Between a recent health scare and both of us home sick with nasty colds, we’ve been anxious get back to our healthy selves. Hot baths and sessions with a bowl of hot water with a towel wrapped around our heads are just two things we do to get over illness.
One of our favourite home remedies is to add a few drops of essential oils to help with stuffy, congested nasal passages.
Via this year’s Vancouver Wellness Show, we recently discovered doTERRA’s line of wellness and environmentally-friendly home products.
In case you’re not familiar with the Utah-based brand, doTERRA (Latin for “Gift of the Earth”) launched in 2008 with 25 single oils and 10 oil blends.
After the founders saw the many benefits of essential oils, they set out to create a line of high quality, pure essential oils with the designation CPTG Certified Pure Tested Grade — super stringent testing and quality control to ensure the oils are contaminant/pesticide-free across the board. doTERRA also has access to a global botanical network of artisans and distillers.
Their direct selling model means that distributors work with customers directly as opposed to mass marketing. There are over two million Wellness Advocates that use and sell doTERRA products around the globe. doTERRA gives back via their Healing Hands Foundation initiatives (supporting local communities around the globe).
We chose the Lemongrass essential oil (15 ml; CAD $17) for the variety of ways it can be used. Add a few drops to a rag as a surface cleaner, combine it with Fractionated coconut oil for a soothing massage, add it to your facial cleanser or put a few drops into a diffuser. You can even use it in soups and savoury dishes to add a unique herbal/citrus flavour. We’re instant fans of its citrusy/sweet aroma!
Easy Air (15 ml; CAD $37.67) is a no-brainer when it comes to helping open up nasal passages during cold and flu season. This essential oil blend has a peppermint aroma, perfect for freshening up a room on dark, damp days. You an also apply it topically to the chest and under the nose, or even combine it with Epsom salts at bath time.
The more complex Adaptiv (15 ml; CAD $64) is a powerful blend of Wild orange, lavender, copaiba, spearmint, neroli and sweetgum essential oils. This unique blend was developed for promoting a sense of calm on busy days.
You can apply this one to wrists, massage it into the back of neck and shoulders, rub it onto the bottoms of your feet or add it to your diffuser (or aromatherapy jewellery). If you enjoy floral, citrus and sweet scents, this one will be right up your alley.
We also received a bottle of On Guard Cleaner Concentrate (12 fl. oz.; CAD $24.67), a preservative-free, plant-based essential oil that works as a multi-purpose home cleaner, blending wild orange, clove, cinnamon, eucalyptus and rosemary.
Use by mixing a few tablespoons per 710 ml/24 oz. of water for bathrooms, kitchens or dishes. For heavier stains, the concentrate can be added to the area directly.
In addition to an ever-expanding collection of essential oils, doTERRA sells diffusers, body, skin and hair care products as well as health supplements.
