The emotional benefits of Vanilla provide a feeling of being at home with oneself.  Only when you’re able to truly love who you are, can you reach out to offer your unique gifts to others. When you’re at home with who you are, it’s so much easier to live your life from a place of self compassion.

The aroma of Vanilla will help lift you out of that cycle of “I’m never good enough” into a higher level of acceptance that you are perfectly good enough – exactly as you are. 

If you’ve ever smelled the aroma of vanilla, you will know that it evokes a sensation of homey comfort. Madagascar Vanilla essential oil is relaxing and soothing to your mind and emotions.

Sourcing of Vanilla

Vanilla planifolia is a species of orchid, originally native to Mexico and Central America. Though it’s now grown in tropical regions globally, natural pollination can only be done by a specific bee found in Mexico. Outside of Mexico, there’s less than a 1% chance the flower will be pollinated on its own, so farmers must pollinate each flower by hand when it blooms, and the vanilla flower typically only blooms one day a year! It’s fragile and must be pollinated in the morning, during the cooler hours of the day. If it’s not pollinated during this incredibly short period of time, it wilts, meaning the fruit doesn’t develop and no vanilla beans can be harvested later. This beautiful, labor-intensive plant is the most expensive crop after saffron. Because of this, many companies create synthetic vanilla fragrances and flavorings to save both time and money. It’s estimated that most vanilla-flavoured products don’t actually contain any vanilla.

Approximately 80% of the real vanilla in the world comes from Madagascar, which has the perfect tropical climate for it to thrive. In Madagascar, thousands of people are employed in our vanilla supply chain. The harvest is a crucial source of employment for rural communities and an integral part of the local economy. Through Co-Impact Sourcing^®, the dōTERRA Healing Hands Foundation^® helped fund an exciting social impact project called the Mahadera Agricultural Training Center, which is being implemented in the growing and harvesting areas of Madagascar. This center, built and operated by our partners, offers a three-year training for the children of vanilla farmers, afterward providing access to further education opportunities and a more secure future for themselves and their families. The center teaches important skills, such as crop diversification and financial management.

dōTERRA Madagascar Vanilla Absolute is sourced from beans from Madagascar. Each vanilla plant takes 3-4 years to begin producing vanilla beans – each flower only produces one bean.

The beans are harvested by hand from the vine when they are still green. The beans then go through a time-consuming and labour-intensive process to allow them to fully develop their aroma and flavour. The first extraction is done by CO2, also known as supercritical fluid extraction. The beans are ground into small pieces, then placed in a pressurised vessel where components are extracted by injecting pressurised CO2. This CO1 extra is then washed with a natural alcohol to remove the waxes and some nonvolatile components to create the absolute.

Thousands of people, most of whom are women, are employed to cultivate and care for the vanilla plants. The vanilla plant farms are a major economic contributor to rural communities in Madagascar.

Primary Benefits of Madagascar Vanilla oil

Traditional practices around the world have found a number of wide-ranging therapeutic uses for vanilla oil, including as an aphrodisiac and to aid with gas relief. Studies have shown that both the flavour and aroma of vanilla can offer some health benefits.

• Calming and relaxing
• Sleep and respiratory aid
• Simulate the growth of tissues
• Boost the immune system

Common uses of Madagascar Vanilla oil

Madagascar vanilla essential oil can be used in many ways to create a delicious and relaxing aroma. Many times included in other products such as candles, soaps, lotions, reed diffusers, bath salts, bath bombs, lamp rings, incense, sachets, oil warmers, and potpourri.

Place a few drops of the essential oil to a dryer ball or clay jewelry to freshen up the room, car, laundry or office space.

Common Applications

• Apply a drop with a carrier oil to the face to help fight breakouts, reduce scars as well as brighten the complexion.
• Apply over the abdomen to promotes healthy digestion, reduce gut discomfort, cramping, stomach-ache and diarrhea.
• Diffuse to boost the immune system response or mix with in a warm tea and sip to help coat the throat and provide a soothing effect. Also help to lower stressors on the body
• Aid weight loss – vanilla can support your weight loss goals due to its natural appetite-suppressing qualities
• Research shows that vanilla has a calming effect on newborns born prematurely who smell vanilla before and during a blood test. The smell of vanilla also lessens crying in newborns.
• Smelling vanilla can have calming effects and reduce startle reflexes and also provide some relief from sleep difficulties due to poor respiration.
• Rich in antioxidants, vanilla can help prevent the breakdown of cells and tissues in the body and stimulate the body’s natural regrowth.
• Strengthen the hair and induce blood flow to the scalp promoting hair growth.
• Try these 3 Easy DIYs with Madagascar Vanilla, or even a Body Spray.

In abundance and with hope and blessings

Tracey

XoXo