Natural Essential Oil Lip Plumper Enhancer

With the new lip plumping fad going around right now, I researched a little about which essential oils could work as temporary lip plumpers. Turns out that Cinnamon Bark or Leaf EO can be found as an ingredient in many natural commercial lip plumpers! So I grabbed my Cinnamon Bark EO for a little experiment. ;-)

- First, I suggest taking a soft, damp tooth brush to gently scrub the dead skin cells from your lips.  I put a few drops into a 5mL Fractionated Coconut Oil filled roller bottle. It really does work! My lips look fuller and more vibrant.  I may make a DIY "natural lip balm plumper" soon and I'll keep you updated on what I use! 

- The cinnamon bark EO essentially irritates/inflames the mucus membranes around the lips and in conjunction with increased blood flow to the area gives them that fuller look. 

- FYI, I would suggest testing a little area first on your wrist if you have sensitive skin and ALWAYS dilute with a carrier oil as Cinnamon Bark EO can be considered irritating and a "hot oil". 

Why You Should Diffuse Essential Oils

There's more to diffusing essential oils than just making your house smell nice even though it does do that too! =)

Commercial air fresheners are full of synthetic toxic chemicals and which can be considered a carcinogen. 

I use my diffuser daily. If you want my opinion on which diffuser I prefer, you can message me through this blog. I've had a few off of Amazon that didn't last as long as the one I use now, which I've had for over a year. I've put that poor thing through the ringer!

- I use it to wake up in the morning (Peppermint & Wild Orange & Lime).

- I use it to clean the air when someone is not feeling well (Protective blend with a drop of Oregano).

-When someone has a stuffy nose (Respiratory blend or Eucalyptus).

-Homework time to help with memory retention and to help focus (Wild Orange, Frankincense and Peppermint).

-For yoga (Sandalwood, Grounding blend & Frankincense, Patchouli).

-Naptime (Calming blend & Cedarwood).

-Before bed to help us sleep (Calming blend & Vetiver).

-Then I just diffuse whatever concoction I'm in the mood for to make the house smell good. (Ex: Happy blend. Sandalwood & Lime, yummmmy). What are your favorite diffuser blends?

Natural Essential Oil Mattress Cleaner Spring Cleaning

It's time to do some spring cleaning around the house! Thanks doterrablog.com for this info!

"You often sanitize your counters, scrub your bathroom, and vacuum your floors—but how often do you clean your mattress?

Most people spend around eight hours every night on their mattress and are completely unaware that they could be sharing their bed with millions of dust mites.

Dust mites are tiny bugs that are so small they can only be seen with a microscope. They stay alive by eating human skin flakes and thrive in a warm and humid environment. Ideal environments for dust mites usually include mattresses, pillows, carpets, upholstered furniture, and fabric-covered items.

Dust mites can even cause an allergic reaction in some individuals that is similar to hay fever and asthma, making it difficult to breathe, or can even cause sneezing or a runny nose.

A simple way to rid dust mites is to clean your mattress, carpet, and upholstered furniture using just baking soda and essential oils.

According to a study, dust mites can be killed by using peppermint, eucalyptus or wintergreen essential oil. When combined with baking soda, which absorbs moisture, deodorizes and sanitizes, this powerhouse duo can be an extremely effective, natural, and non-toxic household cleaner."

What You Need:

-1 cup baking soda (enough for a queen size mattress)

-5 drops Lavender essential oil from the company of your choice

-5 drops Eucalyptus, Peppermint or Wintergreen essential oil from the company of your choice

Mason jar with lid

-Sifter

-Vacuum

How to Clean Your Mattress:

- Remove bed linens & wash them. 

- Add the baking soda & essential oils to Mason jar. Mix well.

- Put mixture into sifter and sift across mattress. Let sit for an hour or more. 

- Vacuum

Happy spring!!!

Lighten Hair Naturally using Essential Oils - Sun Spray

Before I got pregnant with my 2nd child I was a blonde! Yeeep... I couldn't keep up with it and I didn't want those coloring chemicals hurting my baby, so I let it go back to my dark natural color. Now that I know more about how bad hair coloring chemicals can be, I decided to try to find oils (there's an oil for everything lol) that could potentially lighten my hair a bit. 

I've done the lemon juice in my hair when I was younger so I researched that first. I found Roman Chamomile as well as grapefruit oil helps lighten hair too! Whoop. I'm going to mix a few drops of each with some water and vegetable glycerin to make a hair lightening sun spray! I'll give this a try and post an update soon! 

Lemon oil- It's used in hair-lightening shampoos and rinses. Lemon essential oil also pulls double-duty like a grease-fighter for people with oily hair. If you have dry or damaged hair, lemon oil might be overly drying. Citrus oils can make skin more sensitive to sunlight, so don’t get lemon oil on your exposed scalp or hairline. 

Chamomile’s tradition of lightening hair dates back centuries, when women infused the flower’s fresh or dried petals to create a lightening rinse. Of the chamomile oils produced today, Roman chamomile is most effective for hair products. Roman chamomile oil is distilled from the flowers of the perennial chamomile plant Arthemis nobilis. Since it lightens without drying or over-moisturizing hair, Roman chamomile oil is really a good choice for people of all hair types. 

In a 15mL bottle (I reuse my old 15mL essential oil bottles and add a spray top. You can find them online at myoilgear.com) add:

- 15 drops of Lemon essential oil

- 15 drops of Roman Chamomile essential oil

- Add 1/8 tsp of vegetable glycerin or fractionated coconut oil

- Top with distilled water 

FYI::: Be-careful to avoid spraying this mixture on your skin and then going out into the sun. Citrus essential oils can cause photo sensitivity and you will be more prone to sunburn.

Essential Oils and UV Sensitivity - Photosensitive

Citrus oils can be very clean, refreshing and invigorating! Sun sensitivity (phototoxicity) or otherwise also known as photosensitization occurs when an agent, in our case citrus essential oils, are used and they can cause the skin to be more sensitive to sunlight (actually any ultra violet - UV - light) and one would therefore burn and damage more easily. This process does occur most frequently with citrus EOs. If you apply a photosensitive EO be sure to avoid direct UV Rays for 12 hours after application. 

DIY At Home Weight Loss Wraps With Essential Oils

Just another one of the great things you can do with essential oils! The inches do come back in a few days but this is a quick fix for a night out or a tropical beach vacation!

I lost close to 2 inches doing this recipe!