Welcome! This might be one of my favorite blogs to write. This is really where my journey to cleaner alternatives started. Let’s dive in! This is my journey to essential oil diffusing!
WoodWick Candles & Bath & Body Works were my go to candle stores. I needed every new scent for all the holidays. (Balsam Fir, Fireside and Vanilla & Sea Salt were just my favs!) I was buying candles before I even burned the ones I had! Every day I was lighting them as soon as I got home and letting them burn until I went to bed.
It wasn’t until about 5 years ago that I started noticing the smoke that would come off the candles and the headaches that I started having. The sinus tension was building up, my eyes were watering. It felt like an allergy attack every day! My husband also started having similar symptoms. It went as far as our dogs were constantly starting to sneeze that I said we have to figure out what is going on.
I immediately stopped burning all candles. So I loaded them all up in a box and gave them away. I figured the smoke was getting to us & thought if I removed the flame, then all would be back to normal. As I’m sure you do too, I still wanted my house to smell good, so I thought wax melts must be the new answer!
To my delight, WoodWick made wax melts. So I stocked up on my favorite scents and found beautiful wax melt holders and prepared to let my favorite scents take me back to fond memories…Except that is not what happened at all! These wax melts made everything 10 times worse! This is when I found out about Essential Oil diffusing. It was a safer alternative to toxin filled candles & wax melts. And I knew what I was diffusing.
Research time
It’s the cleverly disguised “F” word…..FRAGRANCE! This word can hide any combination of 3000+ chemicals that companies engineer in labs. This can even include some cheap essential oils. (So always research where you buy them from. As you’ll see Plant Therapy is my go to.)
The majority of candles contain paraffin, a petroleum waste product. When burned it can release some of the same toxic chemicals as oil & gasoline. This can cause respiratory distress. The toxins released from candles are as detrimental as second hand smoke!
Fragrance gets a free pass on disclosing ingredients! I couldn’t believe it. It appears as only one ingredient on the label, but it masks many different ingredients. Even though it contains synthetic, preservatives & allergy provoking substances that you should probably be made aware of, you aren’t because “fragrance” is protected by laws preventing us from full disclosures.
As you can imagine I was feeling very overwhelmed by this information, I’m sure you are too. How could I have not known about these harmful chemicals that I was breathing every day. That my family was breathing every day. I went down a rabbit hole of information and finding what I could use as alternatives. There are so many different opinions, but I wanted the ones by real people. Ones who really cared about the health & well being of themselves & other people.
My Solution
Essential Oils….They can be controversial.
Essential Oil Diffusing was me dipping my toes into the non toxic lifestyle. My first foray into oils was through Young Living. Let me be clear, it’s not their oils that I don’t like. I believe they are very good quality. It’s the MLM that bothers me. It all felt too much like a pyramid scheme versus lets learn and enjoy the oils. But let me get back to my story, this one should be saved for another day & time! I bought a diffuser and had the basic oils set. I started researching on what the oils can do for our bodies. There are so many benefits! I love the multiple uses that I have for my oils. (I can’t wait to share rollerball recipes!)
My families favorite oil is lemongrass. The smell is clean, crisp & refreshing! You can find diffusers for each room size you would need it for. I fill the reservoir up to the line and add a few drops of my favorite oil and turn it on! The room is instantly refreshed! No more harsh chemicals being breathed in by burning candles or melting wax. I’ll link some of the specific items I use in my home below.
*I am not affiliated with Plant Therapy, these recommendations are my personal preference. For essential oils, ALWAYS go directly to the source!
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Diffusers: