Your Nose Knows A Lot

Your nose knows a lot about how scents work for your body. It can process the aroma of sugar cookies baking in the oven, and suddenly you are thinking about decorating cookies with your mom or you remember making coveted chocolate chip cookies with your grandmother. My Oma made amazing cookies and the scent of her lukken cookies, her specialty, transports me back in time to her kitchen.

Your nose can also recall less pleasant things like when you smell overcooked burgers on the grill and you suddenly recall the Great Camping Incident of 1984 with your Canadian cousin. It is the same reason that makes diffusing your essential oils so powerful. And that, boys and girls, is where our oily blog takes us today - an oily journey through Aromatherapy 101 and pracitical recipes for our noses.

We all want to smell nice things, and maybe you have resorted to toxic plug-ins or candles with fake fragrances in the past. I get it, they are easy to get your hands on and initially have a pleasant scent. The challenge is that they are a synthetic chemical scent, and I know those are an instant migraine for me and many others. Recently some studies link them to scary diseases like cancer...yikes! But, on our oily journey together, we now know better. This is where we replace those things of the past with today's therapeutic grade essential oils that smell divine and have other important benefits. Here comes the awesome 'science-y' part. Hang in there because it is worth it.

There are two key brain parts to how your body responds to what your nose knows: the limbic lobe and the hypothalamus. Of the five senses we have, our sense of smell is the only one that direct dials to the emotional control center in our brain - the limbic lobe. The limbic lobe is the part of the brain that controls happiness, joy, frustration, sadness and anger. Aromas actively trigger this part of the brain - it is why you picture baking when you smelled those cookies or why you remember the miserable rainy camping trip complete with carbonized burgers for an unforgettable and inedible dinner. We respond to the smell before our brain even digests why we feel that way. It is THAT powerful. The second key part is the hypothalamus. Its day job is to control things like sleep, hunger, and regulating body temperature. It is also part of what controls hormones and neurotransmitters. Before your body releases more cortisol (one of the many hormones) or serotonin (one of the many neurotransmitters), it checks in with the hypothalamus. Here's the important part: aromatherapy can and does influence these key brain parts through your sense of smell because of your nose. It really does know.

Think about how powerful this makes your essential oils. It is why favorites like Lavender Oil, Peppermint Oil, Stress Away Oil and Joy Oil really work - your nose knows. One more important thing - the quality of the aroma stimulating those key parts is a huge part of whether or not it works. If you have anything lower than therapeutic grade oil, you risk losing the very parts of the oil that offer the benefits you seek. Young Living is the only therapeutic grade oil I trust for my family and myself. I don't just want something that smells pretty but doesn't help support our health. So, how do you put all this to work for you? Just follow your nose!

DIFFUSER - This allows the benefits of the aromatherapy to reach everyone in the diffuser's reach. I am using one in my twin sons' bedroom. They share a room and one has a terrible cold right now. The other one hasn't caught that plague yet. I have our diffuser sending out an immune support blend with some cootie crushing oily goodness, and I am betting my healthy teen will stay healthy. Young Living offers top quality diffusers made with hospital grade plastic that won't react with the oils you use. Remember citrus oils in particular pull toxins from plastic, and you don't want to diffuse toxins!

PERSONAL DIFFUSER - It's not that you don't want to share the aromatherapy like a room diffuser can; it's just that there is a time and place for diffusing just for you. Maybe coworkers don't prefer to share your oils. Maybe you need something just for you. Whatever the reason, a personal diffuser is perfect when just YOU need the oily magic. These most often include inhalers with cotton wicks, or jewelry like necklaces, pendants, earrings and bracelets made from natural materials that can hold the oil and disperse the aroma as your body heat causes the scent to disperse.

SPRAY - People - get rid of those chemical-laden sprays. You know the ones I mean - they offer a scent you may like with a price tag that is more than just dollars. Why use synthetic chemicals that can contribute to issues with asthma, migraines and headaches when you can use natural chemicals found in organic, therapeutic grade oils? It's a no brainer! I don't want to inhale all those synthetic products and I don't want my loved ones or even my pets exposed to them. Use your OILS to MAKE your own sprays. Room sprays and Potty Pourri freshen the air and keep those stinky odors and unnatural chemicals away.

CAR DIFFUSER - Those same chemicals in your room sprays are also in the car air fresheners. You know - the ones about 18 inches from your face? One time, my friend accidentally spilled the contents of a gel based car air freshener. It melted the plastic coating on the car's air vents. That's not safe, especially when we know about essential oils. Use them in your car, too! I used Purification essential oil throughout the football and cross country carpool season, and I am telling you it was a lifesaver. I learned that a car full of sweaty teenage boys is not something to tackle without an aromatherapy plan. My nose reminded me whenever I needed to refresh the car diffuser's essential oil. We only had to open the windows once, but that was after a particularly grueling course (Ahem). Here's some ideas for you to try, and make sure you send us your ideas, too. We are always looking for wonderful new ideas and oily goodness combinations.

HEALTHIER FRESHENING SOLUTIONS

Diffuser Oil Blend to Try

• Give Thanks Blend: 4 drops Orange Oil, 3 Drops Nutmeg Oil, 2 Drops Thieves Oil.

• Pumpkin Pie Blend: 5 drops Cinnamon Bark Oil, 1 drop Nutmeg Oil, 1 Drop Clove Oil.

Personal Diffuser Oils to Try

• Stress Away, lemon, orange, peppermint, lavender, joy or gratitude oil.

• Try these on diffuser jewelry or with personal nasal inhaler. With the inhaler, just add your oil to the cotton wick, insert the wick into the base and cover it with the nasal inhaler. There is a separate cover for the inhaler that secures to the base and gives you portable personal aromatherapy in a tube about the size of a lip balm. Perfect for guys and students.

Air Freshener Spray Oils to Try

• Linen Spray: 18 drops lavender oil, 1 oz witch hazel and 1 oz water. Spray on linens as needed.

• Potty Pourri Spray: 9 drops Purification oil, 9 drops orange oil, 1 oz witch hazel and 1 oz water.

• Vanilla Spice Air Spray: 6 drops orange oil, 3 drops cinnamon oil, 3 drops clove oil, 1 TBS pure vanilla extract, fill the rest of an 8 oz bottle with water.

Car Diffuser Ideas to Try

• I took the gel insert from this car diffuser out and inserted a round cotton pad. I just add oil to it and I get to enjoy the little turquoise stones and a great smelling car. Did I mention lots of teenage boys and a cute Labrador dog in my car? I add a few drops of oil every 3-4 days. We have been using a Pumpkin Spice Blend with a side of Purification lately. I think I may switch to something minty for next month. Check out a quick video at https://youtu.be/p9BaaTvPZok on how to repurpose a car diffuser like the one on the right.

• Another idea is to use a hanging car diffuser like this one.

• I keep a small dram like the ones that came in the bottom half of your premium starter kit in my car so I can easily refresh the diffuser.

What are your favorite ways to keep things fresh and smelling great? Let us know in the comments, and remember to enter the drawing for the awesome weekly raffle!