English Lavender

Essential oils are highly concentrated, aromatic essences of plants. They can contain vitamins, hormones and hundreds of other immune strengthening and healing properties. If truly pure (not synthetic) an astounding variety of ailments can be treated very pleasantly with these gems. They can be used in massage mixed with almond or grapeseed oil, diffused into the air with a diffuser, sniffed directly from the bottle, used in household cleaning, etc.

I discovered essential oils about fifteen years ago when I picked up a book on aromatherapy while browsing through the stacks at the bookstore. Learning about all the possibilities was exciting. Since then I’ve experimented with many different oils and blends. Listed are some of my favorites:

Lemon – Smells terrific! I inhale directly from the bottle when I need to wake up or mix it in with white vinegar and water to mop or clean. It kills germs and just generally freshens. Who doesn’t love the smell of lemon?

Peppermint – This is the best deodorizer I’ve ever used. I put a few drops in a spray bottle with filtered water and mist the air, carpeting or my car’s interior. The freshening effects last for days and days after I spritz and there are no disgusting chemicals like those in the deodorizing sprays you buy from the store – those really gross me out! This is also my go-to oil to diffuse into the air if someone in my family has a cold. It can be mixed in with almond oil and rubbed on the back and chest to clear congestion.

Grapefruit or Sweet Orange – I mix this with some grapeseed oil and fine sea salt bought from the grocery and have a heavenly sea salt scrub to use in the shower. I store it in a square glass container with a cork top that the sea salt came in. Find your own pretty container to make it a more indulgent experience. The citrus scent is so refreshing and scrubbing with it first thing in the morning is a wonderful way to start the day.

There are literally hundreds of oils and blends. I’ve found that the ones from Young Living are the most effective. Unfortunately they’re the most expensive and I have to order them from the company as they aren’t sold in stores. I guess this is just one of those cases where you get what you pay for.

A while back I burned my finger on the stove. The spot turned red and started to form a blister. I put a few drops of lavender oil from Young Living on the burn and within a couple of minutes the skin felt and looked completely normal. I promptly forgot about the incident and a little later washed my hands which removed the oil off as well. The burned spot began to hurt again so I put on more lavender and the relief was immediate. Then last month I burned myself with a curling iron (yes, I’m clumsy) but had a different brand of lavender oil as I’d given away my Young Living oil to someone who’d used it and fallen in love with it. This other brand of lavender had no effect on my burn. Now I make sure to place my Young Living orders more regularly!

Making body lotions at home do not require a degree in science to make. Body lotion making is actually a rather simple process. Making lotions at home can be a personalized experience others will want to know the secrets to. The lotions can be made with one’s favorite scent or made specifically to help certain skin issues like extremely dry skin or overly sensitive skin, as well as making it with ingredients that are natural and not synthetic.The third step in making body lotion is to add your colorants. These colorants can be from a laboratory or they can come from natural sources. If you plan on marketing your handmade skin care products as natural skin care products then you will want to use natural coloring agents like paprika, mica, or oxides.

Melt 1/2 an ounce of beeswax together with 100 ml Lavender oil. Do this in a pan that is on a very low heat to ensure that the mix does not burn. (Before you start making the Lotion, please check that you are not allergic to Lavender) Lavender oil can help relieve muscular aches and pains, especially those associated with sport.Use a moisturizer and toner regularly in addition to a good body lotion. They will help to hydrate your skin and keep it smooth and flawless. Regular skin care is vital to its long-term health and also helps in the prevention of disorders including acne, eczema, wrinkles, spots, redness, rash and aging signs.

Scented body lotion made with essential oils can have a variety of beneficial effects. For example, lavender is well-known as producing a relaxing, calming effect but also is beneficial for a variety of skin conditions. It is often recommended for dry, itchy skin and is also used in the treatment of eczema. On the other hand, peppermint and grapefruit oils are reported to have energizing and uplifting effects on mood.The best organic body lotion products will also address what is perhaps the biggest reason why skin develops aging signs. As you age into your late 20s and beyond, your body cannot produce as much collagen and elastin protein as it use to.

Squeeze the oil out of 2 or 3 vitamin E capsules into a bowl. Add 2 Tbsp. each of olive oil and coconut oil, and mix together. This makes about a 4 oz. mixture. This can be stored in the refrigerator or a cool place for a few weeks, and used as needed. Since the concoction is very smooth, you may want to use it at bedtime as a night cream.Why should you spend hundreds of dollars a year or more on body splashes when you can make them at home in your own kitchen? Have you ever thought about making them at home in your own kitchen? Maybe you have but you just don’t know where to start or maybe you haven’t but after reading this you will have the basic knowledge to get right to work on creating your own body splash mixtures.

Read about Home Remedies and Home Remedies for Body Oder

Our region’s shrub form of hibiscus has a long and storied history in the garden, a history that starts in ancient Asia, where Hibiscus syriacus, the species we know commonly as Rose of Sharon, is native. While not native in Europe, Rose of Sharon was cultivated there for centuries and is referred to throughout ancient writings, including passages of the Bible. Settlers brought it to the New World, and it soon became a landscape mainstay in colonial America.

It’s easy to understand why Rose of Sharon has remained so popular. There are few plants as easy to get established in the landscape or as floriferous and rewarding with so little expenditure of effort. While Rose of Sharon is considered a shrub, it’s good to note that it’s a rather large, bulky one. At 10 to 12 feet tall and six to 10 feet wide, it will rapidly eat up space in a small yard. But its seductive bloom can easily override gardening logic, especially when the plant is small and loaded with color.

H. syriacus and its three-to-four-inch-wide flowers bloom on new wood. It buds in midsummer and begins to bloom in late July, continuing into September. Rose of Sharon loves full sun but tolerates light shade, and, like its tropical brethren, this Zone 5 plant craves heat. Its leaves tend to be the last of any shrub to emerge, grudgingly peeking out in mid-May in southern New England but not until Memorial Day or beyond in the northern reaches of its range.

H. syriacus is divided into double-flowered and single-flowered varieties, with doubles tending to start their bloom slightly later than singles. Many doubles have been garden mainstays for decades, with flower colors that range from white and pink to red and violet. Some of the best double varieties are ‘Ardens,’ with its rose-purple flowers; ‘Blushing Bride,’ with rich pink flowers that fade to white; ‘Jeanne D’Arc,’ with profuse, pure white flowers; and ‘Lucy,’ with red flowers on a plant that may be the most vigorous of any double variety.

While the doubles are tried and true, it seems the single-flowering varieties have captured the imagination of today’s gar-deners. The singles’ earlier bloom time gives them the benefit of the first “oohs and aahs” of the season. Older varieties include ‘Aphrodite,’ with its dark pink blooms with dark red eye zones; ‘Diana,’ a pure white, long-blooming selection; ‘Bluebird,’ a big sky-blue selection with red eyes; ‘Minerva,’ a dense grower with lavender-violet flowers sporting dark red eyes; and ‘Red Heart,’ with its big white flowers with bright red centers.

Today, a new generation of singles is moving into the territory of the established singles, with waves of flowers on plants that are denser, more vigorous and slightly longer blooming than the old-timers. Two unique singles, ‘Lavender Chiffon’ and ‘White Chiffon,’ break new ground with lavender or pure white flowers with lacy, anemone-like centers. ‘Blue Satin’ shows off royal-blue flowers with darker eyes on a plant that is far superior to ‘Bluebird’ for strength. ‘Blush Satin’ has huge pinkish-white flowers with prominent red centers, while ‘Violet Satin’ is a flowering maniac with huge, deeply colorful violet-red blooms.

If the shrub form of hibiscus makes you wait for its foliage to show up, the perennial form will have you on the edge of your seat, even into early June, wondering if it has made it through the winter. You can relax, though, since many varieties of perennial hibiscus are tougher than their shrubby relatives, with Zone 4 hardiness that can bring the tropics to even the northernmost garden. Just like in the tropics, they will bring flower size and color that, at times, is so astonishing that you can’t help but stare.

Most selections of perennial hibiscus belong to the species H. moscheutos or H. coccineus, both North American natives, or are crosses between these and other less prominent species. Most form dense, wide, rapidly growing bushes in the garden. They love hot sun, heat and moist soil, although they adapt well to drier ground. When they begin to bloom in mid-July, they instantly dominate the garden with their flower size and color and continue to do so into mid-September. Be sure to place perennial hibiscus at the back of the garden and give them some room, because their size will tend to overwhelm any plant in the vicinity.

There are so many great selections of perennial hibiscus that it’s hard to list them all. The Disco Belle series has seen long, distinguished service in the garden. These H. moscheutos selections come in shades of white, red and pink, with five-inch diameter flowers covering a dense, Zone 4 bush that is two to three feet tall and three to four feet wide. ‘Lord Baltimore’ and ‘Lady Baltimore’ tower over the garden – they’re six to seven feet tall and four to five feet wide – with seven-to-10-inch flowers in lush red and ruffled pink, respectively, that are dizzying! These H. coccineus selections are also Zone 4 hardy.

The Luna series is newer to the market and is more like the Disco Belle series, but with wider flowers than Disco on denser plants. ‘Luna Blush’ (six-to-seven-inch white flowers with red eyes), ‘Luna Red’ (seven-to-eight-inch dark red flowers) and ‘Luna Pink Swirl’ (six-to-seven-inch pink flowers with white swirls) put on a display of flower power that is unrivaled among Zone 5 plants.
‘Fireball’ and ‘Kopper King’ bring a different show to the garden, with distinct red-tinged foliage that is as outstanding as their blooms. ‘Fireball’ sports six-to-eight-inch burgundy-red flowers, while ‘Kopper King’ draws gasps with 12-inch blooms that are pink with deep red eyes. ‘Fantasia’ may offer the most unique flower color of any perennial hibiscus; it shows off a myriad of nine-to-10-inch lavender flowers with purple-red eyes. All three of these varieties are three to four feet tall and wide, and they’re hardy to Zone 4.

Nearly 18 percent of American women will suffer at least one migraine headache every year. These painful headaches are often accompanied by vomiting and nausea or visual symptoms such as flashing lights or dark circles in the field of vision.? Migraine headaches are caused by expansion of the blood vessels in the head. This serious headache can be prevented by reducing stress. Stress can actually cause the expansion of blood vessels in the head which results in pain. Migraine headaches are usually treated with a number of chemical-based pain killers, with some causing minor side effects.
Headache pain relief is usually attained by using over-the-counter headache pain relief medications that are so easily accessible. However, these products don’t permanently cure headaches and are not without side effects. Over time, any medication can lose its effectiveness if taken too frequently.
Today, to avoid unnecessary side effects, many people are looking for natural alternatives to headache pain relief medications. One of the most popular, and successful, natural headache remedies has to be aromatherapy. Aromatherapy is the art of using essential oils. It has been practiced for thousands of years. The liquids are distilled from plant materials to encourage better health as well as a feeling of well-being. Aromatics can be used while performing a soothing massage or by simply inhaling them. ?
In fact, aromatherapy is now a popular and accepted form of alternative treatment for headaches. Essential oils such as Chamomile, Rosemary, Peppermint and Lavender are used to treat symptoms of headaches. There are combinations of these that also work very well, but it must have the exact right amounts or recipe. Essential oils are an inexpensive method of dealing with headache pain. They can be purchased at a local health store.
There are a few methods by which the use of essential oils can help cure headache. One way is to put two drops of lavender on each temple and rest. Many people find that after about twenty minutes, their headache is gone.? Another method using lavender is to take a facecloth and make it into a compress that is first dipped in hot or cold water that contains at least five drops of lavender. The compress is placed on either the neck or forehead while resting.
There are other methods of using aromatherapy for migraine headaches. It can be used as a diffuser. This puts the scent into the air. It can be used for about fifteen to twenty minutes at a time. The other alternative is to use the aromatherapy by inhaling it. However, this is not recommended for someone with a respiratory condition like asthma.
The essential oil from ginger is useful in fighting the nausea of migraine headaches.? If a migraine sufferer is going to try these natural methods, they have to research carefully on how much they should use. Even something natural like aromatic oil must be used in moderation.
Different natural headache remedies work for different people, so one needs to experiment to find out which ones suit the person best. If a person has recurring headaches or their migraine attacks are very painful, it is best to consult with a doctor.

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Many dog owners are aware of essential oils, although perhaps some may be confused a little with the name. Essential oils are those oils which normally are derived from vegetables, fruits and flowers and represent a concentration of that plant’s oil. Essential here refers to the “essence” of a particular plant. There are many types of essential oils that are suitable for dogs. However, a word of caution, others may be harmful. This article deals with the application of essential oils within the context of their usage as a dog insect repellent and/or insecticide.

Using Safe Essential Oils within the Context of Dog Pet Supplies

The following are a few essential oils that are safe for use on your dog:

Bergamot, Carrot Seed, Cedarwood, Chamomile, German Chamomile, Roman Clary, Sage, Eucalyptus, Radiata, Geranium, Ginger, Helichrysum, Lavender, Marjoram, Sweet Niaouli, Peppermint, Orange, Valerian.

The ones that are in highlight: cedar wood, lavender and orange are all very pleasant smelling and are useful for either killing insects (orange oil) or repelling them (Cedar and lavender). These should be an essential part of one’s dog grooming products supply cabinet.

Use of Essential Oils

One of the obvious difficulties in utilizing essential oils is the fact that because they are oils, they are a bit difficult to use on a dog in a cost effective manner. Essential oils are quite expensive, typically sold in health stores starting from $4.00 per ? ounce vial and up. Another and important issue with essential oils is the fact that they also evaporate relatively quickly. Another problem with their usage is the fact that many are flammable.

The key benefit attributed to some of the essential oils and particularly the three mentioned above, is that they kill and repel insects (especially fleas). This is a critical benefit for pet owners. Fleas and tics to an extent cause major problems within a home. The best way to control them is to kill the insects and repel them, obviously before they might enter your home.

Is this Really a Practical Solution?

The alternative to going the natural route for flea control is to use systemic approaches which are absorbed into your pet’s blood stream and may cause health problems down the road. The best way to use an essential oil is to combine it with an organic, inert surfactant. A surfactant is a type of chemical, some of which are naturally derived, that allows an oil to mix with a liquid, typically, alcohol or purified water.

The properties of the essential oils are maintained, while the loss resulting from evaporation is minimized. Most consumers can not readily find an organic surfactant, although several exist within the chemical industry. If a consumer is trying to use an essential oil in a cost effective way and trying to blend in a surfactant, it is a little unwieldy. However, there are a very few makers and formulators of essential oil preparations that are productized, in such a ways as to be very practical for use in pet care. Also, whenever considering a natural flea preparation, try to avoid any which use essential oils combined with alcohol. The alcohol evaporates quickly, as well and the alcohol may irritate the skin of your dog.

Locating a Manufacturer

There are three products made by a vendor in Canada with offices in Florida that uses orange d-limonene, which is a strong deodorizer as well as being able to kill insects. In addition there are two other products with surfacted cedar oil and surfacted lavender oil. These products have been used and have been on the market for some time. They are both safe and effective. You can find all of them on the following web site: www.orangedogproducts.com

Emotions like happiness, sadness, anger, fear and love play a crucial role in human being’s life. These feelings are also an integral part of an animal’s world. Aromatherapy also provides immediate, profound and long lasting results on animal’s overall health and well being.

Leaving animals along for a long period of time, lack of attention, unhealthy food, abandonment, etc are some of the common causes of stress in animals. These could lead to health problems like fatigue, excessive itching, shedding, panting and even aggression. Aromatherapy can be used to treat hot spots, itchy skin, ear infections, rashes, bites, cuts, scrapes, incisions from surgeries, stinky breath, flatulence and the list goes on…

Dogs are man’s faithful friends for life. Bringing affection, joy and loyalty into our lives, they are more emotionally dependent on their owners. They are in tune with our moods and show more difficulty in coping with emotional stress and loneliness. Hence they require more attention then any other animals.

If your dog is suffering from yeast or ear infection use either of these oils to treat it. Put these oils in a spray bottle with a base oil and swab the inside of the ear after cleansing.

- Lavender – soothes the skin and relieves itching
- Tea Tree – powerful antibacterial and antifungal
- Bergamot – antifungal properties
- Roman Chamomile – soothing and gentle, aids in healing tissue.

To repel fleas, use peppermint, citronella, lemon and clary sage essential oils. Ticks are repelled by essential oils such as Geranium, Bay, Lavender and Myrrh. 15-20 drops of these oils diluted with base oil and sprayed on your dog daily will keep the ticks and fleas away.

Mix 6 drops of lavender, 1 drop of Neroli and 4 drops of Marjoram essential oils with carrier oil such as jojoba or sweet almond oil. Apply on the spine and head lightly. Repeat when necessary. This blend will relieve emotional stress.

To relieve Anxiety