Lavender seems to have found it’s way into a lot of my conversations this week. From headaches to burns to sleep aids, I’ve found myself sharing why lavender essential oil should be a staple in everyone’s household. Jamie gave a Five Uses For post on Lavender last month. I want to follow it up with a few recipes and practical applications for life and love.
Here’s a practical application – I burned my thumb earlier in the month. In the kitchen, whipping up dinner and I lifted the lid off of a pot and the steam that rose scaled my knuckle. If you’ve ever damaged the skin across a knuckle or knew you know that is a hard area to have heal without scarring because it’s always bending and flexing and doesn’t get a chance to properly heal(hence why we all have various scars on our knees from our childhood years). Well, when I initially burned it, I immediately rubbed a couple drops of lavender essential oil directly on it for two reasons: one – it hurt terribly and lavender is an excellent pain reliever for bites and burns; two – because lavender also promotes healthy skin growth and I did not want an ugly scar on my hand. Over the next two weeks, it darkened, hardened then finally peeled. The new skin that finally resulted appears completely normal. To look at my hand, you would never know I’d burned it.
I offer you a recipe for a spa at home experience - Blend the following ingredients in a resealable container for a simple, relaxing, skin softening bath experience
1 cup dead sea salts
1/3 cup lavender buds
1/3 cup of powdered milk
Sprinkle into bath tub as desired. Lounge in the tub with your favorite book, glass of wine, candle or any combination for a luxurious experience. Be sure to incorporate your favorite lavender scented bath products.
Keep this all purpose Lavender infused oil handy
1 oz jojoba/olive/sweet almond oil
20 drops lavender essential oil
Mix and store in a plastic bottle with a dropper or nozzle top. Keep this oil blend on hand to apply directly to your skin when you need to unwind and a bath or diffuser simply isn’t available to enjoy the scent from. Perfect for relaxing before bedtime, calming from a stressful work situation, or managing a migrane. Can also be applied to scalp to help treat hair loss and promote hair growth.
Can you see yourself in any of these experiences? Have you used lavender for any other real life solutions?
The art of pampering and relaxation goes beyond the physical. A total and complete sense of peace requires pampering the inside as much as it does the the outside. I asked a good friend, Candice Selby, to share a message with everyone about makign time for yourself in order for us all to work on maintaining our mental and emotional well being as much as we focus on our physical well being. Candice’s goal, like my own, is to encourage women to live life to it’s fullest potential and “nurture their bodies and minds by going back to the basics.”
It’s been a whirlwind two weeks for me. My hubby’s birthday, our wedding, my birthday, and Valentine’s Day all in a 2 week span. And I’m keeping the celebration rolling right into this week over at Mommy Market blog where mainelement: love is participating in the Etsyt blog party.
Please come by throughout the week and check out all the mom owned businesses (including yours truly) and register to win some fabulous prizes. We’ll be giving away two bath bombs in Seductive through the party so be sure you register with us so we can pamper you with Love!
Bergamot is another one of the extremely versatile essential oils we’ve been talking about off and on. Bergamot has a spicy floral/fruity fragrance. It has been in use for centuries and can serve many purposes around the home. In Love tradition, here are 5:
Skin Care – Bergamot is a natural antiseptic and antifungal, making it useful for people with acne, athete’s foot, eczema and fungal skin infections. A good recipe is one part bergamot to 5 parts aloe vera gel. If this solution is at all irritating, add more aloe vera. You could also try a couple of drops in your homeade sugar scrub
For muscles – Try adding bergamot to lotions and massage oil to relieve the inflammation of tense muscles. Add the drops one or two at a time and test the solution to make sure it isn’t irritating to your skin.
Aromatherapy – Bergamot is very uplifting and useful in relieving stress, depression and anxiety. It is even useful in increasing appetite. A few drops can be added to a diffuser, or you can get a candle or incense with bergamot in them.
Perfume – The fragrance of bergamot mixes well with other fragrances including, lavender, mint, veviter, sandalwood and frankincense, making it ideal for perfumes.
In the bath – this is my favorite, by adding bergamot to a bath oil, you can enjoy ALL the benefits of it. Smell lovely, ease tension and help your skin all at the same time doing it this way.
Cautions
There are a couple of cautions to keep in mind while using this essential oil. First, as mentioned above, is to not use too much of it, because it can irritate the skin. Always make sure it is dilluted. Also, those who are pregnant or nursing should not use it. Don’t use bergamot internally without the consent of a doctor.
Bergamot is essential to any well stocked aromatherapy cupboard. Between it’s beautiful fragrance and therapeutic properties it is any “aromatherapist’s” dream. Bergamot can be purchased through just about any quality aromatherapy shop. Add it to your arsenal, I sure did
As almost all of you know, our very gracious and beautiful Tyrika is now a married woman. I have been reflecting on this over the weekend and am beyond ecstatic for her, her husband and their families.
Tyrika, you are genuinely beautiful and full of love, so it makes absolute sense that your life would follow suit. I wish nothing but all the best blessings for you and your family at this incredibly special time!
I thought it only fitting, under the circumstances and for Valentine’s day, to give everyone some uses for aromatherapy to encourage a loving mood The essential oils most commonly used for romance are:
Rose
Jasmine
Neroli
Clary Sage
Cypress
Sandalwood
Cedarwood
Ylang Ylang
Clove
Black Pepper
Veviter
As usual, there are plenty of ways to utilize these essential oils. Incense, diffusers, bath oil and in lotions are always great. To increase desire, candles and a massage oil would be ideal…
Mainelement:Love fragrances that would be great to rub on before a date would be; Strawberries and Champagne, Wedded Bliss, and Blue Rose for the ladies, and Insatiable and Seductive for the gentlemen. Most of these fragrances come in le’amour body butter, body wash AND body oil. They are truly fabulous and made with the utmost care.
You could also try the skin care recipes Tyrika has posted, to make sure your significant other finds your skin inviting and touchable.
Now that you have your Valentine’s day aromatherapy arsenal stocked and your skin will be silky-smooth, you are ready to celebrate in style…
Tyrika, we love you and await your return! Congratulations, lady!
