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?
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
Ok, we’re T minus 2 weeks guys. Nervous? No. Excited? Very! I have to give the nightly lavender vanilla partial credit for that. The pre wedding regimen has been absolutely helpful.
My skin is still holding up well, I’m determined to keep away any last minute blemishes. I’ll still be keeping the same morning ritual, and will be adding the Oil of Olay Deep Cleansing clay mask to it 2 evenings a week over the next two weeks. This will replace the need to go get a facial at the spa. Exfoliate, replenish, renew, and clean the pores…under control at home.
I didn’t get my eyebrows waxed as intended and my makeup artist silently gave me a piece of her mind about the two bushes I have growing up there right now (which is why I didn’t do a video blog for this post as I originally intended to; I can’t let ya’ll see me like this!) She very politely informed me that in the future it’s not necessary to let your eyebrows grow completely out to correct what some happy go lucky “brow artist” messed up. There’s your beauty tip for the day ladies.
My hair is soft and growing and forcing me to rework my bedtime ritual with it. We had a detangling battle this morning due to my lack of combing it for a week, instead of my normal every 2 – 3 days. We’ve come to a mutual agreement and I don’t expect we’ll have any more problems. I’ll comb it as promised, put a few loose braids in it at night and cover it with a bonnet and I expect we’ll both be happy from here on out. I’ll be doing a trial run on the planned wedding hairstyle this evening, just to be sure, what I have envisioned will work in real life. This gives me plenty of time to rework as needed. I’ll deep condition it this weekend, and next weekend in preparation for my color touch up.
Lastly I went to the nail salon to get a manicure and pedicure today to do a trial run of the colors I’ll wear on the big day. Sadly, I can’t get a manicure without the nail tech cutting my cuticles too deep resulting in an ugly scab. Not very attractive for pictures. This way I won’t have any color mishaps, or nicks and cuts on my cuticles the day of. My nights from here until the night before will include thick, cotton socks and a healthy dose of body butter on my feet to keep them soft.
That’s my latest update on Operation: Get Me Down the Aisle. I’ll let you know how things are going the week before the big day. I’ll be checking out everyone’s entries to the Spa at Home Ritual contest in the meantime and if you have any at home spa/beauty suggestions you think I should try out between now and then, leave a comment and let me know.
We’re always excited about sharing the latest info, news and tips on natural spa products and techniques to our readers. We’re even more excited about the wonderful feedback from our readers…so excited that we’re sponsoring a contest for our blog readers to post their favorite “at home” spa ritual and experience, to win a mainelement: love spa basket worth over $100.
The contest will run from January 20th to February 12th, 2010, with the winner being announced on February 19th.
Here’s all you need to know and enter:
Subscribe to our blog via RSS or email (see the right side bar)
Email your favorite “at home” spa ritual including the products and/or ingredients you use and the steps to make them, and the cost to create this contest to tyrika@mainelementlove.com using “Spa at home ritual” in your subject header
Include the natural health benefits of your spa experience and how it relaxes and calms you
At the end of the contest period, the staff of mainelement: love will read and select the post with the best “at home” spa experience and ritual using natural products and/or ingredients that are most cost effective
The winner of the contest will receive a mainelement:love spa basket(filled with the entire le’amour body line in Rise and Shine or Lavender Vanilla, a journal, box of chamomile tea, ceramic mug, and spa socks), and their ritual will be featured on the Love: Blog
The fine print:
Blog followers may only post one spa experience story during the contest period
All spa experiences must be authentic and solely created from contestant and not a copyright of any magazine, book, published author or day and salon establishment
Products and/or ingredients must be natural
Contestants must include their first and last name and valid email with blog entry to tyrika@mainelementlove.com this info will not be used for any third party marketing, but winner contact purposes only
Blueberries are one powerful little fruit. Their pigment provides some of the highest concentration of anti-oxidants of all the other fruits and vegetables. From cancer and heart disease, to vision and memory, blueberries pack a punch that fights many of your body’s battles.
From a skin outlook, those little blueberries power shouldn’t be underestimated either. Their high concentration of anti-oxidants makes them anti-aging fighting machines. Additionally, the ultra high anti-oxidant properties of blueberries help minimize flushing and redness. For those who suffer from severe acne and rosacea, this is an extreme helpful fruit to keep handy. Blueberries serve this purpose from the inside out. Meaning you can tastily snack on them as a treat and you can crush them and apply them directly to your skin to reap the benefits.
Blueberry and oatmeal paste recipe – safe for use morning or night, once or twice a week to help combat redness
You’ll need:
Half cup of plain oatmeal
¼ ounce olive (or jojoba, or sweet almond) oil
10 – 15 blueberries
Instructions:
Grind oatmeal finely
Mash blueberries into a paste
Combine oatmeal, blueberry paste, and oil into a bowl
Apply to face and allow it to sit 10 – 15 minutes
Rinse face and apply normal moisturizer
As you can see, from the inside out, blueberries should have a permanent spot on your grocery list and a regular home in your bathroom cabinet. What’s your favorite blueberry recipe? Leave a comment and share it with us.
