Shark Week + Essential Oils: Yes, Please!

At the close of Shark Week 2018, we thought that Suzanne Rodolfich's Shark Week-themed posts were too good not to share on our blog! Enjoy:) 

Shark Skin? No, Thanks! Best Essential Oils for Skin Care 

Essential Oils are a great, natural way to take care of your skin! 

Essential Oils are a great, natural way to take care of your skin! 

Did you know that shark skin actually looks and feels like little interlocking teeth? Um, no thank you!

Young Living offers SO many options for your skin! Here are a just a few top skin oils:

Top Essential Oils for Skin

  • Frankincense—helps create youthful appearance 
  • Tea Tree—cleanses skin
  • Geranium—helps provide healthy, clear, glowing skin
  • Cypress—smooths skin
  • Copiaba—reduces redness
  • Sandalwood—soothes, tightens, cleanses
  • Blue Tansy—soothes, reduces redness, provides antioxidant
  • Kunzea—provides antioxidant benefits (check out the pics of how the Kunzea plant affects a barbed wire fence)

DIY Skin Care Recipes

My Toner Recipe

  • Witch Hazel  
  • Equal parts Frankincense (glow), Lavender (soothe), Lemon, (brighten), Copiaba

My Skin Cream Recipe

I originally created this as a diaper cream, but now I use it for all sorts of skin issues.

  • Coconut oil
  • Shea butter
  • Equal parts Frankincense, Tea Tree, and Lavender

My Facial Serum Recipe

  • 3 drops Frankincense
  • 2 drops Myrrh,
  • 1 drop Rose

Lots of options, right? I love that we can take care of our skin with non-toxic products that meet our skin’s unique needs!

Do you sleep like a shark? Best Oils for Sleep Support

So many sleep support oils, which are your favorites? 

So many sleep support oils, which are your favorites? 

So apparently there’s lots of controversy about how and if and when sharks sleep:

  • They seem to be very active at night
  • Most species have to remain in motion, so for years scientists thought sharks didn’t sleep
  • However, now scientists think they enter periods of rest where they slow down, but their eyes are open, and it’s not a true deep sleep

Did I describe any of you with those facts? Maybe your kids?

I think many of us seek out essential oils because we need sleep support—that was my reason 5 years ago!

But just like there are lots of things we don’t know about sharks’ sleeping habits, there are so many variables with our own sleeping habits that finding an Essential Oils combo for sleep support can be trial and error.

Best Oils for Sleep Support

  • Lavender: Most people start with Lavender—this doesn’t work for me or Jonna 
  • Frankincense: this is a fav in our house and a Lavender + Frankincense combo can be powerful
  • Stress Away
  • Peace and Calming

If you really want to sleep like the dead, then consider these heavy hitters:

  • Valor
  • Valerian
  • Rutavala
  • DreamCatcher

And then there are a few that kids especially find calming:

  • Gentle Baby
  • Roman Chamomile 
  • SleepyIze

And finally, you may want to consider WHY you aren’t sleeping: Are you worried? Is your child needing a little extra security? Sometimes if we can support our emotions, we can sleep better.

Suzanne's Picks

So—what do WE use for sleep support in our house?

The Kids

  • Jonna (6)—Frankincense, Valor, or Palo Santo
  • Zanna (5)—Frankincense,  Valor, or Palo Santo
  • Mila (3)—Palo Santo and White Angelica
  • Vin (1)—Lavender or Peace and Calming

The Adults

  • Me—Valor or Rutavala (the kids would use the Rutavala, too, but that’s liquid gold and I’m a little stingy with it )
  • The hubs—whatever I’m diffusing 

And despite this lengthy post, there are still more options—I feel like I am leaving so many good ones out!

Maybe you can help me out—what are your family’s favorite oils for sleep support?

Skip the Blue Shark Blues: Essential Oils for Mood Support

No need to feel like the Blue Shark! Try out these tried and true mood boosting oils. 

No need to feel like the Blue Shark! Try out these tried and true mood boosting oils. 

This is the blue shark—according to my friends Google and Wikipedia, they are sort of sluggish and lethargic in their movements. 

Top Oils for Mood Boosting


If you’re feeling the same way, maybe a little down, a little blue, here are some oily tips to try:

  • A drop of Frankincense Vitality daily under the tongue (this is a my go-to mood lifter)
  • Frankincense + Lemon in the diffuser
  •  A few drops of Joy in your hands and inhale
  • Ylang Ylang + Orange in the diffuser
  • Super B an energy and mood lifter all in one—do you know how much our body NEEDS B vitamins? They are vital! I made this a part of my daily routine after I had Vin.
  • NingXia Red—daily, daily, daily! In addition to about a hundred other things, it supports healthy energy levels and regulates blood sugar (anybody else get HANGRY?)

Raise your hand if you had fun with Essential Oil SHARK WEEK! Share any skin, sleep or mood support tips below. Bonus points for Shark-themed ideas:) 

Postpartum Oils

As a mom to FOUR littles 5 and under (5, 3, 2, and 6 months), I have had the opportunity to have two non-oily pregnancies and two oily pregnancies, and WOW at the difference! Actually, one of my favorite ways to use oils is post-pregnancy – because I need ALL the help I can get.

Essential Oils for those super sweet (and intense) newborn days. 

Essential Oils for those super sweet (and intense) newborn days. 

Emotional Support

Hormone support is more important than ever postpartum. Young Living offers many essential oils that can help you maintain a healthy endocrine system.

Frankincense Vitality is my personal favorite. I take it daily as a dietary supplement. On days that I forget, I can definitely see a difference in my mood. Its aroma is calming to me, and when I feel overwhelmed or things get chaotic, it helps keep me grounded.

White Angelica is the other essential oil I use for emotional support after delivery. I apply it to my wrists and wear it as a perfume. It has so many amazing oils in it that support the endocrine system such as bergamot and geranium.

Self-Care

It is so important to take care of yourselves, mamas. I know how easy it is to take care of everyone else first, but try to make a little time for yourselves—even if it’s just five minutes after you (finally) get all the kids in bed.

ClaraDerm Spray: I can’t say enough about it. I tell every pregnant woman I meet about it. Really, don’t have a baby without it. It’s a spray of fractionated coconut oil and lots of oils for skin support: lavender, myrrh, frankincense, tea tree, Roman chamomile, and helichrysum. I used it to prep my skin prior to birth, but I also used it to soothe my skin after I delivered. What’s so great is that mamas who have C-sections AND vaginal births can use it to sooth their skin postpartum.

Super B Tablets: Did you know Super B contains all 8 B vitamins and nutmeg essential oil? And did you know how important those vitamins are for energy? My upline actually shared the awesomeness of Super B with me after my last pregnancy when I mentioned that I needed some help maintaining energy levels. Even better—it also helps with mood support!

Bonding

We hear so much about the importance of skin-to-skin contact after our babies are born. I love to diffuse oils during skin-to-skin and to apply them topically to my chest.

Joy: During those first nursing sessions, I like to apply Joy topically to my chest. This blend includes citrus oils like lemon and tangerine that have such bright, happy smells, but it also has flowery oils like Jasmine, Ylang Ylang, and Rose. It is just such an uplifting aroma and can invite feelings of togetherness, which makes it a perfect addition to those first few bonding sessions. My husband even uses Joy during his skin-to-skin time with the babies.

Gentle Baby: Momfession time—Gentle Baby is not my favorite smell. Blasphemous, I know. However, it can be really soothing and calming to both moms and babies, so I choose to diffuse this one during skin-to-skin time.

Newborn Care

First, let me say that newborn skin is so…new. I would always suggest diluting oils with a carrier oil (my favorite is YL’s V-6 Enhanced Vegetable Oil because I find it light and not as greasy as other carrier oils) if you choose to use essential oils on your babies topically. A general guideline for dilution in newborns is 1-2 drops per 10ml of carrier oil.

I used Frankincense and Valor on both my oily babies: drop of frankincense to the top of their heads for grounding and a drop of Valor on their spine to promote and support healthy proper spinal alignment.

I hope you enjoyed learning about the oils that have helped me navigate life postpartum.  What oils or oily products are on you must-have list?

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Essential Oil DIY Recipe: Baby Powder

Ready for another naturally great DIY Essential Oil recipe? This one is mom-approved, baby-approved and cloth diapering safe! This week we give you essential oil-infused Baby Powder! As always, you can throw our recipes together with household staples and your favorite essential oils.

Keep baby's skin soft AND your peace of mind? That's a win-win with this DIY Baby Powder. 

Keep baby's skin soft AND your peace of mind? That's a win-win with this DIY Baby Powder. 

Supplies & Ingredients

Supplies

  • Glass Mixing Bowl
  • Measuring Cups
  • Mixing Spoon
  • Storage Container (Mason Jar or glass shaker)*

*Store in a dark, dry place.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup Arrowroot powder**
  • 5-10 drops of (pick one):
  • Lavender
  • Roman Chamomile
  • Ylang Ylang
  • Melrose
  • Gentle Baby

**You can also use ¼ cup cornstarch and ¼ cup Arrowroot, but again, we prefer Arrowroot. It’s best for sensitive skin and does not promote yeast growth like cornstarch can.

How It’s Done

Another “why haven’t I tried this before” two-step process!

  1. Combine all ingredients in your glass mixing bowl.
  2. Store in your chosen container.

Use Today

Baby powder helps absorb extra moisture to keep your baby’s skin soft and smooth. Add your favorite soothing oil to keep your baby smelling fresh and a smile on your face, even during diaper changes. Plus, giving your baby a signature scent will give you an instant connection to sweet baby days whenever you happen to smell the oil you use in your powder recipe, even years later!

For baby,

  1. Shake powder out onto your hand (avoiding baby’s face).
  2. Apply with every diaper change and after every bath.

For You,

Don’t let baby have all the fun! This recipe is also great for parents (and non-parents). Apply in the morning and throughout the day to keep your skin sweat-free and soft.

Do you DIY? What’s your can’t-live-without-it homemade beauty product?