Making the Basic Lecithin Based Skin Creme
Traditional lecithin-based face and skin cremes are made with heat, and must be carefully mixed in order to achieve a good texture.

I prefer to bypass the whole heating process, and use this simpler method to make wonderful cremes that can be customized for many purposes.  The only things that can not be added to this recipe are butters--such as shea butter, cocoa butter, etc.  Butters require the traditional  heating method.

Preparation

Be sure that your workspace, jars,  and utensils are clean.  You will want to avoid contamination of the cremes, as this can shorten the shelf life of your products.

The Cold Creme Method

Cremes are made of 3 parts;  the water phase, the fat phase, and an emulsifier to bond them together, in this case lecithin.

• First, prepare your water phase.  The water phase can be composed of anything from straight water to hydrosol, herbal teas and extracts, anything that is water based.  
• If you are using added powders, raw herbs, essential oils, honey, etc., you may add it to the water phase and stir it well, allowing it to be absorbed into the room temperature water.
• Next add the lecithin.  If you are using powdered lecithin, add it to the water and let is steep awhile, waiting until the lecithin becomes a fully hydrated liquid, no longer grainy.  If using liquid lecithin, add it to the water and go directly to the next step.
• Stir well.
• If you are using more than one oil, blend them together.  Add the oil phase to the water phase.
• Use a small whip, an electric stirrer, or a small jar with a tight fitting lid.  Shake , whip, or stir the mixture for 5 to 10 minutes, until it holds the consistency of a creme.  
• Put the creme into a small jar--glass is best but some BPA-free plastics are fine too.  Always store the creme in the refrigerator to get the longest shelf life.  You can use essential oils to extend the shelf life as well, but know that it is always an experiment to see which oils will work in your recipe to actually extend the shelf life.  Experience is the key here.

Recipes

Here are a few good recipes that you can make at home.  Try them first to hang of it, then try making up your own unique recipes.  

Creme for Dry Skin

Water phase:  

6 teaspoons Rose hydrosol, with 1 drop Neroli EO and one drop Rose EO added

1 teaspoon lecithin 

Fat Phase:

1 teaspoon Jojoba

1 teaspoon Rose hip seed CO2 extract

Creme for Aging Skin

Water Phase:

6 teaspoons astragalus tea with 1 drop Rose EO and 1 drop Zdravets EO added

1 teaspoon lecithin 

Fat Phase:

1 teaspoon Carrot CO2 extract

1 teaspoon Rose hip seed CO2 extract

Creme for Acne and Rashes

Water Phase:

6 teaspoons Melissa hydrosol, with 1 drop Tea Tree EO, 1 drop Rosalina EO, and 1 drop Mastic EO added

1 teaspoon lecithin 

Fat Phase:

1 teaspoon Neem CO2 extract

1 teaspoon Rose hip seed CO2 extract

Creme for Oily Skin

Water Phase:

6 teaspoons Rose hydrosol, with 2 drops of Manuka EO added

1 teaspoon lecithin

Fat Phase: 

2 teaspoons Sweet Almond Oil

Creme for Spider Veins or Reddening Skin

Water Phase:

6 teaspoons lavender or melissa hydrosol, with one drop Geranium EO and one drop Lemon EO added

1 teaspoon lecithin

Fat Phase:

1 teaspoon Sweet Almond oil

1 teaspoon Argan oil

There are many possible combination, using any of your favorite botanical oils, CO2 extracts, and hydrosols.  The more you make this recipe, the more consistent your base cremes will begin to turn out.  Have fun, and enjoy the benefits of truly natural skin cremes.

A Little About Lecithin

Lecithin is a natural emulsifier, meaning that it bonds with lipophilic molecules, as well as hydrophilic molecules.  This is another way of saying that it joins together 2 opposing forces--water and oil.

It also has some major benefits for the skin.  It promotes deep penetration of fats and oils into the epidermis.  It also reduces inflammation and irritation of the skin.  It stimulates cell regeneration, improves skin texture, and smoothes wrinkles.  Being an anti-oxidant, it also protects the skin from free radical damage.

Although it can feel a bit heavy or stickily if used at too high of a percentage in your bases, lecithin absorbs very well into the skin.  It does have a unique aroma, but it is easily transformed by adding a drop or two of essential oils, which will over ride the subtle aroma nicely.

When you discover your own magical formula for skin creme, pleas writ in to the blog and let us share it with everyone!  We love to hear from you.

Aromatic Gifts for the Winter Holiday Season

Relaxing Bath Salts with a Holiday Flair

Ingredients:

• 2 cups epsom salts
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 1/4 cup sea salt or any kind of natural salt
• 30 drops of  Swiss stone pine essential oil
• 20 drops of white fir essential oil
• 10 drops of frankincense  or allspice essential oil

Instructions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a medium size bowl.
2. Store in an air-tight jar and use 1/4 cup per bath.

Inspiring Diffuser Blends

Warm up your home with the aroma of baking cookies and ginger breads.  Using therapeutic essential oils not only smells wonderful, it adds the benefit of healing properties to purify the air, relax the emotions, and relieve stress.  And a great benefit--germs, bacteria, even viruses are neutralized in your home.

Gingerbread Blend

Mix together in a 5 ml bottle:  

1 ml allspice essential oil

1 ml ginger CO2 extract

1 ml cassia bark essential oil

2 ml blood orange essential oil

Conifer Blend

Mix together in a 5 ml bottle:  

1 ml  juniper berry essential oil

1 ml balsam fir essential oil

1 ml blue spruce essential oil

2 ml Swiss stone pine essential oil

Christmas Candy Blend

Mix together in a 5 ml bottle:  

1 ml peppermint essential oil

1 ml clove essential oil

1 ml nutmeg essential oil

2 ml  green mandarin essential oil

2 drops vanilla bourbon 

Create Your Own Spa Gifts

Everyone appreciates hand made gifts!  Give the gift of relaxation and regeneration, create your own bath salts, soaps, natural perfumes, essential oil blends, body oils, cremes, and sprays.  

Simple Hydrosols come in 100 ml violet glass bottles, with optional fine sprayer tops.  They make wonderful bases for room sprays, or skin toners.

Try adding 2 drops of frankincense and 3 drops of myrrh to a 100 ml bottle of sandalwood hydrosol.

A bottle of pure rose hydrosol makes a fine gift for anyone!  It needs nothing added, and makes a rosy spray for facial skin.

Blue sage hydrosol is a smokeless smudge that brings a beautiful clearing energy into any room or space.  

Holiday Body Oil Blend

Into a 100 ml bottle, combine:

12 drops piñon pine essential oil

8 drops neroli or petitgrain sur fleurs essential oil

3 drops bergamot essential oil

Use your imagination--there are so many possible ways to  make wonderful aromatic gifts!  

With Love and Inspiration, 

Kathryn

The Fantastic Five--Five Essential Oils to Take on Your Travels

There are some oils that no aromatherapist (or Mom, or adventurer) should leave home without!  Here is my list for traveling.

• Lavender--Lavender essential oil has so many uses.  I have found that it soothes altitude sickness, helps us relax and sleep in a new environment, soothes sunburn, and is great for all of the little cuts, wounds, and owes that one can get at the beach, hiking in the woods, or anywhere.  I have even used it to ease nausea when I ate something that did not agree with me, by massaging my abdomen with lavender in a circular motion.  It has so many uses that it should never be left behind!
• Peppermint--Peppermint essential oil is useful in emergency situations.  I always use it when anyone is involved in an accident that is more than a minor scratch.  Just a drop of diluted peppermint under the tongue can bring someone back quickly if they are beginning to go into shock.  I like to take this one along in a 8% dilution with water and a few drops of stevia.  It is stimulating too, and can help us re-enegize when we feel like our internal clock wants us to sleep in the daytime...  Just a few drops orally can give us an energy boost.
• Basil, Thyme, or Oregano--Any of these three oils would be a great help if one is exposed to any type of virus or bacterial infection.  They can be placed in a capsule (not ahead of time!) and swallowed to give the immune system a real boost.  Or they can be applied to a skin infection topically.  Instead of spending much of your vacation  on the toilet or in a hotel room in misery, you could take several doses of one of these oils on the first day that you feel any symptoms, and it can be gone the next day.  
• Ginger--This is one great essential oil for abdominal issues of all kinds.  It can eliminate the worst acid reflux, indigestion, or abdominal pain (not associated with appendicitis).  Again, I like to use it in a 8% dilution, with water and stevia.  Several drops under the tongue or in a small amount of water can do the job.  It is also helpful for motion sickness, and relieves menstrual cramps in many cases.
• Ruh Juhi Attar, Ylang ylang, or Combava Pettigrain --Or any essential oil that has a stabilizing, calming, and uplifting effect for you personally.  This will become your perfume, your companion on the journey, and your friend.  It is great to have a beautiful aroma to anchor your experiences on your journey.  Aroma is processed in the same area of the brain as memory is stored, and many times aroma can evoke memories that we can not access any other way.  Choosing an oil to help you anchor these memories is fun, and can help you return to them any time that you want to, by inhaling more of your favorite aroma.  

These are my chosen set of traveling aromatics.  There are so many options for these purposes, that I am excited to learn of your choices and would love to hear your stories!

Many thanks,

Kathryn

A Possible Ebola Virus Natural Protocol

Hi friends,

Here is an article that I published over a year ago, and decided to publish again with some updated changes based on what has been discovered about this disease in the last couple of years.

Wikipedia has this to say about Ebola.  Read about it here. 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola_virus_disease

Because this disease is spreading globally, and has now shown up in the USA and UK; Saudi Arabia; China; Thailand; and the Philippines; it seems that the World Health Organization is pondering labeling it as a Global Health Threat.  

The disease is caused by the Ebola virus, and is transmitted by primates, fruit bats, porcupines, and other animals of the West African rain forests.   It can be caused by handling or eating infected animals.  Some animals, especially the fruit bat, can be carriers without having any symptoms of the disease itself.   

Ebola virus disease (EVD) is passed between humans by close contact with bodily fluids, saliva, blood, feces, sweat, semen, etc.  There has been no known case of Ebola being transmitted through air.  (That said, protection still seems to make sense, since the consequences are very high if this is not actually the case).

Once contracted, EVD is extremely high in fatalities; between 60% and 90% of people who contract the disease will currently die.  WHO regards EVD as one of the most lethal diseases known to humanity.  There is currently no medical treatment or vaccine for this disease.

Symptoms begin with sore throat, fever, and headache, similar to influenza.  As it progresses, muscle pain and severe weakness,  vomiting, diarrhea, and impaired liver and kidney function appear.  Then bleeding sets in, internal hemorrhaging and clotting as well as external bleeding. 

A rash then appears on the body, which marks the turning point for the patient, into recovery or  a final phase of hemorrhaging fever and death.

According to a Times Higher Education article, science is searching for an herbal cure, as it is needed much faster than any drug will make it through the FDA approval system.  One of the more promising herbs is Bitter kola (Garcinia kola), an African tree seed that is quite toxic if used in high doses.  It is also on the endangered species list, so acquisition of the seed  is nearly impossible.

Another herb being investigated by science is ajowan seed, an Ayurvedic herbal remedy that makes an extremely potent antiviral essential oil.  Due to the availability of this plant, and the well known anti-viral effects that it carries, I intend to include ajowan essential oil in my emergency arsenal for the treatment of EVD.  We offered ajowan essential oil for the first time in our Winter 2014 buyers club order, and plan to continue to carry it.

Homeopathy offers the following remedies for treating EVD.  Crolatus horridus (rattlesnake venom); Bothrops (Yellow viper); Lachesis (Bushmaster snake); Phosphorus; and Merc. cor.  

It is interesting to note that, according to one homeopathic website, during the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918,  80% of the people treated with allopathic drugs died.  Of the people who took homeopathic remedies, 80% survived.  To read more about this, check this link: 

http://www.lightparty.com/Health/EbolaCure.html.  

It is my humble opinion that Homeopathic treatment must be used in conjunction with supplemental and herbal support, if one wants to create the highest chances of recovery from EVD.

No essential oils or other herbal remedies have been proven to be effective against the Ebola virus.  That  said, many essential oils have a great potential to be extremely effective in the treatment of this virus.  I  have a planned protocol for this or a similar viral infection, which includes several essential oils, should the need ever arise.

After a lot of research, much meditation and dowsing, and very little  field tested information, here are the remedies and supplements that I would consider using in this hopefully unimaginable case.

• Constant 24 hour inhalation of the following essential oils, mixed together:  24 drops eucalyptus dives;  24 drops spike lavender; 24 drops holy basil; 24 drops clove; 24 drops geranium; 24 drops peppermint.  Diffuse constantly.
• 1 capsule 4 times daily taken internally, of the following oils mixed:  2 drops thymus vulgaris; 2  drops clove; 2 drops holy basil; 3 drops lemon; 2 drops oregano; 10 drops turmeric.
• 1 capsule, 2 times daily taken internally:  12 drops ajowan.
• If capsules can not be swallowed, I might try taking the drops mixed with a spoon of honey/water.  Even a smaller number of drops of essential oil would be better than none.
• Vitamin C—1000 mg.  or more, every 2 hours.  Massive doses may have a limiting effect on the virus.  
• Selenium—the most absorbable kind is called selenium yeast; Ebola may be selenium dependent and quickly robs the body of selenium, making it vulnerable to hemorrhaging and immune system break-down.
• Glutathione--helps circulate Vitamin C and boost the immune system.
• Grapefruit seed extract—1 teaspoon, combined with wormwood and echinacea (100mg each).  2 capsules of this mix,  twice daily. 
• Homeopathic dosage of Lachesis or Crolatus horridus twice daily, according to directions on the remedy.
• Massage oil for chest, liver, and kidney areas:  Eucalyptus globulus; everlasting; cassia bark; spike lavender; geranium; marjoram; juniper; oregano; ajowan.  
• Lots of water; some water with tiny amounts of salt and honey to balance electrolytes and counter dehydration; soothing herbal teas, such as nettles with ginger; peppermint; chamomile; or star anise. Yarrow and shepherd’s purse teas can help relieve internal bleeding.  
• 1 tablespoon of yogurt or kefir—plain with live cultures (NOT Yoplait or Danon brands or those with gelatin or added sugar), taken 3 to 5 times daily.
• Nano-silver or another good brand of colloidal silver, taken in water, 1/2 teaspoon, 6 times daily.  This is one supplement that seems to be an essential part of the recovery potential for EVD.
• Bio-active frequency generators such as the GB-4000 offer an amazing support for healing any type of viral, bacterial, or parasitic attack on the human body.  I would include daily treatments with a Rife machine or other reliable bioactive frequency generator.

I would suggest that you, as a health care professional OR a concerned citizen who wants to be responsible for your own health, should research what is currently known about this disease.  In time, it is possible that it will make its way around the world.  Much more knowledge will be gained about treating it over the next year.  Preparedness is an important piece of healing, even if you feel it is unlikely that you will ever have to deal with this disease. 

And the greatest measure that we can take as human beings against ANY disease, is making the choice to live a healthy lifestyle--eat whole foods, get proper exercise, and plenty of sleep on a daily basis.  Keeping ourselves healthy by making health a top priority goes a long way toward sustaining our body's ability to fight off and recover from viruses and infection of any kind.

It is my deepest desire that I never need to use this information, yet just by having it I feel a bit more prepared and at ease, and able to transmute any fear that comes up for me around this disease.  Knowing that there is something that we CAN do for any situation, takes us out of that powerless place that feeds disease in the first place.   

My hope is that you will also feel better by creating a plan of action and having it in place for the worst case scenario.  This protocol could be slightly altered for use with most extreme viruses or communicable diseases, as most of the essential oils suggested are effective against a wide range of bacteria as well as viral attacks.

Truly we have been given a beautiful gift, seeing with our own eyes the evolution of human consciousness in our own lifetimes.  This evolution includes healing the darkest diseases imaginable, way beyond what humanity has experienced in the past.  I always attempt to remember that we are not doing this alone!  We have great help and assistance from the spirit world, the other dimensions, and our own Divine Source; and many tools are provided for us to overcome all dis-ease and imbalance—including foods, minerals, plants, and animals that are here to help us during this time.  

In Gratitude,

Kathryn