Switch & Ditch: Personal Care Edition

Did anyone already switch to all-natural cleaning products (like this one!) and ditch your chemical-heavy cleaning cohorts? Let us know! A clean sweep never felt or smelled so good.

This week, we are continuing our switch and ditch theme, but now: it’s getting personal. Personal care products, that is.

As far as personal wellness goals go, treating your skin to natural products should be right there on your resolution list along with healthy diet and exercise. And Young Living has plenty of all-natural, essential-oil infused goodies. Ready for some switch and ditch tips? We thought so.  

Switch & Ditch: Personal Care Edition

Make your 2017 resolution a reality with a few of our favorites like the ART skincare system, Young Living's super popular face cream, foaming face wash and toner. 

Make your 2017 resolution a reality with a few of our favorites like the ART skincare system, Young Living's super popular face cream, foaming face wash and toner. 

Oral Care

Let’s start with something you do everyday: brush your teeth. Time to ditch toothpaste with artificial sweeteners and toxic chemicals and switch to natural toothpaste that will freshen your breath and gently wash away staining.

The Thieves lines makes this easy. Try one of three Thieves lines toothpastes along with Thieves Dental Floss and Thieves Fresh Essence Mouthwash.

Hand Care

Make sure washing or cleaning your hands actually washes and cleanses without artificial fragrances or toxins.

I’m in love with the Thieves Foaming hand soap. It smells wonderful and is a great way to introduce guests to Thieves goodness. For on-the-go cleansing, Thieves Waterless Hand Cleanser is on my must-travel list.

Face Care

Whether you are focusing on cleansing, restoring, moisturizing or refining, Young Living has products and oils to try. Some of my favorite anti-aging oils include:

  • Rose - high-frequency oil great for moisturizing and refining skin
  • Patchouli - favorite oil for daily moisturizing
  • Lavender - skin MVP, a must for cleansing, moisturizing and refining
  • Frankincense - sacred oil that restores and moisturizes skin  
  • Myrrh - another must-have for moisturizing  

Start slow and experiment. We suggest adding a beauty oil to your order each month. Everyone is different, so everyone will have different favorites. Once you find your favorites, here are a few tips to get the most out of your beauty regime (and save some money).

Make a Homemade Cream

Make your own body and face cream and infuse with your favorite essential oils. That way you get a daily dose of oils, while stretching your supply.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup shea butter
  • ½ cup coconut oil
  • ½ cup liquid oil (like almond, grapeseed, jojoba or avocado oil)
  • 5-10 drops of essential oils of choice

Directions:

  1. Melt shea butter and coconut oil on stovetop
  2. Let cool completely
  3. Add liquid oil and essential oils for choice
  4. Whip to decadent texture

Homemade Serums

Another way to stretch your beauty oils and save time in your routine: create your own serums. Add your favorite oils and apply after your cream morning and night. To make, you will need to gather a few supplies like 1-oz glass bottles, roller ball fitments and funnels.

Ingredients:

  • 1-oz. favorite carrier oil (again: think liquid food oils like almond, grapeseed or avocado)
  • 1-2 drops each of your favorite anti-aging oils

Directions:

Combine ingredients in a small, amber glass bottle. Yup, it’s that easy!

Hair Care

Tame your locks with natural care products. This one is especially important, considering when you rinse off shampoo it flows down the rest of your body. Young Living has some great daily shampoos (like yummy Lavender Mint) to nourish and cleanse hair.

You can also add oils to your hair care routine. When styling, I add a drop of Ylang Ylang to my hair for a gorgeous floral scent and curl-boosting moisture. Other great hair oils include:

  • Geranium - rehydrates hair, try adding to your conditioner
  • Lavender - nourishes and may thicken hair
  • Rosemary - allows nutrients to penetrate hair and scalp
  • Tea Tree - soothes your scalp

Body Care

Body Wash

Like hair care products, body wash is exposed to large parts of your body. Making your own body wash was never easier with Young Living’s bath and shower gel base. Just add 5-10 drops of your favorite oil. Any of our favorite hair and skin oils would work, or you can try an uplifting blend like Joy.

Deodorants

And finally, we’ll end with another daily personal care product: Deodorant. Young Living offers great aluminum-free options that smell great! (Like this one). You can also experiment using an oil as a deodorant. Purification is a great, cleansing and aromatically fresh option to try!

Switch, Ditch & Save

Ready to ditch commercially produced personal care products? Easy. Switch to buying your natural shampoo, hand soap and floss with Young Living’s autoship program, Essential Rewards. We love it because we get to buy the products we love while earning freebies and points toward even more products we love. We think you will, too!

Any questions? Ask away in the comments.

Peace & Calming Freebie Alert!

Beloved blog readers, listen up. If you are on the fence about starting your essential oil journey this year, here's a little extra incentive: order the Premium Starter Kit before January 31, 2017 and earn Peace & Calming for free. 

Haven't met this little bottle of wonderful? You need to. A Young Living favorite, Peace & Calming is great for diffusing before bed (especially if you have a restless kiddo or 2!). And, due to popularity, it's usually out of stock.

A $34.75 value for free with your purchase!

A $34.75 value for free with your purchase!

Members, you know what to do. Share and don't let friends and family miss this deal! 

Switch & Ditch in 2017: Clean House Edition

It’s resolution season, so we’ll take the last two weeks of January to give you tips on a couple of naturally awesome goals. Week 1 Objective: Clean House in your Cleaning Closet.

That’s right. Make 2017 the year you ditch chemical-laden, toxic cleaners and switch to the good stuff. By good stuff we mean cleaners that you don’t have to worry about coming in contact with you or your family’s skin or lungs. And bonus cleaners that do just as good a job (or better!) cleaning every surface of your house.

Read on for practical tips, quick fixes and tried-and-true recipes. Happy Switching and Ditching!

Ditch toxic cleaning products and switch to all-natural, essential oil-powered clean. 

Ditch toxic cleaning products and switch to all-natural, essential oil-powered clean. 

The All-Important All-Purpose Cleaner

Ditching your old cleaners has another bonus: you can replace all those bottles with just one. Yup. I bought a 14.4 oz. bottle of Thieves Household cleaner 3+ years ago and I am still using it one capful at a time.

I spray this versatile mix on kitchen and bathroom countertops, glass and mirrors. Basically everywhere.*

All-Purpose/Glass Cleaner Recipe

  • 3 cups water
  • 1 capful (approx. 1 tsp) Thieves Household Cleaner
  • 1 tsp white vinegar
  • 3-5 drops your choice oil (I usually use Lemon, but Citrus Fresh or Tea Tree, would be other fresh ideas)

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in your favorite glass spray bottle, spray, wipe away, SMILE.

*When in doubt, try the all-purpose cleaner in a conspicuous spot first. Especially on surfaces like granite or sandstone, where a higher dilution may be in order.     

Kitchen

Thieves Line Quick Fixes*: Thieves Dish Soap, Thieves Automatic Dishwasher Powder

*If you love Thieves Household cleaner, check out the whole line! We’ve included links to some of our favorite products by room to make things (you guessed it) EASY.

Recipe for Clean Tile Floors:

  • ⅛ Cup Thieves Dish Soap
  • ⅛ Cup White Vinegar
  • 1 Gallon Warm Water

Instructions:

Mix and Mop!

Trashcan Tip:

Keep your trash can fresher in two steps!

  1. Put 2-3 drops Citrus Fresh (or preferred Essential Oil, Purification would be a great choice) on a cotton ball.
  2. Place cotton ball in trash can before you insert liner.

Laundry

Thieves Line Quick Fixes: Thieves Laundry Soap

Laundry Soap Tip: Like the household cleaner, this soap is super concentrated. 32-oz. should give you at least 64 loads of clean clothes!

Dryer Sheet Replacement

You know you’re an adult when you get dryer balls for Christmas. But I did this year, and I embraced my adulthood by being totally excited. The wool dryer balls not only help laundry dry faster with less static and wrinkles, they also provide the perfect opportunity to ditch toxic dryer sheets in favor of therapeutic grade essential oils.

I have 4 balls and I add a couple drops of oil to each for a refreshing scent. My favorites are Lavender and Citrus Fresh. Others to try: Stress Away and Joy

Bathrooms

Thieves Line Quick Fixes: Thieves Wipes

Toilet Tips:

I’ve gotten natural toilet cleaning down to 4 steps:

  1. Spray toilet bowl with all-purpose Thieves cleaner (recipe above).
  2. Sprinkle bowl with about ¼ cup baking soda.
  3. Let mixture sit while you wipe down the rest of the toilet with a rag and all-purpose cleaner.
  4. Scrub bowl.

Tub Tips:

Most cleaning sessions, I simply wipe tubs and showers with my all-purpose cleaner, but if deeper cleaning is in order I have a couple of options:

  1. Sprinkle half a lemon with baking soda to tackle stubborn stains.
  2. Create a paste with 1 capful Thieves Household Cleaner and 2-3 TB baking soda.
  3. For a refreshing clean, spray tub with vinegar. Adding a few drops of Lavender or Tea Tree oil will help amp up cleaning power and tune out the intense vinegar aroma.

Last Sweep: Miscellaneous Tips

Carpet

Ditch musty carpet smell with this carpet freshener recipe we shared in our Oil of the Week series:  

Recipe:

  • 1 cup baking soda
  • 5 drops of Thieves Essential Oil Blend

Instructions:

  1. Combine ingredients in shaker, mix well and let sit overnight.
  2. Sprinkle over carpets and vacuum.

General Stain Remover

Reach for Lemon for any weird, sticky, stubborn stains. It’s a natural at getting gunk out of your life.

Wood Cleaner

This recipe works wonders on wooden cabinets and furniture:

  • 1 capful Thieves Household Cleaner
  • 1 cup Olive Oil
  • 2-3 Drops Lemon  

Making the Switch Made Easy

If you’re ready to make the switch, the Young Living Essential Rewards program makes it super easy (and affordable). You just:

  1. Ditch the toxic cleaners in your home.
  2. Ditch the toxic cleaners on your shopping list.
  3. Switch to Essential Rewards for all your natural cleaning needs.

Your grocery list will get shorter and your house will become naturally clean. Just add a cleaning product to your order each month to help you keep this 2017 resolution! You’ll even earn points toward free products while you’re at it.

Have a cleaning quandary? Ask us in the comments!

Hello, Helichrysum: Rejuvenating Essential Oil, You

Today, we spotlight Helichrysum. This rare flower is a vital ingredient in 16 Young Living products. Before we share a few quick tips and facts, here’s a spoiler of some amazing benefits: Dried Helichrysum flowers keep their fragrance, shape and color for years, earning the nickname Everlasting Flower.

If your curiosity is piqued, keep reading, because this month … drumroll … you can earn Helichrysum for free! (Find out how here!). Ok, time to introduce the wheres, whys and hows of Helichrysum. Hello, new friend.  

Fast Fact: Helichrysum has a high frequency making it perfect to diffuse for grounding during study or mediation.

Fast Fact: Helichrysum has a high frequency making it perfect to diffuse for grounding during study or mediation.

Where?

Young Living grows its Helichrysum in Croatia. This hearty plant prefers rocky soil to keep it warm day and night. Instead of harvesting the entire plant, Young Living takes just the top 10-12 inches. The stalk will grow back within a week!

Why?

As you can see, Helichrysum has wonderful rejuvenating and restorative properties. We love it for:

  • Improving appearance of tender skin
  • Supporting mood, even during conflict
  • Easing minor muscle tension or bone discomfort
  • Maintaining healthy circulation
  • Supporting the respiratory system
  • General cleansing properties  

How?  

1. Diffuse:

The uplifting aroma can help soothe moods and stimulate focus. You can diffuse up to 1 hour 3 times a day.  

2. Apply Topically

Try applying 2-4 drops to the feet or directly to area of choice. Dilution is not typically required.

Now What?

We hope you enjoyed getting to know a rare oil today. If you want more information, leave us a question in the comments. We’d also love to hear how you plan to use it first.

And again, find out how you can add its grounding, restorative properties to your oily tool kit for free this month.

Young Living January Promo: New Year, Fresh Favorites

There's something inspiring about a New Year, and we feel that this month's promo captures that feeling perfectly with 6 (yes, 6!) amazing oils: Citrus Fresh Vitality, Eucalyptus Globulus, Basil Vitality, Joy, Helichrysum and Peace and Calming. Each one can help you tackle a resolution with natural zest.

Want to drink more water? Add some Citrus Fresh Vitality for a tasty treat. Trying to work in more work outs? Motivate yourself with the promise of a Eucalyptus-infused massage. Moving up your bedtime? Introduce Peace & Calming into your nighttime routine. 

Ready to find out more? Read on for details. 

Happy New Year to you! Earn these 6 oils with your qualifying purchase. Bonus Resolution Tip: Try cooking more at home with Basil Vitality! 

Happy New Year to you! Earn these 6 oils with your qualifying purchase. 

Bonus Resolution Tip: Try cooking more at home with Basil Vitality! 

300 PV (Retail Value $255.25)

Bonus Essential Rewards exclusives:

250 PV (Retail Value $97.69)

Bonus Essential Rewards exclusives:

190 PV (Retail Value $42.76)

Bonus Essential Rewards exclusives:

  100 PV (Retail Value $9.54)

Bonus Essential Rewards exclusive:

5-ml Citrus Fresh Vitality™

One More Resolution

Resolve to never miss free oils in 2017 with Young Living's awesome autoship program, Essential Rewards. Find out everything you need to know on our Essential Rewards 101 page.