I Drank the Kool-Aid
I have long been leery of multilevel marketing (MLM) schemes-- and for good reason. It seems that every month a new craze has hit social media: Advocare, Plexus, It Works!, and a number of other teeth whitening, eye lash lengthening, and otherwise miraculous products. Their peddlers suddenly CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT THEIR [insert product here], and 15 other users will comment on these posts echoing that they too cannot live without ________. But just as quickly as these folks have found the cure-all, their posts suddenly go silent. I suspect their sudden hiatus from marketing has to do with inability to meet whatever goal their new employer has given them for the month, but what do I know...
This is not to say that some MLM products don't have actual merit. Many gurus in the beauty product world give rave reviews to Rodan & Fields products, for instance. But the aggression of its sellers puts me off-- how do I buy the one product without you trying to put me on your "team"?
And so, with these criticisms, I have long derided those who are believers in the voodoo magic of essential oils. I am guilty of putting all oil-users under the tent of those who are the most vocal on social media-- you know the ones. They use oil instead of doctors' visits and actual medical treatment. And although I had a secret, hidden interest in the actual effectiveness of oils, I didn't want to put myself in the same Crazy Tent where I had mentally grouped all the other Oilers.
But peer pressure is so real. SO. REAL. A couple of my best friends suddenly got into it. They dazzled me with stories of stress levels going down, at-home treatments that actually worked, all-natural cleaners that would change my life.
So I dove in. I bought the starter kit (Young Living is my brand), and I drank the Kool-Aid. And I'm here to tell you what I honestly think.
Let's start by clearing one thing up: there's a difference in being proactive and being reactive. If an essential oil is a proactive way to keep germs at bay and keep my family healthy, sign me up. If my kid has the crud and a fever, I'm taking him to the doctor.
GOOD: I'm really into aromatherapy. The way my environment smells has a genuine impact on me. And so my main use of my little oil kit is diffusing scents. Every morning I pull up my Pinterest board and pick out a recipe and, like a mad scientist, I create my brew. Some are better than others, but I really believe that certain scents give me an extra pep in my step, an extra *umph* to get my day started and get things done. Maybe it's the ritual or maybe it's a placebo effect, but results are results.
NOT-SO-GOOD: With the help of Pinterest, I have created a few rollerball concoctions. These are mixtures of essential oils and a carrier oil (I use fractionated coconut oil) placed in a glass bottle with a roller fixture. The roller balls I created were: Seasonal (for allergies), Headache/Migraine Relief, Tension Relief, and Immunity Support. A month or so ago, I felt the stirrings of an oncoming migraine so I reached for my oils to give them a go... while the cooling of the peppermint was a nice touch, I can't say that it did anything to relieve the actual migraine. The Seasonal blend smells really good, but I'm not sure that it does anything to actually help my allergies (although, I have found that it helps with itching on a couple of dry/eczema spots!). I can't speak to the actual effectiveness of the Immunity Support, but I haven't gotten sick so there's that! And I do genuinely like the Tension Relief-- it has an oil blend called Pan Away that is YL's special blend that cools on contact. So when my neck feels a little stiff, I roll that blend on. It doesn't cure it, necessarily, but I think the cooling sensation and the particular smell of that rollerball mix is relaxing.
GOOD: One thing I have really, really liked is making my own carpet powder to deodorize our rugs and carpet. Our labradoodle-- special designer dog that "doesn't shed"-- sheds like a mo-fo and, bless his heart, he just never smells good. No matter how often we wash him or the fact that he's a 99.9% 'indoor dog' at this point, he just kind of stinks. And especially now that I have an 8-month-old who is crawling (well, he's *trying* to crawl... it's a full body experience that involves shoving his body across the floor with his face in the carpet), it's especially important to me that our carpet and rugs are clean and fresh. So once a week or so, I mix up a batch of carpet powder with a couple of oils that are Holy Grail in the deodorizing and cleaning category and I hit every rug and carpet in our home. And-- voila!-- you no longer can tell we're "dog people" the second you walk in our front door.
GOOD: People swear by YL's Thieves products. These are all-natural cleaning products that smell like cinnamon and clove. To be honest, I don't get real worked up about things being all-natural or organic-- spare me the judgment-- but I let a friend peer pressure me into buy the Thieves cleaning concentrate... and... I'm a believer. It smells great and it gets the job done. More importantly, it doesn't leave my hands feeling assaulted by chemical cleaners. My husband hasn't jumped on the bandwagon yet, and he will occasionally resort back to 409 or one of the other cleaners we have under our sink, and I have to tell you, the chemical smell seems so aggressive to me now. I used to associate those smells with a clean home, but now it just seems so... unnatural.
YET TO BE SEEN: I am a mosquito MAGNET. Like, seriously. If you think you get more mosquito bites than anyone you know, you're wrong. I would take anyone anywhere up on a challenge of who gets more mosquito bites. If you're every outside at night and are worried about getting eaten up, as we say here in the Southland, just sit by me. I will draw all the mosquitos away, pinky promise. And no amount of bug spray will work. I have tried every spray and even a clip-on fan gadget. Someone told me once to tie a piece of fabric softener to my belt loop and that would keep the biters at bay. WRONG. So wrong. So anyway... all that to say, I have created an essential oil bug spray that the Internet swears will keep me bugbite-free. But I haven't had a chance to use it yet... but if this works, I may officially become the person who post about the MLM product that I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT.
This is not to say that some MLM products don't have actual merit. Many gurus in the beauty product world give rave reviews to Rodan & Fields products, for instance. But the aggression of its sellers puts me off-- how do I buy the one product without you trying to put me on your "team"?
And so, with these criticisms, I have long derided those who are believers in the voodoo magic of essential oils. I am guilty of putting all oil-users under the tent of those who are the most vocal on social media-- you know the ones. They use oil instead of doctors' visits and actual medical treatment. And although I had a secret, hidden interest in the actual effectiveness of oils, I didn't want to put myself in the same Crazy Tent where I had mentally grouped all the other Oilers.
But peer pressure is so real. SO. REAL. A couple of my best friends suddenly got into it. They dazzled me with stories of stress levels going down, at-home treatments that actually worked, all-natural cleaners that would change my life.
So I dove in. I bought the starter kit (Young Living is my brand), and I drank the Kool-Aid. And I'm here to tell you what I honestly think.
Let's start by clearing one thing up: there's a difference in being proactive and being reactive. If an essential oil is a proactive way to keep germs at bay and keep my family healthy, sign me up. If my kid has the crud and a fever, I'm taking him to the doctor.
GOOD: I'm really into aromatherapy. The way my environment smells has a genuine impact on me. And so my main use of my little oil kit is diffusing scents. Every morning I pull up my Pinterest board and pick out a recipe and, like a mad scientist, I create my brew. Some are better than others, but I really believe that certain scents give me an extra pep in my step, an extra *umph* to get my day started and get things done. Maybe it's the ritual or maybe it's a placebo effect, but results are results.
NOT-SO-GOOD: With the help of Pinterest, I have created a few rollerball concoctions. These are mixtures of essential oils and a carrier oil (I use fractionated coconut oil) placed in a glass bottle with a roller fixture. The roller balls I created were: Seasonal (for allergies), Headache/Migraine Relief, Tension Relief, and Immunity Support. A month or so ago, I felt the stirrings of an oncoming migraine so I reached for my oils to give them a go... while the cooling of the peppermint was a nice touch, I can't say that it did anything to relieve the actual migraine. The Seasonal blend smells really good, but I'm not sure that it does anything to actually help my allergies (although, I have found that it helps with itching on a couple of dry/eczema spots!). I can't speak to the actual effectiveness of the Immunity Support, but I haven't gotten sick so there's that! And I do genuinely like the Tension Relief-- it has an oil blend called Pan Away that is YL's special blend that cools on contact. So when my neck feels a little stiff, I roll that blend on. It doesn't cure it, necessarily, but I think the cooling sensation and the particular smell of that rollerball mix is relaxing.
GOOD: One thing I have really, really liked is making my own carpet powder to deodorize our rugs and carpet. Our labradoodle-- special designer dog that "doesn't shed"-- sheds like a mo-fo and, bless his heart, he just never smells good. No matter how often we wash him or the fact that he's a 99.9% 'indoor dog' at this point, he just kind of stinks. And especially now that I have an 8-month-old who is crawling (well, he's *trying* to crawl... it's a full body experience that involves shoving his body across the floor with his face in the carpet), it's especially important to me that our carpet and rugs are clean and fresh. So once a week or so, I mix up a batch of carpet powder with a couple of oils that are Holy Grail in the deodorizing and cleaning category and I hit every rug and carpet in our home. And-- voila!-- you no longer can tell we're "dog people" the second you walk in our front door.
GOOD: People swear by YL's Thieves products. These are all-natural cleaning products that smell like cinnamon and clove. To be honest, I don't get real worked up about things being all-natural or organic-- spare me the judgment-- but I let a friend peer pressure me into buy the Thieves cleaning concentrate... and... I'm a believer. It smells great and it gets the job done. More importantly, it doesn't leave my hands feeling assaulted by chemical cleaners. My husband hasn't jumped on the bandwagon yet, and he will occasionally resort back to 409 or one of the other cleaners we have under our sink, and I have to tell you, the chemical smell seems so aggressive to me now. I used to associate those smells with a clean home, but now it just seems so... unnatural.
YET TO BE SEEN: I am a mosquito MAGNET. Like, seriously. If you think you get more mosquito bites than anyone you know, you're wrong. I would take anyone anywhere up on a challenge of who gets more mosquito bites. If you're every outside at night and are worried about getting eaten up, as we say here in the Southland, just sit by me. I will draw all the mosquitos away, pinky promise. And no amount of bug spray will work. I have tried every spray and even a clip-on fan gadget. Someone told me once to tie a piece of fabric softener to my belt loop and that would keep the biters at bay. WRONG. So wrong. So anyway... all that to say, I have created an essential oil bug spray that the Internet swears will keep me bugbite-free. But I haven't had a chance to use it yet... but if this works, I may officially become the person who post about the MLM product that I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT.
if you become an MLM poster I'm disowning you as family.
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