MY JOURNEY WITH ESSENTIAL OILS

hi, friend!

i know this post probably seems weird to read if you've known me over the last few years, as i have been a huge essential oil fan and even built a business from sharing about them with a top company for several years. it's what started my instagram account and gave me an opportunity to start sharing more about natural wellness and create an additional stream of income.

but there's a reason why i changed my mind over a year and half ago.

let’s rewind to get some context –

my first google search for essential oils came up shortly after college when i learned about the awful chemicals in our personal care products and immediately threw all of them out. i was left with wondering, what the heck do i use?? essential oils came up often and highly recommended by health professionals. i thought, perfect, they’re natural since they’re from plants! i bought my first starter kit from amazon (i know, i know) and kept growing my collection from a local shop in northern michigan. i genuinely loved and geeked out on researching the uses and benefits for each one and started incorporating them in my daily life.

a few years later, i was curious about the popular brands like young living and doterra and started to research them to see if i wanted to use them. after watching a favorite influencer share about young living for some time, i decided to try them. i was immedidately obsessed and was super excited about the opportunity to earn an income from sharing about natural products like i already was with family and friends. i spent 3 years using and LOVING the products, transitioning everything over and using almost exclusively only their products. i truly believed that i was using high-quality, natural products that were beneficial for my health and i was encouraging others to do the same.

during this time, a few conversations came up that planted seeds of doubt in my mind about the use of essential oils (my husband; an acquaintance with a background in plants who said they would never breathe them in; a local herbalist who mentioned they aren't sustainable; wonderings about safety for pets, etc.). i considered what they said, but i didn’t have enough information or evidence to see a reason to stop using them at the time. one day in december while scrolling instagram, i saw a post from an herbalist on why she doesn’t use essential oils and it caught my attention. i started to go down a rabbit hole, reading her content and looking up studies, other articles, etc. to see if what she was explaining was valid. it suddenly clicked. i didn't want to use them anymore. and once i decided, i decided. it made sense.

i spent the next few months collecting my stock of products, selling or donating what i could, and researching new products to replace them with (as nearly everything in my house contained essential oils). i made a list of my findings to share with some close friends that i was talking to during this transition. though i had found some articles from herbalists, i couldn’t seem to find a guide or resources for switching to essential oil-free products. essential oils have nearly taken over the entire natural wellness space as a highly recommended option. the idea for this guide was born out of a gap in the market for anyone else looking for essential oil-free products.

now here is where my disclaimer comes in - essential oils are not the worst things on the planet. they are better options than bleach and toxic chemicals. but they are misunderstood in their function and purpose. while there are true and founded benefits, there are also negative side effects. there are also super simple swaps for them that are just as beneficial while less harmful. i believe it is every person's right to know all of the information on a topic before making a decision for themselves.

if you would like the links to the studies that changed my mind, click below -