My answer to this question is a resounding yes with the right controls and understanding what your body needs help with.  I am absolute believer in essential oils and using them also to get rid of chemicals in my home.  In Life Science Essential Oils  7th edition it notes that "diffused oils increase oxygen availability, produce iOS and release natural ozone.  Additionally, certain oils are extremely effective in eliminating and destroying airborne germs and bacteria.  A cold air diffuser atomizes a microfine mist of essential oils into the air, where they can remain suspended for several hours."

Additional benefits noted are that it may aid in "reducing bacteria, fungus, mold and unpleasant odors, relax the body, relieve tension, and clear the bind, relieve headaches" and much more.

Holistichealthherbalist.com notes on her blog that "diffusing is a safe alternative to candles that may be toxic as candles are often made with toxic paraffin wax."   Most of the diffusers now come with different light settings so even if you are using the candle for a little ambiance you can now achieve that with the diffuser light + the benefit of having natural essential oils in your air.  

Some guidelines for a person that is new to essential oils and diffusing is to start out with only a few drops in.a diffuser and start with diffusing only about 15 to 30 minutes per day.  Slowly, increase the oils (up to recommended amounts by manufacturer of diffuser and/or recipes) and time to up to 1 to 2 hours per day.  

Remember, essential oils are not intended to be used to treat a condition or replace your Dr., rather essential oils aid our bodies.  After a stressful day, I love to diffuse Orange, Cedarwood and Lavender to help me relax and sleep at night.  However, what works for me may not work for you.  Every body's body is different and you have to start out slow and find what is right for you.

An option if you do not have a diffuser is to add a few drops of essential oil to a spray bottle (glass) with 1 C. Purified Water and shake.  Use to mist your house, workplace or car.  Put it in your bathroom instead of using chemical laden room deodorizers. 

​Happy Diffusing from Enchanted Earthy Enhancements 

Over the past year, I have encountered some challenges in my life that has forced me to look for good quality essential oils at a reasonable / affordable price.  I have several friends, family members and customers who have fallen onto difficult times too and had to quit using from previous company as well.  

Thus, my journey began.  First, I searched for companies that did not fall into the typical MLM and have several layers that just raises the prices.  Next, was to look at the purity, the source and no pesticides was huge for me.  I finally came across Barefut Essential oils which are organic, steam distilled (no chemicals) and/or the cold pressed (oils pressed from the fruit rinds), no additives or dilution.  They test their oils for purity and for pesticides and those test results are posted on line.  So, you can look at the oils results for the lots they are selling at that time.  The test results are evaluated under the direction of Dr. Robert Pappas who has been a long time analyst and educator; along with  being the Founder and Director of Essential Oil University.  Finally, to prevent oxidation, they nitrogen cap their essential oil containers to create a barrier between the oil and oxygen.  They also keep them stored in a cool, temperature controlled, windowless room.  

The icing on the cake, so to speak, is that there are no multiple sales layers and thus, aiding in keeping the price affordable.  

Go check them out at https://barefut.com/?afmc=pv

I have spent a great deal of time researching how to remove chemicals out of my life and utilizing natural chemicals to do so.  I can choose to either make my own essential oils or I can find the purest and utilize them.  Now, do not get me wrong, I am considering making some of my own too.  I am currently growing some Lavender and Sage and anxiously waiting until I can make some oils from them.  I have bought a book on making essential oils.  In the meantime, I have chosen Young Living Essential Oils.  They have a Seed to Seal Guarantee like no other which is based upon years of studying abroad and implementing the highest standards.  Young Living is one of the few essential oils out there that are safe to consume.  If it isn't safe enough to consume why would you want to put it on your skin or inhale it through diffusing?

Ancient cultures found that oils could be extracted and utilized in variety of ways to aid the body and mind. The best reference for this statement is the Bible.  the Bible contains over 200 references.  Do you remember the most famous - when the three Wisemen brought Gold, Frankincense & Myrrh to the baby Jesus.  Did you know that at that time, Gold was the least valuable of the three.  Hmmmm, maybe in today's age we have things backwards.  Although, I do have to admit, Frankincense is not cheap.  At least when you are buying the pure stuff.  There are other historical references to oils as well.  Did you know that Napoleon is reported to hav enjoyed cologne water made of neroli and others along with many others.  

My understanding of oils is that they help aid our bodies and minds with healing and prevention.  I am not a doctor, will not make diagnosis or claim that oils are a cure all.  But, I will say for me that so far, I have found them to be very helpful.   

I look forward to exploring and explaining the different types of uses as noted by Young Living.  
 

The past couple years has taken me on a journey to a cleaner way to Beauty / Living.  I started out with a Cleaner Way to Beauty.  I wanted to remove as many chemicals as I could from my hair and skin products.  Thus, my research began.  To me, it is all about a level of clean that each and everyone of us can live with.  My level of clean - or what I find acceptable may not be the same as yours.  Therefore, I encourage everyone to perform your own research and determine what works for you.  

My journey started out as a Cleaner Way to Beauty but it truly has evolved from there to a Cleaner Way to Living.  I  want to remove as many chemicals - including prescriptions from my life as possible.  If you are like me - I have to do it a little bit at a time.  I started out with my hair.  I wanted to have beautiful tresses without all the junk on it.  I have found that products can make the claim "made from all natural ingredients" if they have at least one natural ingredient.  Thus, they may still have a lot of other chemicals in them.  Therefore, it really is important to look at the ingredients put into products.  I have found a website that is a great help in knowing how clean or not clean products are.  I utilize EWG.org quite a bit in my research.  Additionally, I try to find scientific publications about certain ingredients / chemicals if I cannot find them on EWG.  

I have previously conducted some comparisons and posted my findings out in my VIP group.  If you are interested in those previous findings or seeing tips on what I use then you can request to join my group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/155188671875422/

I am pleased to announce I was able to get off of one of my medications this week!  

Thank-you for taking the time to read and hopefully becoming a follower of "A Cleaner Way to Beauty / Life".  

I have a dog that is part ShitZu and part Basset Hound - yes, quite a mixture but love her to pieces even with her horrible doggy breath.  So, I decided to try one of the home made recipes from Pinterest for doggie treats for bad breath.  The recipe I picked is very easy and for the most part - pretty much ingredients already on hand in my kitchen.  Here is the link to the recipe. 

http://petcouponsavings.com/pup-r-mints-homemade-breath-freshening-dog-treats/

The grocery store did not have any fresh parsley so instead I used the tube rather than dried and it worked pretty good.  I just eyeballed how much I wanted to add.

Another tip I have read for bad doggie breath is to add parsley to their dog food.  Along with brushing their teeth! 

Once I had it all mixed up (I used the whole bunch of fresh mint leaves), I used the small cookie scoop to measure out.  They stayed the same shape during baking.  The recipe says to flatten but I did not and there was no difference in baking time.  Also, using the small scoop they were not so large that my dogs could not handle them.  We have three dogs - Chloe the Shitzu basset hound mixture, Daisy our Terrier and Sox our Poodle (well it was my daughters but a story for another day).

Overall, I would say it was an easy recipe and worked pretty good.  It did not get rid of the bad breath completely but sure did make it less odorous.  So, I would give this recipe 4 out of 5 stars. 

Ahhh - I hate the smell of my feet when I take my shoes off.  My feet sweat and some shoes are just worse than others.  It doesn't matter what type of socks I wear - believe me I have tried them all!  But until I find something to alleviate the problem, I have to find ways to tame down those odors - YUCK! 

I did find a solution on Pinterest to help with "stinky feet" and I am here to tell you it does take the stink away.  I used a container of baby wipes and dumped in 1 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar and let it sit overnight.  Now, when you open the container it will be pretty strong with the vinegar smell.  I use one wipe per foot and it removes the stink and leaves my feet feeling refreshed.  No, the vinegar smell dissipates quickly so no lingering harsh smells. 

I keep the container in the refrigerator and pull them out when I need them.  Like I said some shoes are worse than others! 

I do have some tips on trying to prevent the odor but that will be another post at a later date.  I will take some pics for that one of exactly what I use. 

Unfortunately, I have grandchildren that suffer from this malady as well so hopefully this tip will help my children with their feet too!