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Gout is a form of athritis, where tiny particles of sodium urate, or uric acid, accumulate around joints, most commonly in in the big toe, however it can occur anywhere in the body. Uric acid is produced naturally in the body during normal metabolism, however we do also ingest small amounts of uric acid in certain foods. 

Too much of the uric acid causes it to accumulate in joints where it crystallizes, causing intense pain, redness and inflammation. There are a few different ways to treat gout and gout attacks, including adopting a gout-friendly diet and certain medications. However, many people find relief and symptom reduction from the use of anti-inflammatory and pain reducing essential oils. 

How to Use Essential Oils for Gout

While we mentioned eating a gout-friendly diet, essential oils should never be ingested. Treatment of gout using essential oils is typically done using a diluted form of the oil and applied topically to the affected joints. Once you choose an oil - or blend of oils, dilute them into a neutral oil like olive, coconut, jojoba, almond or avocado oil and rub that mixture onto the affected areas.

Making a foot bath with some diluted oils and epsom salts is also a great way to promote circulation and reduce inflammation of the feet. 

How to Dilute Essential Oils

Dilution is key for essential oils, as the concentrated oils can cause adverse reactions with skin. Diluting the oils also allows for a little to go a long way, helping the spread of the effective molecules reach everywhere they need to. 

Typically, a 0.5-1% dilution is used for topical application. This means, if you have 100ml of carrier oil, you will add 1ml of essential oil. If you only want to make 10ml of diluted oil, use 0.1ml of essential oil, which is typically around 3 drops. Or, use a handy dilution chart to help dilute. 

What Essential Oils are Good for Gout?

Now that we know how to use these oils for gout, it’s time to choose which ones to use. 

Celery 

Some studies have suggested that the use of celery seed oil actually work to enhance the effectiveness of gout medications. It boosts the anti-inflammatory effects of the medication and reduce pain and swelling. Dilute it into one of the oils we discussed above and rub away! 

Lemongrass 

Lemongrass is well known to promote blood circulation, which can help clear uric acid crystals from the body. Studies also point to its reduction in pain, inflammation, and potential use for clearing uric acid from the body. Eating actual lemongrass which you get from the grocery store is also a great way to reduce gout symptoms.

Ginger 

Ginger has been used around the world for centuries as a spice, but also as a medicine. It has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, and can possibly reduce levels of uric acid in the body and reduce the pain and other symptoms of gout. Try diffusing ginger essential oil, or brewing tea made with ginger root from the store.

Lavender

Lavender is well known for its pain-relieving and soothing effects. It also has strong anti-inflammatory properties which can help reduce the symptoms of gout. A diluted application topically can help soothe joints. 

Tea Tree 

Tea Tree is another oil with some many uses, and the reduction of pain and inflammation is one of its most important. It also has the added benefit of antifungal and antimicrobial properties, making it a perfect oil for topical application - once diluted.

Remember, that essential oils should never be ingested, and always be diluted before use with skin. And, always try a small amount to make sure you don’t have a bad reaction. You should always consult your doctor before using essential oils as they can interfere with certain prescription medications, or cause other side effects. 

Essential oils are all the rage these days - and for good reason. People are starting to realize the numerous benefits that essential oils can provide for our health. Essential oils are the essence of plants, harvested from the leaves, flowers, bark or roots of plants. These oils are then concentrated from these raw materials leaving us with nothing but the fragrant, and reactive oils. 

Essential oils are known to reduce nausea, anxiety, and also have antimicrobial and antifungal effects. They can help with sleep, energy, breathing, and more, you just have to select the right one. But, you’re here to learn about applying essential oils to your feet.

How to Apply Essential Oils to Feet 

There are two main ways that we recommend applying essential oils to feet: through an oil rub, and through a soak.

Oil Rub

Essential oils should always be diluted before applying to the skin. Diluting involves putting a few drops of the essential oil into a larger amount of an inert oil like olive, grapeseed, coconut, or really any household oil. It just depends on your personal taste on what oil you’d like to use.

How much essential oil and carrier oil depends on how much you are making, but you can use an easy to follow dilution chart to find the right concentration. General rule of thumb is to use a 1% dilution. 

Making a 1% dilution

It’s really easy to dilute your oils to 1%. First, decide how much carrier oil you will use. For this example, we’ll use 10ml. 1% of 10ml is 0.1ml (10 x .01). So, put 0.1ml of essential oil into the mix. This is roughly 3 drops from most essential oil bottles. Always better to stay on the more diluted side to be safe.

Foot Soak

The other great way to apply essential oils to your feet is to soak them in water, with either an essential oil dilution in the water, or in an epsom salt mix. You can fill a bin with water and put in the goodies, or just have a full bath and get the benefits on your feet but also the rest of your body. 

Why Apply Essential Oils to Your Feet, And Which Ones to Use When

Well, there’s actually a few reasons why you would want to apply oils to your feet. If you’re into reflexology, then you probably already know all about how important our feet are. Our feet are major absorption points of our bodies, and dictate a lot of our physical and emotional well being.

Antifungal Properties

Many essential oils possess antifungal properties that can help to prevent, and eliminate foot and toe fungus. Some oils to try include pine, oregano, thyme, cinnamon, eucalyptus, citronella and mint. 

Energizing Effects

If you buy into the absorptive properties of feet, then you’ll like to know about a few oils that help invigorate and energize you and keep you going through those long days. Try lemon, eucalyptus, lemongrass, pine, bergamot, basil, ginger, or a mix of any of those to give your feet - and body - a little boost to get through the rest of the day. 

Soothing & Relaxing Pain or Fatigue

Most folks work long days on their feet and can build up a lot of tension and aches and pains as a result. Many essential oils have soothing and relaxing properties that are great to apply to the feet to help them, and the mind and body to relax and promote calm. Lavender, cedarwood, rosemary, eucalyptus and sandalwood are all known to reduce inflammation, pain and also promote calm.

Essential oils have been used for hundreds of years to treat a variety of ailments. These concentrated oils of medicinal plants possess a wide range of benefits. We call them essential oils because they possess the very essence of the plants they come from - what gives them their flavour, odor and medicinal properties. 

Essential oils are produced from the leaves, bark, flowers or even roots of plants. They are most often macerated, fresh or dried, and then either cold-pressed or distilled most commonly. This removes all of the unwanted plant fibers and water, leaving nothing but the essential oils - the good stuff. 

Clinical trials show that essential oils can help reduce the effects of many afflictions, including nausea, anxiety and helping people sleep. But what about snoring? While there’s no peer-reviewed scientific journal confirming the effectiveness of essential oils and snoring, many people swear by the positive effects of these compounds for reducing snoring. 

Nearly half of all adults snore, and if you’ve found this article, it’s likely that you’re being affected by this too. Here’s a list of essential oils to try, and see if they help you get back to regular sleeps.

1. Citronella

Because the consumption of alcohol - even a little bit - relaxes muscles, it can be a contributor to snoring. If you have a glass of wine at night it might increase your chances of snoring. Citronella is a detoxifying oil that could help you metabolize the alcohol and reduce the snore. Try diluting a small amount into a throat spray. 

2. Lavender

Lavender is often used in the treatment of insomnia, because the gentle and soothing aroma helps you relax, and it might even trigger the release of melatonin, the sleep hormone. Try a lavender bed spray, spraying your pillow down with diluted lavender oil before bed. 

3. Sage

Sage oil is a bit of a workhorse in the essential landscape. It’s been used for centuries for various treatments, above all else, it’s typically used for respiratory conditions. Sage finds a balance between a bright and invigorating oil and one that is soothing making it great for night time use. 

4. Peppermint

A lot of snoring is caused by blockages in the sinuses and nasal cavity. The anti-inflammatory and purging qualities of peppermint make it great for clearing out the sinuses and nose. Dilute the peppermint with a carrier oil and try applying a little under the nostrils or even inside the nose to help breath clearly. 

5. Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is another oil to try with similar effects to peppermint. It’s often used to reduce the symptoms of respiratory issues such as cold and flu, asthma or bronchitis. Eucalyptus is great for reducing inflammation, clearing your throat and sinuses, and helping to soothe the back of your throat. This is a great one for a throat spray or applying to the nose. 

6. Pine

With antimicrobial and antifungal properties, pine is a go-to for many inflammatory issues. Snoring could be partially caused by spores in the air which pine oil can help to negate. Try a diluted oil in the nose, as a throat spray, or even just diffusing through the night. Just be aware that diffusing certain oils isn’t great for your pets. But, pine is a great oil to try for snoring, and makes it feel like you’re sleeping in the forest.

Other Oils to Try

There are many other oils you may want to try as well, as one size doesn’t always fit all in this world. Some other ones to try may be marjoram, clove, cedarwood, thyme, and valerian. And if those don’t work, just get in touch, we’ll find a solution for you.

Essential oils are the highly concentrated oils of plants, containing a variety of chemical compounds and molecules. This high concentration can often cause reactions with certain types of containers, such as certain plastics. It’s important to choose a container that is safe for essential oils, either for storage or use. There are a few different materials that are safe to store essential oils, and you can learn more below. There are two types of plastic safe with essential oils: HDPE and PET, though we generally suggest you use glass for pure, concentrated oils and leave plastic for diluted oils. 

What Type of Plastic is Safe for Essential Oils?

There are two types of plastics that are safe for essential oils. Other types may react with the compounds within the oils and degrade or melt the plastic, or form toxic compounds. Both HDPE and PET plastics are safe for essential oils. However, it’s always best to dilute the essential oils before using these for long term storage. 

PET or PETE 

This type of plastic, known as polyethylene teraphthalate is a common plastic used often for containers such as pop bottles. It’s also safe for essential oils, so make sure you check the plastic for the PET or #1 symbol, usually on the bottom of the container. One thing to keep in mind is that these bottles are typically clear, which is not always ideal for essential oils, as light can degrade the oils. 

HDPE 

HDPE, or high density polyethylene, is a commonly used plastic in the food and beauty industry. It’s also safe for the storage of essential oils. What’s also nice about HDPE containers is that they are usually less clear than PET bottles, which helps to extend the shelf life of you essential oils. 

What Else Should You Use for Essential Oil Storage?

Glass

Glass is arguably the best material you can use for essential oil storage. The nature of glass is such that any compound within the oil cannot permeate through the glass, making it completely sealed. It’s also extremely easy to clean and re-use! Glass comes in all different colours however the best type of glass to use is amber, then blue or green. Essential oils are degraded by light so using a darkened glass is the best way to extend the life of your oils. In general, we suggest you only ever use glass to store pure/concentrated essential oils. 

Steel

Less commonly used with essential oils than glass is steel. You’re probably less likely to have a stainless steel container to use with essential oils than a glass one, but it may happen, and it’s good to know it’s safe to use. The odds of you having a metal other than steel in your home is also unlikely, but it’s better to stay away from using anything but. Steel provides better durability than glass as it won’t break. Stainless steel water bottles are great storage containers for essential oils if you have one laying around unused. Just make sure you label it clearly and don’t leave it hanging around the kitchen or anywhere else it could be confused for something drinkable!

1. Just use the bottle

Without a doubt, the easiest way to diffuse essential oils without any kind of device is just using the bottle they come in. If you need some aromatherapy on the go, or just a quick and simple way to get a quick inhalation of your favourite oil, just pop the cap and have a sniff! It may seem overly simple but this is the original, and arguably best way to diffuse an essential oil. 

2. Spray bottle

Looking to diffuse your oil into an area without an outlet or just somewhere your diffuser isn’t reaching? A spray bottle is one of the best ways to do this. Mix a similar dilution of water to essential oil mixture, and pour it into a clean spray bottle. Shake the bottle extremely well to ensure you break up the essential oils into as tiny droplets as possible, and spray away!

3. Reeds

This is a classic way to diffuse essential oils. Reed diffusion involves putting a dilution of essential oils with carrier oils into a small container, with the reeds inside and sticking out. The oils wick up the reed and evaporate out into the air near the top of the reed. This is a great passive method of diffusion, low and slow. It’s also great because they add a beautiful accent to many modern designs in the home.

4. Cotton Balls

This is an especially great way to make the most of your near empty essential oil bottles. Cotton balls soak up the oils and then evaporate out in a similar fashion to reed diffusion. If you’re using up a near-empty bottle of essential oils, stuff the cotton balls in straight to the bottom and then just leave the cap off for the diffusion to take place. 

5. On the stovetop

This is another simple way to get aromatherapy in the home. Put a mixture of water and essential oil, or carrier oil with essential oil on the stovetop in a small pot on the lowest setting possible. The heat will slowly evaporate out the oils into the air. You want to try and stir the oils to break up into small droplets, and also be careful you don’t evaporate out all the water and burn the bottom of your pot!

6. In the bath

While not exactly diffusion, using essential oils in the bath - either in bath bombs or in a carrier oil - is an amazing way to get the benefits of aromatherapy. Once it hits the warm water, it will diffuse out into the air, and you also get some nice benefits while soaking.

7. Candles

There are three ways to use candles to diffuse out essential oils. First, you can buy some essential oil infused candles. The second way is to make your own infused candles! The last way, and definitely the easiest, is to put a few drops into any regular candle while burning. Ideally, there will be a small puddle of wax in your candle already. 

8. Necklace

This is a commonly used way to bring essential oils with you wherever you go. Necklaces or bracelets made for diffusion usually contain some sort of porous disc or other mechanism to soak with an essential oil, and then snap into an enclosure so you can get some aromatherapy wherever you are. There are some pretty beautiful necklaces you can get out there too!

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Peppermint oil contains a wide range of benefits, and is easy to make at home. All you need is peppermint, olive oil and a glass container!

How to Make Peppermint Oil

Making an infused peppermint oil is quick and easy, and you only need a few things. 

What You Need:

• Fresh peppermint (try to get from your local farmer’s market)
• A mild carrier oil. You want a mild oil so that the smell or taste doesn’t interfere with the peppermint. Olive oil is great, but any other household choice works great too such as grapeseed. Flax oil would be one we would avoid. Just keep in mind that coconut oil will need to be melted first, and also when you want to use it - depending on where you live and ambient temperatures.
• Optional: cheesecloth or a thin cloth. To strain out the leaves of mint. 
• Glass container (any old jar will do) with a lid, large enough to hold how much oil you want. Preferably it is a dark colour so help maintain the purity of the oil. 

The amount of oil and peppermint will vary depending on the size of your container, and how strong you want your oil to be. You can’t go wrong here! Play around with different amounts until you find the right balance. You can always add more mint if it’s not strong enough, or add more oil if it’s too strong.

Instructions:

1. Wash and dry the mint.
2. Crush the mint with a spoon, your hands or a mortar and pestle.
3. Pack the crushed mint into your jar
4. Pour the oil in to fill the jar and secure the lid tightly
5. Let steep in the oil for a minimum of 3 days to a maximum of 6 months in a cool, dark place 
6. Shake whenever you remember, to help the process along
7. Strain out the leaves from the oil when you are satisfied with the strength of the oil
8. Store in a cool dark place in a preferably 

Peppermint Essential oil vs Peppermint Infused Oils

Essential oils are produced from various plants, fruits and flowers, and are the concentrated oils from within the plants. Essential oils are produced most often using distillation. Infused oils involve steeping the peppermint in oil infusing its properties into the oil. This is not as fine of a procedure as distillation, but is much easier and faster to do and does not require any special materials. For instructions on producing a distilled peppermint oil, check out this video. For an easy peppermint oil, this article has got you covered.