Air Fresheners vs Essential Oils

I love the smell of a fresh smelling house. I used to love those little wall plug in fresheners that made my house smell like cucumber melon. Oh, that smelled heavenly! Once I became pregnant for the first time I decided to do as much research about everything health that I could. I was shocked at what I read about my beloved air fresheners. Needless to say, we got rid of them - and here's why.

The more research I did the more I found that known toxic chemicals that can be found in air fresheners include formaldehyde, camphor, ethanol, phenol, petroleum-based artificial fragrances (which contain their own mix of toxins) and benzyl alcohol. These chemicals can cause symptoms like headaches, rashes, dizziness, migraines, asthma attacks, mental confusion, coughing and more.  I actually remembered having frequent headaches when sitting in a certain room of our house, ironically it was the room with the air freshener.  Some of the substances in air fresheners are also known carcinogens and others are hormone disruptors.

I also found that severity and triggers as well as symptoms vary from person to person. But when used in a confined area like a house, the intense amount of toxins in a small area can be especially problematic. Children are particularly susceptible to harm from chemicals in indoor air.

Now, after hearing all of that.  I was seriously disappointed!  I loved the way my house smelled.  So what do we do?  Not long after I was introduced to essential oils and they have been a big part of our every day life since.  Not only do they smell wonderful, but diffusing them also helps relieve stress, purify the air, calm or energize a person, and many more health benefits.  I use a Zaq diffuser, and although small - 2-3 drops of an essential oil will make our entire room smell amazing.  

My favorite essential oils are Young Living and doTERRA.  Now, I am a Young Living distributor, but I am in love with doTERRA as well.  If you pick a high quality essential oil you can receive all the benefits it has to offer as well as a much stronger fragrance. 

Here are some of my favorite oils to diffuse.  One of my favorites while the kids are doing schoolwork is Lavender.  I feel they are much more calm and focused when diffusing Lavender.  When they are sick or we're trying to avoid a sickness I love diffusing Thieves or OnGuard.  Not only does it smell amazing (like cinnamon and oranges), it helps purify the air and strengthen their immune systems.  Oh I could go on and on... what are your favorite oils to diffuse?