Free Essential Oil Products

Hello Dear Reader,

I am so excited that all I could think of is to share my joy with you. Maybe you know - or maybe you don't - I am a distributor with Young Living. Oh no! No, don't worry, this is not a sales pitch. Absolutely not! My intention is purely that of sharing my joy and information about the oils :)

So, part of the benefit of being a distributor (or customer) is that you collect points for each order you place. Even though I am a distributor, I have been using the oils mainly for personal use and for my products. My talent is not in sales, LOL. So far, I've collected over 400 points and thought today is the day to redeem my gift for these points.

Ooops, I realize now that my headline may sound a little misleading. Unfortunately, I am not giving away any free products :( I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. Please continue reading! While I am not giving away any products, the benefit to you is there, indirectly. I am sharing information with you that I hope you are interested in. I do hope that I spark your interest a little bit to use essential oils (whatever brand works for you) in your life. So let me tell you about the oils that I ordered:

• Dream Catcher has an exotic aroma and aids in visualization and dreaming. Thus it is great for meditation as well. It aids in the formation of positive thinking and fosters the realization of dreams and goals. Since it is a blend, it includes Tangerine, Sandalwood, Ylang Ylang, Black Pepper, Bergamot, Juniper, Blue Tansy, and Anise. 
• Helichrysum is a great oil to use in skin care as it provides a defense against harmful free radicals. It works wonders for eczema sufferers and reduces scar tissue. 
• Jasmine has a sweet, warm and exotic aroma. It is such a lovely addition to any cream and gives it the most wonderful scent. Not only do I add Jasmine for its aroma but Jasmine also has a soothing and calming effect on the nervous system. So added to your body cream, you have the double effect of the floral and seductive fragrance that uplifts your spirits and enhances self-confidence. 
• Sacred Frankincense ~ this powerful oil comes from the Boswellia Sacra tree and the resin is widely used for spiritual practices. This sacred oil is a very valued addition in my skin care regimen as it provides the transportation of oxygen to cells. It has an astringent effect on the skin and makes your skin look younger, healthier, and is excellent for mature skin as well as eczema sufferers due to its soothing and calming effect. 
• Australian Blue ~ the name alone implies the ancient wisdom of aboriginal culture as it includes Blue Cypress that has been used pharmaceutically for thousands of years by aborigines. It is another exotic blend, warm and sweet with earthy undertones. I am going to use this oil for its grounding qualities, uplifting the spirit, as well as for its anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-arthritic and antibacterial properties. It is great for sores, moles, skin cancer or for ligaments. 
• Immu Power - with the winter coming, and my new internship starting in a hospitals emergency room, I am going to use this oil to boost my immune system. 
• Copaiba comes from the Amazonian Rainforest and has a nice woodsy aroma. It is a well-known essential oil in European Medicine and dates back to 1600s. It is a great pain reliever and reduces inflammation. 

Since I work with essential oils on a daily basis, have seen their benefit and how they changed not only my life but also the life of many others, I am truly excited to receive and work with these oils. Not for nothing are hospitals now incorporating the use of aromatherapy for their patients benefits.

I would love to hear from you! 

Have you ever used Essential Oils before? 

Are you using Essential Oils in your life? 

What is your favorite oil and what are you using it for? 

Have a scentsational day!

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New Silky & Scentsational Concoctions

I have to apologize for this delay in posting. I had been sick which caused the irregularity in my ability to write. I have not forgotten about my promise that I made on August 13th in my entry "Lovely Goodies." However, today, I got carried away and made new creams and thought it would make a nice blog entry.

I need to mention though that the below concoction has rather a lot of ingredients. Please do not let this discourage you to make your own product(s)! You really only need a few oils such as almond, apricot, or even olive oil to make a nice and smooth feeling body cream. I just felt in the mood to splurge :)

So, today I made two new creams.
1) Nurturing Body Silk ~ an all-around cream that can be used for the entire body
2) Hot & Heavy ~ a sensual experience and great for a hot date

I truly splurged today and made the most extravagant base cream with the following ingredients:

24 g Shea Butter
20 g Almond Oil
10 g Jojoba Oil
10 g Apricot Oil
10 g Hempseed & Evening Primrose Oils
8 g Borage Seed Oil
6 g Calendula Oil
5 g Vitamin E
5 g Rosehip & Perilla Oils
5 g Wheat Germ Oil.

As emulsifier, I used 1 g of Stearic Acid, 5 g Beeswax & 1 tbsp Borax and 22 g Emulsifying Wax.
I added a little Honey and Aloe Vera as well.

The texture of this concoction feels very smooth and silky. It leaves your skin feeling very soft and nurtured. It is excellent for mature and dry skin as well as elbows and knees. A little of this cream goes a long way.

To the above base cream, I added some Essential Oils in order to give it a nice scent and enhance the properties of the cream itself with the added benefit of some incredible Essential Oils by Young Living (YL).

Nurturing Body Silk ~ Wrap yourself in love with this nurturing, sensational and silky touch. Nurturing Body Silk is enhanced with the following YL Essential Oils: Lavender, Roman Chamomile,  Frankincense, Sandalwood & Rosemary

The Essential Oils in Nurturing Body Silk make it a great cream for itchy skin, rashes, or even eczema. The soothing qualities of Lavender and Roman Chamomile and the calming effect of Frankincense and Sandalwood are just so nurturing to the skin. I had an itchy blotch on my skin and after applying this cream only twice, the itchiness is gone and the redness is decreasing. 

Hot & Heavy ~ For a sensual experience. Enjoy a first calming sensation followed by a heated progression for ecstasy. Hot & Heavy is enhanced with the following YL Essential Oils: Lavender, Peace & Calming, and Joy.

I want to say Thanks to ZenGirl who assisted me in the process and provided her mental brain power in the description of the new silky & scentsational concoctions.

Enjoy the silkiness of these creams and venture into a world of scentsational delight :)

If you like to learn more about how to make your own products, visit my website where you can learn all about making your own products. The information provided is absolutely free :)

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Treat Yourself to a Cup of Yogurt

A reader recently asked me if I know of any yogurt moisturizer. While I never used yogurt for any of my creams, I find yogurt makes a great moisturizing facial mask that is gentle enough to use 2 or 3 times per week. The zinc and lactic acid are good for breakouts, it closes pores, and exfoliates dead skin cells.
You can use plain yogurt (best is a full-fat or greek yogurt) and apply it all over your face and neck area before rinsing it off with lukewarm water. Be careful to leave the eye area out.
If you would like to make yourself a more fancy facial mask, you can mix the yogurt with
Cucumbers - moisturizing and astringent
Rosemary essential oil - anti-bacterial and soothing especially for oily skin
Honey - soothing
Oats - exfoliating
The nice part about this absolutely natural facial mask is that you can eat the left overs :)

The reason why I am not experimenting with yogurt, which contains live bacteria, in my creams is that I would have to add too many additives and preservatives for the cream not keep a few days. Athens Korres sells a moisturizing cream with yogurt. It has a ton of ingredients and sometimes one ingredient has to be used to stabilize another. Here is a breakdown of all their ingredients. I included the Hazard Score in ( ) taken from Skin Deep which is rated on a scale of 0 (low hazard) to 10 (high hazard):

Water, Yogurt
Butylene Glycol - humectant; used to retain moisture (Hazard Score: 1)
Steareth-2 - it is a stearic acid used to form an emulsion so that the cream does not separate
Isononyl Isononanoate - skin conditioning agent, emollient (Hazard Score: 0)
Macademia Nut Oil - skin conditioning agent - occlusive which means it slows down the loss of water from the skin (Hazard Score: 0)
Mannan - film former (Hazard Score: 1)
Olive Oil Unsaponifiables - skin conditioning agent - occlusive; emulsifying and cleansing agent
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil - Sweet Almond Oil - skin conditioning agent - occlusive (Hazard Score: 0)
Steareth-21 - solubilizing agent (Hazard Score 1)
Triticum Vulgare - Wheat Germ Oil (Hazard Score: 1)
Xylitylglucoside - humectant (Hazard Score: 0)
Hydrogenated Polyisobutene - Polymer used to increase thickness (Hazard Score: 0)
Triethylhexanoin - humectant (Hazard Score: 0)
Butyrospermum Parkii - fancy name for Shea Butter (Hazard Score: 0)
Anhydroxylitol - humectant (Hazard Score: 0)
Amyl Cinnamal - it is the organic compound of Amylcinnamaldehyde and it is a fragrance ingredient. While it occurs naturally in plants, in cosmetics it usually is synthesized. The smell is something like jasmine (Hazard Score: 6)
Benzyl Alcohol - it has several functions: external analgesic, fragrance ingredient, preservative, and solvent (Hazard Score: 6)
Benzyl Salicylate - it is a fragrance ingredient that has a sweet floral aroma (Hazard Score: 6-8)
Cetearyl Alcohol - emulsion stabilizer (Hazard Score: 0-1)
Coumarin - fragrance ingredient with a sweet nutty scent (Hazard Score: 8)
Dehydroacetic Acid - preservative (Hazard Score: 1)
Hydroxycitronellal - fragrance ingredient with a sweet floral aroma (Hazard Score: 5-6)
Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde - fragrance ingredient (Hazard Score: 5-6)
Isoeugenol - fragrance ingredient with a scent like carnations (Hazard Score: 6)
Linalool - functions as fragrance ingredient with a floral smell (Hazard Score: 8)
Magnesium PCA - humectant (Hazard Score: 0)
Manganese PCA - humectant (Hazard Score: 5)
Panthenol - a plant derived form of vitamin B that is hydrating and penetrates into lower skin layers (Hazard Score: 2)
Fragrance - more fragrance that are now in such small amounts that they do not have to be listed
Sodium Dehydroacetate - preservative (Hazard Score: 2)
Sodium PCA - increases the water content of the top layers of the skin by drawing moisture from the surrounding air. (Hazard Score: 2)
Tocopheryl Acetate - Vitamin E which can be cancerous (Hazard Score: 4)
Xanthan Gum - thickener which I also use in creams (Hazard Score: 0)
Xylitol - humectant (Hazard Score: 1)
Zinc PCA - humectant (Hazard Score: 2)

Wow, that is a long list of ingredients and I am sure it is a wonderful cream. However, I would never use it. Even if the fragrance ingredients are in such small amounts, applied on a daily basis, these ingredients are all absorbed by our skin. Instead, why not use 100%, Pure Grade, Grade A Essential Oils?

Sending naturally beautiful wishes to all!

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The Safe Shopper's Bible

This is an early post for this week but I know my week will end up to be very busy and I wanted to leave you with some food-for-thought.
Just recently I stumbled across The Safe Shopper's Bible - A Consumer's Guide to Nontoxic Household Products, Cosmetics, and Food by David Steinman & Samuel S. Epstein, M.D. This book is a true eye opener and worth the few dollars that it costs (I bought mine on half.com for $ 5.00). Even though it was published in 1995, this book offers valuable information when it comes to living naturally. The chapters range from household products (cleaning products, paint and related products, pesticides, pet supplies, auto products, art and craft supplies) to cosmetics (eye and face makeup, hair care, dental and oral hygiene, feminine hygiene, nail products, and skin products) to foods and beverages. Interestingly, when I looked under the "Skin Lotion" section, the less common and lesser known brands are the ones mostly recommended compared to well known brands such as Almay, Chanel, Clarins, Clinique, Estee Lauder, Jergens, or even Lubriderm and Oil of Olay. What these well-known brands have in common is that they use fragrances and preservatives some of which can be very harmful. Manufacturers do not have to label them as harmful as often only traces of a specific ingredient can be found. However, used on a daily basis over a prolonged period of time, even the most minimal trace adds up and can be harmful.
Some years ago I had bought a moisturizing facial cream because "advertisers told me" (you know, commercials on TV can be oh so persuasive) that I needed it for anti-aging prevention. I did not think twice, did not read the label, paid $ 40.00 for a tiny jar (and that was cheap!), went home, and used the cream only to frantically wash it off a little while later because my eyes were itching and getting puffy. How upsetting is it to spend so much money on a cream only to be allergic to it?! Synthetic fragrances and preservatives are very often the cause of allergies so if you are like me and experience or suffer from an allergy and have no idea where it is coming from, take a look at what you put on your skin. Stop using your cosmetic products for a while and see if your allergy gets better. Read the labels, research the products online, become an educated consumer. A very good reference site is Skin Deep. Better yet, make your own products! You always know what you put in your own product. You can use different ingredients depending on your need, skin type, or mood if you like fragranced products. Instead of using synthetic fragrances, essential oils are the safest substitute. Some essential oils are photosensitive (e.g. bergamot and any citrus oils) and also can cause an allergic reaction. As it is with any product, test a drop of essential oil on the inside of your forearm.

Be well and live well!

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Moisturizing Facial Cream

Today I made a wonderful, nurturing facial cream that is great for mature and sensitive skin. The cream has such a smooth consistency, almost like whipped cream. It leaves the skin moisturized without feeling oily or sticky. It came out so good that I just had to share it :-)

30 ml Almond Oil
3 ml Borage Seed Oil
3 ml Calendula Oil
5 ml Perilla Seed Oil
5 ml Rosehip Oil
5 ml Wheat Germ Oil
4 ml Vitamin E
6 g Shea Butter
6 g Cocoa Butter

2 g Beeswax
6 g Borax
1 g Stearic Acid
15 g Vegetable Emusifying Wax
1 g Xanthan Gum

20 ml Lavender Hydrosol
130 ml distilled Water

8 drops German Chamomile Essential Oils
7 drops Frankincense Essential Oils
4 drops Geranium Essential Oils
4 drops Jasmine Essential Oils
10 drops Lavender Essential Oils

1 teaspoon Honey
1 tablespoon Aloe Vera Gel

If you wish to make this cream yourself but don't know how, check out the step-by-step instructions listed here. 

Enjoy!!!

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Safe Cosmetics

I just came across this article and thought it needs to be shared... the article talks about skin care and the most commonly used irritants in our cosmetic products. By "going natural" and using homemade products or products without any preservatives or other additives, you can eliminate unnecessary toxins from your body and life. Cleaning your house with Lemon, Vinegar, Thieves Essential Oils Cleaner, or other biodegradable and non-toxic cleaners is just as important as using body products made with only natural ingredients. We are surrounded by toxins on a daily basis. Just as an example, there are 63 pollutant sources in my neighborhood coming from the air, ground, water, and radio waves within a 10 km (6 miles) radious. Most computers / laptops work with wireless now and cell phone usage has gone up from 63 million to 203 million within the last 10 years (Accuconference). There seem to be 28 cell phone towers, 3 sources point toward water pollution, 1 source to ground pollution, and 31 sources to air pollution close to where I live. Since these pollutants are out of my control, the only thing I can do is control what I use in my household and for myself.

Be courteous to yourself and treat yourself with lots of TLC! Try to stay away from chemicals as much as you can and recycle as much as possible!

Resources:

Accuconference - http://www.accuconference.com/blog/CellPhoneStatistics.aspx

Article mentioned in this blog - http://www.SelfGrowth.com/articles/safe_cosmetics_may_save_your_sensitive_skin.html

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Lavender & Honey Body Cream

I just made a new batch of Lavender & Honey Body Cream. Love it!!! The cream came out smooth and leaves your skin moisturized and silky soft with no oily residue.

Here are the ingredients:

Fats
5 g Hempseed Oil
20 g Apricot Oil
16 g Almond Oil
14 g Borage Seed Oil
3 g Vitamin E

Liquids
25 ml Lavender Florasol
95 ml Water

Thickeners/Emulsifiers
12 g Emulsifying Wax
3 g Beeswax
1/8 tsp Stearic Acid
1/8 tsp Xanthan Gum
1/2 tsp Borax

In a water bath, I heated the fats and the liquids in separate pyrex containers until the waxes were melted. The borax was added to the liquids. After the waxes were melted, I mixed (with a hand mixer) in the Xanthan Gum until it dissolved. Then, I poured the liquids slowly into the fats while mixing both together on slow speed with the hand mixer. I continued to mix for approximately 8 minutes. Last, I mixed in the essential oils and filled the cream into sterilized jars and containers.

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Save Your Money

The holiday season is always connected with gift-giving and that is often very expensive. However, there is one way to save your money for future gifts and that is, you make them yourself. Wherever your talent lies, you can create your own gift. I like to give away or Sea Salt Body Scrubs or All Natural Body Creams. Instead of spending up to $ 46.00 for a fancy body scrub such as i.e. Origins "The Way of the Bath," or the "Foamy Body Scrub" from Sabon you can make your own for as little as $ 10.00, fill it into a nice jar and but a ribbon or bow on it. Your friends and family will most likely appreciate the effort and will be impressed by your idea.

In order to make a body scrub, all you need are a few ingredients such as
* Base Oils, i.e. Almond Oil, Jojoba Oil, Apricot Oil, Hempseed or Rosehip Seed Oil
* Salts, i.e. Epsom Salt, Dead Sea Salt (highly concentrated but incredible for the skin), Sea Salt
* Essential Oils, i.e. Lavender, or any citrus oil
& a nice jar to fill the scrub into

Mix all the ingredients together and you have yourself a nice body scrub that is equal to what you can buy in the stores. In my scrubs, I try not to use sugar any longer because it dissolves too quickly, leaving you with just the oil and nothing to "scrub"...

Check out my website where you can read up on all the ingredients and learn (it's free and no sign up is necessary) how to make your own Body Creams or Salt Scrubs. Making your own creams is easy as well; all you need are a few ingredients that you can buy in small or large quantities from several suppliers. These ingredients will be enough for several jars of either cream or scrubs. Start early to learn how to make your own so that when the next holiday season is near, you have already some gift ideas and know how to make them.

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