved using them but I didn’t really have a ton of knowledge on any of it. I would google what to use for a specific need and what brands are good but if you have ever googled anything about essential oils (or anything really) you will know that there is a lot of conflicting articles and opinions.
I remember being in my kitchen staring at my essential oils and turning to my husband and saying you know what I think maybe I should join Young Living. He asked why and I said because it will teach me the best way to use these.
Now I won’t say I learned nothing from Young Living because I did learn a lot but it still wasn’t really enough. I learned that this essential oil was good for this and that one was good for that but I didn’t really learn why. Or I would be told to use a specific oil in a specific location on the body but again didn’t really know why. Another thing that I got a little frustrated with was I would be told how safe their oils were around your pets yet I would read articles that some shouldn’t be used around your pets and could be toxic. Lastly, the price point. Yes some essential oils are pricey and some aren’t. This is with every company. But I would look at other companies and notice that their prices were all about the same then Young Living’s prices would be so much higher. It was hard for me to sell them and justify the price.
So what do I do now?
Well I decided to look into becoming an aromatherapist. I am currently still in the process of my training but wow have I learned a lot!! I am using the school Aromatic Studies and Jade is the best! One of the first things I have learned from the course is it’s not about the brand but that the essential oil is pure. Well how do you know if it’s pure? You look at the bottles ingredients. Does it show it’s scientific name? Or does it only show its common name? Does it say blend or have a carrier oil such as jojoba oil listed? Let’s use Lavender for an example. Say you go into a store or you are shopping online and you want to buy lavender. With every essential oil you buy whether you have it physically in your hand or you click on it on a website, there should be somewhere on the bottle it’s scientific name with nothing else. So back to lavender. Lavender is it’s common name. It’s scientific name is Lavandula Angustifolia. You do not need to remember all of these scientific names, just google the essential oil you are looking for and see what it’s scientific name is. Or you can keep reading and I will let you know my favorite brands.
What do I use now?
I have a lot of different brands that I enjoy using. You will learn once you start trying different brands that some essential oils even though they have the correct scientific name might smell a little different. This is because they come from plants and plants are grown all over the world. A lavender plant from France might smell a little different from a lavender plant from Bulgaria making their essential oil also smell a bit different. I love and still buy Young Living’s patchouli because it is my favorite, however I love Plant Therapy’s sweet orange and ylang ylang. Rocky Mountain Oils has my favorite lavender.
I also love blends. This is when a company takes different essential oils and adds them together to make a certain blend such as a nighttime blend or a muscle relief blend. This is another reason why I love the freedom to buy wherever I want to. I have different blends I love from different companies. Plant Therapy has my all time favorite blend which is meditation. Simply Earth has another one of my favorites, Peace & Quiet.
Listed below are the brands I love and use the most, in no particular order.
I hope this was helpful. I love the healing power of plants and their essential oils. I hope to continue to educate you on how we can heal ourselves holistically through our minds, body, and the power of plants.
~Lisa
