It always makes me wonder why most parents will buy any baby product to use on their little one without even thinking twice about its contents. But to use essential oils on their baby? No way!

Why???

Why would we lather their little bodies with soaps filled with chemicals and fragrance that dry out their skin? And even worse, follow it up by smearing baby lotion all over them that is loaded with even more chemicals and fragrance?

We were blessed that our first daughter had beautiful baby skin from the day she was born, with the exception of one horrible breakout of dry skin all over her stomach during the winter just before she turned one.

I remember the day I took her for a swimming lesson, and a very concerned lady came over and told me I should take her to the doctor because something was wrong with her. That was the day I went home and made an awesome salve that my amazing dōTERRA leader had posted a few weeks before. Her skin cleared up in just a few days, and she slept better because it’s loaded with calming oils; Lavender and Cedarwood for the win!

When our second was born and she had all the signs of eczema – although I kept getting told it was just dry skin – I decided I wasn’t going to buy handfuls of products that promised better skin with zero results. I tried the skin salve on her, but unfortunately her skin and Cedarwood did not get along. I then decided to try plain old coconut oil with a few different oils. This was a game changer for us. Along with daily probiotics, her skin has cleared up beautifully. I’ve played around with the recipe a few times, but we have now settled on shea butter, vitamin E, Lavender, Frankincense, Myrrh and Copaiba as our night time cream.

Luckily for all of us parents, dōTERRA released a brand new baby line this year that is going to become a permanent item in August! Consisting of a hair and body wash, lotion and diaper cream, it is a line that you will find has minimal ingredients and absolutely NO synthetic fragrances.

This is all we use for our little peoples’ bodies now, and their hair gets the dōTERRA shampoo. Our three year old also gets conditioner for her head of crazy hair. It took a few baths for me to get used the fact that there is very little lather with the body wash, because that lathering we are used to is caused by chemical agents, which usually aren’t very good for our skin.

The lotion is our daytime lotion because it absorbs into the skin super fast, and you really don’t need to use a lot. But it is also the perfect lotion for bedtime as well since it has Lavender and Roman Chamomile in it, which are amazing sleepy time oils while healing the skin.

So what else can we use essential oils for?

*We can calm our colicky baby (ZenGest and Ginger).

*Teething support so everyone can sleep better at night (Lavender, Roman Chamomile and Copaiba).

*DIY diaper rash relief ( Tea Tree, Lavender and Frankincense).

*Newborn constipation (ZenGest and Wild Orange).

*Sleep support (Lavender and Serenity are two of my favourites).

*Immune support (On Guard)

*Fevers (Peppermint is my go to when the fever first hits)

Essential oils are completely safe for our little ones. Just be sure to heavily dilute – one drop of essential oil with one teaspoon of carrier oil – and I always like to apply in places that are covered with clothes so they don’t touch it and accidentally rub it in their eyes!

As with anytime you use essential oils, do your research first!

*Know your “hot” oils so you don’t accidentally under-dilute before putting them on your child, and know your proper dilution ratios for roller bottles – 1-3 drops in a 10mL bottle.

Diffusing around babies is another one I get asked about from time to time.

“Is it safe?”

“Will it harm my child?”

“Should I only diffuse when my baby isn’t home?”

The last one is a real head shaker. Where is your baby going without you in the first few months of life??

When I get questions like this, the first thing I usually ask is “Do you have plug in air fresheners in your home? Do you spray canned air fresheners?” Most of the time, their answer is, “Yes, I want my home to smell nice.” Fine, I get it. I have two kids, one that’s still in diapers, and a big smelly dog, so I KNOW the battle of a smelly house. But I also refuse to use chemical sprays and synthetic fragrances, and subject my family to the harm it can do to our respiratory systems.

I make my own room sprays and run the diffuser in our kitchen daily to combat the stink, but also to get the aromatic benefits of the oils.

Diffusing around babies follows the same rule as diffusing around pets. Keep the door open, don’t diffuse in a confined space, and if your baby or pet are showing signs of not liking it, turn it off and pick a new oil.

If you are ever in doubt, reach out to your oil community, the person who enrolled you, or contact dōTERRA directly, for further information.

Enjoy your oil journey and do not be afraid to bring your baby along for the ride.!!