Month: May 2013

Sometimes the simplist and best things can be forgotton. Using Essential Oils around your home is easy, so remember to always have some at hand. I’ve collated a top ten list of best essential oils to have at home:

• Lavender is bar for the most popular, versatile and widely used of all essential oils. Many of Lavenders’ properties are due to its prime actions of balancing and normalising body functions and emotions.
• Tea Tree is the most medicinal of the essential oils, with powerful anti-microbial activity against all three of the infectious organisms: bacteria, viruses and fungi.
• Peppermint is one of the best essential oils for all types of digestive upsets, psychologically it is bold and promotes clarity and alertness.
• Lemon is useful in many ways apart from its refreshing scent it is purifying and cleansing too.
• Eucalyptus oil is probably the most familiar essential oil used as a decongestant to relieve colds, flu and other respiratory ailments. It clears the head and is an excellent insect repellent. Overall, it is stimulating, refreshing and clearing.
• Rosemary is one of the strongest cephalic essential oils which has the ability to both clear and stimulate the mind simultaneously. It is excellent in massage, is a powerful antiseptic and is stimulating, purifying and protecting.
• Chamomile is a powerful anti-inflammatory, the gentle action calms, heals and soothes skin conditions, it is soothing, calming and balancing.
• Frankincense is the most valuable oil for slowing and deepening the breathing, helping to allay fear, anxiety, nervous tension and stress. It is one of the best oils in skin care as it helps to rejuvenate skin tone and prevent wrinkles. It counteracts respiratory problems and is useful for treating colds, bonchitis, asthma, coughs and sore throats. Psychologically, frankincense is a valuable aid to meditation and prayer by generally stilling the mind. It is deeply calming, revitalising and uplifting.
• Geranium is the great balancer of essential oils, its one of the most useful to detoxify the lymphatic system, it helps heals wounds quickly, makes a good deodorant and is generally balancing, uplifting and refreshing.
• Rose has often been described as the ‘queen of flowers’. Rose comforts the heart in grief and helps the bereaved, it is a tonic of the physical heart and also lifts the spirits, allays anxiety and is generally nurturing. Rose is the first choice in treating many of the female reproductive problems, it has valuable skin care properties. Psychologically it alleviates sorrow, sadness and disappointment gently supporting you until the mood shifts.

 

With all the new age bicarb and vinegar movement going on I would be surprised to hear that anyone is still cleaning their bathrooms with chemical cleaning products. I am not sure how you feel about the words Poison, Caution, Danger or Warning, but somewhere in my mind a red light starts flashing and says alert, beware and then I start thinking maybe there is a better solution. Yes, totally, there is a better solution and that is Bicarbonate Soda and White Vinegar. These two products combined makes a fantastic fizzy cleaning solution!!

I use my bicarb in a container with a shaker lid and put my vinegar into a spray bottle. Just sprinkle the bicarb over the counter top then spray the vinegar on, and watch all that fizzing action going on (that is cleaning your counter top for you). Get a clean damp cloth and wipe over. Then put a couple of drops of Lemon, Orange, Lavender, Tea Tree or Lemongrass Essential Oil onto a clean warm damp cloth or Paper Towel and wipe over the counter top for a refreshing and bacteria free clean top!!

For stubborn stains you may need to make a paste with bicarb and castille liquid soap, use just enough soap to make a paste. Add a drop or two of Tea Tree or Lavender Essential Oils and gently rub into stubborn stains.

For your toilet, put half a cup each of bicarb and vinegar directly into your toilet with a couple of drops of Essential Oils and scrub away with your cleaning brush. For stubborn stains you may want to leave half a cup of vinegar in the toilet bowl for a good half an hour or so before adding the bicarb.

The great thing about cleaning your bathroom using these products is that you are NOT using any harmful chemicals in your bathroom, you are not breathing in any harmful chemicals whilst cleaning and you can be sure that your children will be spared from these harmful chemicals too. The other great reason to choose this way of cleaning, is you’ll find it is a cheaper way to clean, a Win/Win situation!!

Some Essential Oils that have anti-bacterial properties include: Cinnamon, Clove, Eucaulyptus, Oregano, Lavender, Lemon, Lemon Myrtle, Niaouli, Peppermint, Sandalwood, Tea Tree and Thyme.

Want a nice smelling clean carpet?? Freshen it up and Deodorise it at the same time by adding one drop of Lavender, Bergamot, Lemon or Grapefruit Essential Oil to one tablespoon of either Kaolin Clay, Borax or Talc. Mix thoroughly then sprinkle onto carpet, wait 10 minutes, then Vacuum. Easy!!

Have you ever thought of using aromatherapy on your pets?? If your answer is NO, well then its time to have a rethink of some of the natural remedies you might be able to use on your pet. Although not all pets are able to benefit from the use of Essential Oils, Dogs and in particular Horses are great candidates for aromatherapy. Cats and Birds are very sensitive to Essential Oils, you should never diffuse Essential Oils around Birds as that can damage their respiratory system and be deadly. Cats’ skin is very sensitive and it takes a long time for cats’ livers to process Essential Oils and that can lead to permanent Liver damage. It is always a good idea to consult with your veterinarian before you start using Essential Oils on your pets.

Some of the best remedies for pets are for cleaning of wounds, arthritis, to improve circulation, aiding digestion and as an insect repellent against fleas and flies. You should always dilute the Essential Oils before using them on your pets in either a base oil, water diffuser, or pultice.

To clean a wound put 20 to 30 drops each of Lavender Essential Oil and Niaouli Essential oil into 2 cups of water. You can also add 100 drops of Calendula Healing Oil as it also has excellent healing qualities. You can also make a poultice with Green Clay by adding a few drops of water (or base oil) to make a paste then adding a couple of drops of Lavender and Niaouli Essential Oils, leave on the wound for around 20 minutes.

Essential Oils that can be used for arthritis include: juniper, cypress, lemon and fennel (to detoxify the body and reduce swelling); chamomile, lavender and rosemary (painkillers); ginger, black pepper, marjoram (to encourage circulation); white camphor, white birch (anti-inflammatory) (Be very cautious with these oils). Add a few drops of these oils with a carrier oil, like cold pressed olive oil and flaxseed oil and massage into affected area twice daily. You can also add any of these oils to a poultice as mentioned above.

Some of the best Essential Oils to use for repelling fleas are Citronella, Garlic and Cedarwood others include Cajeput, Lavender, Niaouli, Tea Tree, Patchouli, Peppermint and Eucalyptus. A special mention to Neem oil as it is highly efficient in keeping insects away. Neem oil promotes a shiny, healthy coat in animals, a strong immune system and healthy skin. And lucky for us, it is a wonderful organic product that can easily and safely be made into a natural flea and tick control mixture for pets. It’s safe for humans too – and it works, incredibly well on dogs, for flea and tick control. Add a few drops of undiluted oil on to the dogs collar or in the dogs shampoo whilst having a bath.

For digestive complaints Tarragon, Peppermint and Cinnamon (bark or leaf) Essential Oils can be put into their food. Add only one drop as essential oils are highly concentrated. Cinnamon is a skin irritant so be careful to avoid contact with the skin on animals.

“Living is about capturing the essence of things. I go through my life every day with a vial, a vial wherein can be found precious essential oils of every kind! The priceless, fragrant oils that are the essence of my experiences, my thoughts. I walk inside a different realm from everybody else, in that I am existing in the essence of things; every time there is reason to smile, I hold out my glass vial and capture that drop of oil, that essence, and then I smile. And that is why I have smiled, and so you and I may be smiling at the same time but I am smiling because of that one drop of cherished, treasured oil that I have extracted. When I write, I find no need to memorize an idea, a plot, a sequence of things: no. I must only capture the essence of a feeling or a thought and once I have inhaled that aroma, I know that I have what I need.”
― C. JoyBell C.

Floral waters are often used as an ingredient in a facial toner or tonic, but can be used straight on their own for a quick pick me up. They come in numerous scents being Chamomile, Geranium, Lavender, Neroli and Rose Floral Water. We, at Range Products, make our Floral Waters from Essential Oils. We also carry Sandalwood Hydrosol, which is made from steam-distilling plant materials.

Floral waters have many uses and can be used directly onto the skin with an atomiser for Bites and stings, for skin that is itching, or even on conditions such as eczema, rashes and psoriasis. For Cooling the skin, it is a perfect summer treat, spritz onto the face when you’re hot and bothered or after a long day in the office! Apply floral water to your face after cleansing, instead of your regular toner. It helps refine skin tone without making your face feel too tight. Although prevention is better than cure, lavender floral water can soothe sunburned skin and prickly heat. Soak a cloth in floral water and use it to wipe around the hands and faces of grubby children – it’s calming scent will relax stressed children too. You could also add some floral water to your baby’s bath to soothe nappy rash. Spray on between nappy changes as well. Add floral water to the final rinse cycle of your laundry, use as a linen mist when ironing or simply sprinkle onto your sheets before bedtime for a great night’s sleep! Use floral water as a final rinse after shampooing to condition the hair and add shine. Far safer than toxic air fresheners, liberally spray floral water around your home to scent the air – this is great to do before bedtime and after a stressful day. Floral waters can also be used as an ingredient in cooking such as adding to a drink, mixing in for a salad dressing or in desserts, such as rose water in turkish delight.

Floral Waters are a another great way to get the benefits of Essential Oils, so try some today!!