Spotlight on Vanilla

Last month Vanilla was one of the Gifts with Purchase. It is one I have not used other than in the Stress Away blend so I thought we could learn more about this one together. 😉

Vanilla extract is widely used in baking, perfume manufacturing and even aromatherapy, but many people don't realize the array of health benefits that come from using vanilla oil, even though it is not technically an essential oil. Young Living's Vanilla oleoresin is unique. It has an incredible scent and some wonderful health benefits!

Contains antioxidant properties
Supports healthy hormone levels
Supports mood and lifts the spirit
May help support healthy blood pressure levels
Supports the immune system
Assists with stress relief and calming the mind.

 

BACKGROUND

Vanilla is produced from Vanilla planifolia, an orchid that grows long bean pods. The process of obtaining Vanilla is extensive, as it can take up to four years for the vine to mature. The vine produces orchid blossoms that bloom for only 24 hours and must be pollinated by hand within 8−12 hours for the bean pod to grow. The entire process—growing, pollinating, drying, curing, and preparing for export—takes about one year. Who knew?

 

Young Living's Vanilla is not strictly an extract or an absolute, both of which contain mostly alcohol and do not blend well with essential oils. Noticing these flaws in mainstream vanilla extracts and absolutes, the D. Gary Young Research Institute worked to find a vanilla product that would meet the Seed to Seal quality commitment and blend well with our essential oils. The result is a first-of-its-kind extraction method that yields a Vanilla oleoresin in fractionated coconut oil that diffuses and blends beautifully with essential oils. SUCH a huge win for us!

 

KEY CONSTITUENTS

Constituents are naturally occurring compounds in plants (and therefore essential oils) that give them specific health-supporting properties

 

Vanillin: Studies have shown vanillin to have powerful antioxidant properties, to support the body's response to inflammation and possibly help fight infection.

 

Add Vanilla to your perfume rollers as a low note to add warmth.

    Geranium, Neroli, Royal Hawaiian Sandalwood, Vanilla, Orange
    Vanilla, Lavender, Frankincense
    Northern Lights Black Spruce, Vanilla, Tangerine, Bergamot, Geranium
    Neroli, Jasmine, Vanilla

Diffuse Vanilla for a warm, welcoming aroma. Pair with citrus, spice oils, tree oils or virtually anything!

Take a relaxing bath. Add 10 drops each Vanilla + Lavender to 1 cup epsom salt and place under warm running water.

Add it to your bath and body products for a sweet, comforting aromatic experience.

 

 

 

Oil Tips, Hacks and Recipes

Vanilla Spice Room Spray
To a 4 oz glass spray bottle add:

10 drops Vanilla Oleoresin
10 drops Orange
8 drops Cinnamon
5 drops Clove
3 drops Cardamom
Filtered water
Splash witch hazel if you have it
Shake well and mist throughout your home!

DIY Evergreen Essence Room Spray
15 drops Evergreen Essence Essential Oil Blend
10 drops Vanilla Oleoresin
10 drops Tangerine Essential Oil
Add essential oils to a 2oz glass spray bottle, add a splash of witch hazel & top with water! Spritz on all the things!

DIY Scented Sachets
½ cup Organic uncooked rice
¼ cup Epsom Salt
1 cup Dried lavender buds
Muslin cotton drawstring pouches, approximately 5 inches long by 4 inches wide
20 drops each Lavender, Tangerine essential oil
10 drops Vanilla
In a medium bowl, mix rice, Epsom salt, flower buds, and essential oils to thoroughly scent the mixture.
Spoon mixture into your muslin pouch.
Place anywhere you want to add a fresh lavender scent.
Refresh your pouch every 2-3 weeks by opening it up and adding more drops of essential oil.

DIY Autumn Foaming Hand Soaps
We can’t get enough of creating custom hand soap scents for each season. These are a fun way to cozy up your home, make great host gifts and are simple to make!

Foaming hand soap bottle or recycle a YL one!
2 Tbsp Liquid Castile Soap
20 drops essential oils*
1 tsp Vitamin E oil
Add essential oils, Vitamin E oil and Castile Soap to the bottle, then top with water leaving 1″ at the top

A few favorite scent options:

Chai Spice: 6 drops Cardamom + 4 drops Cinnamon Bark + 4 drops Clove + 4 drops Ginger + 2 Vanilla
Orchard Stroll: 6 drops Bergamot + 4 drops Tangerine + 4 drops Cedarwood + 4 Rosemary + 2 drops Lemon
Autumn Leaves: 5 drops Northern Lights Black Spruce + 5 drops Vetiver + 4 drops Tangerine + 4 drops Cinnamon Bark + 2 drops Vanilla
Citrus Oils – d-Limonene Powerhouses

Easy on-the-go DIY Stain Stick
Fill a roller bottle with:
1 capful of Thieves Cleaner
Filtered water

Pumpkin Spiced Room Spray
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Fill a 4 oz spray bottle 3/4 of the way with Distilled Water then add:
15 drops of Cinnamon Bark Essential Oil
15 drops of Clove Essential Oil
10 drops of Orange Essential Oil
10 drops of Nutmeg Essential Oil
5 drops of Ginger Essential Oil

Fill the rest of the bottle with Unscented Witch Hazel

Relaxing Balm infused with Stress Away
Hit pause and relax your mind. Fall in love with this soothing that will melt all your worries away.
To create:
1. Melt 6 tbsp olive oil + 14g beeswax in a double boiler on low heat.
2. Add 20 drops of Vanilla Oleoresin and 1 tbsp. of Magnesium Oil. Stir the mixture.
3. Add 15-20 drops of Stress Away Essential Oil Blend.
4. Mix everything and put it in a small jar.
5. Let it cool before using.
#YLTip: Magnesium oil can decrease stress and sustain a sense of well-being—a perfect pair to our Stress Away!

Synergistic Essential Oil Blends

We are missing Gary Young more and more as time goes on. We learned so much from him. I have been saving oil tips for over 28 years. Those oil lessons from the early days are so precious. Sadly, many newer members never really got to attend a training with him teaching a class and have no idea the power in properly distilled essential oils.

There has been one thing I have been thinking about for a while is the synergy in Young Living’s essential oil blends.

Synergy relates to the interaction or cooperation of two or more substances to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.

Gary used to talk about how he made the different essential oil blends. He didn’t just throw oils together. There was an order of adding each oil to the blend. He found, by research and testing, the blend was more powerful with the order of oils added to the blend.

Every blend that Gary Young created is tested in the laboratory for the actual chemical components in that blend.  In fact, EVERY BATCH of each blend is tested multiple times.  Therefore, we know exactly what is in the bottle.  When we create our own bends – or combine oils – the oils interact chemically and may become quite different from the individual single oils.

In the past few years, since we started using the easy rollerball recipes, some important information has been getting lost.

Gary used to talk about not adding other oils to blends because of the synergy in each oil blend. He would say you can add ONE oil that is in a blend to amplify that property, but don’t add other oils that are not in the blend. For example, adding extra Wintergreen or Peppermint, or Clove Oils to PanAway.

I am constantly seeing people adding multiple blends in roll-ons and diffuser blend recipes. If you are only going for a nice smell in your diffuser, I guess it doesn’t really matter. If you are using an oil for a purpose, like immune support, don’t make the oil blend less effective by adding other oils to it and by all means, don’t blend multiple blends.

Gary taught us LAYERING. Layering is using one oil, then layer another oil single over the first oil. Gary taught us to WAIT 10 MINUTES before layering another oil blend over the same spot. I often use another oil in another spot on the body if I am using them closer in time.

One example:  Gathering + Abundance = WOW!  But, put the 2 blends in different spots on the body. Personally, I like Abundance on my ear reflex points

Here is little clip on layering from an article by Jen O’Sullivan:

LAYERING VS. BLENDS (synergies)
Layering is not something that many people practice anymore as most have gone the way of the ever-ready and easy rollerball. I would love to challenge your rollerball use and help you understand the power behind layering AND synergies. You all may know one of the most powerful techniques is called Raindrop Therapy. It is a method of layering oils on your body one at a time. This allows for optimal penetration of each oil and allowing the many diverse constituents within each oil to work powerfully and fully on its own before adding another oil. Some people have decided for ease of use to combine all the oils from the Raindrop method into one tidy little rollerball. This is very counter productive.