Essential Oils for Preppers: Taking Your Health Care Off the Grid (eBook)

What would you do if you didn't have access to your doctor or hospital when you had a medical need or emergency?

If you are a prepper (or love one), then you have probably considered this question many times. Water, food, shelter, medical care... If the grid goes down, those are the big four that we will have to replace.

Plant-based medicine in the form of essential oils is one answer to the "What now?" question and this eBook (especially bundled with this essential oil starter kit) the perfect introduction for any serious prepper.

I bet you thought that essential oils were just for ladies who like to smell pretty, didn't you? Well, then let this be the start of your new chapter in prepping! Not only are these little bottles packed full of potent drops of therapeutic grade oils... but those oils are the secret to grid-free health and first aid.

I was an essential oil skeptic until I experienced the powerful impact of each drop.

I was also a prepper skeptic... until my charming and persistent husband finally won me over. I tell that story in this eBook. And I walk you through the basics of the simple use of essential oils for your family now and in times of emergency.

• Why every pepper should have essential oils
• What are some topics included in this 40-page digital volume?
• The WHAT and WHY and HOW of essential oils
• My story: From Skeptic to Advocate
• Top 10 essential oils for peppers (or anyone)
• How to store and rotate stock
• Taking your health care off the grid
• Practical DIY tips
• Additional resources and links

You can purchase the top ten essential oils I write about in my shop bundled with the book in my shop HERE.  Or... You can purchase the ebook separately for $7.99.

My husband suggested that I write something on this topic a year ago and I just didn't think I had enough time to put it together. I was reminded of his suggestion recently as I reflected on the fact that essential oils have become an integral part of my health care. I wouldn't want to be without them in an emergency...

And I realized that we needed our own plan for emergency situations.

Essential oil first aid kit for the car? Check.
Essential oil first aid kit for my purse? Check.
Essential oil first aid kit for the my bug out bag? Ummm.... nope.

So I started to put it all together on paper for my own family and knew that I needed to share it with other people. In addition to that, I knew I had a challenge on my hands and I wanted to take it on:

How was I going to convince MEN that essential oils should be an important part of their prepping?

Challenge accepted.

It's not actually that difficult to convince an intelligent guy to adopt a reasonable plan for health care. What is often more difficult than helping someone understand the benefits of plant-based medicine, is leading them to good quality oils.

The majority of essential oils on the market today are pure garbage and their labeling is full of outright lies. Professional chemical analysis by watchdog groups show time and time again that Amazon, Walmart, Target, Walgreens, and countless other sources, are a bunch of hyped up perfume. 

How about it? Want to use a chemically perfumed mish mash for your skin or body systems?

Nope. Me neither. Cheaper is not better in this instance. You will find that most of the good essential oil companies charge about the same for their oils, give or take a couple dollars. 

My recommendation is always doTERRA since their sourcing and company values are second to none. If you'd like to jump in and get started with your health care prepping, check out my "Small Prepper" and "Big Prepper" essential oils starter kit bundles. 

These make a great gift for preppers. But be careful... you may just find that they change your life even without an emergency!

• "Small Prepper" - Family Essentials Starter Kit w/eBook
• "Big Prepper" - Home Essentials Starter Kit w/eBook
• Essential Oils for Preppers: Taking Your Health Care Off the Grid (eBook)
• Can I help you design a custom kit? Contact me! Or go HERE to learn more about essential oils. 

The Oil Cleansing Method of Washing Your Face

Your skin is your largest organ and the most chemically absorbent part of your body. What are you putting on your face?

I wash my face with oil.. and get a lot of funny looks when I say that! It certainly sounds strange since most people are trying to get the oil off of their faces. But surprisingly enough, it does work, and is a gentle and lovely solution to those with sensitive skin. 

I've been moisturizing my face with plain oil since 2013 after bad experiences with all commercial products I tried; but I still hadn't found a cleanser that I loved. And even though I did like my moisturizer (handmade goodness from Etsy), the price tag was more than I found reasonable over the long term. As I neared the bottom of my final bottle, my stubbornness reared up and I put my foot down:

I need this lotion... BUT... I'm not paying that kind of money again. I'll make it myself.

So I purchased ingredients to make something of my own design and while I waited for them to arrive in the mail, I ran out of lotion. I needed something to moisturize with because my face would burn and turn red after I washed with soap. I did a quick internet search and discovered that I could just use plain... oil.

I ran to my cabinet and pulled out a bottle of almond oil. This will do, I thought. And it did. I thought I would break out in horrendous acne. But I didn't. Instead, it felt lovely and did the trick. I never did end up making the lotion (although it is still on my to-do list) and I have since discovered the simple art of washing with oil as well.

Washing Your Face With Oil

The how-to of oil cleansing is beautifully simple. You need only two ingredients: castor oil (for cleaning) and a moisturizing oil such as 100% pure olive, hazelnut, almond, or grapeseed. A little research and experimentation will help you discover which of these oils is best for your skin.

I made my first batch with equal parts castor and almond oil. It was actually a little drying and I have since decreased the amount of castor oil to 1/3 with happy results. Everyone's skin is different so this really does end up being a bit unique for each person.

The Ingredients

1. Castor Oil - Draws out Dirt (some people with sensitive skin might want to limit this almost entirely if it is too drying)

2. Olive or other moisturizing oil (My preference is almond oil)

3. Experiment with adding your favorite (therapeutic grade) essential oils for scent and skin benefits. My recommendations are frankincense, tea tree, and lavender.. 

It cost me only $5 to make 6 ounces of cleanser, which will probably last me a very long time. It sits on the bathroom counter with a homemade label that reads (in red sharpie):

Mommy's Face Wash... Do Not Touch! 

(Which, of course, made all the children want to touch it asap.)

The Method

1. Pour a small amount of oil (nickel to quarter size) into your palm and using your clean fingertips, massage it into your skin (apply to dry face). Gently rub it in for about a minute. No need to scrub.

2. Wet a washcloth with hot water (please don't burn yourself) and lay it over your face, letting it cool until it is about room temperature. This is where a lot of cleaning action happens. It has been so cold here that my washcloth cools off super fast... so I have been repeating this step with the other side of the cloth.

3. Rinse the washcloth out (or just use the corners) and wipe off the oil. Again, do not scrub... just wipe it off. You'll have some residual oil but you really do want that.

4. To moisturize, I use a combination of two pure ingredients: yarrow essential oil and pomegranate seed oil in the morning, after I wash my face, or before bed. (Find it HERE) It is especially helpful around the eyes and a little goes a long way. If I need extra moisturizing in the winter or after a lot of sun exposure, I will use some DIY body butter to which I add frankincense.

The Results

This stuff cleans extremely well. A pre-wash is unnecessary because the oil is the perfect makeup and dirt remover. Oil removes oil. I find that this method works much better than scrubbing with soap and water.

I have acne-prone and lupus-damaged skin. I'm a 40-year old woman with just as many problems as I did when I was a teenager! I assumed oil would make it worse but instead, I have experienced a very rapid improvement. Dry patches and oily patches equalize and breakouts have decreased. My skin is softer. I can't do anything about contact sensitivities but I can do my best to have a healthy baseline.

Lupus is particularly brutal to my poor face. This method is extremely gentle and nourishing for my often delicate and wounded skin. 

The Essential Poison Ivy Remedy

We have a teenager who is an expert at finding poison ivy and now we finally have a way to treat it that doesn't involve steroids and antibiotics! If we need them, we will use them, but we are on three rounds of this natural solution and... so far so good. The teen who keeps getting into the poison ivy does not like the smell and says it stings when first going on (courtesy of the cider vinegar) but he also says it's well worth it. 

After his first poison ivy experience, he moved all of his climbing and building materials to the front of the house. Not my favorite place for his collection but he was not eager to get that itchy rash again! Fortunately, a quick and effective handling of the situation had him back in the woods in no time... and all of his wood and rope and energy with him! 

When making this recipe, be sure to use good quality pure essential oils (NO Walmart!!) or else the synthetic fillers are going to irritate and make the whole thing worse. (For beautiful, pure essential oils, scroll to the link at the bottom of this post.)

We did have the benefit of being able to start this application right from the beginning of the rash the first time and I think that contributed to the overall success of the remedy. My boy was pretty unhappy about the whole thing, feeling confident that he wouldn't have trouble handling it without the "stinky stuff." But I insisted and he saw dramatic improvement in just one day.

The result was that he ended up feeling overly confident and refused further applications... which ended up in worsening rash... which resulted in a reapplication... which ended with a resolved poison ivy episode in only three days. Not too shabby.

He had the marks for over a week beyond that but there was no further itching or irritation. Needless to say, the next time he developed poison ivy, he was more than willing to submit to mama's home remedy!

My daughters would be more sensitive to any marks or scarring from the harsh poison ivy rash. In their case, I would use frankincense and lavender to help soothe and heal the skin. 

Here's the recipe. It doesn't make much to get the job done but feel free to double and triple if you've got a large area (or family) to cover...

The Essential Poison Ivy Recipe

• 2 Tbsp organic apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp distilled water
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 3 drops lavender essential oil (for itch)
• 3 drops tea tree oil (antiseptic)
• 3 drops peppermint oil (soothing)
• Mix until dissolved.
• Store in fridge.
• Apply repeatedly throughout the day until resolved.

And it should go without saying that if your poison ivy progresses beyond your ability to self-treat, please go see your doctor! 

What other natural poison ivy tips do you have? Please share in the comments!

Looking for quality essential oils? Click below for the oils my family uses with confidence.