Essential Oils Used While Traveling

So lately, I have become a little essential oil obsessed. I have always had an interest in essential oils, and usually had lavender and tea tree stashed somewhere in my house, but I wanted to learn more.

My cute friend Melinda started using DoTerra oils. She gave me some good information and invited me to an informational meeting. I was sold pretty quickly. I already had a decent knowledge of their benefits and I am definitely a believer in using as many natural remedies as possible, for any ailments.

When I told my husband I was going to an oil meeting, he pictured a scene like this, and made fun of me steadily:

He scoffed as I begin experimenting with mixing oils and using them at various times. My husband rolled his eyes when my step-son became curious and I told him they were potions and we would have “potion making class,” as he helped me create blends.

When I started to pack for Europe, I knew I wanted to bring a few oils with me. I purchased this super cute case from AromaTools and loaded my oils in my carry on.

Below is the list of what I brought, and when/if I used them:

1. Tranquility Blend, by Aura Cacia: Obviously not a DoTerra blend, but still one of my favorites. I use this often when I teach yoga to help usher in relaxation as we begin to wind class down. I use it sometimes before bed, if I am feeling a little restless. My step-son loves this one, and will occasionally ask if he can “have some potion” to help him sleep.

2. Lavender: One of my all time favorites! Lately, I have mostly being using it on my hand. I have this weird skin irritation that I think came from lemons (I used to squeeze one in my water every morning). The lavender has really been helping the skin irritation and helping it to heal.

3. Eucalyptus: OK, this may be TMI, but it was a great tip I picked up from somewhere else, so I will pass it along. I used this oil anytime I had to go to the restroom….you know…number 2. You just add a few drops into the toilet before you go, and viola! When you are traveling with other people (in my case, it was 4 other people, and only 1 bathroom for all of us), it really helps! I also added it to the floor of the shower before I turned on the water. It gave off a nice, aromatic, lung opening effect.

4. Lemon: As previously mentioned, I love drinking a warm class of lemon water every morning, to get my digestion moving and help me wake up. Because squeezing a lemon every day started irritating my hand, I begin using this oil. It is so much more convenient! I just add about 3 drops to a glass of water, every morning, to help the detox process.

5. DigestZen: This is a wonderful blend of ginger, peppermint, tarragon, fennel, caraway, coriander, and anise. It is perfect for any type of upset stomach. I rubbed a few drops right on my belly a few times during my trip that I was feeling nauseous or experiencing the beginning signs of acid reflux (probably from eating and drinking too much). This blend starts working pretty quickly and really works! My friend also used it once during the trip and I had my step-son rub some on his belly, when he thought he was going to puke in The Vatican! (It worked, there was no incidents that the Pope would have to forgive us for.)

6. DeepBlue: Another one of my favorite blends! It contains wintergreen, camphor, peppermint, blue tansy, german chamomile, helichrysum, and osmanthus. Plus, it actually comes out blue, how fun is that?

I used this on the day of stair climbing, when we went to Notre Dame, and climbed the hills up to Montmarte.

By the end of the day, my knee was not happy with me. I put some of this blend on a night, and by the morning, my knee felt much better and held up well, for another day of walking.

7. OnGuard: OK, this stuff is simply amazing, and came to the rescue a few times, during the trip. It is a blend of wild orange essential oil, combined with clove, cinnamon, eucalyptus, and rosemary. 

The first time we used it was in Tuscany. My husband is horribly allergic to mulberry trees. He does not even have to touch one, if there is one nearby, the dander in the air will start to cause his face to swell up and his throat to close.

When we arrived at our beautiful villa, we ooohed and aaahed over the views, but soon enough, he started to feel a little off. We looked around and saw a huge mulberry tree, right in front of the villa.

We would be staying at this beautiful site for 3 nights and I felt awful that this amazing experience was beginning to have a negative connotation for him.

It was not long, before he looked like this. He was swollen, sneezing and coughing.

 I whipped out the OnGuard and added 3 drops to a cup of water and had him drink it down. Within an hour, the swelling on his face had gone down, and he was feeling remarkably better. For the remainder of the trip, he drank that down each morning and kept the allergy attacks away. He stopped making fun of my oils after that.

I also used OnGuard when my step-son was stung by a wasp. While he was playing in the pool, he was stung on his shoulder.

 Right away, the area begin to swell. I took him inside and applied a mix of lavender and OnGuard to the area around the sting. Again, within an hour the swelling had gone way down and he was quickly back in the pool.

8. Peppermint: This really helped me while I had the migraine from hell, the first day in Rome, as we explored the Colosseum and the Forum.

 I applied the oil to my temples, behind my ears and straight on my belly every hour. I was still pretty miserable, but without it, I think I would have thrown up for sure, or given up and laid down on the steps of the Colosseum to die.

9. Breathe: Another wonderful blend of laurel leaf, peppermint, eucalyptus, melaleuca, lemon, and ravensara. I really did not need to use it, but I brought it along anyway, in case my husband was having allergy related issues, with anything else. He has used it since then, and it definitely helps him breathe better, when he feels congested.

10. Melaleuca (Tea Tree Oil): I never had to use it, but it is a good one to bring along. I brought it in case there was any injury or threat of infection. Tea tree is so good for knocking that out quickly.

Do you use any essential oils?