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Peppermint Jojoba Lip Balm

December 5, 2016 //
0

Sometimes when I am feeling a little overwhelmed I stop what I am doing and make some kind of apothecary product. It is Monday and I am already at that point this week. If I am being honest, it is just carrying over from last week (I have/had pneumonia) and the weekend. I am on the verge of turning in my first draft of my research paper and well, that is just stressful.

So, when I am feeling like why am I even studying herbal medicine….I definitely cannot do this….no way…I am not smart enough…graduate school with two kids, a home, a husband, volunteering, etc is way too much….how will I get everything done….I should NOT register for next semester….I stop, and I make something. It brings me back to why I am doing this. I am doing this because I love to make products and use herbal teas to treat illness. I am doing this because I want that knowledge behind creating things.

Today I whipped up some lip balm! It has been Jackson approved. My children love chapstick and lip balm. Both boys. Alex wouldn’t try it because it was in a tin and not a tube and he is 2 and 2 year olds are detail oriented. “It doesn’t look like lip balm because it is not in a tube, therefore, it is definitely not lip balm and that is a hard pass, I want some cheese.” That is basically how it went down.

Without further adieu, here is the recipe. Also, family/friends, if you would like a tin for the holidays, please let me know!

Peppermint Jojoba Lip Balm

  • 1 Tablespoon beeswax pellets
  • 1 Tablespoon refined shea butter
  • `1/2 Tablespoon Jojoba oil
  • 6 drops peppermint essential oil

pepjojobalip3

Using a double boiler, heat the beeswax, shea butter, and jojoba oil until melted. I used a whisk to whip them together once the pellets were completely melted. Use can also use an electric mixer if you want. I couldn’t find mine.

Add the peppermint oil, and continue to whisk. If it starts to harden, you can put it back over the boiling water as you whisk it. You may need to use an oven mitt if the metal is hot.

Then pour the mixture into small tins or lip balm tubes.

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Still warm, so it is a bit translucent

These are 1oz tins. You can double, triple, etc the recipe to make larger batches. This made almost two full tins. For larger batches, the electric whisk may be a better option. I think the hand whisk worked well with this small batch. Peppermint can be overwhelming as an oil. It is powerful! I erred on the side of caution with it. You can play with the drops, one or two more if you want it stronger, one less if you want even more subtlety.

pepjojobalip1

Cooled and ready to use!

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Categories apothecary, Aromatherapy, Healthy Living

Lavender Vanilla Body Butter

November 18, 2016 //
0

Winter is coming! It brings with it, dry air, harsh winds, and freezing temps. Those bring with them dry skin!

Lavender is probably my favorite herb, essential oil, scent, and color. I love love love everything about it. I have actually considered it for my next tattoo. Getting a lavender sprig on my right arm. I have been going back and forth on if I want it colored or just black. All of my other tattoos are black and I kind of love that. But I digress. Lavender is the bees knees.

I was inspired by putting lavender and vanilla essential oils into one of my diffusers. I decided I wanted to make a body butter using that lovely fragrance. This recipe was born. It smells rather heavenly. Cocoa butter, almond oil, lavender, and vanilla. It is like a delicious piece of pie all over your body.

Beyond smelling so yummy, it is really very moisturizing. I tested it out on myself. From toes to shoulders. It leaves your skin feeling soft. Your nails even get some hydration. My tattoos even looked refreshed after applying. It is a multi-use butter. You smell and look good.

Cocoa butter is rich in vitamin E, which is rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants help keep you young! It does have a strong scent that can overpower other scents. I am going to try making a version of this with a fractioned shea butter. Fractioned shea has a more subtle scent to it.

body-butter-ingred

 

Lavender Vanilla Body Butter

Cocoa butter comes solidified, if you did not know that. I ended up shaving it basically, into the measuring spoon. You have to heat it a bit and melt it down. You can use the double boiler option. Once that is liquified, add to your container. I use amber glass jars. Add the almond oil and essential oils. I emulsified with a tiny whisk. I was very thankful for my son’s passion for helping me cook. He picked out this very little whisk as one of his cooking tools. I borrowed it.

You will have to let it sit for a while before you start to see it solidify. It took mine overnight. Approximately 10-12 hours. I made it around 7pm and this morning around 7am, I noticed it was finally solid again! I applied it generously after my shower.

I included links to the specific items I used for this recipe. However, you can use whichever brand you prefer. I enjoy several brands of butters, oils, and herbs. I hope you get a chance to make this and if you do that you enjoy it as much as I do!

body-butter-final

 

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Categories Aromatherapy, Healthy Living, Uncategorized

DIY Kids Sleep Sachet

October 28, 2016 //
0

My five year old is sick. Again. Such is life during cold and flu season for us. He has asthma, and subsequently he is very susceptible to all sorts of respiratory viruses. I have been begging him to nap all day. Five year olds do NOT like to nap. Especially my five year old. I decided to look for something to make to help him. I was browsing one of my favorite essential oil sites, and was inspired by them. Eden’s Garden. They have a line specifically designed for tiny humans. I may have bought every single oil in their line (so thankful for that this afternoon) They have a recipe for a sleepy time sachet. Using their sleepy time oil. I altered it a little bit, because I had different materials available.

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DIY Kids Sleep Sachet

Amount of rice/lavender will vary based on the size of you sachet. I happen to have a stock of muslin sachets in my herbs cabinet. For instructions on how to sew your own, you can refer to Eden’s Garden.

1 muslin sachet/bag

Handful of rice. I used brown rice, because that is what we have

Scoop of dried lavender

10-15 drops of Eden’s Garden Sleepy Time essential oil

Combine all of the ingredients in a zip baggie. Shake and mix well. Shake shake shake!

Pour the contents into the muslin bag. You can use a funnel if desired. I did not, I just kind of created a funnel with the zip bag.

Tied the muslin bag several times. I did 3 ties. Also, if you have smaller children who like to be adventurous coughcoughalexcoughcough you could sew this bag at the top as well.

This took  me a whopping 5 minutes to whip up. Most of my time was spent taking the photos. If you’re not photographing for your blog post, then the time should be even less! I did not heat this in the microwave, the scent was strong enough for me after I got it tied up. But Eden’s Garden does note you can warm it as well as warming it if the scent seems to be fading. It is reusable in the sense that you can also add more oil to it as the scent fades. Reusable and lovely smelling? Count me in!

He is not asleep in that photo. He was just looking down, but anything to help him relax. I am hopeful at some point he will doze off, even for a little while. If not, this will at least promote relaxation in general and his body can calm down. I will transfer this to his bed tonight for actual sleepy time.

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Categories Aromatherapy, Uncategorized

Vanilla Sugar Coffee Scrub

October 3, 2016 //
0

You may not know, but I am back in school. Grad school to be exact. I am pursuing my Masters in Herbal Medicine. This may or may not have been a wise decision on my part at this moment in my life. It is already so hectic and I am 3 weeks in. Today I was feeling sluggish. I couldn’t sleep last night. I am not sure why, and my usual tricks didn’t really work. These nights happen I suppose. I have a very sick 5 year old. We made a trip to the doctor for the FOURTH time in two weeks. Long story short, it is one of those days, you know?

I felt inspired to do something just for me. I wanted to take a break from reading, cleaning, and caring for tiny humans. I was inspired by my third cup of coffee and my herbal med reading. There are not many things you will find me willingly use sugar for. This is the exception!

I whipped up a rather delicious smelling hand/body coffee sugar scrub. The measurements do not have to be precise. You can play with it a little. I ended up adding an additional scoop of sugar.

coffee-scrub

Coffee sugar scrub

 

Vanilla Sugar Coffee Scrub

  • 1/2 cup coffee grounds
  • 1 cup sugar + 1 extra scoop
  • 1/4 c fractioned coconut oil. If you do not have fractioned, you will have to warm your coconut oil to help liquify it
  • 1tsp, approx, vanilla extract
  • 2 drops cinnamon leaf essential oil (be mindful that cinnamon essential oil is a very powerful aromatic, so less is more)

Combine all in a bowl and mix well. If you feel it is too liquidy then you can add more sugar or coffee grounds. Play with the texture until you get what you will find enjoyable. Store in an airtight jar or container. I chose my mason jar because 1. I LOVE mason jars and 2. I have a bunch laying around.

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Categories Aromatherapy

Healing My Way

July 18, 2013 //
2

I have a big and not so pleasant anniversary quickly approaching. Monday, the 22nd, will mark the 1 year anniversary of my IBS diagnosis. It has kind of put me in a weird place this last week. You see, the doctor’s only prescribed treatment was to toss a small sheet of paper at me and say “This is a new diet that they are trying out to manage IBS you could try this. There is really little else that can be done” I took it to heart. I drastically altered my life and my diet. It is called “Low FODMAP” I stick to it religiously. I do not eat wheat, dairy, sugar, and an assortment of wonderful fruits and veggies it restricts. These include garlic, onions, nectarines, apples, and many more. The list is constantly changing. I have become exhausted with it. I still wasn’t feeling perfect. Do we ever?

I recently started turning to Eastern medicine for managing my chronic digestive illness. My Western doctor wasn’t overly helpful or caring. I was marked off a list because I tested negative for everything else, so it must be IBS, right? Here is this list they are working on in Australia and it could help. Sigh. I went to my 6th acupuncture appointment yesterday. I love my acupuncturist. She is phenomenal. At my 5th appointment we had a lengthy discussion about how at this one year mark maybe I need to take my digestion and health into my own hands. Since, I said that I still had a lot of digestive woes regardless of following this diet for a year! I thought about it and I decided she is right. I already started with essential oils and acupuncture.

Since starting acupuncture I have noticed a gradual improvement in my digestion. It wasn’t over night. It has however started to slowly improve. Without going into too much detail, I have had more better days than bad days. Especially in the past week. I see her once a week. I have started trying foods again, with caution. But I have allowed myself to cross that threshold. Something I would never do before. I have been researching the crap out of things. My BFF sent me some info about Aloe Vera for IBS. I looked into it, liked the findings, and I tried it. I have a fresh aloe plant that I cut and add the innards to my smoothies. I have noticed even more improvement! That was nowhere on any piece of info my Gastro gave me. When I explained this to my acupuncturist she was so happy that I have started to give myself to freedom to change or at least try.

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Another big thing….running. I was a runner. A daily avid runner and racer. My last race was Mother’s Day 2012. I placed SIXTH in my age group! After this diet restriction I ended up giving it up. I turned strictly to Pilates. Running drained me. At first I had no idea how to fuel myself and maintain my running. I abruptly took all of my pasta and bread away. Yet I was still running 3-3.5 miles on an almost daily basis. After extreme exhaustion that happened after each run, I decided to quit. Last night, I went for a run. My studio has a running group that recently started. I showed up. I ran. I actually ran at the front of the group the whole time. Muscle memory. My master teacher also goes on the runs. She commented to me that I run beautifully. My torso is in a great position, my hips stay square, and my legs just kind of float underneath me. My coworker, who is running this program, is a very seasoned marathoner, a ton of them under her belt. She ran the Boston Marathon this year. It wasn’t her first time running that one. She commented after that I have a really great pace. She wanted me to come run with her again right then. It is a beginner program that the studio is offering. It is building up to a 5k we are sponsoring this fall. It will get harder each week. I was tempted to go. I could have easily ran more. I said no though because little man was sick and my husband had stayed home to take care of him while I worked, went my appointments, went to my running club, etc. Maybe next Wednesday though.

pink Brooks are back in business

pink Brooks are back in business

I am a runner at heart. Pilates has strengthened my entire body to keep me in running shape without running. I have not felt this amazing in a while. I am getting anxiously happy just writing about last night. I have missed running. More than I even realized. I am not saying I am not a Pilates fanatic. That is still my world. But like my heart for my family, there is room enough for more than one major fitness love of my life.

It is very hard to lead such a restrictive lifestyle. Especially when it is not by choice. I am feeling really positive that I have begun to allow myself some freedoms to take my own health into my hands. I have lived in this terrified state regarding foods and food prep for a year. That is hard. It is hard on me and my family. I am not jumping right in gobbling up everything I see. No, I am taking baby steps. But like my acupuncturist said, the point is that I am trying.

I have begun to lose faith in the Low FODMAP concept. It hasn’t exactly served me very well over the past year. I do know there are foods on the list that bother me but there are many that don’t. They say you should only eat 1 cup of berries at a time. I can eat berries, especially blueberries until my heart is content. The list is always changing. They used to say Tahini was okay, and then suddenly halfway through my year of this, they took that back. Well I had been eating Tahini often, as an alternative for other dips etc. So I haven’t had a bite of it since then. Sweet potatoes were A-ok when I first got the list. Then they changed it to only a small amount at a time. I stopped eating them as frequently after I read that. One more restrictive thing. It gets in my head that it will harm me and then I freak out, afraid to try it. Or suddenly I feel a little off because I did try something on the said no list. Last night I made baked sweet potato fries with dinner. I gobbled them up. Not counting or measuring. I feel perfectly fine today. I felt perfectly fine after. In fact, I ate frozen grapes after. Without counting. They limit those to about 8 grapes at a time, or so I read at one time. So I think, from this point on, I am not going to be checking for updates. I am going to take my time trying foods here and there. I am going to continue to do my  research of alternative methods. I am going to continue to tailor my digestive needs specifically to me, and not to some list created by well meaning scientists in Australia. Healing is not a one size fits all program. That is why I am falling in love with Eastern methods. It centers around the person specifically. It has been making a positive change in my life. I am feeling happier than I have in a while. I am feeling in charge.

Categories Aromatherapy, Detox, Exercise, family, fitness, Healthy Living, pilates, Reformer, Running

Birth [loss of] Control

June 13, 2013 //
3

I have decided to get a little more personal with this post. I want to talk about my experience with birth control pills. I feel I have to write about this because of the experience I went through on them. It has been nagging at me a little bit. I want to talk about it in order to let other people know that this does happen.

I have always been against using contraceptive pills. I have pretty much felt that way my entire life. The side effects really scared me! I have always struggled with irregular periods. I think it was part of the reason we had trouble conceiving. Once my period began again about 10 months after giving birth, suddenly I was like clockwork. For over a year! It was wonderful. This Dec/Jan/Feb it got funky again. I actually skipped all of January! I decided to seek the help of my OB, since I had gotten used to the new way. She had pushed birth control on me in the past. Any time I had an issue with anything, that was her one and only answer. Sigh. This time, at my witts end, I decided to give it a try. She swore there were no side effects and it was going to magically fix me. She was dead wrong.

I gave it a shot for 4 months. I wasted 4 months of my life. I feel like I literally lost 4 months of my life.

Here is a list of side effects I experienced:

  1. Anxiety
  2. Depression
  3. Moodiness
  4. Overly emotional
  5. My contacts were irritated constantly. I had to change 2 week contacts nearly daily
  6. Extremely BAD acne. The worst I have ever had in my entire life. I am not exagerating either. It was all over my face, in places I never had a pimple normally.
  7. Listlessness
  8. I was very withdrawn
  9. No sex drive
  10. IRREGULAR PERIODS! I would get my period on the white pills, when I was supposed to get them on the blue/green ones
  11. Bleeding for weeks at a time. It was normal for me to bleed on and off for the last two weeks of the pack.
  12. Loss of self confidence.
  13. Bloating/constipation. I have IBS. I  manage it through a very restricted diet that I never ever stray from. Regardless of this, my symptoms were often exacberated while on the pill.
  14. Zero patience

That list is long. It was awful. I was awful. I felt awful. My poor husband and son. I hate that I am going to write this next part, but it is the truth. I spent all of Mother’s Day crying and feeling sorry for myself. Why? I am not really sure. I wished my husband planned more for me. We didn’t do much. I just was miserable. In general my patience with my 2 year old did not exist. I was short tempered and cranky, every day practically.

I finally got sick of it. I couldn’t take it anymore. I called my Dr. to speak about it. I never got to talk to her. The nurse was the middlewoman. The dr’s only solution: switch me to a different pill. My husband and I researched that pill before I decided to go ahead with it. Some of the possible symptoms were even worse. A lot of people online complained about an even lower sex drive, which my husband was not thrilled with. Not to mention, potential thoughts of SUICIDE! I decided, ultimately, that I wasn’t going to take this anymore. Irregular periods or not. I didn’t want to waste my life being a miserable troll. That is what I certainly felt like while on these pills.

A couple days after I finished up that last pack, I felt like a  new woman. My face has really cleared up. I am still waiting for a couple scars to fade, but minimal new breakouts have occurred. I think today was the worst, and technically, my period is 3 days away from being here. If it is on time according to when it arrived last month. So, that isn’t bad.

I have decided I need a new OB. I also decided to try more Eastern methods of realigning my system. I attended a gong bath last week. I will be going to those once a month. I saw an acupuncturist for the first time yesterday. I will be seeing her weekly. She also started me on some Chinese herbs that support the female system. I use my essential oils as well.

I was never on birth control for the birth control part. It was strictly to regulate my cycle, which it also failed to do. It made early February through late May just awful. I mean, I was even listless while teaching. My master teacher had many talks with me about it. I needed to bring my confidence and personality. I hate writing this part too,  but a few clients said my classes were boring. They thought I knew my stuff, but I was a bore. There is that listlessness. This week, I have felt so much better. I have had SIX energetic classes! With 3 more to go. I feel like a new person, or well my old self. A couple clients who have been taught by me a few times even commented on how much more energy I brought compared to last week. I cannot even imagine what would have happened over time if I had decided to try the new pill. Eventually, I could have lost a teaching position over all of this. My moods were that out of my control.

Life at home is even great. I don’t feel miserable constantly. I love our life. I  have more patience with Jack. Which is needed with a 2 1/2 year old!  My husband and I are back in the swing of things. We will be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary tomorrow. He is an understanding guy for having put up with me. I am very open and honest with him about my feelings, so he knows what I was going through was not in my control. I think we are all a little happier over the past 2 weeks and 1 day. I feel like the wife, mommy, teacher, daughter, and friend I know I am.

I  hate that the only answer was pills, pills, pills, and more pills. The side effects of them are so scary. I am partly mad at myself for giving in and trying this out. I should have stuck to my initial feelings and said thanks but no thanks. I should have researched alternative methods of realigning my system earlier. Maybe I would be 5 months in to acupuncture then. Coulda woulda shoulda. I know from now on I will stick to my gut feeling. I know everyone is different. I am sure some women respond perfectly to the birth control. More power to them. I am not one of those people. I pretty much ticked off every side effect except stroke or heart attack! That is very scary to me. I don’t smoke or live an unhealthy lifestyle and I am younger than 35. But who knows what the future would have held if had continued. I hope that my side effects would have stopped where they left off.

We are all different and we have to do what is best for our personal system. Western medicine can be a wonderful thing. I have had to have surgery before and I am thankful for the Western doctor who did that. Who saved my life. But when it comes to this medical concern, I have found this time around I need to look East and go from there.

Have you had a similar experience with hormonal contraceptives? Have you had a better experience? What did you do if you had a negative one like I had? 

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Categories Aromatherapy, Detox, family, Healthy Living, marriage, Momommahood, motherhood, parenthood, parenting, Teaching

Kitchen Spray and Toddler Calming

April 4, 2013 //
0

Creating your own safe and non toxic products can be a lot of fun. It also can come with a lot of trial and error. Despite common belief, if it is on the internet, it isn’t always true! Ha! Meaning, just because someone has posted a cleaner recipe, doesn’t mean it is the best choice for you. I have been messing around trying to find products I like. I have had a couple flops the past two weeks. In  both beauty and household care. BUT I have found a few that I love. It just takes trial and error. Trying it out and seeing how it works for you.

I finally made a kitchen cleaner I am happy with. I had to adjust the recipe a little because I was missing two of the suggested essential oils. I replaced them with other oils I have seen in cleaning recipes. This smells so good. It has easily taken off the dirty stuff on my counters and stove. Now, I must mention, I clean a lot. So things are not really overly stuck on. I clean so much that when our living room floor was messy yesterday because I skipped the living room two days ago, Jack, my TWO year old, said “Mommy ground messy. Vacuum? Clean?” And we cleaned and vacuumed.

Here is the recipe I used:

8 drops Orange Essential oil

8 drops Lemon Essential oil

4 drops Grapefruit Essential oil

4 drops Clove essential oil

4 drops Rosemary Essential oil

4 drops Eucalyptus Essential oil

Pour 2 cups of water into a spray bottle, add the essential oils. Shake to mix. Shake before each use to blend the oils again, as they will settle. Spray on surfaces to disinfect and clean. I actually ended up doubling it after I saw how my spray bottle was only half filled. I figured I may as well fill the whole bottle so I don’t have to make another batch so quickly.  The listed recipe is not doubled, I doubled it from there.

I have an essential oils webinar to listen to. I am looking forward to that. I would be doing it as I write this but I am having technical difficulties with my laptop. I have to have my hubby look into it tonight. I also have a shipment from DoTerra coming. It is a blend for digestion. I have IBS and I looked into this product. I literally found 0 bad reviews of it. I tried several different search terms regarding it. I even looked past page 1 of Google results 😉 I figure it is worth a shot. I don’t write about my issues on here much, or at all really. But it is something I struggle with daily and anything is worth a shot. My dr basically told me she had no help for me. This was nearly a year ago. I will write about that product after I have been using it a while.

One more small update on my Essential Oil experience. Last night at 6pm Jack had his usual meltdown. We call 6pm the “witching hour” Nearly every day he gets cranky around then and just wants me to hold him. It is usually when I am in the middle of cooking dinner. It generally starts 5-10 minutes after my husband gets home. We are not sure why. He gets so upset he cannot even communicate what he actually wants from me, other than to be carried. He had poop and needed a change in the middle of this. I got him to lay down for that (small victory!) I decided to rub some of my headache relief on him to relax him. Almond oil and Lavender Essential oil! Within a minute, maybe 2 at most, he calmed down and was suddenly chipper. He let me finish preparing dinner. He was pretty happy for the rest of the evening. I have also used it on several of my headaches and it works! My husband calls it voodoo, but he can call it what he wants, it worked for Jack and me!

I followed this recipe:

1 oz.Sweet Almond Oil

12 Drops Lavender Essential Oil

1 amber bottle

Combine Almond Oil and Lavender Essential Oil. Roll between hands to mix. Apply to temples and back of neck for headache relief. For Jack I rubbed some on his belly/chest, back, and back of his neck.

Have you had any good experiences with Essential Oils in your life? Do you create your own products with them?

Categories Aromatherapy, Detox, family, Healthy Living, Jack, Momommahood, motherhood, parenthood, parenting, toddler, Toddler activities, toddlerhood

Geranium Tonifying Cream and Makeup Remover

March 25, 2013 //
0

Making new facial products is really so fun for me. I find it very relaxing and cathartic. I am trying to eliminate the amount of chemical toxins I put in my body. I have come to a point where I think that they just are not working. Not helping. Making matters worse.

I spend hours reading food labels. I have for years. At this point I personally eat very few foods that require FDA ingredient labels. But my son and husband do, so I read. It is hard to convince a 2 year old to eat his spinach. I have tried but it is a battle. He has tried other foods. Sometimes I am too tired to battle. He has to eat certain things before his yummy snacks and communicating that is getting easier. But back to my point. Why when I was spending so much time reading nutrition labels, was I not doing the same with cleaning products and beauty products?

Cream in the saucepan, still being made

Cream in the saucepan, still being made

So the time has come where I am working on that as well. My husband calls me a hippie. So be it. I have asked him to try them out but he said he is waiting longer to see if I have any adverse reactions haha!

With  this all being said. Last night I made a Geranium Tonifying Cream. Courtesy of Aura Cacia. Don’t worry, I do have other resources, like my Purifying Face Mask, and a couple books I bought on my Kindle. I can only use so much at once though!

Some of the essential oils

Some of the essential oils

Recipe

1/2 ounce beeswax

3 ounces jojoba oil

1 ounce rosehip seed oil

3 ounces filtered water

15 drops geranium essential oil

10 drops carrot seed essential oil

10 drops lavender essential oil

Heat the wax, jojoba oil, and rosehip oil until wax melts. The original recipe said to use a double boiler. I don’t have one, so I used a small sauce pan and a very low heat, stirring regularly. Add the water gradually while whisking the mixture into a creamy emulsion. Continue whisking until the cream cools, incorporating the essential oils while doing so.

Store in a dark, tightly secured container.

just out of the saucepan

just out of the saucepan

After I used a scoop! It was a nice whipped texture

After I used a scoop! It was a nice whipped texture

They state it can be used as a moisturizer or a makeup remover. I used it for  both! I used it to take off my makeup before my detox bath last night. Then after cleansing, using a mask, and applying my serum and moisturizer, I dabbed some on my eyelids because this cold winter has made them a touch dry. They feel better today!

Enjoy!

Categories Aromatherapy, Healthy Living

Purifying Tub Scrub

March 25, 2013 //
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My tub is sparkling. Super shiny and smelling gorgeous. I made my own tub scrub with essential oils. I have never been so happy with how clean, fresh, and nice smelling my tub was after cleaning it.

I found this recipe on Aura Cacia again. They have wonderful resources and products. (I have no reason to say this except that I use these recipes and products and have fallen in love)

Recipe:

1 cup baking soda. I used Bob’s Red Mill.

24 drops Tea Tree Essential Oil

24 drops Grapefruit essential Oil

Combine all and mix. Sprinkle over your tub and scrub. Rinse with water.

My little man needed a bath last night and when I brought him up to the bathroom I could smell the goodness from my bedroom. He has to use our master bath tub right now because that is the only tub the home we are renting. There are 2 more bathrooms, but the other full bath has just a shower. It looked so sparkly and clean. I almost didn’t want to put my dirty little boy in that tub. Ha. He was very dirty, as a 2 year old boy is great at getting super dirty super fast.

There are two more I plan to try. The toilet scrub and the floor and surface cleaner. I will post about them if I use them and like them! I also have a facial cream recipe I made yesterday that I will try to post today.

Categories Aromatherapy, Detox, Healthy Living

Purifying and Acne Fighting Face Mask

March 24, 2013 //
1

I am going to share another DIY essential oil recipe I have tried and loved. My supplies are ever growing so expect lots of these posts. I have a handful I could write about right now, but I will keep it one at a time.

I found the recipe for this mask on Mind Body Green. It utilizes Tea Tree Oil. I have been finding abundant resources that list Tea Tree Oil as fantastic for skin care. Particularly for breakouts. I have hormonal breakouts. I have seen improvement since using Tea Tree Oil daily in different forms. I have a face wash I made as well. The article states, “The minerals found in the clay powder are great for cleansing and detoxifying your skin, while the tea tree oil takes care of the acne.”

This mask was lovely. I plan to make another tonight. It actually was a little tingly. Pulling that garbage out of my pores.

Recipe

2 Tablespoons Green Clay Powder

3-4 drops Tea Tree Oil

Enough water to make this combo a paste.

On a freshly cleansed face apply the paste to face. Avoiding mouth and eyes.

Leave on for 20 minutes. Rinse with warm water. Pat dry.

I estimated and poured the water in slowly while mixing it constantly. I didn’t want it to get too runny. I had a lot of the mask left over. I think next time I will apply it much thicker and try to use most of it. My husband was kind of rushing me. He wanted to sign mortgage docs and get them scanned in. He decided to do this at 11pm at night during the middle of my detox bath and then my mask time. I had been planning this little at home spa night all day! Anyway, I spent the 20 minutes signing those documents and then I did some reading.

I rinsed and followed up with my usual skin care products. My skin really did feel refreshed. It did draw some stuff out. I noticed that the next day. But that is good. Getting it out and moving on. Some spring cleaning of your face!

 

Categories Aromatherapy, Detox, Healthy Living
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