If you like to live a natural life wherever possible and minimize chemicals in your home, you may be interested in utilizing essential oils. While many of us use these substances with a diffuser to breathe them in via the air, there are many other ways you can take advantage of different oils around your property.
Here are five top essential oils you might like to have on hand and how you can use them.
1. Eucalyptus
As the name suggests, eucalyptus oil is the substance extracted from the leaves of eucalyptus trees, which are native to Australia. The oil gives a fresh, clean smell to your home and can be used in numerous ways. For instance, eucalyptus is helpful when you have a cough and chest congestion. Use it alone or blended into creams or oils to help clear your sinuses and nasal passages. It also works as a salve to ease asthma if you spread it on the throat and chest.
If you have fibromyalgia, you could try eucalyptus oil as a pain treatment by rubbing it into the affected parts of your body. Also, this oil can be used as a compress to deal with shingles pain and healing, disinfect wounds, and reduce general pain and inflammation. It also commonly gets utilized as a bug spray and in homemade cleaning concoctions since it’s an odor and germ eliminator and disinfectant.
2. Lavender
Lavender is a soothing, calming essential oil that has been used for thousands of years by humans. This versatile liquid can treat insect bites, minor burns, rashes, and acne when applied topically or put on cuts or skin scrapes to act as a disinfectant. Many people use lavender oil on their pillow or in their bath to help them sleep and relax, too.
If you’re dealing with sinus and respiratory infections or blockages, lavender oil can come in handy. Whether your health issues stem from a contagious illness, which you can learn more, or a chronic problem, allergy, or the like, you may find some relief with lavender. Place a few drops into hot water and inhale the steam.
Also, if you have a headache, try rubbing lavender oil onto your temples and forehead. Plus, lavender can be used in a DIY natural deodorant. Mix up some baking soda and water to form a paste and add some drops of the oil to it. You can also put this substance in sachets and store them in your closet and drawers to ward off silverfish, moths, and other bugs.
Also read: Home Remedies for Tired Legs using Essential Oil
3. Lemon
You’ve no doubt used fresh lemons in your kitchen and perhaps for cleaning before, but it pays to keep lemon essential oil on hand to use for different purposes. This universal product can be added to water to make a gargle for bad breath or put in a diffuser or bathtub water to aid relaxation. You can find a high-quality diffuser if you don’t have one already.
If you want to clear up dandruff, add some lemon oil to your shampoo, or you might like to make an anti-microbial hand sanitizer at home and use the lemon oil blended with aloe vera gel and other ingredients.
You can also use lemon oil for cleaning by adding it to DIY spray cleaners, laundry soap, dish detergent, or baking soda and salt cleansing scours.
4. Tea Tree
Do you have any tea tree oil in your home currently? If not, it’s time to stock up on it. This popular option can help treat a myriad of health concerns, such as cold sores, insect bites, dandruff, head lice, psoriasis, nail fungus, acne, eczema, warts, athlete’s foot, and more.
You can help to keep your home and pets cleaner by using tea tree oil, too. Place a few drops of the undiluted product around pet baskets and other areas where your dogs or cats sleep and spend time to ward off fleas and other nasties. Plus, add tea tree to water in a spray bottle for a quick, efficient, affordable disinfectant solution.
5. Peppermint
Most of us love the taste and smell of peppermint in the foods we eat, but these essential oils have many applications you may not have thought of. For example, use the substance in a carrier oil and massage this onto your stomach to help relieve cramps and nausea. Or, put the oil on your chest and throat to calm a cough or relieve congestion.
Your feet should feel better if you soak them in a few drops of peppermint oil added to cold water, too, plus you can get rid of odors in smelly shoes by popping in a few drops. The oil can help calm itchy skin, get added to your cleaning products for a fresh scent and antibacterial assistance, or be used to deter spiders and rodents from coming inside your home.
Essential oils are much more versatile and affordable than most of us think. Why not stock up on them soon so you can start getting the benefits from them, too?
Also read: What is Hemp: Description, Uses, Benefits and Side Effects
