What We Put In and On Our Bodies Matters

Let's talk about just THREE of the thousands of ingredients that are in the products that you will find on the shelves at the grocery store or Target: fragrance, parabens, and phthalates...

Fragrance is a generic term that can refer to any number of harmful chemicals. However, thanks to the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, manufacturers are protected by trade secret laws, so that they do not have to disclose which ingredients are in their products. If you look at a bottle of household cleaner, you may be surprised to see only a small percentage of the ingredients are listed on the bottle. PS: If you’ve never seen the documentary called STINK!, make time to watch it ASAP!
Parabens are synthetically derived preservatives that have been made in a lab. This means that your body doesn’t recognize these (synthetic) molecules, and thus can’t adequately break-down and eliminate these chemicals from your body. Your body’s inability to rid itself of parabens leads to estrogen-dominance. Because parabens mimic hormones, parabens confuse our bodies about which hormone it’s supposed to produce, and this causes estrogen-dominance. Estrogen-dominance leads to all kinds of problems, including irregular periods, bloating, breast swelling and tenderness, fibrocystic breasts, headaches (especially premenstrual), mood swings, thyroid dysfunction, foggy thinking, memory loss, fatigue, PMS, weight gain, uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts, and more!
Phthalates (pronounced “thah-lates”) are chemical plasticizers. They have been widely used since the 1950’s to soften plastics that would normally be brittle and break or crack when bent. And because phthalates are not chemically bound to the plastics they’ve been added to, they're continuously released into the air, food, liquid, or product that they’ve been added to. Phthalates have been linked to asthma, the early onset of puberty, and childhood obesity. Animal studies have shown that there is potential of phthalates to sadly impact birth outcomes- including gestational age and birth weight, fertility (lower sperm production), and abnormalities to male genitalia. They have also been shown to cause kidney and liver cancers in animal studies.
Now that you know which ingredients you DON’T WANT to put in or on your body, let’s talk about what you DO want to do...

What Are Essential Oils?

It seems like everyone is selling essential oils these days . . . but what exactly is an essential oil and why would you want to use oils? How can you know if you’re buying a quality oil or not? Does quality even matter? Essential oils are part of the root, stem, leaf, flower, or bark of a plant. Think about it: back in the day, before modern medicine was the norm, humans used plants, not only as food, but also as a means of wellness. According to the Journal of Advanced Pharmaceutical Technology & Research, “It has been well documented that natural products played critical roles in modern drug development” and “until recently, plants were an important source of . . . active compounds with many blockbuster drugs being derived directly or indirectly from plants.” This means that plants play an important role in keeping us healthy! Using essential oils allows us to harness the therapeutic power of plants without having to go out and plant, weed, harvest, distill, test, and bottle the oil yourself! They contain many active compounds whose action range from being anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal to being wonderfully effective nervines and styptics and more. Buying from a reputable source matters too! Not all brands are organic, of high-quality, or produced sustainably and ethically.

How to Make the Switch?

  • DO ditch traditional products that contain fragrance, parabens, and pththalates.

  • DO replace those products with ones that are plant-based and toxin free.

  • DO this over time--ditch one product per month as your budget allows.

  • DO follow our ditch & switch checklist to help you get started.

  • DO login to your Young Living account when you’re ready to purchase the items below.

  • DO reach out if you’re not yet a Young Living member!

TAKE OUR CHALLENGE!

12 Months to a Toxin Free Home

Spend a minimum of 50PV (around $50) each month, and earn points and free product! Spend a minimum of 100PV and you'll get FREE SHIPPING, in addition to earning points and free product!

  • Month 1: Thieves hand soap + Thieves Household Cleaner + Thieves Fruit & Veggie Soak (58.75 PV)

  • Month 2: Thieves Foaming Hand Soap Refill + Thieves Dish Soap (54 PV)

  • Month 3: Thieves Laundry Soap + Seedlings Calm Oil + Seedings Baby Wipes (53 PV). Plus, find natural dryer sheets in our Embark Herbals store.

  • Month 4: Thieves Chest Rub + Thieves Mouthwash + Thieves Cough Drops (60.75 PV)

  • Month 5: Charcoal Bar Soap + Shutran Body Wash for Men + Thieves Aromabright Toothpaste (57.25 PV)

  • Month 6: Orange Blossom Face Wash + Valor deodorant (54.50)

  • Month 7: ART Light Moisturizer (62.75)

  • Month 8: Lavender Shampoo Conditioner + KidScents Shampoo (59.25) PV)

  • Month 9: Dragon Time essential oil (52.25PV)

  • Month 10: Sunscreen + Insect Repellent (68 PV)

  • Month 11: Super B + Life 9 Probiotic (51.75 PV)

  • Month 12: KidScents MightyPro Probiotic + KidScents Toothpaste + KidScents Bath Gel (58.75 PV)

Ordering these products through Essential Rewards over the course of one year will earn you $121.61 in points that you can spend on product... Plus you'll also earn a FREE bottle of essential oil after months 3, 6, 9, and 12!

I’d love to get you going with Young Living. The best way to start is with a Premium Starter Kit. It comes with 12 of the most versatile oils, a diffuser of your choice, a sample of our Thieves Spray, our Thieves Hands Purifier, and two packets of our antioxidant drink (delish!), and access to our private Facebook community. Once you own a kit you also get a 24% discount on everything available from Young Living in the future forever and ever because you are then a wholesale member.” It’s valued at over $410 and worth every penny but we have it put together in the starter kit for $165.

You’ll choose a Wholesale Membership and get the Premium Starter Kit you want. I say, pick the Desert Mist diffuser! It is incredible and so pretty. It runs for 8-10 hours, flickers like a candle or changes colors. It is also a humidifier and atomizer. If you want to order anything else, you can do that during checkout too! And, pro tip, I’d choose to have your kit be your first Essential Rewards (ER) order. You’ll get another FREE shipping AND you’ll get 10% back in points (basically dollars) to spend on your next order. Feel free to set up next months ER order while you're at it so you don't forget. I'd grab NingXia Red, Cedarwood, Life 9 Probiotic, Thieves Household Cleaner, and some things from the Seedlings or KidScents line for your kiddos! The baby wipes are an actual dream (life hack- they can act as dryer sheets and makeup remover cloths)!

Ready to Get Started?