Thieves Essential Oil

This article is the third in our "Living the Essential Life" series by Danielle McElroy.  Danielle is an oil enthusiast who enjoys living the natural life with her cat in a cozy cottage in the Boonies.  We are very fortunate to have Danielle as a part of our team applying her excellent research skills to the field of aromatherapy and essential oils.   

It's November and this month Young Living's Canadian promo items are all from the Thieves line-- just in time for cold and flu season.  You can get FREE Thieves products with any order of 190 PV or more.  (For more details check out Young Living Thieves Free Promo Items).  This is going to make a lot of folks happy out there because Thieves products are a huge favorite due to their effectiveness and versatility.

If you've never tried any of the Thieves products yet, you are probably wondering, “What's all the fuss about?”  and, “Why the weird name?”  For newcomers, here is your crash course in Thieves.

Why is it Called “Thieves”?  A Brief History Lesson

Centuries ago, during the time of the plague in Europe, legend has it that a band of thieves roamed about plundering loot from the homes and bodies of plague victims.  These robbers used a special concoction of herbs to protect themselves from catching the deadly illness.  As the story goes, the concoction was believed to have been successful because authorities who finally caught the robbers offered to be lenient in exchange for the herbal recipe. 

Today, Young Living's Thieves blend contains a number of ingredients that historians think might have existed in the original recipe, including clove (Syzygium aromaticum), lemon (Citrus limon), cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus radiata) and rosemary (Rocmarinus officinalis CT 1,8 cineol). 

Health Benefits

Studies show that there might have been more than just a glimmer of truth to the medieval robbers' recipe.  For example, research has shown that eucalyptus acts as a natural antibiotic against bacteria such as Staph and E. Coli.[i]  Furthermore, lab studies confirm that clove and cinnamon oil possess significant anti-fungal and anti-microbial effects [ii]  [iii] Meanwhile, rosemary reduces free radicals and oxidative stress on the body, both of which are linked to inflammation and the creation of cancer cells . [iv]  Therefore, using Thieves oil may help to maintain and protect good health. 

Got a sore throat?  Feeling a cold or flu trying to settle in?  Try diluting a drop or two of Thieves in a little bit of olive oil or coconut butter and apply to the throat, back of your neck, and the soles of your feet.  Or you can try diffusing it for 20 minutes at a time, a few times a day. 

Powerful Cleaning Action 

Since Thieves oil possesses significant germ-killing ability, it makes a great house cleaner and sanitizer.  That's why Young Living offers a  whole line of Thieves products including a concentrated Household Cleaner, Spray, Foaming Handwash, Wipes and Waterless Hand Purifier. Sarah wrote an article about her great experiences with Thieves Household Cleaner for cleaning her home and heavy-duty laundry (her husband's work clothes).  Find the article here.  

If you don't have any of the fancy Thieves cleaning products on hand, that's okay because the essential oil itself will do.  Simply add a few drops of Thieves essential oil to a bucket of hot soapy water to help kill germs and sanitize your home, or add a few drops to a glass spray-bottle filled with water (shake well before use) and use on counter-tops and sinks.  You can also put a few drops of Thieves essential oil in the dishwasher or laundry to help clean and sanitize your loads. 

Why I No Longer Hate Cleaning My Bathroom

True Story:  by a happy accident, I found out that cleaning with Thieves essential oil actually raises my energy levels.  I noticed that whenever I added Thieves essential oil to my cleaning bucket, I felt perkier and more awake.  Eventually, I figured out that the rosemary oil that's in Thieves has a stimulating effect on the adrenal glands, so cleaning with Thieves actually helps wake me up when I am feeling droopy.  Since I have a chronic illness that leaves me feeling perpetually fatigued, this effect is pretty cool.  Like most of us, I dislike  house cleaning, so it is the ultimate irony that I now look forward to cleaning my bathroom because it actually makes me feel better!

Rosemary is used in traditional herbal medicine to support adrenal function and increase energy levels.  And scientific studies have also made a rosemary/adrenal connection, demonstrating that inhaling rosemary oil vapours helps to reduce cortisol levels in the body (cortisol is the stress hormone that is produced by the adrenal glands.)[v]  So, you could say that Thieves oil has become my own personal whacky “spa in a bucket.”  While I clean, I make sure to deeply inhale the vapours coming out of my bucket in order to help boost my immune system, give me a little more energy and increase my emotional sense of well-being.  I get a real kick out of this because in the past when I used regular cleaners from the grocery store, I used to have to hold my breath because they were full of cancer-causing chemicals  and poisonous fumes.  By contrast, Thieves essential oil is a powerful germ-killer, and yet it's so safe you can eat it.

Wait--You Mean I Can Really Eat it?

Crack open a bottle of Thieves essential oil and a yummy smell immediately fills the room.  The comment I hear most from newcomers is “Hey--it smells like Christmas cookies!”   Luckily, if you find that you are overcome with the urge to actually taste Thieves oil, you can, because Thieves essential oil  is safe for ingestion.  During your next cold, flu or infection, try one or two drops of Thieves essential oil in a cup of hot water and add a teaspoon of honey.  Or place a drop in a cup of rice milk. 

(And this should go without saying, but I am going to say it anyways: only Thieves essential oil can be ingested, and NOT the ready-made Thieves Household Cleaner, Spray, Foaming Handwash or Waterless Hand Purifier.)

For those of you who can't get enough of the taste of Thieves essential oil, it also comes in ready-made breath-mints, lozenges (great for a dry or sore throat) and is also available in mouthwash, toothpaste and dental floss.  Studies show that along with being a super antimicrobial, clove oil helps fight gingivitis and plaque,[vi] which makes Thieves a powerful tool for dental hygiene.

Thieves is:

✔     OK as a dietary supplement

✔     OK for diffusing

✗     Not for infants or children under 5 years (Thieves products contain eucalyptus oil, which is not recommend for small children).

Tip #1:  A Pain-Free way to Remove Splinters

Got a glass or wood sliver?  Instead of reaching for the nearest needle (a painful ordeal especially for kids), try one or two drops of Thieves essential oil on the splinter.  Wait 30 minutes or until the splinter raises up and out of the skin.  You will then be able to easily pluck it out with a pair of tweezers.  I've also tried using Thieves oil on a very large and deep splinter.  It took a few days but the splinter gradually began to raise to the surface.  The Thieves oil seemed to make a protective skin grow around the splinter, and prevented an infection from developing as it ejected the splinter.

Tip #2:  Always Use a Glass Bottle 

I love spray-bottles.   There's something about spray-bottles that makes house-cleaning a little less dreary and a little more entertaining.  That's why I keep my diluted Thieves cleaning solution in a large glass spray-bottle. Note that it must be glass because the lemon oil in Thieves can melt plastic over time.   If you are wondering where to get a glass spray-bottle, try the beautiful ones offered at AbundantHealth4u )  Great quality and very inexpensive.  The bottles come in brown or a beautiful crystalline blue/purple color and you can buy the trigger-spray tops separately.  Love 'em!

Do you love Thieves too?  What's your favorite way of using Thieves?  Leave us a comment below.

For full Abstracts of the scientific studies cited here, please see our Research page.

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[i] Bachir, RG. and Benali M.  Antibacterial activity of the essential oils from the leaves of Eucalyptus globulus against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Asian Pac J Trop Biomed. 2012 Sep;2(9):739-42. doi: 10.1016/S2221-1691(12)60220-2.

[ii] Khan, MS. and  Ahmad, I.  In vitro antifungal, anti-elastase and anti-keratinase activity of essential oils of Cinnamomum-, Syzygium- and Cymbopogon-species against Aspergillus fumigatus and Trichophyton rubrum.  Phytomedicine. 2011 Dec 15;19(1):48-55. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2011.07.005. Epub 2011 Sep 3.

[iii]Kalemb D., Kunicka A.  Antibacterial and antifungal properties of essential oils.  Curr Med Chem. 2003 May;10(10):813-29.

[iv] Atsumi T., and Tonosaki K..  Smelling lavender and rosemary increases free radical scavenging activity and decreases cortisol level in saliva. 7 Feb 28;150(1):89-96. Epub 2007 Feb 7.

[v]Atsumi T., and Tonosaki K..  Smelling lavender and rosemary increases free radical scavenging activity and decreases cortisol level in saliva.7 Feb 28;150(1):89-96. Epub 2007 Feb 7.

[vi]Kothiwale, SV, Pstwardhan V. And Gandhi M, et al.  A comparative study of antiplaque and antigingivitis effects of herbal mouthrinse containing tea tree oil, clove, and basil with commercially available essential oil mouthrinse.J Indian Soc Periodontol. 2014 May;18(3):316-20. doi: 10.4103/0972-124X.134568.