Summer is on its way-Yay!! But after a winter in socks and living in the desert, my feet aren't flip-flop worthy.... Thank goodness it's so easy to make your own scrubs that will help exfoliate and moisturize. They're much cheaper than what you can buy and you can customize the aroma to your liking, and oftentimes it's much healthier for you as you can make your own without artificial fragrances, dyes, and petroleum products.
Making your own foot scrub is super easy, you really don't even need a recipe. All you need is an exfoliator and a moisturizer.
A basic recipe that works well is 2 parts exfoliator and 1 part moisturizer. Then add around 5 drops essential oil for recipes up to 4 ounces.
An exfoliator is an ingredient that is used to remove dead and dry skin and that allows the moisturizer to soak in better. Removing dead skin and dirt from the surface of the skin cleans the skin, gives it a radiant look, and a healthy glow. It also reveals newer healthier skin and speeds up the renewal process. A moisturizer is used to help soften, soothe and condition the skin. Of course, I always add essential oils for an aroma boost and many essential oils add extra benefits for the skin.
The best exfoliator for feet is salt. It has a courser granule than most other exfoliators and foot skin is tougher skin that the rest of the body. You can use plain salt or get as fancy as ya like. Himalayan salt adds a nice pink color If you are gift giving. Compounds in Epsom salt may add additional benefits.
If you have any cuts, wounds, or scrapes on your feet, or cracked heels, use sugar. It has a smaller granule and will not sting like salt will. It's also better for sensitive skin due to the granule size.
I've seen some scrub recipes using coffee grinds and have tried a few myself. Coffee can add a great aroma and contains compounds that may benefit skin. Coffee contains caffeic acid which is an antioxidant and caffeine can stimulate blood flow, which may increase circulation. However, the granule is very fine so if using coffee grinds you'll want to mix it with salt or sugar to get enough exfoliation. Be careful where you use your scrub, as the grinds don't dissolve like sugar or salt will, and you don't want to create a plumbing issue. Use equal parts coffee grounds to salt. An easy recipe is 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon coffee grinds, and 1 tablespoon of carrier oil. Consider a coffee filter over your drain.
If your feet are really dry and itchy, you can use oatmeal as part of the exfoliator. Mix equal parts with salt or sugar, as oatmeal by itself doesn't exfoliate as well as salt or sugar.
My two favorite moisturizers are olive oil and coconut oil. You probably already have these oils (and salt and sugar too) so you don't need to purchase anything else. Both of these oils are good for dry, cracked heels. You can use any carrier oil that you like as your moisturizer, so feel free to experiment. I also have used and like:
-Fractionated Coconut Oil-Liquid coconut oil without the aroma.It's easier to mix, but not as moisturizing.
-Jojoba Oil-Has a long shelf life if you are making gifts. It's known as a very effective and soothing moisturizer. It is similar to the oils naturally produced by our skin, so it absorbs well, but is a more expensive carrier oil to purchase.
-Castor oil-A very thick carrier oil that is known as a humectant, making it good for very dry skin. I find it has an aroma that I'm not that fond of.
-Vitamin E-Extends the shelf life of your recipe if making in bulk or gift giving, and adds antioxidants.
Adding essential oils can add additional benefits to your foot scrub and will add a wonderful aroma as well. My favorite is Peppermint essential oil which is great for tired feet. Lavender essential oil can help relaxation for a nighttime scrub. Lemon essential oil is wonderful for dirty feet. Myrrh essential oil is my go to for dry, chapped, and cracked heels. Consider Tea Tree essential oil if you have areas of concern on your feet or toenails. If you are using sugar, consider vanilla oleoresin for a great aroma and often I will add Peppermint and Vanilla together...yum!!
It's generally recommended to use a foot scrub once to twice per week. If your feet are really dry and callused, soaking first in warm water for 10 minutes can be helpful. Also using the scrub right before bedtime and then wearing socks will help to lock in moisture.
If you are not getting the desired results with the foot scrub, consider using a pumice stone in addition to the foot scrub.
My basic favorite easy recipe:
2 TBS Salt
1 TBS Coconut Oil
3 Drops Peppermint Essential Oil
My basic favorite easy sensitive skin recipe:
2 TBS Brown Sugar
1 TBS Coconut Oil
3 Drops Vanilla Oleoresin
1 Drop Myrrh Essential Oil
My basic favorite easy coffee grind recipe:
1 TBS Coffee Grinds
1 TBS Sugar
1 TBS Coconut Oil
2 Drops Vanilla Oleoresin
1 Drop Cinnamon Essential Oil
My basic favorite easy oatmeal recipe:
1 TBS Oatmeal (dry)
1 TBS Sugar
1 TBS Coconut Oil
3 Drops Lavender Essential Oil
For more essential oil recipes, tips, and hacks that make using essential oils easy, sign up for 'The Weekly Oiler' HERE
-Super cost effective (under $16.00 for 15 ml)
-A very calming oil
-Great for grounding
-Mild oil and aroma
-Helps with pests
-Good for skin, coat, and hooves
-Helps your horse to have a shiny mane and tail
Here are some of the ways I like to use it....by the way if you're new to using essential oils with your horse, be sure to grab my free guide where we go over what you need to know to use essential oils safely and easily with your horse, including safety and dilution, click HERE!
-Wear a drop as a perfume when you head to the barn so you stay calm and grounded and help your horse stay calm and grounded.
-Add a couple drops to your hands, rub together and work thru the mane. Then repeat for the tail.
-Add a drop to the palms of your hands, rub together, let your horse smell, then apply leftover to the poll area.
-Add 20 drops into a 4 oz. spray bottle, fill up with water, shake well, and mist the coat while you brush. This is great to help with static, flys, and helps to condition the coat. For a step by step guide to making a spritzer, click HERE!
-Add around 3-5 drops to a dollop of coconut oil and rub into the coronet bands for hoof care.
(Cedarwood is a very mild oil and while I usually dilute all of my essential oils when I use them with my horses, Cedarwood is one that I do use undiluted from time to time.)
Ready to learn more? Check out my mini course "Oily Horse Intro" where we dive into the what, where, how, and why, of getting started using essential oils with your horse...safely and easily! Check it out HERE!
I love to travel around in my bumper pull RV. One of the things I love about RV travel is you are not as limited on space as you are when traveling by plane. I love to take everything but the kitchen sink-lol...ya never know if it might come in handy and I would much rather have it and not need it than want it and not have it!
So how does this relate to essential oils? Well I'm on an RV trip now and I literally took 3 full cases of essential oils 'cause I had the room-haha....but I find myself reaching for the same ones over and over...so I'd like to share with you my top 5 essential oils I keep grabbing...all..day..long...
First you'll notice that I use the essential oils aromatically, topically, and by ingesting them. When I ingest them, I only use essential oils labeled for ingestion, and I like Young Living's Vitality™ product line. With Young Living™, I never worry about quality ('cause all essential oils are not created equally) and I've been to their farms and have seen firsthand the Seed To Seal™ process- to read more about that...click HERE)
Since Young Living's Vitality™ essential oils are the same essential oil as the regular label essential oils, just labeled for ingestion, you can get away with taking only one bottle :)
1.) PEPPERMINT: Hands down, #1. Let me count the ways I use Peppermint-haha! It's my go to essential oil.
-First, I love a drop in my coffee every mornin'. ( Peppermint Vitality™ labeled for ingestion) Inhaling the aroma from my cup invigorates my senses and helps to wake me up, then the taste...I never thought peppermint coffee would taste so good.
-Then we usually head out for a hike and depending on the temperature, a drop of Peppermint in the palms, then rubbed on the back of the neck, cools me off quickly.
-Any digestive upset with me or the dogs can benefit from a diluted drop rubbed on the abdomen. A drop of Peppermint Vitality™ down the hatch in a capsule can come in super handy as well!
-Inhaling the aroma serves as a nice pick me up during the late afternoon slumps. I either just smell from the bottle or start a diffuser.
-If you have over exerted yourself in the daily activities, rubbing a few drops of peppermint on the areas can really help. It's easy to put a dollop of coconut oil in your palm, add a few drops of peppermint, and then you have plenty to cover any areas that ya may be feeling' some tension or discomfort in.
-Hanging around outside, if the pests start to come out, its super handy to make up a quick spray by adding 10 drops to a couple of ounces of water. Then have fun spritzing about and on everyone-haha!
2.) Next up CEDARWOOD: I love to diffuse Cedarwood while I'm away from the camper to keep the dogs calm. It's also a great relaxer at the end of the day or bedtime, especially if anyone is finding it hard to fall asleep.
-Sometimes in an RV showers can be limited, so I like to rub a few drops into my scalp and hair on non wash days, and it also makes a great addition to my face moisturizer.
-If you are sittin' outside the camper at night and find some 'pests' buzzing around, it can be a great help to rub a few drops on exposed skin. I like to do this with the dogs too after diluting it with a dollop of coconut oil. It's good for their coat too!
3.) LEMON: I have a filter on the water intake to the RV, but I'm used to reverse osmosis at home, so I like to add a drop of Lemon Vitality™ to my water bottle each time I fill it up so I don't notice the difference in taste ( stainless steel-no plastic!)(you can use glass but I don't like to camp with glass cause I'm always breaking it-lol)
-A drop of Lemon rubbed into the abdomen can also be a good addition to Peppermint, if you have eaten something that wasn't that great for you.
-I also tend to take a lot of pre-packaged food, dips, etc. and Lemon Vitality™ can be a great flavor boost. A drop in some cream cheese for a mornin' bagel, a drop in some dip with crackers, a couple drops in guacamole (helps it last longer too) or even several drops in a fruit salad to add flavor. (For more ways you can use essential oils with your food, click here and grab my freebie 'Boost Your Flavor' HERE) Lemon Vitality™ contains antioxidants and can also be used for immune and circulatory support.
4.) COPAIBA: Great for any discomfort or tension, dogs too!
-It's also a very mild oil in aroma if you have guests in the camper that need a little time to get used to an oilers aroma-haha!
-I generally dilute any essential oil I use with my dogs, especially 'cause they are all under 10 lbs. But sometimes, if I'm in a hurry or need an oil quickly, Copaiba is a mild oil that I have used on occasion undiluted with no problems. I especially like to use it on any minor irritations that may come up with the dogs, or areas of discomfort that I might notice crop up.
5.) FRANKINCENSE: Almost as many uses as Peppermint! It can be very helpful for calming, in a diffuser or a diluted drop rubbed along the spine of my chihuahua BooBoo..he gets very scared of the wind...well really any noise, and Frankincense usually works to calm him right down...and me too :)
-It's another oil that you can use on any skin irritations, rub into your scalp, or add to your daily moisturizer.
-If everyone is getting tired of each other in the smaller space, passing around the Frankincense bottle is like magic!
-Frankincense Vitality™ is also a good essential oil to take in a capsule to support the immune system. Add a drop of Lemon Vitality™ to augment the immune support and for added circulatory benefits.
If you're like me an wanna take a case of oils-rock on...if not-no worries, 'cause I got ya covered with my top list of top 5.
If ya want easy tips and tricks to usin' essential oils delivered straight to your inbox every week, make sure ya jump on 'The Weekly Oiler' HERE!
This is one of the most frequently asked questions I get, and the answer is yes...BUT!
But what?!
There are 2 key factors when using essential oils with dogs:
1- Quality
2-Dilution
Lets talk quality:
Not all essential oils are created equally! Currently essential oils are regulated in the cosmetic industry under the FDA. This means that, in my opinion, there is little regulation. A product does not have to contain 100% of the ingredient on the label. For example, you can pick up a bottle with the label Lavender essential oil, yet it may only have 5% Lavender in it.
Creating essential oils is a science and an art. There are many factors that include planting the plant, then harvesting the plant, then distilling the plant. Certain plants need harvested at certain times, or a certain way such as handpicking of flowers. Time in the distiller as well as temperature also make a difference.
This is why you can buy a pure essential oil from 2 different harvests of the plant material, and there can be differences in the aroma. Soil quality and weather even play a role. Due to this, some companies want to standardize an aroma and therefore alter the finished product.
What can you do? For starters, READ the label! This will give you an idea of what is in the product you are buying, and usage recomendations. Avoid any product that has the word fragrance on the label. This is not an essential oil and this simple word can mean the product could contain hundreds of chemicals that are contained in the fragrance.
Unfortunately, reading the label is a place to start, but not a fail safe. Trade secret laws in the cosmetic industry allow companies to not disclose all ingredients, and quality factors such as soil, distillation time, etc. are not reflected on the label. I recommend you buy premium essential oils from a company you trust. Here is a list of questions to ask your essential oil company:
I recommend Young Living™ Essential Oils. They give a Seed To Seal™ guarantee that you can read more about HERE. In fact, I will only use Young Living™ Essential Oils with my dogs because I never worry that I am not getting 100% pure premium essential oil. I've been to several of the farms..even one in Croatia! This open door policy allows you to see firsthand what it takes to make an essential oil and that Young Living™ is dedicated to a 100% pure and premium essential oil. They even have a product line created specifically for pets!
Now let's talk more about dilution:
There are 3 ways we can use essential oils with our dogs:
- Aromatically
- Topically
- As a supplement
If you are using a premium 100% pure essential oil such as Young Living™ you can use all 3 methods with dogs. I recommend you start with aromatically which is simply allowing your dog to inhale the aroma. You do not need to dilute because you are not putting the essential oil on.
To use essential oils aromatically, you can:
Wear as a perfume. It is the easiest way to get started using essential oils with your dog. Their sense of smell is much more than ours and this allows your dog to get comfortable with the different aromas.
Use a diffuser-ultrasonic diffusers are generally best as they do not use heat to disperse the essential oil and the diffuser dilutes the essential oil as it is misted into the environment making it a safe way to use. Always provide your dog an out if they choose to not be near the aroma, and keep in mind that some dogs will choose to stay with us even if the aroma is one they don't like or causing some irritation. Watch your dog for signs of discomfort such as itching, watery eyes, coughing, or sneezing.
If you do not have a diffuser, you can make a spritzer to mist the area. You can also drop several drops onto cotton balls or wooden clothespins and stash in strategic areas as well.
You can also let your dog smell from the bottle, you don't even need to open it....remember they have an amazing sense of smell!
Now let's talk about putting essential oils on our dogs. This is where dilution really comes into play. Why would we want to do that? Because essential oils are powerful extracts from plants and have properties that can be beneficial to health. The molecules are also very small meaning that they are quickly and easily absorbed thru the skin, making them ideal for use.
Since essential oils are so concentrated, after the initial investment of purchasing the essential oil, they can be very cost effective, as you only need a drop or 2 diluted to be effective. You want to start low and go slow. Applying a small amount more frequently rather than a large amount all at once.
If your dog is older, maybe a bit stiff, or recovering from an injury, essential oils can support the muscle and bones. Essential oils can be used for skin and coat care, or even for a minor owie or irritation. Applying essential oils along your dogs spine can be done to support general health. Essential oils are not a substitute for proper veterinary care and should never be used in lieu of veterinary services.
It is of the utmost importance that you are using a high quality premium essential oil and that you dilute it properly for application before you put the essential oil on your dog! How do you dilute? You simply mix the essential oil with a carrier oil (olive oil or coconut oil work well and you probably already have them in your pantry). For more info on carrier oils click HERE.
How much do you dilute? Depends on the essential oil being used, your dogs size, age, and health. Some dogs will need more dilution and with some dogs, you can use less. For my dilution guidelines, click HERE.
You can also use an essential oil products that are specifically labeled for use with pets and follow the instructions on the label, such as Young Living's Animal Scents™ product lIne. This product line includes essential oil blends and essential oil infused products created specifically for your pet. They are a safe solution that can be used for grooming, comforting, and treating your fur kids.
Not only is this product line specifically formulated for pets, a portion of all proceeds from the Animal Scents™ products goes to support Vital Ground, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the habitat of grizzly bears and other wide-roaming wildlife.
To learn more about the Animal Scents™ line, click HERE
Using essential oils with your dog can be safe, fun, and effective if you use a high quality premium essential oil, dilute, start low and go slow, and observe!
If you are ready to get started using essential oils with your dog, click HERE and grab my free guide to safely get started!
It's no secret I don't like to cook...but I love to eat a flavorful dish, especially one that's healthy for me. There in lies the dilemma-how do you create a next level dish full of flavor by just throwing a few ingredients together (my style of cooking-lol) ?!
Easy! You add essential oils! Only use essential oils labeled for ingestion, though! Read your labels! I like and use Young Living's Vitality™ Line. A full line of essential oils labeled specifically for ingestion! If you don't have essential oils yet and want to grab some for the below recipes, click HERE, it’ll take ya to a bundle I created listing all of the essential oils used in the recipes below, from the world leader in essential oils-Young Living™. Simply pick which ones you’d like, add to the cart, and check out! Easy peasy and thanks for supporting my small business! (This is an affiliate link and I earn a small commission from your order at no cost to you.)
How do you add the essential oils? Glad you asked :)
One way is by infusing your olive oil. This makes it super easy to add flavor to any meal, whether you are cooking it or buying it ready made. Once infused, you can drizzle it over vegetables, bread, pasta, meats, or make a salad dressing. You can even drizzle it over popcorn instead of butter and salt!
Generally I like to add 2 drops of essential oil per ounce of olive oil, but feel free to experiment. There are some flavors, like Ginger, that I prefer stronger so I add more. Start on the low side though, and then try your olive oil before adding more. You can always add more, it's much harder to dilute out if you add too much. I have also found when adding multiple essential oils, there is usually one I like to add more of and one less. For example, when mixing Lemon & Black Pepper, I like to use the 2 drops per oz. of Lemon, but then only add 1 drop per oz. of Black Pepper.
Here are a few of my favorite flavor combinations: I generally buy several 8 oz. bottles of olive oil and add the drops of essential oil directly to the bottle. Then I gently invert the bottle to mix well. You can use right away, as the essential oil is incorporated very quickly into the olive oil, and the flavor boost is readily apparent. That's one benefit over dried herbs, no need to let sit on the shelf for awhile!
This can also make a great gift! You can by inexpensive cute glass jars on amazon. Depending on the size, just do the math for how much essential oil to add. Then you can dress it up with ribbons or bows and make a label to tape on. You can buy sheets of labels on Amazon, or download my free 'PDF Label Sheet' HERE. Simply print, cut, and adhere to the bottle with contact paper or clear packing tape. Nothing says love like a handmade gift!
The below recipes are for adding to 8 oz. of olive oil. If you have a larger or smaller bottle of olive oil, just do the math and stick to 2 drops per oz. as a guideline.
Lemon & Black Pepper
16 drops Lemon
8 drops Black Pepper
Lemon & Basil
16 drops Lemon
8 drops Basil
Rosemary & Sage
8 drops Rosemary
8 drops Sage
Oregano & Thyme
16 drops each
Lemongrass & Mint
16 drops Lemongrass
8 drops Peppermint
Lemon & Dill
16 drops Lemon
16 drops Dill
And this one is my favorite for drizzling over popcorn...I add the following oils to 8 oz. of olive oil.
16 drops Cinnamon, 16 drops Orange, and 8 drops Cardamom
I feel like this is a healthier alternative versus butter and salt..and great for vegans.
Don't be afraid to experiment, but make smaller batches, just in case ya don't like what you created.
You can also easily infuse salt, butter, tea, and even your water! For more tips on using essential oils with your food, download my free guide 'Boost Your Flavor' HERE
