October 9, 2014

DIY Four Thieves Oil

Yay for pretty fall leaves! My son and I had a nice little walk around the neighborhood this morning to admire the changing colors. Which also reminded me that cooler weather leads to the start of cold and flu season. Sigh. That part of the season change is certainly not something to celebrate. But I do have a great recipe for four thieves oil that you can make yourself and help prevent you from getting sick this season. As legend has it, there once were four robbers during the time of the plague way back in the 15th century who created this blend of oils and used it to prevent them from getting infected while they robbed the recently deceased. They eventually were captured and traded this recipe for their release. Whether or not the legend is true, this blend of oils that make up the DIY Four Thieves Oil has immune stimulating, antibacterial, antiviral and antiseptic properties.

Don’t be intimated by purchasing a bunch of essential oils to make this. They have SO many uses as I’m now finding out and I use them for tons of things so I don’t feel like they’re being wasted by any means. I add them to homemade body butters, face cream and many cleaning items. DIY Four Thieves Oil contains the essential oils of clove, lemon, cinnamon, eucalyptus, rosemary and I like to add oregano or frankincense to it as well but you can omit those if you choose.

The main way I use four thieves oil is to diffuse several of drops of the oil in a diffuser a few times a week during the day to purify the air and kill any germs hanging around. It’s a great way to freshen the air too as it smells good enough to eat. At the first sign of feeling like one of us is coming down with something or if we’ve been recently exposed, I diffuse it continuously until symptoms subside. To break up chest or sinus congestion, you can place a few drops in a steaming cup of water and inhale directly.

You can also make a massage oil out of it by mixing in a 50/50 blend with a carrier oil such as jojoba or sweet almond oil and rubbing on your chest, feet, lower back, and back of the neck to combat a cold, flu or other chest ailments like bronchitis. Test for sensitivity with a small amount first as occasionally, some people may react to the different oils. Of course, if you don’t want to make the thieves oil on your own, you can try it out by purchasing one already made like this one.

DIY Four Thieves Oil