Diffuser Jewelry

Diffuser jewelry is a great way to enjoy essential oils in a safe way.  Simply add a drop or two of an essential oil or blend to the felt pad, close the locket, and wear.  If you want to utilize cinnamon bark when you are out shopping (for its anti-viral effects), yet, due to its high potential for sensitization on the skin, diffusion is the best application method.

Plant Therapy is running a one-day only sale on diffuser necklaces (affiliate link) today.  These make great gifts and are a wonderful tool to have on hand for using and enjoying aromatherapy.  Using the coupon code DAY18, you will receive 50% off any diffuser jewelry order!

Olive leaf cold care

When a cold comes through the house, there are plenty of options!  This particular cold featured a sore throat, due to post nasal drip.  However, with a history of strep throat, prevention is called for!  Olive leaf is a traditional antimicrobial herb.  This remedy is a make-as-needed item that only takes an hour to be ready for use.

1 - In a clean pint jar, add 1/2c. (By volume) dried organic olive leaves 

2 - Add 1Tblsp. Cough & Sore throat honey

3 - Fill the jar with boiling water & cap tightly

4 - When the decoction has cooled to approximately room temperature, use 2Tblsp. Of the decoction in a glass of water.  3-5 glasses per day is appropriate throughout the duration of the cold.

References:

http://cms.herbalgram.org/herbclip/347/review45194.html

Sore throat & Cough Honey

NOTE:  This is for healthy adult use only!!!  This recipe is inappropriate for children under age 13.

Honeys are a great way to incorporate herbal remedies and aromatic medicine into the home medicine chest.  This aromatic honey can be prepared and stored for a long period of time (1-2 years) and used when needed to soothe a cough or sore throat.  Honey has traditionally been used on its own for these purposes.

Honey is often labeled by the type of plant the bees feed on.  Clover honey bees feed on clover flowers. Buckwheat honey bees feed on buckwheat.  Eucalyptus honey bees feed from eucalyptus trees.  For this application, I chose eucalyptus honey as my base.

High quality essential oils distilled or expressed from organic plant matter are needed for this project as it will be ingested.  The three essential oils chosen for this honey are traditionally used for sore throat and cough application and are often found in OTC cough lozenges.

Sore Throat & Cough Honey

16 oz. Eucalyptus honey

20 drops Eucalyptus radiata essential oil

15 drops Lemon (Citrus limon) essential oil

15 drops Ginger (Zingaber officinale) essential oil

Mix the ingredients very thoroughly.

To use, add 1 tsp. of the Sore Throat & Cough Honey to a 12 oz. cup of warm water or tea and stir well.  Inhale the steam as it cools and drink warm. Alternatively, spread 1 tsp. of the aromatic honey on a piece of toast or biscuit, just note that eucalyptus does give the honey a traditional cough drop flavor.  Up to three teaspoons (divided) of honey per day is appropriate during a sore throat or cough for an otherwise healthy adult.


This honey has a < 0.5% total essential oil content and strong eucalyptus scent and flavor.

NOTE:  This is for healthy adult use only!!!  This recipe is inappropriate for children under age 13.


References:
Lai, Yinyan; Dilidaer, D.; Chen, Bei; Xu, Geng; Shi, Jianbo; Lee, Robert J.; Cohen, Noam A. In vitro studies of a distillate of rectified essential oils on sinonasal components of mucociliary clearance American Journal of Rhinology & Allergy, Volume 28, Number 3, May/June 2014, pp. 244-248(5)

Paul IM, Beiler J, McMonagle A, Shaffer ML, Duda L, Berlin CM, Jr. Effect of Honey, Dextromethorphan, and No Treatment on Nocturnal Cough and Sleep Quality for Coughing Children and Their Parents. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007;161(12):1140-1146. doi:10.1001/archpedi.161.12.1140.

Body butter

Body butter is a fairly simple product to make at home.  It does take time however.  For this recipe, you will need 4oz. Shea butter, 2oz. Coconut oil, and 1oz. Coffee infused almond oil, plus 10 drops of coffee essential oil (optional).  Note that this is a very soft body butter, it melts on contact.  For a harder product, use cocoa butter in place of part or all of the Shea butter.

Step 1. Weigh Shea butter & coconut oil and place in heat proof glass bowl

Step 2. Melt the butter and oil in the oven at 250deg

Step 3. Allow the butter and oil to cool until it becomes opaque.  This can be done in the freezer for a few minutes or on a frozen rice pack as shown below.

Step 4. When it is starting to turn opaque, add the coffee infused almond oil and whip

Step 5. Keep whipping, if you need to put it back in the freezer for a few minutes, do so.

Step 6. Once the body butter starts to look like a whipped frosting, add the essential oil

Step 7. Once it is forming stiff peaks, it is ready to package.

Step 8. Package in a sterilized jar.  Close tightly and label.  Use within 6 months.

Inhalers

Aromatherapy inhalers are a great way to use aromatherapy in crowded places or around children while reducing the exposure to those around you and intensifying the experience for yourself.

While room diffusers are wonderful and are very useful to set the mood or combat an illness which is making its rounds through the family, the inhaler is personal.  It can be filled with essential oils for a particular individual for a particular need.

In our family, we use a blend of ginger and fennel EO in a personal inhaler to combat motion sickness.  Similarly, for an upcoming international trip, I am formulating inhaler blends to use during flight to assist with jet-lag and travel anxiety.

To use a personal inhaler, simply add the desired essential oils to the wick, insert the wick into the inhaler and close the inhaler.  When using, remove the cap, inhale deeply through the nose for a few minutes, then cap and store the inhaler.  They are small, portable, and personal.  Make sure you label your blends as well, and given the proximity to the nose and mouth, it is wise to label each inhaler with the initials of the individual using it.

Soap - Rosemary & French Clay

Strictly speaking, soapmaking is not a therapuetic modality such as herbalism or aromatherapy, however, skin care and hygeine products do contribute to the environmental stress load our bodies must deal with each day.  Careful selection of products such as lotions, toothpaste, deodorants, soaps and more can contribute to healthy lifestyle.  To that end, choosing a soap which is either fragrance free (unscented does not always mean fragrance free!) or uses organic natural fragrances and colors is one way to lessen the environmental exposure to harsh chemicals which our bodies must deal with every day.

This soap is made with organic fixed oils and butters, distilled water, organic rosemary infused distilled water, and lye (no lye, no soap!). The color is obtained by the addition of French green clay at trace.  Organic rosemary ct.verbanone essential oil is also added at trace to add a lovely rosemary scent to the finished bar.  Additional dried rosemary leaves are added between the plain and clay layers as well as sprinkles on top for appearance.

Rosemary is often used in skin and hair care products to stimulate hair growth and to ease itchy dry skin.  French green clay is frequently found in high-end spa treatments such as body wraps and masks, it is reputed to assist the body in the removal of impurities from the skin and is used as a polishing agent.  This soap is super-fatted to provide additional moisurizing qualities as all soap is drying to a degree and should be followed with a quality lotion or body butter.

This soap will be cured and ready for use in four to six weeks.  Rosemary & French Clay soap is sure to be lovely addition to the natural hygeine regimen.

Herbal preparation - A Slow Adventure

Today, I am processing more Holy Basil (tulsi) from my CSA farmer at Endless Bounty.  The first thing to notice is the rich, sweet aroma of the fresh herb.  It is instantly relaxing due to the high percentage of naturally occuring essential oil in the plant matter.  

My plan for this batch is to use some of it fresh for more iced tea, and to dehydrate the rest.  Some of the dehydrated herb will be tinctured later as Holy Basil is an adaptogen and useful in the home wellness chest.

The first step for all of these uses is to thoroughly wash the plant matter.  I wash it three times in my large salad spinner, then spin out out until it is fairly dry.

(After wash, before spun)

Next, I load the plants into my dehydrator, reserving a portion for fresh use.

Lastly, the dried herb is stored in a glass canning jar and labeled with the common name, botanical name, source, and date to be stored in my herb pantry.  The yeild from this batch was a little less than a pint of dried herb.