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Archive for October, 2009
One major difference between essential and fragrance oils is that there are no therapeutic plant benefits in fragrance oils. Fragrance oils are synthetically produced by chemist to create scents, and offer no therapy to the skin through absorption or therapy through inhalation as well. In fact you may never know what exactly you are breathing in or applying to your skin, because the manufacturers of fragrance oils are not required to disclose the ingredients used in making these oils under the “trade secrete law”; so you never actually know what is in these oils. This is why those who are chemically sensitive and are looking for therapeutic soaps will choose handmade soaps that are made with pure essential oils.
Essential oils are therapeutic and are highly concentrated extracts from plants, roots, buds, leaves, twigs, bark, rhizomes, heartwood, resin, seed and fruits using distillation or expression. These oils are more expensive and are limited to selection of scents. This is a major reason why large companies will often use fragrance oils, because of cheaper cost and more scents that are widely available.
If you are shopping for just the enjoyment of your favorite scent, than fragrances oil would probably be a wise choice, however if shopping for natural skin care products or scents for aromatherapy, essential oils would be the better pick.
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Most Americans are no strangers to hard work, and great physical exertion comes with a price. While performing feats of manual labor can instill a person with a sense of personal satisfaction at a job well done, the process also takes a physical toll. Microwave heating pads offer an effective way to relieve lower-back pain caused by strains and over-exertion.
Heat therapy works by dilating blood vessels near the source of soreness and increasing the flow of nutrients to the muscle. The pain signals that would normally be traveling to the brain are disrupted by heat. A properly applied heating pad will also serve to stretch muscles out of their stiff, painful state. Finally, this method of therapy is inexpensive as it can be administered right from home.
If you are a fisherman or a hunter and take scent control serious as any successful hunter and fisherman should, I highly recommend finding products that have Anise oil in them. I being both a hunter and fisherman; every year buy soaps and shampoos that eliminate human odor. I have spent lots of money on many different products in hope of accomplishing the one goal of disguising my human scent. Well after several years of using natural skin care products I was convicted that this one season of the year I use a non natural product full of chemicals on my body in hope to get closer to that monster buck or catch more fish.
This led me to ask my Mother if she could make a natural soap bar for outdoorsmen like myself. We had learned that the oil Anise is actually used as a scent for many fish baits attracts wild game such bear and dear and also will cover human scent. Best of all it’s a natural oil, which has a long history of medicinal and culinary values as well. I have found that all the human scent control soaps and shampoos that I have bought over the years have chemicals in them such as Triclosan, and many other ingredients that not only could I not spell but even pronounce. I am looking forward to going out in to the woods this season with my new natural scent control.
Rosemary; from the kitchen to cosmetics and skin care.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
posted by Rob 7:00 AM
The common household herb Rosemary is most recognized as a spice for flavoring food and beverages, however this aromatic evergreen shrub is increasingly being used in natural skin care products. Rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis) is native to western Asia and southern Europe, particularly the Mediterranean area, and since ancient times as been used as a symbol of friendship, loyalty, and remembrance.
For the past 1,000 years Rosemary as been recorded as being used to treat headaches, colds, respiratory disorders, eye wash, and even as a hair stimulant. Rosemary stimulates circulation and increases the blood supply to the skin, which is why we are seeing more commonly Rosemary being used in cosmetics and natural skin care products such as shampoo bar, lotion, and soaps. The extracts from this plant help rejuvenate the skin, restoring its youthful appearance by strengthening capillaries and also stimulates hair bulbs preventing baldness.
Shea butter comes from the oil of the seed from the Shea Tree of the savanna of West and Central Africa. Shea Butter is commonly used as an anti –inflammatory for sprains and arthritis, skin care, cooking oil, hair treatment and healing creams.
Two forms of Shea Butter are raw and refined. The refined Shea Butter is what is used in homemade soaps, cosmetics and cooking. Shea Butter is great for skin creams, moisturizers, lotions, lip balm, and soaps because it melts and absorbs at the skins temperature. Shea Butter has a smooth and creamy texture, and is effective in treating eczema, psoriasis, wrinkling, acne, dry skin, skin allergies, and chapped lips. Shea Butter also provides a natural UV sun protection of approximately SPF6. Shea Butter is high in both vitamins A and E, and is known to enhance cell generation, and capillary circulation.
So now that you are shopping for a natural skin care products, and are so faithfully studying the ingredients label, as you should; you can rest knowing that if you see Shea Butter that it is a safe and beneficial ingredient to have.
Shampoo soap bars; what are you washing your hair with?
Friday, October 9, 2009
posted by Barbara 7:00 AM
When thinking about making the switch from commercial bought soap to handmade soaps, often overlooked is the hair. What a refreshing treat it is to wash and cleanse your skin with a natural homemade soap bar such as goat milk soaps. However if you are still washing your hair with the newest and latest commercial shampoo that is promising to give you thicker, fuller hair, you may want to read what is on the ingredients. Most shampoos and when I use the word most I am talking about over 95% of commercial bought shampoos contain harmful chemicals such as Formaldehyde and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. Recent studies are revealing that these harmful chemicals are actually contributing to baldness among many other health problems. If you think about it; do you really want to be scrubbing your head with what is actually used to clean garage floors and engines?
When I learned of this I immediately started to do my research and began to make my own shampoo bar. I read that herbs such as Lavender and Rosemary help soothe and stimulate the scalp, oils like Jojoba oil will moisturize and the different herbs selected and aloe will aid in conditioning the hair. We were all a little skeptical at first, not wanting to give up our loyalty to those favorite shampoos and conditioners, but now the whole family is using natural shampoo bars, and we all can testify that it works great and would never go back to using commercial bought shampoo and conditioners.
We were very excited this year when discovering we had St John’s Wort growing in abundance all around us. I was buying the St. John’s Wort oil at nearly $7.00 an ounce as an ingredient for my homemade lip balm. Well, when we learned how to properly identify the plant we made sure to harvest as much of it as possible, and make as much oil and salve as we could. This was a big success!
To make an infused oil is simple but requires patience. It is a 4-6 week process that involves taking your freshly harvested St. John’s Wort petals, some olive oil, and a wide mouth glass jar with lid. You will need to place the petals in the jar and add the olive oil so that it is 2-3 inches above the petals; cover the jar and let it sit in a sunny location for 4-6 weeks, until the oil turns a dark red color.
Not only are we using the St. John’s Wort in our lip balm, but it has become a new natural addition to our medicine cabinet. My son has already used the salve and oil on two really nasty cuts he had endured this summer, and was shocked in how quickly the skin healed. We are very happy to have discovered this plant and to learn how to take advantage of all the wonderful benefits it provides. To learn and read more about this wonderful herb, my son has written some nice informative articles, and one of them I recommend reading can be viewed by clicking the following link St. John’s Wort article.
Loofa sponges! The sponge that comes from the ground, not the sea.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
posted by Barbara 7:00 AM
Our Loofa harvest has begun. This year we have planted much more loofa gourds in the garden than last year. My son Robby started the seeds in his greenhouse to get an earlier start in hope to have a healthier and larger harvest for making sponges. Making your own loofa sponges is a lot of fun, but very time consuming. These make excellent gifts, and with the holiday season just around the corner we want to be sure that we do not fall behind.
The first couple of frost has paid us a visit, and our vines are completely dead. Last year we were able to get some nice sponges, however I believe we picked the loofa’s too early. So this year we are waiting for the skin (the outer shell) to turn completely brown. I have read that this will make pealing the skin much easier. When the gourds have reached this stage, the skin should crack and crumble with a firm squeeze. Once the skin is removed we clean all the substance inside. Cut both ends of the gourd and, I find it is easier to cut the gourd in half for removing all the seeds and substance inside. You do this by running water through the gourd while squeezing it from the center to its ends repeatedly until all the substance is gone. Now that you have the loofa cleaned out all you need to do is place it in an area to dry for a day or two. If you want a lighter color, you can soak the sponge in warm water with a little bleach for 5 minutes.
Although making loofa sponges can be a messy and a time consuming project; it is well worth it. When you are finished, you end up with a beautiful product that you, or the one in whom you choose to gift to, a very natural sponge to exfoliate those dead skin cells. Or perhaps you may want to reserve one for the kitchen sink to scrub out those dirty pots and pans. Another great application for using natural loofa is to use them in a natural sponge soap bar. This is when the soap is actually molded into the sponge; you get the sponge and soap all in one.
Did you know that one of the best cures for Poison Ivy comes from a plant that most likely grows wild not too far from your home; if you live in any Eastern part of North America? This plant is Jewelweed, and has become very popular among homemade soap makers as an ingredient in making homemade soaps for treating poison ivy.
Jewelweed is not just for soap makers, but for anyone who has encountered Poison Ivy, Stinging Nettles, Poison Oak, and or any other rash inducing plants. The plant is found in moist wooded areas, and along creek beds. It grows 3 to 5 feet tall, has a bamboo like stalk, and blooms both yellow and orange. The yellow Jewel weed is called Pale Jewelweed and the orange is called Spotted Jewelweed. Jewelweed is also referred to as “touch me not’s” for if you so slightly touch the seed pods they pop!
The orange Jewelweed is known to have more medicinal value than the yellow, however the yellow is also know to effectively treat Poison Ivy. In the field to treat Poison Ivy, simply take the stalk and slice it open, or mash it up until the oils inside the stalk comes out. Now take that and rub it on the infected area. You can also harvest the stalk and leaves and boil them in water for about 20 minutes until the water has turned an orange-like color. Note this will only work with the orange Jewelweed. After boiling strain the water out into ice cube trays. You can store these cubes in your freezer for up to one year to effectively treat Poison Ivy or relieve the burn of Stinging Nettles. To view more photos on Jewelweed and read an article my son has just recently written on Jewelweed click on this link.
After my second knee surgery I learned how important it is to elevate and ice to allow the body to heal. I was still feeling the effects of the pain killers thinking I was fine, and of course over did it and spent many hours on the couch icing my throbbing knee. One of the things I hate about icing is that the ice melts and of course if not properly sealed will leak all over you.
I was very thankful to receive a pamper pouch that is used for hot and cold therapy, as a gift from my Mother. Moms are great! Even at 30 years old they still want to take care of you. At first I was a little skeptical at what she had made me; I believe my response was “thanks; what is it?” Of course she made a pouch for me that had an outdoor fishing theme for the pouch cover. I had asked why two pouches and one cover? She had explained that I should keep one stored in the freezer in a zip lock bag so that it will not absorb any food scents, and one readily available for hot therapy, to pop in the microwave.
My next question was what is so special about flax seed. Well for one I can testify it feels good. The texture of the seeds are soft, small and easily mold to the shape you are applying the pouch, unlike ice, or other materials like rice that are used to fill pouches. The flax seeds are also odorless when properly heated, and because they have high oil content, have the ability to retain heat for a long period of time. Since I was gifted with my homemade pampered pouch I have used it for really bad headaches, backaches and every other aches and pains I have endured along the way.