When my two youngest kids started to cough in the midst of my daugher’s illness I diffused frankincense in their bedroom a few nights.  Thankfully the frankincense was enough to stop the spread of germs, their coughs disappeared and really didn’t turn into anything.

Frankincense has been used for hundreds of years, historically it was first given as a gift to the Christ Child.  It is one of the most valued essential oils and in Ancient Times it was worth more than gold.  It’s most common uses have been as a cough medicine and for asthma, and most recently it’s been included in the Journal of Royal Society Medicine (1991).  It has also been researched for it’s benefits in rejuvenating the skin.  Frankincense is gentle enough for babies, but only if it is the highest Therapeutic Grade like Young Living’s food grade Frankincense (Boswellia Carterri)  and Sacred Frankincense (Boswellia Sacra). Research is finding that the boswellic acid in frankincense is highly anti-inflammatory and blocks  the biosynthesis of leukotriene acids. Boswellic acid can have a positive affect on the body whether it is inhaled for respiratory issues, or applied topically to rejuvenate the skin and soothe arthritic joints.  Not all frankincense, however, contains boswellic acid.  Buyers should beware when shopping for frankincense as there is a great tendency to add fillers and additives to extend the volume of frankincense essential oil.  Boswellia frereana for example, is a species of frankincense that contains no boswellic acid and is only useful for perfumes or fragrance and has no therapeutic benefit.

Young Living offers 2 species of Frankincense, Boswellia Carteri and Boswellia Sacra: Sacred Frankincense.  Boswellia Sacra has higher levels of incensole acetate, found to have anti-anxiety effects.  The Sacra species also has higher levels of Alpha-pinene.  Young Living exclusively distills Boswellia Sacra frankincense from Oman, a region known in the essential oil industry to produce this superior species of frankincense.  Boswellia carteri contains higher levels of limonene, a component found effective against cancer cells.  Both species of frankincense support a healthy immune system and may even repair damaged DNA cells.

Frankincense (Boswellia carteri)            15ml   whsl  $69.75     retail $91.78

Sacred Frankincense (Boswellia sacra) 15ml whls    $89.75     retail $118.09

You can order Young Living oils at wholesale (select Independent Distributor and order a $40 Start Living Kit for lifetime wholesale pricing, and no monthly minimums, enter sponsor #1003003)  or retail (select customer).

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA.  I am not a medical doctor, and I’m not prescribing treatment, I’m just a mom trying to keep her kids healthy.  This information is for educational purposes only and is not meant as a substitute for medical advise. If you need medical attention seek the counsel of your doctor.

Farid A. Badria, Eman A. Mohammad, Mohammed K. El-Badrawy, et al (2004). Natural Leukotriene Inhibitor from Boswellia: A Potential New Alternative for Treating Bronchial Asthma. Altern & Comp Therapies. 10 (5) 257-265.

Houssen M, Ragab A, Mesbah A, El-Samanoudy A, Othman G, Moustafa A, Badria F. (2010). Natural anti-inflammatory products and leukotriene inhibitors as complementary therapy for bronchial asthma. Clin Biochem 43 (10-11) 887-890.

Safayhi H, Rail B, Sailer E, Ammon H. (1997). Inhibition by Boswellic acids of Human Leukocyte Elastase. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 281 (1). 460-463.

Ziment I, Tashkin D. (2000). Alternative medicine for allergy and asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 106: 603-614.

Recently, I’ve found some great directions on making your own lotions at WabiSabi Baby.com.  I’ve had the how-to  information for years but never ventured out to try it until I read the clear directions from WabiSabi Baby.  Packaged lotions are convenient and you don’t have to worry about shelf life, but if you’d like to try making your own lotion, I recommend this recipe.  When you add your pure essential oils from Young Living you’ll have the purest lotion customized to your skin’s needs.  I mixed together this batch of simple ingredients and had a very emollient lotion in 15 minutes.  I used Young Living’s V-6 oil one time and coconut oil the 2^nd.  The coconut oil version was amazingly emollient.  I have used Young Living’s lavender lip balm (made with coconut oil) for dry patches and the coconut oil  version was very similar.   If you can heat up a can of soup, you can make this recipe.  The first time I did this, the water separated a little.  I reheated the mixture in the double boiler and it turned out much better.  I look forward to trying this recipe with glycerin (making sure it’s vegetable glycerin) for even more moisture.   Mountain Rose Herbs carries a large selection of lotion making supplies including beeswax pastilles and glycerin.   Let me know if you’ve made your own lotions and what has or has not worked for you!

I mixed up ½ this amount the first couple times just to get comfortable with the technique:

¼ C vegetable oil (Young Living’s V-6 oil blend, coconut, jojoba)

¼ C emulsifying wax (I used local, organic beeswax. You can also get an emulsifying wax specifically for cosmetics)

1 ¼ C hot water (almost boiling)

Melt vegetable oil and emulsifying wax in a small sauce pan.   Pour in hot water (this step is critical to avoiding a mess!) and stir until well incorporated, the consistency should be like milk.  Pour the entire mixture into a glass canning jar or other glass bottle with a tight lid.   Make sure you temper the glass first by running  it under hot water to warm the glass slightly.  I found it convenient to sterilize the bottle first, filling it with lotion once it has cooled a little, taking care to use hot pads for hot surfaces.  Pour the lotion mixture in slowly as a dramatic temperature change will break the glass.  Gently shake the bottle about every 10 minutes until the mixture sets.

Add 8-10 drops of essential oils when the lotion cools to customize to your needs:

Calming lotion: Roman chamomile, lavender & frankincense

Acne prone: Melaleuca alternifolia

Eczema: Myrrh

Cooling Foot Lotion: Peppermint

Sunscreen: Add 1 T non-nano zinc oxide plus lavender to protect and support skin health (I ordered mine from WabiSabi baby.com)

Insect Repelling Lotion: Purification, Peppermint, Cedarwood, Thieves, Citronella (make sure it is not a chemical citronella oil, but pure plant extract).  Add non-nano zinc oxide to make a bug repellent sunscreen

I made half this version for a couple days use and keep it in the fridge since there are no preservatives.  You could also add some Vitamin E oil or essential oils that would act as natural preservatives.  Make sure you don’t use citrus oils in lotion you will be putting on before sun exposure.

Watch for an upcoming post on (making your own facials at home) with pure ingredients and essential oils customized for your skin type.

The Longevity Blend can be used in a number of ways.  Applying a couple of drops of the  essential oil blend to the feet can increase the absorption into the system through the reflexology points.   Since all of these individual oils are food-grade, the Longevity Blend can be taken as a dietary supplement.  Taking the blend internally can help combat systemic inflammation which contributes to premature aging and disease.  Simply put 2 drops of the blend into a gel cap and swallow.   If you mix up your own gel cap, often made of a digestible cellulose plant material, take the capsule immediately or it will begin to dissolve.   Young Living also has a gel cap formulated with the Longevity Blend that is more portable than filling your own gel caps.

Longevity Essential Oil Blend 15ml    Whsl  $29.75      Retail   $39.14

Longevity Sofgels   30 ct                         Whsl  $ 27.75   Retail  $36.51

You can order Young Living oils at wholesale (select Independent Distributor and order a $40 Start Living Kit for lifetime wholesale pricing, and no monthly minimums)  or retail (select customer).  If your cookies is not enabled, enter #1003003 in the sponsor & enroller columns to support the Pure Home and Body website.  Thanks!

Anxiety, depression and attention disorders are on the rise. I believe the causes are two-fold, first simply because we live in a culture saturated with unimportant things. We have thousands of choices we can make every day, from the foods we eat to products for our home and health. Marketing campaigns reach for our hearts, showing that we will be happy if we just purchase their goods and services. We can have instant gratification: on-demand movies, fast food and drugs to take away our symptoms in an hour. These are solutions targeted at making us content for the moment. It’s easy to fall into habits that can be harmful to us if we only have a short term fix in mind, leading to anxiety with so much information or depression from lack of contentment.

I believe a second cause of the increase in these health issues is the vast amount of chemicals we are exposed to every day. Some have even said today we are exposed to more chemicals in a day than people 100 years ago were exposed to in a lifetime. This does not even include chemicals we choose to subject ourselves to: over the counter & prescription drugs, plastics, untested cosmetic ingredients, perfumes and artificial fragrance. All of these chemicals can wreak havoc on our bodies and may cause hormonal imbalance which also may contribute to anxiety & depression.
I saw a mom with a newborn baby in the home fragrance aisle at the store the other day contemplating which “home scent” to purchase, I couldn’t help myself and I just told her to avoid using any of it around her kids, for their sake. Our children’s bodies and ours are being bombarded with chemicals, many of them we consciously are burning and “plugging in” to our homes, poisoning our air. We are chemical beings and all these fragranced products are causing chemical reactions in our bodies – the evidence is mounting that these chemicals are linked to anxiety, depression and attention disorders to name only a few. Over the counter and prescription drugs are even worse, with these and other health issues listed as potential side effects. I’m actually surprised at how many people ask if essential oils will interact with the drugs they are taking, yet don’t give a thought to using a home cleansing wipe labeled “harmful to humans and domestic animals” or consider how common household products and cosmetics are interfering with their prescriptions. Perfumes and artificial fragrance are known to disrupt hormones and the endocrine system making us more vulnerable to symptoms of anxiety, depression and attention disorders.

If you are truly looking for help with issues like anxiety, depression or attention disorders, you seriously have to consider cleaning up your environment, diet and personal care products. Essential oils may offer some promise for dealing with these but they cannot compensate for a lack of common sense and poor choices. I myself have used essential oils to deal with anxiety and depression but I have been careful to assess what might be triggering these symptoms in my body. 

Anti-depressants are some of the most widely prescribed drugs, with prescribed usage doubling in just one decade: 1996-2005.  Some studies have even shown that their effects may be questionable.  Dr. Mercola offers some insight into this research and alternatives to prescription drugs even suggesting that placebos have as great an impact on improving your mood .   Keeping this in mind, essential oils may be a great side-effect free option to try before going on medications.   These suggestions have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not meant to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.

Lavender essential oil helps balance the body, may help with insomnia and is calming. Simply smelling something pleasant can have a positive effect on our psyche. Make sure you are using only a pure, food grade lavender essential oil. I met someone the other day who had a bad experience with lavender. After applying a drop to her pillow, she developed a horrible headache. If an essential oils is altered or diluted with any chemical, one can never really know what side effects may occur from fillers. It is always best to use essential oils from a trusted source that verifiies the ingredients of their products. Mine is Young Living essential oils because I know they have the highest quality control standards in the industry.

Frankincense essential oil may be helpful in alleviating symptoms of depression. I apply Frankincense to my face every day, it’s excellent and nourishing to the skin plus it gives a boost to my psyche. Frankincense can be diffused to improve concentration and mental clarity. Because of this quality, it would be a great choice for using when a student needs to get homework done. This is an excellent oil to use for anxiety – when you have a lot of things going on and you don’t know where to begin. This oil is clearly evidence of divine creation – one breath in and your mind is clear and focused for the most important task at hand.

Valor is a Young Living essential oil blend that has similar qualities to frankincense – simply because frankincense is one of it’s ingredients. It also contains spruce which is grounding and helps create positive memory. I used this in one of my yoga classes and afterwards one student commented that at the beginning of relaxation her mind was running in several directions. She said that the second she smelled Valor, her mind was completely cleared and she could just relax. This blend may also be a good choice for helping focus and dealing with attention disorders.

Peace & Calming is a Young Living blend of essential oils. It’s a blend that appeals to most people, it’s a sweeter smell with tangerine essential oil. Some think it evokes thoughts of childhood. Just applying a drop to your carotid artery as a natural perfume can be calming. When it is applied to the soles of the feet it can help move you into a peaceful nights rest. This would be a good choice for overactive children and pets, or adults who suffer from nervous tension.

Stress Away – Roll-On is a Young Living blend that contains vanilla & lime essential oils. This is another blend that works well as a natural perfume with positive side effects of calming you when you are experiencing anxiety.

Peppermint oil is the first choice for mental clarity for attention disorders. Simply applying the oil to the temples can improve concentration and focus. Diffusing peppermint oil when you are studying can help improve memory retention. Peppermint may also be useful in treating headaches brought on by anxiety or depression.

Essential oils have the potential to even out moods, balance our emotions and help improve our mental clarity. But first, it is important to clear your environment and personal exposure to man-made chemicals that may be contributing to these issues. If you are on a lot of medications, have intelligent conversations with your doctor or pharmicist about potential side effects. There are many natural, drug free solutions to anxiety, depression and attention disorders for those willing to do some research and tune into themselves to figure what might be triggering these symptoms in the first place.

There are many essential oils that have high sesquiterpenes.  In common terms this means they bring the most oxygen to the brain, helping all body systems work more efficiently.   A lot of the  oils work through the limbic region of the brain and can help with mental clarity and attention.  Tree oils in particular have a “grounding” effect on many people.  Grounding is best described as being balanced, focused and having a definite sense of direction in your life.  We have all experienced frayed moments when our minds are racing in many directions.   Times of stress in particular make us vulnerable to anxiety and inability to focus.  For some, including many children, this impairment in concentration has become a way of life.  Tree oils like frankincense, cedarwood, copiaba, palo santo and balsam fir all help with focusing our attention.  Valor is a Young Living  combination of oils including frankincense that supports clear thinking and ability to focus.  Valor comes in a convenient roll-on that can be placed in a back pack for use throughout the day.  Vetiver is also another oil that has been researched for effectiveness in treating ADD & ADHD.  Vetiver essential oil has over 100 different sesquiterpenes in it!

These oils can be diffused, applied topically and used as a dietary supplement for food grade oils.  Essential oils are a great way to manage attention disorders in a natural way while maintaining balance in the body’s chemistry.

Aloes/sandalwood  John 19:39

Cassia  Exodus 30:24 (part of the Holy Anointing Oil)

Cedarwood – Known as the “Oil of gladness”  Psalm 45:7

Cypress -Isaiah 41:19

Frankincense – One of the gifts to baby Jesus

Galbanum -Exodus 30:34

Hyssop – Psalm 51:7

Myrrh – Mentioned over 150 times in the bible!  Esther 2:12

Myrtle – Isaiah 55:13

Onycha – Exodus 30:34

Rose of Sharon/Cistus -Song of Solomon 2:1

Spikenard – John 12:3

Frankincense has been used for centuries and was often more valued than gold.  It has been researched and found to be anti-tumoral, anti-inflammatory, an immune stimulant, anti-depressant and muscle relaxant.  Our family has found it to be effective for viruses (place 1 drop on the tongue or massaged into the feet – using only Young Living food grade therapeutic essential oils for internal use).  Frankincense also supports the respiratory tract and can be soothing when inhaled .  It is one of the most powerful essential oils, yet is gentle enough for newborn babies.  Frankincense is very high in sesquiterpenes which stimulate the limbic system of the brain – the center of memory and emotions, the hypothalamus, pineal and pituitary glands.

Frankincense promotes meditation and spiritual awareness – not surprising that the Lord instructed Moses to burn Frankincense in the temple as it would keep worship focused on him and keep worshipers healthy.  Frankincense helps you to focus and concentrate and has shown promising results in use with autism and ADHD/ADD treatments when combined with dietary changes.  It is also healing to sun damaged skin.

Gary Young has found a source of frankincense in Oman where he also distills the frankincense.  Frankincense is a most sought after oil and therefore, often diluted and adultered to extend a supply.  Verify any source of frankincense to be sure it is comprised of only frankincense-no additives, from the Boswelia Carteri or Boswelia Sacra species which are offered by Young Living.

Frankincense is found in many Young Living products including the ART skincare line, Boswelia wrinkle cream, the oil blends: Abundance, Acceptance,  Awaken, Believe, Brain Power, Egyptian Gold, Exodus II, Forgiveness, Gathering, Gratitude, Harmony, Highest Potential, Humility, ImmuPower,Inspiration, Into the Future, Longevity, 3 Wise Men, Trauma Life and Valor.

This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.