Hey guys, it's Tiffany from Greening Up My Act. I just wanted to hop in real quick to say that while we're on our season break, we wanted to bring back this episode to let anyone who missed it revisit it. This one is about essential oils and it's one of my personal favorites because we were shitting on essential oils for this entire season and we were ready to eat our words when we recorded this episode, but did we?

You'll find out. Our next season is coming June 4th and will be about getting your hands dirty outside. Enjoy!

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Hi, Tiffany. Hi, Kat. How you doing? Pretty good. Good. How are you? I'm good. I'm stoked for tonight. Because you know what we're talking about. Oh, what happened? I think my roommate just dropped something. He was so excited about what we're talking about. I'm I'm also spooked. Not at all. No, not even though you might be after we're done here. stoked to see this is why I'm not a cool person because I don't know. Well, okay, I might be spooked. Talking about essential oils tonight. Yeah, oh my goodness. Okay. So, all right. So should we fill people in? Yes. Okay. We are. Hello. Welcome to greening up my act. If you've never been here before. We what do we do? We, we review products that are marketed as eco friendly or sustainable, and we debunk the ones that are full of shit, and a green Hui green Hui, that's what we like to call it. Because we are to marketing writers and we understand marketing fluff. That means absolutely nothing that people and companies add in to make themselves look better. So we're trying to make sure that you know that you're informed and that you don't have to do the horrible. Actually, it's kind of fun for us. Yeah. The research that other people don't have time to do or don't have any interest in doing. Yeah, that's what we're here doing. And we've been shitting on essential oils the entire season. Yeah. So I'm well, I think we took a turn. We took we did we did, and DIY household cleaner. All Purpose Cleaner. Yes, I found some interesting things about its disinfectant properties. And I was like, Wait a second. Maybe we're wrong about all of this supple? Yeah. And we have even throughout the season recommended some recipes that use essential oils. So yeah, specifically, lemon was a big one. Lavender and thyme. Yeah. Huh. So I'm going to take you through essential oils. And I just want to say first of all, it's frickin complicated. Okay. I knew it. But let me go through quickly my list of so so many sources. So the first one I had was your National Library of Medicine article and essential oils as anti microbial agents myth, a real alternative which you sent to me. That was our Spertus and all this. Then I also got an overview of essential oils by the NIH National Institutes of Health. A study on pre pubertal gynecologists comm estia, and lavender and tea tree oil. So again, from the National Library of Medicine, of the essentials of essential oils around pets from the ASPCA. Cleveland Clinic did a essential oils one on one, how do they work and how do you use them? I also went to health line for what are essential oils, another NLM article on aromatherapy, one on inhaled essential oils and sleep. Another NLM article on the history of, of essential oils, and then a couple articles on sustainability. One was from the kind store online.co.uk Another one is from sustainably chic. And then I also referenced the Red List of Threatened Species from IUCN. Oh, so that's a long list of links that we will provide to you. Oh, boy. Okay. So I just want to start with what are essential oils, right. So according to the National Institute of Health, NIH, they are concentrated plant extracts that retain the neutral smell and flavor of their source. Okay, it's the most basic they're from plants, right? Yeah. Health Line reports that they're made through distillation, which could include water or steam, which forces the oil out of the plant, or they can use mechanical methods like cold pressing, because cold pressing doesn't use heat, it kind of retains more of the properties kind of like with juice, yeah. But it's probably a more expensive process. Okay. But once the aromatic chemicals have been extracted, they're combined with a carrier oil. And if they're made through chemical processes, such as the not water or steam or mechanical methods, they're not considered true essential oils. So chemical extraction is a possibility, but those aren't true essential oils. Okay. So interesting. Yeah. The history of essential oils is long. There. There are over 90 types of essential oils again, according to Healthline, and according to the NIH, the ancient Egyptians started using aromatic oils as early as 4500 BCE. So, for perfumes, but also cleaning in China, in India, there are records of essential oils being used in medicine between 3000 2000 BCE, and the Greeks documented using them between 504 100 BCE. So to bring us into the modern era chemists in the 18th and 19th centuries started using active components of medicinal plants. So things that were probably already in use from households. And that's actually where we get caffeine, quinine, morphine and atropine. From thank God for that, right. I need all those things, because I don't really know what atropine is, but I just like caffeine. Yeah, yeah, caffeine is Borden. But that's the history of essential oils, because I didn't really get it. That's a modern day. But it's mostly in the modern era. It's, it's you find people who are into Chinese or Eastern medicine tend to tout essential oils a lot more. Okay. And that harkens back to them being used in medicine there, you know, for the last 4000 years. So yeah, I mean, some people swear by them. Yes. And it always confused me. Like, for example, not to go on a tangent, but I went to a yoga class and yoga can be a little I love yoga, but it can be very annoying. Yeah. Like the fact my friend and Nisha, did I mention this before? I never remember what I mentioned when she told me that namaste means Hello. Yeah. And you say at the end of every yoga anyway, that's beside the point. So this one amazing, like, my favorite yoga class ever came up and spread lavender essential oil on my neck, like did a little massage after every session, and it was honestly amazing and wonderful and lovely. But I also was like, am I killing myself? Like, like, I don't know about this stuff? Yeah, so why not? Yeah, I've definitely had yoga classes where they definitely use aromatherapy, especially at the end. Yes, I think that's probably, yeah, it's that. Okay. So now we'll get into the supposed benefits right? And that mostly centers around there are aromatherapy benefits. Okay, so they claim they can boost mood, improve sleep and reduce anxiety. Okay. There are some essential oils that go even further they think that reduce nausea, inflammation, headaches, and possibly pain. So that's the claims are making. Most essential oils are not meant to be ingested. Right. So some people I know that doTERRA sells little capsules that have like peppermint or other essential oils that you can throw in your water. Oh, so here are some health lines List of 10 popular essential oils and their health claims. So peppermint is supposed to be used to boost energy and aid in digestion. Lavender is supposed to relieve stress. Sandalwood is used to calm your nerves and help with focus. Bergamot is used to reduce stress and improve skin conditions like eczema. Rose is supposed to improve your mood and reduce anxiety. Camera meal can supposedly improve mood and relaxation. Lang Lang can be used to treat headaches, nausea and skin conditions. Tea tree is used to fight infections and boost boost immunity. I know it's used for acne a lot. Jasmine is supposedly good with depression, childbirth and your libido. And lemon is used to aid digestion, mood headaches and more. Hmm. Well, it's interesting because a lot of this is like tea also drives you but a different camera Milty. Yeah. So we kind of get into that, like our essential oils really the way to go. So okay, so the facts about the benefits. This is the problem. There's not a lot of research, or at least good research. Oh, no. So when you buy essential oils, you usually find they have some benefits listed. But there's a fine print that says this has not been confirmed by the FDA. Okay, or modern research or you know, this is not backed up by research. One reason is because there's so many different types of scents and combinations that it makes it hard to do a blind study on them. So PubMed said that a recent study of over 201 different publications found that only 10 of those studies that they were calling together had rigorous enough methods to be included in their research. Oh, wow. And from those the team concluded that aromatherapy was ineffective at treating anxiety, or at least the evidence was insufficient. Hmm. So it's too hard to say. I mean, there's some evidence that dabbing peppermint and ethanol, peppermint and lavender or chamomile and sesame oil to the temples can help reduce headache pain or migraines. But again, the studies aren't particularly robust or high quality. Okay, so it doesn't mean it's not true but it definitely doesn't mean it has ruined, right? Yeah. There are several studies that showed that essential oils can have anti inflammatory effects. But this was only shown in test tubes or mice studies. There aren't really human studies to back it up. Interesting. There's compelling evidence that maybe it's true. But again, they haven't done the studies in humans. Okay. But there are some proven effects. So according to one study, smelling lavender oil can apparently help with sleep Chanela oil diluted. This is important, too. This one can repel mosquitoes for up to two hours or three if you combine it with a vanillin. Oh, I believe that. Yeah, I believe that. Yeah. Because I use that I don't use DEET I use though, like natural, quote unquote, stuff. And it actually works really well. I use it in Egypt of all places. And, you know, those were like birds. And it works. It was crazy. Yeah, I use the natural stuff here too. Nice. There have been studies showing that lavender tea tree oil and others can have anti microbial properties, again, what you found. But again, these are test tube studies, there's not really indication that ingesting or inhaling essential oils can fight bacteria inside of the human body. So maybe good for cleaning your surfaces, but not like fighting a bacterial infection inside of your body. Okay, so for the most part, most essential oils can help make things smell better. And if you're using them as a therapy in conjunction with something else, they probably won't do much harm. Probably. Really, yes. And there is something to be said about the placebo effect. It's important to understand that we don't really know how the human brain does that. But you can even be told that somebody is giving you a sugar pill, and it can work well. So yeah, I'm not going to yuck anyone's yum there. If essential oils, inhaling them or using them, helps you feel better. Go for it. You know, follow your doctor's advice, whoever your doctor is, Godspeed. But there are issues they can cause. Okay, that's what I was wondering. I was like, Are they actually safe? So here's the biggest one biggest problem is that concentrated essential oils can be caustic. Okay. So bring yourself you have to dilute them, especially if you ingest them or use them on your skin. Mm hmm. So the biggest issue causes usually a rash but there's also asthma headaches and other allergic reactions and at least one the incidence of death by an essential oil has been reported. What Yeah, was that like an allergic reaction? I? Yeah. Or overconsumption? Yeah. Oh, wow. Okay. Another issue citrus essential oils like lemon oil. If you use them on the skin, they can increase sunlights effects which can lead to sunburn. Cinnamon and other high phenol. Essential oils can be harmful to skin, they can burn. Again, tea tree oil has also been said to be it can be gnarly. Bernie. Yeah. Also, if you're pregnant or breastfeeding, there are no studies that show whether it's okay to use essential oils. Okay. So again, err on the side of caution. But they say that about us and most drugs, nobody can ethically test on pregnant or breastfeeding women. Right? That is just unethical. So you just got to avoid things. A really interesting thing that there is some evidence that and this was lavender. Think it was me say your lavender and tea tree can cause breast growth in young boys. What if use them on the skin? They did not say they did not study aromatherapy uses but this was skin contact with essential oils. So that's a hormone thing. Yeah. So the NIH said, Yes. Previous studies have shown that lavender and tea tree oil may act as endocrine disrupting chemicals cevin associated with several health issues. EDCs are substances in the environment, air, soil or water, food sources, personal care products and manufactured products that interfere with the normal function of your body's endocrine system. That's not That's not good. Well, you said that's tea tree and what tea tree and lavender were the ones that they studied. And then they went through 93 essential oils. And there were eight chemicals appeared most often. Each of the eight chemicals. I mean, they list what they are and what they appear in. I won't go through the list, but it's like a majority of essential oils contain these eight chemicals that are probably the culprits so Oh, but again that even if they're from different? Yes, yeah. Again, not enough evidence. I don't know. There's some indication it's possibly true. They couldn't study prepubescent breast growth in young girls because young girls grow breasts anyway. So there's so many factors that go into it. So they don't know if it's caused. But if it if it disrupts the endocrine in, in boys, it probably doesn't. I know. There's no reason why it wouldn't. Right. That's it Really interesting. And also, yeah, that's quite scary. Yeah. Because who knows what else it's doing? Right? Yeah, exactly. And I'm wondering the endocrine thing, that's not just a kid thing, like you can also have, as an adult, you can have effects if you come into contact with that type of, right? Just disrupter. Right? Yeah. And just because they don't have a study out there doesn't mean it doesn't happen. So it's the same. That's true of the placebo effect could be the no SIBO effect. You know, like, is that a term? Yes, no, it's the no SIBO effect is when you believe that something causes you harm. So it does, which is what they chalk up the scare against MSG to, because there's no real chemical reason why anybody would have a reaction to it. It's basically just salt. But it was like a trans Asian panic in the 90s. Yeah, and the same way, a lot of gluten issues that people have, when they don't have celiac, they think could be chalked up to no SIBO effect. And that the thing is, you can't tell anyone, they don't have a gluten intolerance, right. Because if they believe it's happening to them, it is you will have a physical reaction the same as if it really was so it doesn't, it doesn't really matter if you test positive for a gluten intolerance or an allergy. If you believe that you have it, you will have the effects. So the brain is amazing, complicated and amazing. Yeah. But I didn't mean to say that. I think in the absence of evidence, it's really hard to say whether essential oils are bad or good. You know, it's hard to say what their true benefits are and what their true harms are. So the hard thing about essential oils is that people use them so intimately, like I used to spray lavender mixed with water on my I mean, it was not constant error. Yeah, it was unconscious. Whatever you Yeah, diluted. And I would spray it on my pillow at night. And it's like, that's right there. Yeah, up in my grill. Well, early. It can do apparently there is evidence that the aromatherapy effects again, you're not ingesting it, or putting it, you know, rubbing it on your skin. So the aromatherapy effects do have some proven benefits for sleep. Mm hmm. So it's kind of a baby with the bathwater issue, right? Yeah, it's not. It's not like, oh, it's disrupting your endocrine receptors. Like we only have some evidence that it does that to young boys who had direct skin contact with lavender and tea tree. Okay, so, yeah, well, the other issue is that not every essential oil is the same. The three things you have to look for in an essential oil provider are purity, quality, and then the reputation of the brand. And they're not regulated by the FDA. Okay, perfect. So one way, if you are going to use essential oils, you want to look for oils that only contain aromatic plant compounds, so they don't have additives or synthetics. In this case, you can usually tell because they'll list the full Latin name of the plant like lavender, Dulo, fustian, officinalis, rather than say, just essential oils, lavender, okay. Also, they need to be changed the least by their extraction process. So that's why distillation and cold pressing are your best options whether than synthetic or chemical processes. Okay. I got mine at like a fancy health food store. So they're probably okay. But I mean, I mean, look, that's the thing. Look up the reputation. That's the thing like, yeah, I should probably look at it. I guess. You hope so. But yeah, yeah. Interesting. Now, we have heard that essential oils and pets are not a good mix. So as with human beings, pets who ingest essential oils, especially concentrated form can get vomiting, diarrhea and depression. According to the ASPCA. They can also get unsteady on their feet and have a low body temperature if you apply oil directly to them. Wow. So again, a lot of people maybe aren't rubbing essential oils on their pets, but they may be using aromatherapy systems. Right. So I know a lot of people use oils in a diffuser, you know, right. Well, it's interesting because I use it on my floors. Yeah, I use the peppermint stuff on my floors. I haven't noticed any issues with my dog, but yeah, well, they say they don't really know. Again, not really a lot of studies in dogs about aromatherapy, but overall, whether you're using them for yourself, but keep it in a well ventilated area for less than 15 minutes at a time. Make sure they're diluted and keep your pet away from that room while you're doing it. Okay. So it was like on the floor and then she looks the floor she's probably gonna be okay. Yeah, especially if it's diluted. I don't think you're using like a like you're probably using two or three drops and yeah, Yeah, so yeah, the the real thing is dilute, dilute, dilute, okay. And essential oils do go a long way. That's one of their other Yeah, they do. Now, the other thing we want of course we're gonna go into because we're greening up my act is what about their ecological impact? Now this is where things get hairy. Oh God, so it takes a lot of any single plant to make essential oils from it. And my dog just walked in. I was gonna say feel like I hear. Hi, buddy. I'm gonna let him lay down. I'm gonna close the door. One second. Yes, you love essential oils. I never heard anybody in this room. So yes, I heard you talking about pets. He's like, I must come in and make my presence known. So according to sustainably chic to produce a single pound of essential oil, you have to use 10,000 pounds of rose petals. Hold on. Repeat that to produce a single pound of essential oil. 16 ounces. Uh huh. You need 10,000 pounds of rose petals. 1500 lemons. 250 pounds of lavender. 6000 pounds of Melissa plants. 250 pounds of rosemary leaves 50 pounds of eucalyptus leaves or 4 million Jasmine buds. What? Yeah, it's a lot. 4 million for those and how to count those. I know. Well. Yeah. So that's all you got to think about. That's insane. I mean, given a pound is a lot of essential oil box. We're usually getting them about a half ounce at a time. Yeah. But still, what is it? 16 ounces in a pound? Yeah, but that's not liquid. So I don't really know. True when the measurement Yeah. Oh, boy. Okay. Yeah, so that's so keep that in mind. Also, most of the processes that create essential oils use steam distillation, which means water usage and energy and heating up the water. A byproduct that isn't a bad thing from this process is called hydrosols. So those are basically essential waters of whatever scent you just made. So like Rosewater, for instance, is made at the same time as essential oil. It's a byproduct of the steam process. So those are less concentrated. And it's usually happens if the plant is particularly water soluble. I don't think I've ever seen lavender water per se but there's water and there's there's others. I was wondering. Okay, yeah, so it's not I mean, it does. The byproduct is not toxic. Okay, necessarily. But farming is obviously one of the biggest factors in the sustainability of essential oils. Yeah, because you need 4 million rows, the other Jasmine beds Yep, most producers have to use giant farms and pesticides to get enough of the product or plant to make essential oils. And sometimes some essential oils are produced from resin which means cutting down trees. Hmm. Some growers grow their plants in controlled environments like greenhouses that or well more than greenhouses, but they take a lot of energy domain temperatures and humidity levels as well. Did you look at you might get into this, but did you look into Dr. Bronner's? No, because we already talked about it. I was just gonna give it a nod and be like they did their thing. Okay. Yeah, I was just curious because they said that their farms and I'm not saying that they're like, good for the Earth to turn, you know, probably rainforest into farms, but they, they claim that they made them all organic, which is pretty interesting. Yeah. But yeah, I mean, if you need a shitload of land, then it might not be even if you're making it organic. You still have a big impact. Yeah, you can. And then there's also overharvesting and threatened species like Indian sandalwood, a Gar Wood, rosewood, frankincense and myrrh. They're, they're rare plants. So they're usually wild harvested. So that can make them either prohibitively expensive or they can be illegally manufactured, poached or traded, and that gets into workers rights. So if the plants are farmed in a less developed country, that means there's fewer regulations and you get cheaper essential oils, but at the cost of someone's life, basically. Wow. So they recommend you know, look for Fairtrade essential oils, and they did get into organic farming. So the organic certification can mean that the producer is working on being a better more sustainable producer. Again, some of these plants are gathered in the wild, which means they are never going to get an organic designation. There's not organic wild harvesting. Okay, but then means extra research determining whether the wild gathering teams are managing their collection in a way that allows the resource to regenerate. And right, as we all know, if you've ever gone down the rabbit hole of trying to research the sustainability of like I try to sustain, like, look into doTERRA. And they have so much marketing out there. Right 18 pages of Google and then maybe one article. Yes, yeah. Now on the other end of essential oils, is what we use to contain them, you usually get them in a glass bottle, but because they're oil, they're flammable. So you can't recycle the glass bottles that come in, you can't rinse it out, because it'll get in the water. And then again, plastic dispensers and bottles are just complete landfill fodder, because of their nature and their possible caustic. You know, side. Some essential oils are household hazardous waste. Again, just toss it, you know, so would you have to, theoretically take it to the dump to the Household Hazardous because we have like a, I think it's once a week household hazardous waste pickup. Yeah, they do paint and stuff. Yeah, apparently you should. Because, again, aquatic life can be negatively impacted by essential oils that are dumped down the drain. And my dog just decided he's tired of us. Anyway. Once I love to hear him here on the turtles I'll come back. You're not welcome here. Okay. Okay, so wait, sorry, I missed the thing about aquatic life. Just as you know, touching the dog with your lavender oil can cause them problems. Essential oils are bad for aquatic life. Okay. So not a lot of research on that again, but any oil, you're dumping down the drain is not going to be great, right? It's so funny. It's so funny to me, because it's like just such a hippie dippie thing. And I get it because again, we've talked so much this season about how if there's a fragrance in something, that's probably the worst part of it, because companies can get away with it. And so to have a fragrance that comes from a plant, thank God, right, right. But then there's all these other issues you have to consider. Okay, so what to do to be more sustainable with your essential oils. So sustainably Sheikh was like we are you can pry them out of my cold dead hands, which I get. So this website recommends that you buy less, obviously, you don't need much. And it can go a long way. Like you're only using two or three jobs at a time, right? You don't need a lot, right also, always dilute them dilute, dilute dilute the last longer, but it also reduces the caustic harm. And you know, all the things that are possibly bad about essential oils, in terms of skin contact or inhalation can probably be reduced by diluting them. Okay, keep their shelf lives in mind is can be anywhere from one to six years and store them in a cool dark place for the last longer again, rancid essential oils are gross. Yeah. Wow. They might only last one year. Yeah. God, I have some from not that old. But at least three years ago or four years ago. Yeah. My current set of essential oils somebody gave to me because they were just handing them out at South by Southwest. Right. And that's so funny. Cool. I'm using the lavender. And that's it. Which is another point that this website made was don't buy bundles. Don't buy the starter set from doTERRA. Because you're probably not going to use all of them. Right? Buy the ones you need. Right? Yeah, there's the two to three. I think I've three. Peppermint, lavender and lemon. Lemon is for cleaning. Yep. But I think I've used probably 20 drops out of each of them. Yeah. Yeah. I'm the same way I have some and I'm like sometimes I'll put lavender oil on my hands. Like, you know, rubber around for better something with my lotion. But okay. Another thing you should do is research whether the species of plant you're buying is on the Red List of Threatened Species. That was the link I linked so like sandalwood, for instance. Probably. Frankincense and Myrrh are the ones you want to avoid. They're threatened. Yeah. Wow. I actually this is ignorant of me, but I had no idea there was a threatened species list for plants. Oh, yeah. It makes sense. Yeah. I mean, overharvesting is just as bad for fish and plants. Yeah. They also recommend trying to find wild harvested varieties that are well managed as opposed to farms. Again for the pesticides and just the whole amount of land it takes and then buy from transparent brands and avoid your grocery restore. So you may have to pay more, just be willing to front the money. Again, just because you did buy it from your grocery store or Amazon doesn't mean you know you bought a half ounce it's gonna last you for the next six years. Don't throw it away just because of that, but right next time if you are going to buy them, buy them from a transparent brand. Recycle where you can, again have to do some research on which essential oils can you know have a bottle that doesn't get tainted, but also you can reuse bottles? Oh, really good. Yeah. And then the last recommend Yeah, you can refill essential oil bottles. I think there are some places that will, will do interesting, but also you can try hydrosols instead of oils or co2 is which are when they extract essences from the plant using carbon dioxide. That yields the most oil per pound. Okay, but hydrosols again, rosewater or other. Those are easier to use already diluted. Interesting. Okay. Yeah. And I'm saying what's expensive? Do they sell the hydrosols of like, lavender? I haven't seen any, we should look that up. I'm just curious. Yeah. Because if you could get that instead of oil, then well, but you do kind of want the oil if you're okay. They do have it. There's organic lavender hydrosol available. You can get it on Amazon, I probably wouldn't. But it's a facial toner, antiseptic, insect repellent, and skin soother. Again, I doubt any of that has been backed up by the FDA. But yes, it it has all the same properties as essential oil. But if you're using it, if you're diluting it in a cleaning product, you probably want this essential oil. Just because you're gonna use two or three jobs for that, because the hydrosol is not gonna be as concentrated, right? It's just already ready to use on your face. Because it's already downloaded. All that being said, I had to granola rate this board. And given all of those details. It's hard to read them, right? Yes. So do they work? Depends on what you're using them for. You may be able to use them in laundry and cleaning stuff to get some antimicrobial effects and to add some good smells that aren't as toxic as fragrance number 15. And lemon, the lemon one actually has cleaning power. Yes. Yes. We said Lemon, Lavender and thyme all appear to have some antimicrobial properties. Yeah. There's not much evidence that they help with health except maybe to sleep better or relieve headaches. Okay, again, I'm not going to yuck anyone's young, because I think placebos are super important. And if you believe something will help you it probably well, just be careful. Remember, dilute don't ingest it, you know? Yeah. But at the same time, they can be caustic cause asthma and rashes and harm pets. They're not magic bullets. And there's little evidence they do much other than smell nice. Just to be honest. Doesn't mean it's not true. There's just little evidence, right? The science just isn't there. Yeah. So our next part of our rating is are they cost effective, and it depends on which type you use and what you're using it for. So again, in cleaning, a few drops can go a long way. So a little bottle may last for a year or more. Right? Probably more doTERRA sells their lavender oil for $37 For half an ounce. There's some on Amazon for as little as $7 for a third of an ounce but again, the cheaper the oil the less likely it is to be sustainably produced or poor quality since doTERRA. And a good my grinder I tried to find out if they seem to be okay. But again, they sell everything in bundles. Okay. And they do have kind of a multi level marketing aspect too. Right? Totally. So, yeah. Okay. Yeah, the internet has been confused by them, I'm sure. Yes, there's a lot going on there. Are they sustainable? Okay, not really. It takes way too many plants to produce a small amount of essential oil. You can go with well, Harvard is harvested plants. But again, there's so much research that has to go into their sustainability that it may not be worth it. Essential oils themselves are not good for the environment, just the production. I'm just gonna say that flat. Yeah. Yes. So given all of this, I'm going to read them as sticky. So it's a two out of five. Okay. They're better than artificial fragrances, especially for cleaning. But there are too many detractors to make them truly crunchy. And right. And I agree with that, because it's like, because the benefits aren't proven. Yeah, the fact that they have such a huge impact to me makes them seem not worth it. Yeah. I mean, it's kind of if you're using them occasionally. And not necessarily believing that there a cure all for everything. I mean, if if you're only buying one bottle every six years, right, okay, that's me. Yeah, me too. I've had Yeah. You know, I've never even bought essential oils always just gifted to me on some, okay? So you're, you're not killing anyone probably, but it's just like be aware of the possibility that you could harm your pet or, you know, grow breasts and your teenage son. Possibly. But again, you know, use sparingly dilute them, right use them just really that those numbers that you gave me for how much it takes, it's sort of like feels a little bit like almond milk to me because people love their almond milk. But I again, I'm not an expert on this. I don't know everything, but I know that I've heard that the number of almonds it takes to make almond milk is insane. And it's also almonds aren't very sustainable. They're high water. Yeah. And a lot of these plants are going to be high water guzzlers. You know, roses. There's right you can't grow a dry rose. You know. That's crazy. So I did want to mention that we did talk about Dr. Bronner's having their own farms for producing essential oils for their products. They don't sell them. But you can use their lavender soap for a lot of things, which I think is a good idea. Fair lavender. Yeah, yeah, they're lavender concentrated. So, okay, the liquid one does it matter? Because I don't think that's a good one bar. Yeah, I use the bar in the shower. But the liquid soap is great for again, I've been using it in my laundry and dishwasher. Right. It's not dishwasher in my when I have to hand wash this. Right? I use it on my dog. Oh, well. Okay. Yeah. Because they actually I think on their marketing, they say that they can be a dog wash. So obviously, so and again, you're you're rinsing it off. Right? And she didn't act okay. We'll say was the peppermint one. She acted really weird after I gave her a bad peppermints kind of tingly. Yeah, and it could have just been her mood or whatever. But that's really interesting. I'm gonna keep an eye on that. But now I'm like, kind of scared about dogs. But Well, again, dilute, dilute dilute, you're not rubbing a handful of essential oil directly on your pet. Number two, if you're not using it, you're not burning it in an in a burner into the air. You know, they're not inhaling it. You're using it, rinsing it off as a soap. And it's not in a concentrated form. It's probably and you're not doing it every day, either. Right? We give her a bath about once every four months. My dad died when she rolls in poop. Yep. So I always say we weren't totally wrong in our initial assessment. Okay, that actually not to sound smug. But I've learned a magical, you know, and that's kind of one of our things is that when you do anything about sustainability, nothing's magical. Yeah, there's always something. There's always an impact. Yeah, they aren't totally sustainable, that can be bad for the environment. They smell nice. But the amount of them that you can buy is kind of astounding. There's so many different levels. You know, you can get so lost in the weeds trying to buy essential oils, I would say, if you're not already using them, maybe don't make them don't don't make them part of your routine. Right. Don't it's not worth it. Yeah. Kind of like dishwasher detergent from last week. Yes. It's not. I hate to hate to end the season on a low note. But yeah, we got another low granola reading. Wow. But it's a high note for us because we are right. No, no. Well, it's complicated is what I came away with is, I wouldn't, I wouldn't tell someone. If they're already using essential oils, I'm not gonna be like you shouldn't use those. Right? Absolutely. I mean, that's sort of the point of this podcast is we're not here to dictate what other people should do with their lives. We're just here to present the facts and just take a break from it what you will. One of the problems with this is they're just our fax. They're just not there. Yes. That is really frustrating. Yeah, it's frustrating, too, because it's like, I feel like the marketing is very misleading. for that. And again, I don't really browses central oils that much, but I feel like the marketing plays up the potential health benefits, the potential blah, blah, blah, whatever. And maybe it's not actually accurate. Yeah. Or they don't have proof of it anyway. Yeah. So Well, on that note, no, I think of season one of greening up well, okay, so all that means I'm excited. I'm really excited for next season. So yeah, we're gonna be talking. Yeah, we haven't quite figured everything out yet. But I know that so basically, we're going to be taking like one month off, and we have a date. When are we coming back? You expect me to know the stuff Sup, man, let's. So we are scheduled to return July 4. Oh, yeah, that's right. Because it was the fourth of July. Yes. Yeah. So we're just going to be off for one month. And we're going to be back talking about waste. Yeah. Which is huge. It terrifyingly huge. And we're definitely going to get all into recycling. I think we have a series of recycling episodes because it's such a huge topic, but basically, yeah, all about recycling all about landfills and like, ways to reduce your landfill contributions. Yep. Probably gonna be talking about composting. I think that Oh, yeah. We have got to do a big old thing on composting. Yes. I'm really excited. I'm reading Nancy actually has a tutorial in one of her gardening books about Nancy are friendly. Did we mention Nancy? Have we mentioned this? recently? I don't know if you've heard of her. We always know our den goddess. We didn't mention her in this episode, but I'm going to it's part of our contract that we made with ourselves. We get paid nothing for but anyway, she talks about. It's Nancy birtwhistle. She won the Great British Bake Off. She's great. Follow on Instagram. Anyway. Um, yeah, she talks about composting. So it sounds like really cool if you do it, right. And I'm really, really scared of it. But I do want to try it, maybe we can coerce my twin sister into talking about she's been doing it for years. My dog loves her compost pile. On the go visit. He's like, look at all this stuff. Agony. And I'm like, really in it. But yeah, so we're just gonna be talking about waste and how to reduce our waste. And, you know, take it one step at a time, because I feel like all of this is overwhelming. It's overwhelming. And you can't do everything at once. You can't make every life change all at once, like you and I feel like I've both kind of been on similar journeys, but it's been years. I mean, just this, there were small changes that I was able to make just this list from your research in this podcast, like, totally, absolutely. haven't bought new laundry pods, you know, right. I'm definitely going to switch over when I'm done with my latest round of dishwasher pods to just a powder, you know? Yeah. Yeah, same, same. I mean, so it's gonna be it's gonna be really fun next season. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah. Thank you. For our listeners this whole season, we really appreciate you. I'm just gonna give the whole spiel on everything you can do. You can email us at greening up my act@gmail.com. If you have ideas for next season, or things you want to know about or questions you had about our show, or comments you want to make about how wrong we were about essential oils. If you can educate me on doTERRA, that would be great. Also, you can follow us on Instagram, we are greening up my act. And Tiffany is our social media maven, and she does a great job. I try. I try to make it entertaining. She does. She's very funny. It's great. Yeah, like us. Download us. Let us know what you think about us. We we'd love feedback. Yeah, we love you. And leave a review if you have a second. Oh, that'd be great that that is I hate I hate when places ask for reviews. But yeah, I reviewed. I don't mind it anymore. Now knowing how important it is. It is important. But it's also like if you like if you like a podcast, I don't mind you leave a review. Like, oh, yeah, I'll do that. Okay, leave us a review. If you'd like a call out to my twin sister. Hey, can you leave us a review? All my friends, please. If you love me, just give it five stars. But yeah, we appreciate you. And yeah, we'd love to hear feedback. And we thank you so much for taking the time out. I know listening to your friends talk for two hours can be really not fun all the time. But I hope we made it enjoyable. And educational. I think it's been. It's been the most fun anyone's ever had in their lives, obviously. Okay, maybe that's exaggerating. practices were wrong. That's Hey, tell me I'm wrong. Comment if we're wrong. Yes. All right. So yeah, thank you. We will talk soon. We'll be back. Just around fourth quarter, just around the corner. July 4 2023. If you're listening to this after that, congratulations. You have another season to listen to. Yay. All right. Thanks, Stephanie. Okay, thank you.