Your Wife and the Essential Oil Craze (a letter to skeptical husbands)

I remember the first time I walked into our local “health food” store. I felt a bit like an unclean pagan walking into a holy hippie temple. Surrounded by little boxes of organic herbal teas, agave fiber scrape cloths, and homeopathic pellets made of albatross, I just prayed to the heathen gods that the beatnik priestess behind the cash register didn’t smell the McDonald’s fries on my breath.

And then there was the wall of oils. Check that. The walls (plural) of oils.

None of it made much sense to me.

Then, some time later, my wife was diagnosed with Lyme disease. And I’m not talking about the take-two-weeks-of-antibiotics Lyme disease. I’m talking about chronic hell-on-earth Lyme disease. She would sleep for 18 hours a day and still have barely enough energy to carry herself to the bathroom. This went on for months.

To my surprise, along with all the other remedies her doctor prescribed for her, she threw essential oils into her daily routine. A doctor? Prescribing essential oils? Like they were medicine, or something?

It’s been a couple years since my wife’s recovery, and she’s since jumped on the essential oil bandwagon. We have diffusers in most rooms of the house, a dedicated essential oil shrine shelf in our bathroom, and little roller bottles for nearly every ailment you can think of.

Skeptical husbands – do you forbid essential oils?

She also talks to a lot of women about essential oils.

And every month she tells me about several women she’s talking to whose husbands forbid them from buying essential oils. Yes. Forbid.

Note, I’m not talking about wives who want to go in debt to buy the all-in mega-pack of oils. I’m talking about women who want to buy specific oils they believe will actually benefit the health of their family.

Sure, on one level I get the skepticism. I mean, if my wife came home and announced she wanted to buy 100 gallons of corn-whiskey rattlesnake-skin ointment for arthritis, I would probably be tempted to have her hauled away in a rubber truck. And some of you really believe essential oils are nothing more than psuedo-scientific rubbish.

But most of the women my wife talks to are actually seeing real results with essential oils…

• One lady said she had experienced stomach discomfort for years, but finally started feeling real relief when she used a blend of frankincense and peppermint oils.
• One wife said she had trouble falling (and staying) asleep every night, but when she got her hands on a sample of the Serenity blend of oils, it finally helped her to relax.
• Another woman said she had experienced joint pain for years and was amazed by how well doTERRA’s Deep Blue Rub helped ease her pain.

And yet all these women’s husbands didn’t want their wives to buy more oils.

Seriously? 

Over the years, my wife and kids have suffered from all sorts of ailments, and in those moments when she said some slightly non-conventional herb or supplement or homeopathic remedy actually helps them to feel better, there’s no question: of course she can buy it.

Why? Because I love my wife and I trust her ability to look out for the health of our family.

Yes, there are times it seems like those little bottles look pricey to me. But over the year’s I’ve been surprised how much money we’ve been able to save with my wife’s DIY oil concoctions—on everything from home remedies to cleaning supplies to non-toxic personal care products. I’ve been surprised how long one of those little bottles can last.

And here’s the thing: I actually believe my wife is a pretty smart cookie. She does her homework. This woman actually sits and reads peer reviewed medical journals for fun because she’s a nerd—a wonderfully sexy nerd who I love like crazy. And I know she’s smart enough to not buy into the latest snake oil hype. I trust her.

Now, I get it if you have questions about essential oils. I’ve had plenty of questions over the years, too. But here’s the thing about questions: many times, questions actually have answers.

So, ask your questions. Let your wife do her homework. Let her find you solid research-based answers. Let her talk to aromatherapists or wellness advocates or a holistic doctor or whatever.

Sadly, too many husbands aren’t actually asking questions, but seem closed off to the idea that essential oils actually might work.

Take it from this former skeptic: they do.