Let's Learn! - Frankincense Essential Oil!

I think that learning about Frankincense Essential Oil is quite fitting for this Christmas week!  Until learning about essential oils, I had not heard about Frankincense outside of the Bible.  Nor had I thought about Frankincense.  I guess maybe I thought it was just something from Biblical times.  BUT, when I began researching Frankincense, I was VERY surprised that it is VERY much still around and VERY useful!!!

Many of us are familiar with the Wise Men who came to visit Baby Jesus.  They saw the star appear in the sky that signified Jesus' birth and they went to find HIM.  They brought valuable and important gifts to Jesus: Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.  Bible History Daily has an explanation about why the Wise Men brought the gifts that they did.

In my research, I found that Frankincense is from the tree Boswellia carterii which is native to the Middle East and contains the naturally occurring constituent boswellic acid.  Frankincense comes in a few different forms, but the most pure and potent forms include Frankincense Resin and Frankincense Essential Oil.  The Resin is obtained by tapping the tree and collecting the Resin and letting it harden.  The Essential Oil is obtained through the distillation of the dry resin.  Young Living actually carries both the Frankincense Resin and the Frankincense EO.  More on the Resin later, as I haven't had a chance to use it yet!

Frankincense EO has a woodsy, warm, balsamic aroma. Frankincense can be diffused during meditation for grounding and purpose. Applying this oil topically may help smooth the appearance of healthy-looking skin, and is excellent to use for massage after activity.  Young Living also suggests that one can inhale Frankincense EO to spiritually refocus and one can rub Frankincense EO on the bottom of your feet to help alleviate nervous energy.

I have come to the conclusion, based upon my research, that Frankincense can and should be used for just about everything!!!  If you're feeling ill and coughing, rub some Frankincense EO on your chest with your other oils for respiratory health (like Eucalyptus and RC).  Diffuse Frankincense EO to help correct your mood and to trigger your Olfactory Region to respond.  Use Frankincense in your homemade skin care products to promote healthy skin.  

Finally, PLEASE do yourself a favor and complete an on-line search of Frankincense EO, Boswellia carterii and Boswellic acid.  Look for collegiate reports and medical and/or science journal papers.  One site that has a lot of information is the National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health.  Since this is a government site, I would suspect that it would be quite biased one way or another, but I have been pleasantly surprised that the information seems to be the facts and what they report about Frankincense makes me happy!  Let's just say that I will consistently use Frankincense EO to encourage overall health and wellness, internal and external!

What is your favorite way to use Frankincense EO?

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These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.