I remember as a kid being excited to see my friends after summer break but also being super scared I would fail this new grade. And now I get to relive ALL of these anxieties through my own children.

Luckily, I feel super well-equipped to deal with this time of year thanks to the plant-based tools we always have on hand in our household – and you can too!

There are definitely lots more essential oil options… but here are my top 10 faves for back-to-school:

Cheer

I hate to admit this but we are MUCH more lenient with bed time during the summer months. That means, when September rolls around and the alarm clocks are set, the morning grumpiness meter tends to skyrocket.

Cheer, a pre-mixed essential oil blend, is one of my favourite oils to diffuse in the morning to enhance our moods (2-3 drops). You will want to ideally get this running 30 minutes before everyone wakes up.

Add a couple of drops of peppermint essential oil with your Cheer blend to also boost energy and wakefulness.

On Guard

Do your kids, like ours, also come home with all of the germs and sniffles at the beginning of the school year?

We fight that by diffusing 5-6 drops of On Guard, a pre-mixed essential oil blend, in the evenings. The chemical make-up of this blend provides powerful germ-fighting activity by helping to cleanse the air.

If you love the smell of cinnamon, orange and cloves, you will absolutely LOVE diffusing this blend! It is both comforting and festive.

Tea Tree

Ok, you might be like a lot of people and not particularly enjoy this smell. It can seem medicinal or remind you too much of cleaning products.

But tea tree essential oil is a great anti-microbial and support to the immune system. I disperse 2-3 drops in my son’s evening bath as a preventative measure.

I honestly believe EVERYONE should always have a bottle of tea tree essential oil in their home.

In Tune

This is actually one of the first essential oils I ever bought when I started introducing essential oils into my non-toxic lifestyle.

We got feedback from my son’s teacher that he was having a hard time focusing in class… so, like I always do, I asked myself what essential oil could support him through this and did some research.

To this day, I roll this blend on the back of my son’s neck on school days and especially before we do homework.

Kids Collection

These last six oils are pre-mixed essential oil blends conveniently packaged in roller bottles and specifically designed for children.

These are a lifesaver for any parent. They cover the big items kids deal with:

• Stronger – to help prevent illness (the kid’s version of On Guard).

• Calmer – to help unwind at the end of the day or manage difficult emotions.

• Steady – to help stay grounded and keep balanced.

• Rescuer – for playground + gym class “ouchies” and tension.

• Brave – to reduce anxiety and promote courage + confidence.

• Thinker – to remain on task + focused and promote clarity + alertness.

Roll these oils along the spine or under the feet daily, picking the blend best-suited to the situation.

You don’t have to “tough it out” or just “hope for the best” this back-to-school season. You CAN empower yourself and be that “annoying” parent whose kid just flows through childhood challenges like a champ.

Trust me, it’s fun

Get the oils you need for your family here, and join the Rustik Health community to save 25% on all your purchases by clicking “Become a Member” then “Wholesale Customer”.

M.

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Since going “no ‘poo”, I’ve been relying on essential oils a lot to add punch and variety to the mix. And when my hair smells beautiful, I tend to feel that way too

Here are my favourite 3 essential oils for gorgeous hair.

Tea Tree

Tea tree, being one of the most anti-microbial of essential oils, is a great addition to your hair care routine to address dandruff and (for those of you with children, especially) lice.

I add 2-3 drops of tea tree to my baking soda and water mixture to keep my hair super clean.

Geranium

While geranium is a great support in balancing your hair’s natural oil production whether it’s oily OR dry, I mainly use geranium for its super “femme” smell. If you sniff it straight from the bottle, the floral scent can be intense. But, in your hair, I like that it’s strong enough to smell for a long time.

I also add 2-3 drops of geranium to my baking soda and water mixture.

Sandalwood

Sandalwood is my natural leave-in conditioner. After rinsing with water and apple cider vinegar, I run a drop or two of this oil through my hair. It is great for dry scalp and I enjoy the hippie smell. It’s woodsy and earthy with a hint of sweetness.

What essential oils do you love for your hair?

M.

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This magic potion helped ease ear pain: a combo of peppermint, tea tree, lavender and basil essential oils.

Recently, we encountered a situation where a 7-year old boy in our home experienced terrible ear pain. The fun of the day quickly vanished and tears started to shed. This had been a common occurrence and so I didn’t panic but I definitely wanted to ease the discomfort as soon as possible until it was possible to see a health care professional.

I immediately reached for the following three essential oils and diluted them in fractionated coconut oil. I then applied them around and behind the ear with a cotton ball – never put essential oils directly in the ear!

• Basil: This oil is great for anything related to the ear. Ear aches, ears popping in an airplane, etc.
• Lavender: This is a wonderful calming oil – whether it be for calming the skin, body or mind.
• Tea tree: This is one of the most antiseptic of all essential oils. Great support to address infections.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OPCY71VUt8]

(Shameless plug: subscribe to my YouTube channel for more videos like this)

Along with the pain came a burning sensation around the ear so I also grabbed my peppermint essential oil roller-bottle. Peppermint offers a soothing, cooling sensation plus helps “drive” the other essential oils into the skin (this practice is called “layering”). This oil is also great for pain.

Within less than 10 minutes, the boy felt relief and there was a significant reduction in pain. The tears disappeared… mommy win!

I hope this helps. There are also nutritional steps you can take to support this type of issue and I encourage you to also explore them…

M.

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Anyone that know me well knows that I am the worst when it comes to a stuffy, sniffly nose. This past week was terrible, as I caught a bad cold right before the holidays.

A few years back, I caved and decided to try this weird device called a neti pot. I hesitated at first… The process sounded kind of gross. Now after seeing the benefits, and on further thought, I love it and now think it’s kind of gross to not wash your nose. Don’t we wash the rest of ourselves?

Neti pots are used for nasal saline irrigation which basically means you rinse your nose with salt water. Doing so helps thin and flush out mucus (yuck). You can buy a pre-made saline rinse or I started making my own of equal parts pure sea salt and baking soda (1/4 tsp each).

Since introducing more essential oils into my life, I’ve been adding a drop of pure tea tree and/or lavender essential oil to my neti pot rinses every now and then. I have definitely noticed a difference in the effectiveness of the rinses.

Another thing I do to help with the stuffiness and sniffles at night is to put a drop of essential oil on both bottom corners of my pillow (I turn around a lot). I normally use eucalyptus but this time I tried “easy air” and it worked even better for me. In fact, once the aroma wore off, I woke up in the middle of the night all stuffed up. I put a few more drops and fell right back asleep until morning. Easy air also works well in the diffuser.

Obviously, I follow this routine when I am sick. However, I will sometimes do the neti pot as a preventive measure (i.e. after taking a flight or train ride or during allergy season).

Hope this helps!

M.

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After switching to my DIY deodorant, I then revamped my skin care routine. The title of this post may seem deceiving because there are a lot of products in the picture, but it’s pretty basic. These are just various options I go through.

I started my transition to natural skin care with the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM), which means I washed my face with oil (e.g. coconut, argan, castor, sweet almond oil – or a mixture!). This seemed counter-intuitive (and like an overall bad idea) considering I had oily skin. The first few days were rough – and I did break out – but my skin then regulated itself. On blemishes, I used a mixture of equal parts Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) and water or tea tree essential oil.

Over the years, I gradually moved away from daily OCM and am now mainly washing my face with water. If I wear make-up, exercise heavily or need extra moisturising in the winter, I will use the OCM or wash with diluted Dr. Bronner’s castile soap before going to bed. After washing my face, I moisturise with jojoba oil mixed with a few drop of helichrysum essential oil. Jojoba is currently my favourite oil for the face since it is similar to naturally-occurring sebum and does not clog pores (I’ve used coconut and argan oils in the past). Helichrysum has amazing skin benefits (you can also use frankincense or lavender).

Oh, and the aloe vera plant in the picture is not just decor. I do, every once in a while, clip a piece of it and rub the gel on my face.

About twice a week, I will use witch hazel as a toner on my t-zone. I also try to exfoliate once or twice a week with xylitol (which I grind to a finer texture) or baking soda (rubbing very gently since it can be irritating). I also treat myself to a weekly face mask.

I guess I call this simple because there are no fancy products involved…

To recap, here are the steps:

1. Wash with water (0r natural cleanser)
2. Use toner (witch hazel or rose water is another option) 1  – 2 x per week on t-zone
3. Moisturise with jojoba oil (or argan oil or coconut oil or even aloe vera gel!)
4. Exfoliate 1 – 2 x per week
5. Weekly face mask

Remember, everyone is different… I recommend you test out a few options to see what works best for you. Also, please be patient. Your skin will need a bit of time to adjust to whatever new routine you introduce.

Hope this was helpful!

M.

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