Josie the dog and German Chamomile

Posted on November 6, 2012 by suzannerbanks

Josie the beautiful dog

This is Josie. She is my friend’s dog and though she has visited me before she recently had her first sleep over by herself. As you can see she has very short hair and pink skin. She gets quite itchy and tends to bite and scratch a bit. Josie just couldn’t settle down when we got home and was bitey-bitey, scratchy-scratchy for quite a while. I thought it was nerves then realized she needed some help.

I had just used German Chamomile (among others) for a client and it jumped into my mind. This chamomile is blue in colour due to the ingredient called chamazulene. It’s a kind of bluey-green.

German chamomile looks a bit like this

As it is one of the more expensive oils it tends to be sold in a 3% jojoba blend like Rose, Jasmine, Roman Chamomile, Neroli. This means it is already diluted and ready to use.

I got the bottle, put 3 drops in my hand, and gently patted her skin and touched her paws. I didn’t even smooth it on – just lightly touched her – especially around her belly where her skin is exposed. She got on her mat, I completely covered her with a light blanket and IMMEDIATELY she chilled out, and didn’t move for a couple of hours.

Two things happened here with the oil. The presence of the oil on her skin helped cool and calm the irritation, and the scent went to work on her emotions, via her brain. We all know dogs and most animals have a very keen sense of smell, because they use it for information about their environment. It’s the action of the oil through her nose that was the most powerful. A few diluted drops was all she needed to give her a calming therapeutic treatment. It is really important not to use essential oils on pets if you are unsure, or if you don’t have the proper understanding of how they work and how sensitive animals are to odours.

Take note:

Be careful not to use pure oils on the skin of animals – a drop or two diluted might be fine, but always act with caution and intuition. Just because lavender works well on your skin doesn’t mean it will work for your cat, dog or guinea pig.

Animals will respond well to the scent of an oil, so the best way to treat will be to vapourise oils in the room they are in. You can also make a mist and mist around them, and on their beds. If you treat yourself, your pet will benefit too.

The smaller the animal the more sensitive they will be to any oil or chemical. One drop rubbed well into your own hands may be enough to soothe an animal when you pick them up.

Always check with a VET first if you are unsure, or don’t use any essential oils directly on them at all.

Treat yourself first and everyone will benefit – your partner, your kids and your pets.

It’s Easy to Make Your Own Body Scrub

Posted on November 5, 2012 by suzannerbanks

Sneakily borrowed from iodizedsalt.india.com

It IS easy. I recommend using sea salt as a base and adding ingredients to that. Use fine grade as the coarse grade will scratch your skin.

If you are a lover of essential oils then try adding about 5 drops (or a few more) of the oils you choose, into 2 cups of salt and slosh in some oil to make a gooey, grainy paste. It can be olive oil, almond oil, coconut oil, sesame oil or anything you have in the cupboard. You could even try coconut milk or coconut cream to take you away on an island holiday in your mind.

Essential Oil Suggestions

Lemon – fresh wonderful scent, alpha hydroxyl acids to help get rid of dead skin

Orange – sweet and gorgeous and also has alpha hydroxyl acids to help get rid of dead skin

Lemongrass – invigorating

Lavender – an all purpose oil which helps skin regeneration and is fortify to the spirit

Peru balsam – great for the skin and has an amazing soft honey-like scent, similar benzoin in it’s healing ability

You can use any oil really so go with your intuition and your vibe. You will be giving yourself a skin scrub and an aromatherapy treatment to nurture your emotions and ease toxic thoughts.

The best way to do your body scrub is in a bath. After a 5 minute soak, stand up in the bath and scrub each part of your body with care. You are not trying to scrub oil off a baking pan so take it easy. The salt is the medium that will ease off old skin so don’t press too hard. After you have completed your ritual you can then soak in the treatment until your heart’s content – or until you get all pruney. If you only have a shower like me, wet yourself first, do the scrub, then shower off.

Get Creative

Cinnamon

This is the fun part. There are so many things you probably have in the house that could turn your salt scrub into a tropical delight. Try:

A teaspoon of vanilla extract

A few tablespoons of almond meal will make the scrub a little milky and leave your skin feeling soft

Grated lemon rind – or the rind of any citrus fruit will really make your scrub zesty, natural and alive with energy.

A tablespoon of coffee – some claim it helps get rid of cellulite and while I’m not sure about that, it will stimulate your skin and your senses

Herbal tea – either grind up a loose leaf tea or rip open a teabag and use the contents

Go on give it a whirl at Spa You. You don’t have to travel very far and it wont cost a fortune. Good luck my friends, scrub on.

“Aunty, Something is Biting My Legs” – 10 Things NOT To Do When Using Essential Oils

Posted on November 2, 2012 by suzannerbanks

Yes essential oils are natural so that’s a good thing, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use caution when using them. If you haven’t had much practice follow these guidelines to help you gain a better understanding of what NOT to do.

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peppermint candy canes use real peppermint oil – which is mixed into a food safe flavouring

1. Don’t drink them

Many essential oils smell so beautiful and can sometimes taste great too, like peppermint oil & lemon oil, but please don’t drink them because you could suffer hideous consequences. If you do find a food recipe that uses essential oils – just use your intuition and add a little caution. Some companies like DO Terra advise putting a couple of drops into water and drinking it – but please don’t! Oil and water don’t mix and it could burn your oesophagus on the way down.

2. Don’t over expose yourself

Too much sniffing or smelling a particular oil could cause a headache. I have suffered from a few bad headaches because I’ve overdosed when making aromatherapy products. Take it easy and use your intuition about what is the best for you. It is however, an easy way to get a change of focus, open the bottle of oil and take a whiff.

3. Don’t put neat essential oils all over your body

A few drops of oil as a perfume, or energetic anointing of the chakras and meridians is fine for some people but not for others – depending on how sensitive you are. However don’t cover your body in the pure stuff as your skin will burn. The oils need to be diluted in a carrier oil first.

It’s all in the eyes!

4. Don’t get them in your eyes

Sounds dumb but it’s easy to do. You mix a blend, get some on your fingers, then touch your eye……. I’ve seen people recommending that you put a few drops of lavender into your mascara! DON”T.

5. Don’t get them in your nether regions

I don’t think I need to explain this one.

Be careful when adding essential oils to your bath

6. Don’t put too much in a bath – especially for kids

Essential oils need to be mixed into an emulsifying agent to be able to mixed with water. Everyday things like milk, salt and vodka work to a certain extent but aren’t great. You can buy an emulsifier from the chemist if you like but why not use coconut cream? When oils are added to hot water they can really affect the skin, and kids will often say something is hurting them. My nephew once said “Aunty, something is biting my legs”. The only way to soothe the sting is to get them out of the bath, smooth a carrier oil (almond, olive, sunflower or anything in the cupboard) all over them to dilute the essential oils on the skin, and the burn will subside.

So when it comes to kids and babies DON”T add oils to the bath.

Morris the King 1994 – 2011

7. Don’t use oils directly on a pet’s skin

Essential oils are fantastic to use with pets but not directly on their skin. You could vapourise oils in the room to calm them down, make a mist with water and gently mist around your pet, or around their space, or on their bed. A little goes a long way.

8. Don’t try and cure anything

The best way to use oils is to support you in everyday life. While essential oils can do wonderful things like ease sore muscles, help with headaches, increase wound healing and nourish your skin, try to avoid assuming they will cure a disease or disorder. For example, many oils are wonderful for relieving stress and tension and helping with depression, but they wont “cure” a diagnosed condition. Do you get the difference?

Keep out of reach from children

9. Don’t let little kids get a hold of them

See #1 – Don’t drink them!

See#4 – Don’t get them in your eyes

sweet love

10. Don’t use essential oils with condoms

Making a sexy gorgeous blend for a romantic evening is fabulous. Using them all over the body is divine. But don’t use essential oils in a blend as lube for condoms, as they’re too strong and can easily destroy the material – latex, polyurethane, and others. And you could both end up with an irritation – see #5.

Be cautious and use your intuition and intention. See my article about intention.