An Oily Post

Essential oils have been around since the beginning of time. There are many mentions of the use of them in the Bible, such as the oil Spikenard being poured over Jesus' feet days before His death on the cross or Queen Esther being massaged with Myrrh for 6 months in preparation for her marriage. Essential oils, by definition, are highly concentrated aromatic essences of plants from around our world. The oils are extracted directly from wood, flowers, fruit, leaves and/or roots. There are countless uses for essential oils. From aromatherapy to personal care to household solutions, every aspect of daily life can be enhanced by incorporating essential oils into your routine.

While there are several companies out there with lines of essential oils, Young Living products are my preferred choice simply because they have stood the test of time and proven themselves as pure, therapeutic-grade essential oils. I use Young Living products in many ways, more and more each day. I flavor my water with Lemon oil, use Frankincense in my homemade nightly face cream, and clear sinuses clogged by allergens with the allergy bomb trio of Lemon, Lavender, and Peppermint. I've been using Stress Away both by diffusion and in smoothies to restore a sense of equilibrium. I mix Citrus Fresh with baking soda to sprinkle on my carpets before vacuuming, rub Thieves on the bottom of my feet if I feel a cold coming on, and massage PanAway onto sore muscles after running or bootcamp. DiGize helps ease an upset stomach and Dragon Time aids in many monthly PMS symptoms. I'm in the beginning stages of learning the multitude of uses for these oils, and I have to tell you, it's so much fun! I'm really having a blast with them, and I feel good knowing I'm using natural, chemical-free ways for personal hygiene, health, and household cleaning.

Today I'd like to share a list of ways to use essential oils in your beauty routine. This list is by no means complete, but it gives you an idea of the many uses. More creative minds will find 100 other ways, I'm sure! Always remember to read the instructions for each individual oil you use as some should be diluted with a carrier oil before using (grapeseed, coconut, sweet almond, rosehip, jojoba are a few examples of carrier oils) and some essential oils should not be taken internally. Use caution when using any oil with children.

BEAUTY USES

• Clogged pores - Apply 2-4 drops of Lemon or Tea Tree to affected area and gently remove with cotton ball.
• Nail strengthening recipe - Mix 10 drops each Frankincense, Myrrh, and Lemon to 2 tbsp Vitamin E oil. Mix ingredients together and store in glass bottle. Rub on nails and cuticles twice per week.
• Wrinkle reducing blend - Mix 5 drops Royal Hawaiian Sandalwood, 4 drops Geranium, 3 drops Lavender, and 6 drops Frankincense with a carrier oil and apply to area. Keep away from eyes.
• Dandruff blend - Mix 5 drops Lemon, 2 drops Lavender, 1 drop Rosemary, and 2 drops Peppermint with 2 tbsp of a carrier oil. Massage into scalp thoroughly for 1-2 minutes and leave on for 10 minutes. Shampoo as usual.
• Stretch marks - Mix 5 drops Frankincense, Myrrh, Coriander, Lavender, or Gentle Baby blend with 5 drops of a carrier oil and massage onto stretch marks twice per day.
• Face moisturizer - Mix 1 drop Elemi, Frankincense, or Lavender with a carrier oil for an evening moisturizer before bed.
• Natural face scrub - Mix 1/4 cup plain yogurt, 1/4 cup cornmeal, and 5 drops each of Patchouli, Grapefruit, and Lavender. Store any unused mixture in the fridge and use within a few days.
• Skin toner - Mix 8 oz purified water, 2 drops each of Lavender, Palmarosa, and Rosewood in a clean bottle. Apply the toner to skin with a cottonball after cleaning. Shake well before each use.
• Place 1-2 drops of Rosemary or Carrot Seed on hair brush before brushing to promote growth and thickness.
• Perfume recipe - Mix 25 drops of Lavender, Patchouli, Royal Hawaiian Sandalwood, Geranium, or your favorite scent to wear to 1 oz of good quality vodka. Let age 2 weeks before using. Apply on neck, wrists, behind knees or ears.
• Stress soothing massage oil - Mix 2 drops each of Lavender, Ylang Ylang, German Chamomile, and Bergamot or 2 drops of Stress Away to 5 tsp of a carrier oil. Stir mixture and massage onto body.
• Dry hair hot oil conditioner - Mix 15 drops Rosewood and 5 drops each Sandalwood, Geranium, and Lavender and 4 tbsp of a carrier oil. Place mixture in a small plastic bag and place the bag in a hot cup of water for 1 minute to warm. Apply, then wrap hair in a towel for 20 minutes. Wash hair as normal.
• Hair loss help blend - Mix 3 drops each of Rosemary, Cedarwood, and Lavender with 2 oz Jojoba carrier oil in a container and shake well. Massage into hair and scalp for 5 minutes. Leave on hair for 1 hour, then wash. Use 1-2 times per week.
• Sunscreen - Mix 5 drops each of Myrrh and Carrot Seed with 10 drops of a carrier oil and apply for 40 SPF.
• Oily hair repair blend - Mix 9 drops each of Ylang Ylang, Lime, and Rosemary with 2 tbsp of a carrier oil. Massage into hair and scalp. Wash hair as normal. Use 2-3 times per week.
• Natural lotion - Mix 8 oz unscented lotion with 10 drops Myrrh, 15 drops Geranium, and 5 drops Ylang Ylang. Keep in an airtight container. Be creative! There are many combinations possible here.

As always, contact me with any questions/concerns you have. Stay healthy, keep calm, and use oils!

In today's cup

This is my favorite green breakfast smoothie. We all have products we like, products that make us feel good and that we believe in. One of mine is this Green Superfood from Amazing Grass. Actually, I love all the Amazing Grass products that I've tried, including their protein powder and their immunity boosting powder. But this one is my favorite. Alkalizing and energizing, it sets my intention for my day on healthy and fulfilling. I truly do feel a difference when I start my day in this way. Here's what I blend with one scoop of the green superfood powder:

• 1 cup coconut water (regular water or rice milk works, too)
• 1/2 of a frozen banana
• 1-2 drops of Stress Away essential oil 

Today, I also added a mango. They are my favorite and they are in season! Anything you like can be added, really. Cherries is another fruit I like to add. 

Usually, I buy my Amazing Grass products at Earth Fare, but I'm sure Whole Foods has them as well. Or any health food grocery store, or even online. If you end up trying it, let me know what you think. And, no, they are not paying me to endorse their product. Darn it! 

Peri-what-o-what?!?

"You have entered perimenopause."  Say what?!

It was said quite matter-of-factly to me this past January at my annual doctor's appointment. The woman whom I had trusted with my health since I was 22 years old, the one who doled out great advice to me on everything from nutrition to skin care to hemorrhoids, the woman who delivered my precious baby girl, for crying out loud - this woman was feeding me a line of crap. No, no, no, I insisted. I'm just moody, and bloated, and forgetful, and more irritable than usual, and bloated, and I have a bit of insomnia, my heart has been palpitating some, I can't focus, I get dizzy easy. Did I mention how bloated I was? And I seem to have gained about 10 pounds that refuse to budge. That's all. Oh, wait a minute....Oh!!!

She was right. Perimenopause, that time in a woman's life that resembles puberty in reverse, had found me. Overtaken me. Threatened to out smart me. After going home, processing, giving myself time to cry (yes, I cried. Don't judge.), I decided my hormones were not going to get the best of me. I am reserving the best of me for my family and friends. Hormones will have to take a back seat. 

So I've been educating myself slowly... reading books, perusing blogs, taking what I know from my schooling in nutrition to tweak my diet, learning from others' trial & error in their journeys, adding & subtracting supplements to my daily regime, and beginning to use more essential oils daily (which has been way more helpful than I ever could have imagined.) I'm tackling the issues one by one, starting with the issue that is driving me the craziest. That would be bloating. I am over it. Over. It. 

As I go through this life phase, it helps me to write (okay, rant) about it, so I'm going to use this blog to do just that. And I'll share any tips, tricks, and tid-bits that help me, as well as those that just don't. Maybe someone out there will take something from here that helps them. 

When it comes to bloating, here's a list of foods I've found make it so much worse for me. Chocolate, alcohol, bread, dairy (except Greek yogurt - plain- without the yummy fruit flavors, unfortunately), caffeine, carbonation, gum, pasta, and sugar. That last one is my nemesis. I know sugar does me absolutely no favors, especially as I age. But I love it so! 

I've been doing my best to avoid these bloating triggers, especially sugar, as well as following this list of advice:

1. Don't drink through a straw. This causes you to swallow extra air, resulting in bloating. Plus I've heard it makes your mouth wrinkle and age prematurely.
2. Skip chewing gum and hard candy. Doing these things also causes extra air to be swallowed.
3. Avoid carbonation. The yummy fizzy drinks are full of gas and will bloat your belly.
4. Cut down on caffeine. It may over-stimulate your gut, causing it to puff up. 
5. Cut back on alcohol. It's very dehydrating and constipating, which is another fun peri- symptom in and of itself that quite obviously causes bloating. 
6. Eat potassium-rich foods. Potassium can help relieve bloating by reducing water retention. These foods include in order from highest in potassium to lowest: lima beans, kale, avocado, spinach, salmon, banana, mushrooms, broccoli, beets, cantaloupe, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, asparagus, cabbage, yogurt. 

Probably the two most important habits I have that help me the most are exercise and staying hydrated. If not for my running and my Indy Adventure Boot Camp, I would be the biggest hot mess in town. I am a full believer that if you are not lifting weights, especially after the age of 40, you are doing yourself an injustice. I love my bootcamp very much and this year, I'm striving to use heavier weights because I know the benefits will way outweigh the struggle.

 Also, I'm recording my ounces of water that I drink daily and trying to keep it at 80 oz. or more. This seems to really help with my bloating problem. The timing of when I drink has become important as well. In the book, The Food Babe Way by Vani Hari, she explains why we should not drink with meals. She says, "If you drink cold water with your meal, energy required for digestion is diverted. While eating, you want all of your energy directed at breaking down food so your body can easily assimilate the nutrients and eliminate waste and toxins." Wow! That made so much sense to me and since I've been practicing this habit, my bloating has decreased significantly. She recommends drinking your water 20 minutes before meals or 30-60 minutes after meals. 

Lastly, there are two essential oils that I'm using to help ease both bloating and just general women issues. Those are Di-Gize and Dragon Time from Young Living, which is the brand I use because of it's purity and track record in the industry. For some reason, the herbs that were recommended to me for women issues did not settle well with my system. I became very dizzy and nauseous while on them. So I switched recently to oils, and though I was somewhat skeptical, I have been more than thrilled with the results I'm seeing (and feeling)! 

Therein lies what I've learned about bloating so far. Mine has eased up since following all this advice, which makes me less irritable, so that's two menopausal dwarfs tackled at once! Now if I could just quit waking up at 2 a.m...

Young Living Essential Oils

Wow! It's been an incredibly long time since anything has been posted on here. I've still been learning, loving, and living all things health & wellness. It's most likely always going to be a great passion of mine. In fact, in the past year of no posts, I've introduced a new love into my life...Young Living essential oils. These oils have found their way into my home via diffusion, cleaning supplies, flavorings for water, body lotion, and most recently, moisturizing face cream. 

This face cream is the only lotion that has worked for my aging, drying skin. Better yet, since I made it, I know exactly what's in it and maybe more importantly, what's not. Here's a list of the ingredients and their benefits for your skin:

• 1/2 cup cocoa butter: for improved skin elasticity and tone
• 1/4 cup coconut oil: this heals damaged skin and promotes collagen production
• 2 tbsp sweet almond oil: to smooth and rejuvenate skin
• 2 tbsp jojoba oil: has been shown to reduce the signs of aging
• 40 drops Frankincense essential oil: personally, I have noticed this oil smoothing my skin tone

Directions to mix:

• Melt the cocoa butter in a double boiler.
• Mix the melted cocoa butter with the coconut oil, sweet almond oil, and jojoba oil in a medium mixing bowl and refridgerate until the mixture begins to harden.
• When the mixture is cooled and hardened, use a stand or hand mixer to whip it, scraping the sides of the bowl often, until the mixture is well combined.
• When its all fluffy, add the Frankincense in and whip again until combined. 

This makes A LOT of face cream, enough to share with a friend or store half in the fridge for use later. Also, you only need a tiny bit to moisturize your face, so this stuff should last a good long while. 

Young Living essential oils have made such a difference in my life that I have decided to become an independent distributor, mainly so I can get a discount on the oils I use, but also so my friends and family can benefit from what I'm learning. If you are interested in knowing more or have any questions whatsoever, please email me at roude@sbcglobal.net.