The Benefits of Essential Oils

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What are your favorite ways to use essential oils? They are known to work wonders! According to MightyNest, "essential oils contain the true essence of the plant from which they were derived".

Essential oils are not oily to touch, rather, they are a pure liquid extracted from the plant. They don't feel oily because the essential oils are distilled by using either water or steam, giving them high concentration. Due to their high concentration, you only need a few drops to reap the benefits. Here is list of popular essential oils from MightyNest and their benefits:

Lavender Oil:

  • Soothes nervous tension, headaches, anxiety and depression. 
  • Helps to induce sleep: recommended for insomnia.
  • Relieves pain from soreness in the joints. 
  • Disinfects scalp and skin: effective on lice removal. 
  • Enhances blood circulation: also lowers blood pressure.
  • Treats respiratory problems: used in a vaporizer or directly on neck, chest and back.
  • Digestion- increases the mobility of the intestine. 

Tea Tree Oil:

  • Anti-fungal-use on athlete's foot, eczema. 
  • Antiseptic-use on cuts and burns. 
  • Anti-viral(inhibits the growth of a virus)-use a few drops in the bath. 
  • Vaporizer to loosen chest congestion. 
  • Combat lice and sooth dry/dandruff scalp. 
  • Treats sinus infections, colds and persistent coughs. 

Eucalyptus Oil:

  • Helps with respiratory problems-effective relief from colds and coughs.
  • Antiseptic-good for cleaning wounds and soothing burns and stings.
  • Relieves muscle pain: analgesic and anti-inflammatory. Apply in circular motion.
  • Stimulating-good for relief of mental exhaustion.
  • Dental and skin care: effective against cavities, plaque, gingivitis and infections.
  • Fever reducer: reduces body temperature. Also called fever oil.

Sweet Orange Oil:

  • Anti-inflammatory, Anti-depressant, Anti-spasmotic (prevents/eases spasms or convulsions).
  • Mild Aphrodisiac. 
  • Carminative- removes gases from intestines.
  • Diuretic: promotes urination to flush out toxins.
  • Sedative: relief from anxiety, anger, inflammation and depression.

Peppermint Oil:

  • Add a drop into herbal tea to aid digestion. 
  • To relieve indigestion or flatulence, rub several drops around navel. 
  • To relieve a headache, rub a few drops on temples, on nape of neck or on bottoms of feet. 
  • Massage several drops onto unopened injury to relieve pain and inflammation. 
  • For mental alertness, inhale peppermint oil to boost mood or reduce fatigue. 
  • To deter rodents and bugs, soak a cotton ball and place near entry point. 

To learn more about essential oils, check out our calendar of classes and free programs for the next free essential oils workshop that is a part of our free community programming. For more information about our free community programming, please see this page.