12: College Freshman Aromatherapy Survival Kit

Liz Fulcher [00:00:00]:
This is the Aromatic Wisdom podcast episode 12. In today's episode, I'm going to talk about that 1st year of college, and I'm going to offer some suggestions of aromatherapy products and tools that you can use to help your college freshman get through that 1st year of school.

Introduction [00:00:18]:
You're listening to the Aromatic Wisdom podcast with your host, Liz Fulcher. If you're interested in learning about essential oils, hearing interviews with industry experts, and discovering ways to grow your own aromatherapy business, this is the podcast for you. For more information and show notes, visit the website at aromatic wisdom institute.com. Now sit back, relax, take a deep breath, and enjoy as Liz shares a dose of aromatic wisdom.

Liz Fulcher [00:00:51]:
Hi, everyone. And thank you so much for joining me today. My name is Liz Fulcher, and I'm a veteran aroma therapist. I've been practicing the art and science of aromatherapy and using essential oils in lots and lots of different ways since 1991, and I'm your host for this here podcast. Before we get started, I just wanna throw in a little disclaimer that I am having some work done in my home. This podcast is recorded at my house, so I'm really hoping that you don't hear banging and clanging in the background. If you do, my apologies. But I really wanted to get you know, rather than doing it perfectly, I wanted to get it done.

Liz Fulcher [00:01:32]:
I like to call myself a recovering perfectionist, and many, many projects have not been completed over the years. A lot of the things that I dream to do, are still dreams, because I wanna do it perfectly. And so I'm learning that done is better than perfect. I can always go back and tweak it later. And I share that with you in case that is something that you're feeling as well. Even with regard to aromatherapy and essential oils, don't put off having a practice. Don't put off making the blends. Don't put off sharing your knowledge with people because you're not doing it perfectly, or you're not where you want to be yet.

Liz Fulcher [00:02:13]:
Okay. I'm off my soapbox and on to today's topic, which is college freshman survival. I have 2 sons that I have put through college and I myself have been to college, although it was about a 1000 years ago. And regardless, I can still remember what that was like that 1st year, the homesickness, the anxiety regarding exams, the meeting new people. There's no question that the 1st year of college can be daunting. No matter how well prepared your child is or yourself, if you're attending college as well, no matter how well prepared, how excited, it's a huge trans transition. It's a huge milestone in someone's life. Even if you're an adult returning, it is a big deal.

Liz Fulcher [00:02:57]:
And as can sometimes happen when we have big deal experiences in our life, is our immunity gets compromised and we get sick. Add to the mix that college students are now surrounded by a lot of other people in class, in the dorm, in the cafeteria, in the student union. Even if the college student is living at home and commuting to college, they're still going to be exposed to a large number of students in the classroom and in the cafeteria. Okay. So what I am going to give you now is a list of my personal recommendations of, let's say, components of a serve of a kit. Components of a freshman survival kit. Your kid has probably gone off to college already because it's the end of August and most of them have started by now, But you can make a nice care package, put everything together in a nice bag with a list of what's in there and how they should use them, a love note from mom and dad, a $20 bill because you know they need it, and send that off to them as a care package in college. They'll really love it.

Liz Fulcher [00:04:01]:
Alright. So let's go ahead now and assemble our freshman survival kit. So start with some kind of a bag to put everything in, a travel bag, something cute that they can, you can maybe put a label on it. Johnny's freshman survival kit, if that's too embarrassing for Johnny, don't do that. Maybe just put their name on it. I personally like clear cosmetic bags because it's really easy to see everything that's inside at a glance, especially if they kind of need something in a hurry. They only have to look at it, put their hand in, and grab it. In the show notes, I'm going to put a link to some bags that I think would be really good for this purpose.

Liz Fulcher [00:04:37]:
And, they're on Amazon, and, they are my affiliate links. If you click on there and buy your product there, I'll get, I don't know, a buck or something, and it doesn't cost any extra for you. Okay. So we have our bag. Now, I'm going to recommend 5 blends that I think would be useful to put inside the bag. The first is some sort of a pain relief, bruise, or inflammation blend. They're going to be moving furniture around. They're going to be clumsy because they're nervous and because they're topic kids.

Liz Fulcher [00:05:08]:
They're they're they could be doing sports. They could be lifting weights at the gym. They're going to be physical because that's what kids are. And at some point, they're going to have an inflammation or some kind of a pain. The suggested oils for your inflammation bruise pain relief blend are helichrysum, German chamomile, and lavender. They could just even have be have too many hours on the computer and they need to put something on their wrists. So this first blend is to address any kind of minor injury until they can get to the student medical center. I would recommend a base for all of these blends of fractionated coconut oil or jojoba because both of those have a really long shelf life.

Liz Fulcher [00:05:52]:
And if the kids leave them out or they get warm in their room, it's gonna be fine. They they won't go rancid. I would make your, pain relief, fingery blend at about 5% dilution because it's only meant to be used in a small area. So so on a shin or in a wrist, something like that. And so remember, 1% is 5 to 6 drops of essential oil to 1 ounce of carrier, and I'll put that in the show notes, the chart of dilutions to help you remember that. The second blend you would like to put in their kit is for headaches, stress relief, sinus, any kind of a headache. The oils that I suggest in a headache relief blend are peppermint, frankincense, basil, and spike lavender. The Latin name for spike lavender is lavandula latifolia.

Liz Fulcher [00:06:46]:
And these are all great oils to inhale during breaks, you know, if they're having long hours of study, if they're reading too much, if there's noise in the dorm, general stress. Yes. Even a hangover mom and dad. Be realistic. So a headache relief blend would be great. And I would make that at a if they're going to be adding it, so if they're going to be sniffing it, it can be straight from the bottle, it doesn't have to be in a blend. But, I always like to make a little blend like in a roller that they can just roll on their temples. And I would do that not at a high dilution.

Liz Fulcher [00:07:20]:
1%, 2% is all you need, especially with those oils. Okay. The next blend I recommend is something for muscle pain. This is a little different than the other pain blend I recommended. The first one I recommended was really I would even call that an injury blend because that was more for inflammation and swelling of a of a wound. Muscle pain blend is more generic achiness. If they're lifting weights at the gym, if they are taking long walks across campus, that may be something they're not used to doing. Riding bike across campus, participating in phys ed as a requirement, they could suddenly have achy sore muscles.

Liz Fulcher [00:07:58]:
So the suggested oils for the blend, I always like to add birch, ginger, black pepper, marjoram, juniper berry. Those are just a few of the oils. There are many you can put for, for pain, but those are kind of my go to's. And I would make that again, it's it's not for all overhead to toe. It's for a specific area. So if they have sore shoulders, I'd make it at about a 3% blend. Next, consider making a blend for sinus and allergy congestion. Traditionally, school semester Also, if Also, if they're living in the dorm, you don't know how clean their air system is, what they're breathing in their rooms.

Liz Fulcher [00:08:46]:
Could be dust. You don't know what sort of perfumes the other or or colognes other students are wearing that they could have a reaction to. And so there's nothing worse than being being congested and having your sinuses blocked and you're trying to sleep and study and relax. The suggested oils for a sinus and allergy relief blend, I like to use peppermint, rosemary, tea tree, lavender, and lemon. These oils will help to create a nice cooling, uplifting effect, and they're also oils that are really good for clearing the mind while they're studying. So if they need a little help with focus and clarity, these oils are also great. I wouldn't use a strong blend. I do a 1% blend and give them, you could give it to them in a bottle to sniff, put a little couple drops on a tissue and have them inhale it.

Liz Fulcher [00:09:35]:
If you want to use any of these individually, they could also use them in a diffuser in their room. Now using a diffuser in the room can be tricky because if they have a roommate, you have to take consideration who they're sharing the room with. The roommate may may not appreciate it. The next blend I recommend is specific to female students and that's a PMS balance blend. There is nothing worse than having your period feeling crampy, and moody, and mom is a 100 miles away. If you're not feeling good, you want some comfort. And the oils that I'm gonna recommend are actually very comforting. They're good for for inflammation, stomach pain, and also help with mood swings.

Liz Fulcher [00:10:15]:
So the, excuse me, the suggested oils I would recommend for a PMS balance blend are clary sage, geranium, Roman chamomile. The Roman chamomile, not only is it calming, it's really antispasmodic. So that would be good for something for her to rub into her abdomen. Lavender, sweet orange, and cypress. These oils are all good for hormone balance, they're calming for the nerves, and, as I said, antispasmodic for cramping. I'd make the blend at about a 5% blend, which is which would be 25 drops to 1 ounce of carrier and that would be 25 total drops, not 25 of each oil. Good lord. Rub it into the abdomen, the lower back, even just smelling this blend will help her feel more relaxed.

Liz Fulcher [00:11:01]:
The next thing you want to add to your kit are some single oils, not blends. I would put in there lavender. No college student should leave home without lavender. It has an outstanding balancing, and it has a calming effect on the central nervous system. So it's good for stress, comfort, in times of homesickness. It can be inhaled quickly for headache, anxiety, insomnia. It is a quick pain reliever and it's great for healing burns. I'm not sure how they'd get burned in a dorm, but with kids, anything's possible.

Liz Fulcher [00:11:33]:
When I was in college, I remember seeing probably at least 2 or 3 burns from curling irons. Girls would get burned on the side of their face or even on their wrists. Your student can sprinkle a few drops of lavender, essential oil on their pillowcase. If you recommend they do this, have them do it in the corners of the pillowcases so it's not right smack against their eyes. The second single oil I'd recommend is tea tree. This is another don't leave home without it oil. College life is a great way to pass germs, and this has such great antiseptic properties. And, again, it's good for healing infection.

Liz Fulcher [00:12:09]:
Tea tree has a wonderful affinity with our respiratory system. So, again, colds, flus, even congestion, it's super for the for the respiratory system. Sore throats, bronchitis, sinus. The other thing is they're sharing showers often and or or sharing a bathroom where their feet are walking on the same floor. I would recommend, shower shoes or flip flops. But if they do end up with some kind of toenail fungus or athlete's foot, tea tree will kill both. The other single oils I'd recommend are ones that are just basically uplifting for the mood. College is a wonderful time of life.

Liz Fulcher [00:12:50]:
I mean, it's something that should be a memorable happy experience. I know it was for for my kids, but it can also be stressful. You know, in the winter time, they start, you know, getting really stressed from exams. The weather could be gray. They could be getting homesick. So some citrus oils are nice to throw in there just for uplifting. You can either make a blend or just add a single oil, something like orange, lemon, grapefruit, bergamot, lime. They're all really happy oils.

Liz Fulcher [00:13:18]:
They are also all high in a molecule called d limonene. And d limonene is great for boosting immunity. So these oils not only will make them feel better, it'll keep them healthier. The next group of single oils I'd recommend for a freshman survival kit are grounding oils for overwhelm. Their little brains are so busy, it's very easy to get overwhelmed with studies when they have a lot of things to do at once. They may have again, if they're in sports, if they're singing, if they're doing any kind of if they're in play and they still have all their exams and things they have to do, they can very easily become overwhelmed. And so, what you want to do is have an oil that's going to bring their energy down and help them stay calm and grounded and focused. The oils that are really helpful for combating overwhelm and quieting the mind while soothing and grounding the nervous system, are the wood oils.

Liz Fulcher [00:14:14]:
Wood and, earth oils. So cedarwood, vetivert, spikenard, patchouli, they're base notes. And base notes are oils that have really big heavy molecules making them very slowly evaporate, but they also have a way of really slowing down the central nervous system, calming the mind, helping you to come back to yourself when you're feeling overwhelmed. Okay. So that's it for the list of blends and essential oils that I would recommend for a freshman survival kit. Now let's talk about some other tools you might like to add. I would definitely put in a diffuser. You know, diffusers are they're beautiful.

Liz Fulcher [00:14:51]:
They have lights on them, so sometimes they can be very soothing at night. They disperse essential oils into the air, which is really good for their antibacterial effects, and their aromatic effects. The door makes the dorm room just smell better. I'll go ahead and add in the show notes a link to some beautiful diffusers that you can find for your student. Next, you definitely wanna throw in some blank nasal inhalers. You can, make them an inhaler ahead of time if you'd like to. Use any of the blends that I've recommended, at least for the for sinus and for allergies and for stress. You put essential oils in the inhaler and they stick it up their nose and they inhale it.

Liz Fulcher [00:15:31]:
It's a method of essential oil delivery. And you can use them for sinus congestion, headaches, stay awake, go to sleep, anxiety, stress, insomnia. They're fabulous. They can take them in their backpacks. They can use them in the classroom. You can make them really, unique and personal to whatever your students' needs are. You can also send some blank ones along just in case they wanna make their own while they're in school. Some other supplies to consider are organic liquid castile soap.

Liz Fulcher [00:16:01]:
If you put that in a bottle, they can add their own essential oils to it that they like. So if they night if they wanna make themselves a nice relaxing body wash in the shower before bed, they can add lavender. If they wanna make themselves a really nice wake up in the morning blend, they can maybe use orange and lemon in the castile soap and use it in the morning shower. If you think your child's not going to make them, then you just make it ahead of time and send it to them. You can do that with a liquid soap, liquid or body wash, but it must be unscented. It's another way of getting essential oils into their system to keep them healthy. I'd also make them a hand sanitizer. You can get a 2 ounce spray bottle, add aloe vera gel, and add, gosh, just about anything is going to be antibacterial.

Liz Fulcher [00:16:47]:
I like clove, eucalyptus, peppermint, lavender, rosemary, thyme, chemotype, Linolol, these are all terrific in a hand sanitizer or some sort of a hand cleanser if, for example, soap and water are not available or they feel like they just wanna be fresh between classes, they can squirt a little bit of this into their hands. I'd make that at a 2% blend, which which equals 20 drops of essential oil to 1 ounce of organic aloe vera gel. And I'll put a link to that in the show notes as well so you know where to buy that. And finally, the last thing that I would add to their freshman kit, there are just some empty spray bottles. Little 1 ounce, 2 ounce spray bottles. I'll put a link in the show notes to those as well. They are really useful because the student can create their own air freshener. They know what their needs are.

Liz Fulcher [00:17:39]:
If they have an oil that they have learned to love, if they have a particular aromatic need, maybe their carpet is stinky or maybe they're they just wanna spray their pillow, they can add the essential oils to water. Add the essential oils to the bottle and then add some water, and then they shake it, and they've got themselves a room spray. Again, we're boosting their immunity, making them feel better, keeping the room more aromatic. Room sprays are just a really super quick way for them to just spray some aromatherapy, spray some essential oils into the environment. And I also just like the idea of the students making their own blends. It's very empowering to find a situation, make it better through essential oils, and just making your own. I think kids really like that. They don't need much.

Liz Fulcher [00:18:25]:
Ten drops of essential oil to 1 ounce of water, 20 drops of essential oil to a 2 ounce bottle, put in the essential oils, add some water, and remind them to shake well every time before they use it because the essential oils in the water don't mix. Okay. So there are my suggestions for a freshman survival kit. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and hopefully it's been kind of a springboard for you to get some ideas and get your creative juices going for your own child's freshman survival kit. And now it's time for smell my life. If you are new to the aromatic wisdom podcast, the smell my life segment is where I share some authentic moment where I've used essential oils in my real life in the past week. And this week is an easy one, because I have been cleaning my guts out with all the work that's being done in my house, the renovation. I've been using essential oils in many, many different ways to keep things clean.

Liz Fulcher [00:19:24]:
I'm moving furniture that hasn't been moved in years, cleaning the walls behind them. I threw a whole bunch of essential oils into a water bottle, a spray bottle, and added vinegar and water. And I'm you've been using it to clean the walls and the baseboards in my bedroom, and I love the way it smells. In fact, the gentlemen who are working in the house have said, what is why what are you do using? It smells so great. That has happened before with with in other cases where I'm using essential oils and workers come in. But I know that it's got cinnamon and clove and a little bit of anise. I am very careful about using fennel and anise because they're high in ethers. They can be, oh, hard on your nervous system, let's say, but there's not very much in there.

Liz Fulcher [00:20:06]:
Oh, does it smell good? So I have a 32 ounce spray bottle that I got, I think, at Lowe's or Walmart or something, just a a regular cleaning spray bottle. I've I just literally threw in a bunch of oils that I had on my work counter that were at the very bottom. In other words, I'm using up my oils and I just dumped them in there because I'm not using it on my body. I'm not as careful with dilutions. And what I've been doing is, as I move a piece of furniture away from the wall that maybe it's been a few you know, it's been there for a few years, there are little tiny cobwebs on the walls. And the baseboards are quite dusty, so I spray the wall and I spray the baseboard, then I wipe everything down with a dry cloth. Then I took the mattress off my bed and I sprayed the metal frame that holds the box spring because that was surprisingly dusty. I don't even know how it gets there.

Liz Fulcher [00:21:01]:
And wipe that down. When I got into bed last night, not only did my bedroom smell amazing, but I just felt I'd had clean sheets on the bed, and I felt like the walls were clean and the bed was clean. I mean, I'm not a cleaning fanatic, but it is so nice when you have a sense. It was almost an energetic cleansing. I felt as though cobwebs were gone even from my mind. It was really lovely. That was my smell my life moment this week. And finally, I'd like to wrap up the podcast with a segment called ask Liz.

Liz Fulcher [00:21:33]:
And this is where you, the listener, write to me and ask a question about aromatherapy, essential oils, pretty much anything you want related to the art and practice of aromatherapy, and I will answer it. If you would like to write to me, go to liz@aromaticwisdom.com, and in the subject line put ask Liz, and go ahead and send me your question. This week's question actually, someone wrote to me on Facebook, and her question was this. Her name is Cookie Baker, and Cookie writes, when making perfumes, do you still need to follow the dilution guidelines, or does the alcohol destroy the therapeutic properties of the essential oils? So thank you for your question, Cookie, and it's really kind of a 2 parter. The first is when making perfumes, do you still need to follow dilution guidelines? You absolutely need to follow dilution guidelines whenever you're making a product that you use on your skin. And those dilution guidelines are in the show notes. But, yes, always follow the safe dilution guidelines 1%, 2%, 3%, and so forth whenever you're doing a topical application whether it's a perfume spray or therapeutic blend. Now with regard to the second half of your question, do does the alcohol destroy the therapeutic properties of the essential oils? It does not.

Liz Fulcher [00:22:56]:
And actually, alcohol can be a nice So let So let's say for example, you have a 1 ounce bottle and you have, I don't know, 50%. Making perfumes is not my strong point, but let's just say you have half an ounce alcohol, half an ounce an ounce jojoba oil, you have 1 ounce of carrier, and you add your essential oils. The alcohol just becomes part of the carrier. It has no effect whatsoever. The whatever therapeutic properties the essential oils have, also in terms of their their safety still apply. It's it's nothing more than another type of carrier preservative within the blend. Well, Cookie, I hope that answers your question. Thank you for writing.

Liz Fulcher [00:23:45]:
And this ends episode number 12. Thank you again for giving me your very precious time. And if you run over to iTunes and leave a review, I will be so, so deeply appreciative. In the show notes, I'll put a link to where you go to iTunes and I even have a little tutorial on how to leave a review. So until next time, be well, be happy. Bye bye.