There’s a lot of turmoil in the world right now. No matter what you do or where you live, you’ve likely been affected by the coronavirus pandemic in some way. Whether you’re struggling with reduced hours, job loss, or the fear of you or your loved ones contracting the virus, you’re probably experiencing some form of anxiety. While it may be hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel during this worldwide crisis, it is crucial to stay positive and focus on your physical and mental health. Though it may sound strange, an Epsom salt foot soak may be just what you need to decrease fear and anxiety in your life and return to a place of peace.
Use This Ancient South American Oil For Pain, Wrinkles And More
Since the 16th century, people have used copaiba in physical and spiritual healing ceremonies. The copaiba tree grows in South America and can reach up to 100 feet tall. Its thick tree trunk provides access to the essential oil through oleoresin, which can be tapped like maple syrup from the maple tree. After the copaiba oleoresin is harvested, it is steam distilled to extract the essential oil. [Read more…]
5 Essential Natural Products You MUST Have in Your Bathroom
If you’ve read many health articles in the last few years, you’ve probably come across many concerning reports about the health issues associated with toxic beauty and cleaning products. The truth is, those products which you so willingly spread all over your skin could actually be really dangerous, contributing to things such as cancer, skin disease, and environmental disasters. There are tons of products out there that are totally natural, safe, and just as effective (if not more) as the ones loaded with toxins. We’ve gathered a list of our must-have natural bathroom essentials.
Stop Using Toothpaste With This Ingredient: Make Your Own Instead
Oral health is absolutely critical since it affects every single area of your body, not just your teeth. When plaque builds up and cavities set in, you can quickly develop gum disease, infection, and other health issues that negatively impact your quality of life and force you to spend far too much time in the dentist’s chair.
Think Better, Work Harder When You Do This to Your Space
Whether you work from home at a dedicated desk, prefer to hop between coffee shops with your laptop, or spend your days in an office building, you most likely know that your environment can severely impact your productivity. Here are a few of our favorite ways to adjust your space to help you think better and work harder…wherever you are.
9 Ways to Use Lavender That You Have Never Thought of Before
The lavender plant is not only prized for its’ exquisite scent and beautiful blossoms, but it is also utilized as a potent essential oil that is well-known for its relaxing and soothing capabilities. You may have seen lavender-scented candles or made your own natural room spray with this essential oil, but using this herb as a scent booster is only one way to take advantage of its amazing benefits. It has been used for thousands of years as an antibacterial and antiseptic agent, plus it has been shown to have restorative effects on the mind as well as the body.
7 Top Uses for Peppermint Essential Oil
Essential oils have been used for thousands of years to relieve the symptoms of all sorts ailments, long before pharmaceuticals ever came into the picture. The natural, highly concentrated oils are extracted from sources like plants, seeds, flowers and tree bark, each with own unique properties, and peppermint essential oil is considered one of the best, thanks to its wide-ranging uses.
Just about everyone is familiar with peppermint and its wonderful aroma. While it’s often associated with candy canes and toothpaste, the essential oil itself is something that everyone should have a bottle of. With so many great uses, you’ll quickly understand why.
Boosting Memory and Alertness
A study, conducted out of the University of Cincinnati in 2012, “The Effect of Peppermint on Memory Performance,” revealed that inhaling this fragrant oil can improve mental accuracy by as much as 28 percent. An earlier study from the U.K. enjoyed similar findings when measuring the effects of peppermint aroma on cognitive performances. The researchers compared a group who inhaled the scent of peppermint to a group who took in the ylang-ylang aroma, while the third group received no exposure to an aroma at all. The experts found that peppermint increased both alertness and memory, while ylang-ylang appeared to impair both.
Enhancing Exercise Performance
A study from the University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil’s Physical Education and Sports Sciences Department in 2013, showed that peppermint essential oil offered immediate positive effects on exercise performance. The research involved participants who jogged on treadmills while a variety of fragrances were pumped into the exercise rooms. Athletes who worked on in the peppermint room experienced enhanced performance overall, with a reduction in feelings of fatigue.
As the experts wanted to find out if it was a psychological effect or if smelling peppermint oil did actually offer the benefit of improved performance, they performed more research that measured performance this time. They concluded that the exercises were able to perform an extra push-up and shaved nearly two seconds off a quarter-mile dash when they ran with an adhesive strip that contained peppermint oil stuck to their upper lip. In addition to running faster and doing more push-ups, there was a general trend toward stronger grip strength, they said.
Relieving Nausea
Peppermint is well-known to help take the edge off of nausea, making it an ideal remedy for morning or motion sickness. In fact, it’s often recommended for its anti-nausea benefits and soothing effects on the gastric lining and colon, due to its ability to lessen muscle spasms. One recent study published in the Journal of Hematology & Thromboembolic Diseases found that it managed to reduce nausea that was induced by chemotherapy even better than standard medical treatment. The experts noted that the “use of aromatherapy with peppermint in acute phase lead to decreased of nausea and vomiting without any complications.” In the conclusion, they wrote: “Aromatherapy with peppermint in breast cancer patients could decrease nausea and vomiting in the acute phase after chemotherapy. It is suggested that nurses use this aromatherapy as a complementary therapy.”
This is one of the few essential oils that can be taken internally to relieve nausea, but keep in mind that a very tiny amount goes a long way. All you need is a drop or two – stir it into water or herbal tea. Alternatively, you can add it to a diffuser or add a couple of drops behind your ears.
Treat Respiratory Problems
Peppermint essential oil has the ability to open your airways and act as a decongestant, which makes it great for treating respiratory problems, as it contains menthol. Menthol works as an antispasmodic and expectorant to provide relief for colds, asthma, allergies, and bronchitis. Unlike medications sold over-the-counter to relieve congestion, it won’t cause drowsiness, but can even boost energy levels and mental focus.
In a 2011 Israelis study, the researchers created a spray using peppermint essential oil, with the results showing that it brought immediate improvement to upper respiratory conditions for the volunteers. Other research found that nearly 90% of study participants reported improved nasal breathing after menthol inhalation.
You can put peppermint oil in a diffuser and inhale the aroma, or mix a few drops with some coconut oil and eucalyptus essential oil to make a great homemade vapor rub, rubbing it onto your chest to decrease symptoms.
Freshen Your Breath and Support Good Oral Health
There’s a reason why toothpaste so often contains peppermint oil. It’s something that’s been used for well over 1,000 years to naturally freshen one’s breath. In fact, studies have found that the oil is actually more effective than a chemical-filled mouthwash – not only for freshening breath but for fighting against oral pathogens and reducing cavities too. You can make your own homemade mouthwash by combining five drops of peppermint essential oil with five drops tea tree essential oil and two cups filtered water in a bottle. Shake it up to mix well, take a small sip and swish it around in your mouth for 30 seconds or so before spitting out, just like you would any other mouthwash.
Improving Indigestion and Bloat
Many studies have shown that peppermint oil is a highly effective natural alternative to medications for reducing colon spasms, bloat and indigestion as it works to relax the intestinal muscles. Peppermint calms the muscles in the stomach and improves the flow of bile, which the body uses to digest fats. As a result, food is able to pass through the stomach more quickly, as the University of Maryland Medical Center reports. Additionally, peppermint relaxes the muscles that allow painful digestive gas to pass.
Peppermint oil may even help treat the painful symptoms of IBS that include gas, bloating, constipation and/or diarrhea. The U of M Medical Center notes that one study with people diagnosed with IBS found that those who took peppermint experienced a 75% reduction in IBS symptoms. Another study which peppermint to a placebo in children with IBS found that after 2 weeks, three-quarters of those treated had reduced symptoms.
Adding one drop of peppermint essential oil to an 8-ounce glass of water and drinking it before each meal is a great way to help prevent bloating, gas and indigestion before it starts.
Easing a Headache
Peppermint oil is known for its ability to relax tense muscles – as tense muscles can lead to migraines or tension headaches, it makes a great natural remedy for those problems as well. In fact, research from Germany’s Neurological Clinic at the University of Kiel found that using a blend of oils that included peppermint, offered significant analgesic effects to reduce sensitivity to headaches.
-Susan Patterson
How to Use Tea Tree Oil For Beautifully Clear Radiant Skin
Of all the essential oils, tea tree oil is one of the most extensively researched, proven to offer many beneficial effects, particularly for the skin. It’s derived from a shrub-like tree called Melaleuca that grows in Australia. The University of Sydney reports that the native aboriginals have used the healing benefits of the oil for treating conditions for thousands of years – long before chemist Arthur Penfold discovered its powerful antiseptic properties in the 1920s.
These days, tea tree oils are utilized for a myriad of different things and is a popular active ingredient in a wide range of personal care products such as face wash and skin creams thanks to its exceptionally strong anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antifungal properties. It’s one of the best oils you can use for eliminating acne, and even getting rid of marks and scars while helping to make your skin clearer and more radiant. It may even help fade those dark, aging spots, providing a more youthful look as well.
Here’s how you can take advantage of tea tree oil to heal your skin, transforming it into the beautifully clear, radiant skin you’ve been coveting.
Using Tea Tree Oil to Treat Acne
The powerful antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory compounds found in tea tree oil are well-known to help decrease inflammation that often results in redness and swelling of the skin. Research from the Department of Dermatology at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Australia discovered that when tea tree oil’s effectiveness as compared to the common acne medication benzoyl peroxide, it had a dramatic effect in clearing participants’ acne.
Another study out of the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in Isfahan, Iran, also confirmed its effectiveness in treating acne, specifically for mild to moderate cases. As part of the research, acne sufferers were divided up into two groups, one of which was treated with tea tree oil and the other with a placebo. They were followed for a 45-day period. The patients that had actually used the tea tree oil experienced dramatic results, showing that it was nearly six times more effective for treating the severity of their overall acne. You can use tea tree oil at home for this same purpose.
How to use tea tree oil for treating acne
You can use tea tree oil on its own, but be sure to use only a tiny amount (be sure to use 100% pure tea tree oil, not products containing tea tree oil). It can easily penetrate the skin and unblock sebaceous glands since it’s so incredibly potent. Tea tree oil contains terpinen–4, an antimicrobial component that kills the bacteria which causes acne, helping to dry out blackheads, whiteheads, and pimples while disinfecting the pores. Unlike other acne treatments, tea tree oil won’t strip your skin of its natural oils, causing further damage in the process. After cleansing your face, apply by adding a drop or two of the oil onto the head of a Q-tip or cotton ball. Gently dab the oil onto any pimples or other spots. Do not rinse.
If you have very sensitive skin, you may want to add a teaspoon of coconut oil to your tea tree oil. Keep in mind that while it is more gentle than benzoyl peroxide, it can also dry out the skin which triggers the body to overproduce its own oils and ultimately make things worse. If you’re suffering from breakouts on various parts of your body, such as your chest or back, you may want to add a few drops of tea tree oil to a warm bath and enjoy a soak to help clear it up.
Another option is to use it as an ingredient in a face mask. Simply combine 3 to 4 of the oil with green clay powder, available at many health food stores and online. Add just enough water to create a spreadable paste, and then stir it up well. Apply the mixture evenly onto your face and mask, and allow it to sit for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the clay is completely dry. Afterwards, rinse with warm water.
Using Tea Tree Oil to Eliminate Scars and Other Marks
Even when acne heals, it can leave behind scars that are very difficult to remove, making them nearly as frustrating as the blemishes themselves, but as mentioned, tea tree oil can help with that too – and, without the potentially damaging chemicals that come with most pricey commercial skin creams. You can also use tea tree oil to fade or eliminate other marks and problems like age spots. It not only helps to restore the skin’s natural oil balance, it penetrates deeply into pores, removing toxins while preventing the clogging that can cause acne, and lighten scars. It also aids in removing dead skin cells, to minimize the appearance of scars.
Here are a couple of very effective options for using tea tree oil for this purpose:
Honey and Tea Tree Oil
According to Heart Views, the Gulf Heart Association‘s journal, honey is able to stimulate the healing process, making it effective not only for treating wounds but for stimulating tissue regeneration. Combined with tea tree oil, it provides kind of a “double whammy” against those scars.
- Combine two drops of tea tree oil with a tablespoon of raw honey.
- Apply this mixture to clean skin, gently massaging it into affected areas for a few minutes.
- Let this mask sit for 20 to 30 minutes, or until thoroughly dry.
- Rinse with cool water and gently pat dry. Repeat once daily.
Brown Sugar and Tea Tree Oil
Brown sugar is an excellent exfoliant that won’t cause irritation, and its glycolic acid content helps to diminish those scars. Rose water contains antiseptic and antimicrobial properties that make it a great for fighting acne, but not only does it help kill off that acne-causing bacteria, it also helps heal scars, making the mixture highly effective.
- Mix two tablespoons brown sugar, two tablespoons rose water and three drops of tea tree oil.
- Gently massage the mixture into clean skin using a circular motion.
- Rinse with cool water and pat dry. Repeat three times each week.
Rejuvenate Dry Skin
Tea tree oil is incredibly rejuvenating and can even help hydrate dry, parched skin. To do so, combine a tablespoon of sweet almond oil with 5 drops of tea tree oil. Massage the results gently into your skin after washing your face. Using this one a day can keep your skin hydrated for longer periods.
Are you ready for beautiful skin?
-Susan Patterson
Why Lavender Should be Your “Go To” Essential Oil
If you are looking to add just one essential oil to your life, lavender is an excellent choice. Not only is the aroma sweet, herbal and inviting, this multifaceted oil has a wide array of uses. In fact, once you get used to having a high-quality lavender oil available, you may start to wonder how and why you ever lived without it.
The essence of lavender has been used since ancient times for its ability to instill calm, to lift the spirits, and for many other purposes. Its use dates back over 2,500 years. The ancient Greeks used lavender medicinally to treat many conditions, including mental imbalances, sleep disorders and pain. In Medieval Europe, lavender was grown for the purposes of warding off illness.
One of the primary reasons that lavender is a perfect “go to” oil is that along with being potent, it is also incredibly gentle. It is one of the very few essential oils that can be applied directly to the skin of healthy adults, without the necessity for dilution in a base oil. This oil is even gentle enough to be used topically on children over the age of 2 (diluted in a base oil such as organic coconut oil) – however, check with a health professional before doing this, just to be sure it is safe for your child’s individual state of health.
Lavender is considered an adaptogen, which is why it has the unique effect of both relaxing and energizing. Its adaptogenic nature means that it can balance the body’s systems. When used in massage or aromatherapy, it may help to relieve stress and act as a mild sedative, helping alleviate depression, or shake off a case of fatigue.
Soothe stress and anxiety
After a long day at work, there is nothing quite like a massage or a meditation session with lavender oil to help you unwind and get centered. In the case of anxiety, some research has backed up the traditional use of lavender as an anti-anxiety elixir.
A study performed at the Medical University of Vienna in Austria found that lavender oil capsules, taken internally, worked better than Ativan, a common anti-anxiety medication, for relieving anxiety symptoms. If you struggle with anxiety and want to give internal lavender oil a try, talk to a natural health professional to determine how much is right for you, and to find a high-quality, food grade oil for your needs.
Rest easier
Lavender is a time-tested way to help improve sleep quality and has been traditionally used to relieve insomnia for centuries. In Germany, lavender flower tea is an approved treatment for restlessness and insomnia. Aromatherapy or massage with lavender essential oil, or diffusing it throughout your bedroom, may all help you to fall asleep faster and sleep deeper.
You may also choose to dab a drop or two of lavender essential oil on a washcloth, and throw it in the dryer when you are drying sheets and pillowcases. This may help the whole family enjoy a more peaceful night’s sleep.
Relieve pain and soothe skin conditions
A topical application of lavender essential oil may help to ease muscle and joint pain. Applying it to your temples may also help to relieve a nasty headache.
This oil has also been used to soothe an array of skin conditions, including eczema, acne, insect bites, minor burns, and rashes. It has also been found to possess notable anti-fungal qualities, helping to quell nail infections. Lavender may also be used to clean minor wounds.
Banish dandruff
Lavender essential oil can be used in a simple home dandruff remedy. Wet your hair with warm water and pat dry with a towel. Combine two tablespoons of olive oil and approximately 15 drops of lavender essential oil in a small pot, and heat on low until just warm. Massage the mixture into your scalp, wait an hour, then wash hair with a natural shampoo.
Find relief from allergy symptoms
If you have poor indoor air quality and are having trouble with indoor allergens, adding lavender essential oil to a diffuser and diffusing around your home may help.
For both indoor and outdoor allergy symptoms, try an herbal steam. Simply add a few drops of lavender oil to a pot of steaming water, bring your head up close – being careful not to burn yourself, and cover with a towel. Breathe deeply and relax.
Discourage insects
Diffusing lavender essential oil in your home can discourage insects from hanging around – they are repelled by it. Applying some to your skin can also offer mild protection from the pesky buzzing critters.
Note: When choosing a lavender oil, make sure to choose a high quality, therapeutic or food grade essential oil; there are many imposters on the market, and some contain chemical additives. For guidance as to choosing a good oil, talk to a natural health professional you trust. If you are pregnant, talk to a health professional before using lavender, just to be safe.
-Susan Patterson
Get Gorgeous Hair With This Tea Tree Shampoo
The tea tree is a small with willowy branches and needle-like leaves that are very similar to that of a cypress. The tea tree is also the smallest tree in the Myrtaceae family. When the flowers of the tea tree blossom, they offer a beautiful arrangement of yellow and purple flowers.
The tea tree has its origin in Australia, mainly in New South Wales. Though there are several varieties of tea tree cultivated around the globe, tea tree (M. alternifolia) is cultivated in Australia exclusively.
The alternative health benefits of tea tree may be useful for asthma, bronchitis, colds and flu, rashes, acne, infected wounds, cystitis and even insect bites. Tea tree received its “tea” designation via its herbal tea use by the aboriginal people of Australia. Tea tree has been the focus of much research as of late. It is being examined for its possible therapeutic treatment in cases of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and cancer. Tea tree essential oil is also used in a wide variety of consumer products like toothpastes, soaps, colognes and aftershaves.
Tea tree oil shampoo
I discovered this recipe about three months ago and now use it weekly on my hair. It conditions my scalp and keeps my hair shiny and soft. Using this shampoo will also help if you suffer from dandruff. It can help make your hair grow fuller and longer with regular use.
This tea tree oil shampoo only takes five minutes to prepare and it will last about a month.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 2/3 cup castile soap
- 40 drops tea tree essential oil
- 1 tsp vitamin E oil
Equipment
- Quart mason jar with lid — I used a jar with a pump lid
Instructions
- Gather ingredients and the mason jar.
- Add coconut milk and castile soap to the jar.
- Shake gently.
- Add the tea tree oil and vitamin E oil and shake again.
- Store in your shower and shake well before each use. Use one tablespoon of the mixture to shampoo hair.
— Susan Patterson