Essential Oils 101: How do I choose which oil to use?

There are a lot of essential oils out there! How do you know which one to use? These are my favorite ways to choose which oil to use.

1. Butterfly Miracles with Essential Oils by LaRee Westover. This 300 page book is packed full of information about essential oils! It lists every oil that Butterfly Express carries and how to use it. It has an alphabetized list of Suggestions and Practical Uses and a Physical/Emotional chart. You can preview the book here: http://butterflyexpressions.org/Oil/Front.html  I have learned a lot from this book and every time I open it, I learn something new! This book is available to purchase for $15.95 (plus shipping, unless it's in a group order). Contact me if you want to place an order.

2. The Suggestions and Practical Uses list is my go-to list for figuring out which oil to use. Not only can you look up the list in the "Butterfly Miracles" book, but you can also look it up online:  http://www.butterflyexpressions.org/Handouts/PracticalUses.pdf  This is an alphabetized list of ailments and the suggested oils and application. For example, if you wanted to look up which oils to use for a cough, you would go to the Suggestions and Practical Uses list and read this:

"COUGHS: LeAspire, LeBreezey, LeHoliday Spirit, LeMariah, cedarwood, manuka, opoponax. Dilute and apply over the lungs (both front and back) and on the throat; diffuse; inhale."

Keep in mind that you don't need to use ALL of the oils that are suggested. It just lists all the oils that are beneficial for that particular condition. From that list you can choose which oil(s) you feel would meet your needs the best. You may need to read the description of each oil to know which one would work best for you.

3. Also included in the "Butterfly Miracles" book is a Physical/Emotional chart that lists all the blends that Butterfly Express carries and color-codes them to show which oils are for emotional support, physical support, or a combination of physical/emotional support. This provides a fantastic quick-glance at all the blends so you can quickly remind yourself what they do. I keep one folded up in my case of oils so that when I'm zoning a client and they ask about the oil that I just put on their feet, I can pull it out and read the description. (I have over 100 oils and if it's an oil that I don't use often, I forget what it does!) You can also view the chart online here: http://www.butterflyexpressions.org/Handouts/physical_emotional.pdf  Or you can order a printed copy for $0.30.

4. Muscle Testing. In a very small nutshell, muscle testing is a way to measure how my energy responds to the energy of something else. If my body/energy needs an oil, I will get a positive response. If I do not need an oil, I will get a negative response. There are many ways to do muscle testing, and anyone can learn how to do it. It takes lots of practice and lots of allowing.

5. Ask someone that is knowledgeable about oils. When you're first getting started with oils, find someone that you trust and that has similar beliefs about oils as you, and talk to them about the oils that they use. I'm always happy to answer any questions and help pick out oils. If you choose to use Butterfly Express oils, I am a distributor and can place an order for you. My contact info is on the right of the screen. You can follow me on Facebook for updates on the blog and other oil info, or you can e-mail me directly. I also have a Pinterest page where I save my oil ideas: https://www.pinterest.com/katiebodily/essential-oils-class-ideas/

My Favorite Brand of Oils

In my last post I talked about how to identify a good oil, and I listed the 3 brands of oils that I know and recommend. I am sure there are other oil brands that are just as good, I just haven't come across them yet. 

When choosing which brand of oil you want to use, you'll probably hear a lot of different opinions. Some companies claim their oil is the only truly pure oil, or the only certified oil. Some companies offer business opportunities and income potential. It really comes down to your personal preference. 

I personally feel like the oils from Butterfly Express, doTerra, and Young Living are all good oils. I have used each of those oils. I have chosen to stick with Butterfly Express oils for these reasons: 

1. I'm not a fan of multi-level marketing companies. doTerra and Young Living are multi-level marketing companies. I have tried out a few MLM companies and found that it's really not for me. I don't like feeling pressured to ask my friends to host parties, to sign up under me and build my down-line, or to buy product so I can meet my quarterly minimum so I don't get kicked out. For me, essential oils are all about healing and balance. Bringing business and money into it like that ruins the energy of the oils for me. 

2. Butterfly Express is a family-owned business. It is run by a husband-wife team and their employees out of their warehouse in a (very) small town in Idaho. Health and wellness are their life. I recently toured the facility and was impressed with their commitment to retaining the best energy frequency of the oils. The oils are handled as much as possible so they are surrounded by good, positive energy. If anyone comes to work in a bad mood or with negative energy, they are not allowed to work with the oils until they change their energy around. They keep their overhead low so they can keep their prices low.

3. Their prices are much lower than doTerra and Young Living. Because they're not a multi-level marketing company, their prices can stay low. When you buy from a MLM company, there are a lot of people standing in line to get paid. There's nothing wrong with that. It's just not my thing. I made this comparison list to see the differences between their prices: 

doTerra and Young Living oils, for the most part, come in 15 ml bottles. Butterfly Express oils come in 10 ml bottles. It's a difference of 5 ml. (5 ml = 1 teaspoon)

4. When I energy test which oil to use, Butterfly oils come up every single time. Whether I'm using oils on my family or on a client for a foot zone, the oils in my case from doTerra never come up. They've been sitting there for over 4 years. When I energy test which oil has the highest energy frequency, Butterfly Express is the highest. A friend told me about a class she was teaching on energy testing. They put lavender oil from Butterfly, doTerra, and Young Living in unmarked bottles and had the students practice energy testing the oils to see which had the highest energy frequency. The Butterfly lavender tested the highest every time.

5. Butterfly Express promotes the use of essential oils in a way that I feel good about. Other companies suggest using their oils in ways that are contrary to what I have learned and it just doesn't feel right to me. I'm a believer in following your gut and listening to the Spirit.  

The website for Butterfly Express is http://butterflyexpress.net/. My favorite feature of the website is the Suggestions and Practical Uses list. This is my go-to list for picking out which oil to use for which ailment. I am a distributor for Butterfly Express so that I could assist my friends and family with purchasing affordable and quality essential oils. If you have any questions about oils, or specifically about Butterfly Express oils, feel free to contact me (my contact info is on the right of the screen).

Whatever brand of essential oils you choose to use, use it in health and joy! Essential oils are a wonderful tool for helping ourselves and our families.