In this newsletter we will try to help you further your knowledge and use of essential oils.

Physical Ailments

Scars

Everyone at one time or another gets some type of wound that will leave a scar. Whether it be from a cut, scrape or surgery, most of us would like to do something about them.

Although there is not a guarantee around from any company or product to completely hide and heal scars, the best anyone can hope for is lightening of the scar so it is less noticeable. Occasionally you can get a scar to fade to the point where it is barely detectable.

Essential oils and several carrier oils can hasten the process to help scars become less noticeable.

Several essential oils can help the process of healing of any wound. Helichrysum works great when used around new wounds, especially when there is bruising also present. It has properties to help the cells regenerate quickly and also will help with pain relief. Although it works on old scars too, it does its best work on fresh ones.


Lavender can also be used around new wounds, it helps to fight infection and helps the body to heal quickly, again, by helping the body to regenerate new cells. The more quickly a wound can heal, the less likelihood of scarring.

When a cut or wound is fresh, clean the area with 2 cups of warm water to which you have added 5 drops of Lavender and 2-3 drops of Tea Tree. This will help to clean and disinfect the area. Then apply a band aid or piece of gauze over the wound that has 2-3 drops of Lavender. added to the pad and place over the wound. Change this a couple times a day. After the third day you should be able to leave it uncovered. If not continue for a couple more days.

If the cut is severe enough to require stitches (a.k.a. "sutures") you should consult your doctor and make sure there is no objection to using
Lavender on the wound. Some doctors prefer you wait until the 'stitches' are removed. If that is the case, the doctor may not object to you applying the essential oils around the perimeter of the wound. Remember essential oils easily penetrate the skin, enter the blood vessels and are free to travel throughout the body. So even if you can't apply the healing oils directly to the wound to start with, you can still use the oils, as the cells that need the help of the essential oils will still be able to get them.

Neroli and Sage also play important rolls in the healing and treatment of scars.

Once the cut has sealed shut and that can be anywhere from a couple days to about a week, you can start to apply blends known to help reduce scarring. Do not remove any scabs. Apply the blend over the top of the scab and surrounding area. If you pick, pull or rub of the scab, instead of letting it fall off naturally - you WILL have a scar!!

A simple blend of Helichrysum - 10 drops and Rosehip seed oil - 1 ounce - applied to the wound a couple times a day will help the healing process to continue rather quickly and there should be minimal to no scarring. According to French aromatherapy literature, these oils will also help slow-healing wounds and prevention of keloid formation.

If you have old scars you can start a daily treatment using all of these oils too but realize it may take as long as 3 to 6 months before you will see results.

Rosehip seed oil and Hazelnut oil are two very important carrier oils in the healing process of scars. When Penny had surgery, she used a mixture of Rosehip seed oil and Hazelnut oil along with Helichrysum , Lavender, Neroli and Sage. She has an almost invisible incision line.

Her scar recipe:
Helichrysum 1 ml

Lavender 1 ml
Sage - 10 drops
Neroli - 5 drops
Rosehip seed oil 1 oz
Hazelnut oil 1 oz.

Mix until well blended, apply to the scar 2-3 times a day until your scar has lightened and healed.

Penny did not start applying this until all the sutures and staples were removed from her very large incision. And since some of her 'stitches' were in for 3 weeks, it delayed her ability to get going like she had hoped to on the reduction of scarring. She did apply Lavender oil near the incision line. This by itself, helped reduce the inflammation and itching that accompanies such types of incisions. Also, I'm sure helped the healing process along as well. Once the sutures were out, she applied this twice a day. By the time six months post op came around the majority of the incision was invisible.

Everyone will heal and react differently but this is an all natural and very inexpensive thing to do. So if you wish to give them a try, remember essential oils and some nourishing carrier oils are very effective at helping you lighten those awful scars!

Emotional Concerns

Happiness and Joy

Happiness and Joy! What wonderful emotions!

We all wish we could have this feeling 24 hours a day, every day. Most people are content with things and when they are content they are happy and the feeling of joy also abounds.

If you are like Al and I we are happy almost all the time. So finding essential oils for happiness really isn't too difficult, at least for us. We have our favorite oils we enjoy and use them.

If you enjoy an oil or even crave an oil(s) your body usually needs or enjoys the constituents (chemical make up) of those oils. So if an oil makes you happy - our advice - use it.

When we are having a party and want the atmosphere to produce a happy, joyous feeling we diffuse a few oils known to bring these feelings. Orange, Rose , Jasmine , Coriander Clove bud, Benzoin, Ginger , Cinnamon, Ylang Ylang , Petitgrain and Roman Chamomile, Bergamot , Lemon, Frankincense and Geranium . These same oils are often present during different holiday celebrations and we all know when we get folks together for a celebration, scents will help to lock in the memories! Just think how wonderful the winter holidays smell and when you think of them - what do you think of first? The smell of Cinnamon, Clove bud , Ginger , and a little Orangetoo!

A great tip for those shop owners and some regular folks who celebrate "Christmas in July", don't forget to diffuse these favorite holiday scents or our synergy blends of Celebration , Winter's Warmth. Get your customers in the mood of the "season".

Summertime is a great time to try new scents. Exotic , Sensual, and For Women's blends are there to excite your senses.

They don't need to be used necessarily for romance. They are wonderful blends that are different and unique.

Remember that although For Women's Blend has essential oils to help women balance their hormones, it will not affect others in the household by altering their hormonal balances. This blend smells so wonderful. If you haven't tried it yet you should give it a try. It is a lovely floral scent. It contains floral essential oils that definitely make you happy and joyful.

Explore aromatherapy with new scents - everyone can try a few new and different oils to make you feel Happy and full of Joy!

Beauty and Skin Care

Cooling Sprays

The hot summer air, the sunburn, the 'hot flashes'. So many things that make you feel hot and uncomfortable. What better than to spritz yourself or the air to help relieve the uncomfortable feeling from being too warm.

Many essential oils can be used in a spray bottle to help cool you down, whether it be from the air temperatures or your inner fire (for those women approaching or in menopause) or to cool down that fiery sunburn.

Children especially like to get spritzed!! If they are sunburned and you can cool them down without touching them and making the sunburn hurt even more they will so much more happy.

Some commonly used oils to help you feel cool includes Lavender, Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Geranium , Roman Chamomile.

A very simple and pleasant Cooling spray is 5 drops Lavender, 1 drop Peppermint to 1 cup distilled water. Spritz to help you cool down. Spray on arms, and legs. Due to the Peppermint do not spray on face. If you wish to use this mixture near the face, dampen a cloth and lightly apply to the face.

To sooth summer sunburn - Add 20 drops
Lavender to 1 ounce water and 1 ounce Aloe vera. Spray on affected areas as needed.

If you are having a "hot flash" - a spritzer made with Roman Chamomile, rose and Lavender is very cooling and relieving. 1 drop Rose, 3 drops - Roman Chamomile and 5 drops Lavender to 2 ounces distilled water, Shake well, spray as needed to help cool you.

For another hot flash spray see recipe section below.

Adding some of the above mentioned essential oils to distilled water and spraying will help you to feel cool. The same rule of thumb applies to sprays. A little essential oil can go a long way. Do not add more than a drop or two of Peppermint to any spray as it feels cool in small amounts but can feel very warm if too much is added.

Do not add more than 6 drops of essential oil to 2 ounces of water. Shake well before each spraying. Use PET plastic spray bottles to mix your sprays in as essential oils can deteriorate other types of plastic.

Around the House and Garden

In The Garden Insect Help!

Last month we talked about using essential oils to keep bugs and insects away and off of you and your loved ones. This month we are talking about keeping them away from your plants. Since essential oils come from plants they are all natural and will not harm your flowers or vegetables. They will help to keep those nasty little pests away from your plants though and do no harm to the environment.

If you house or garden plants are infested with insects and you wish to deter them naturally. There are several essential oils that will work.
Sandalwood, Thyme, Lavender, Fennel , Peppermint , Spearmint, Cinnamon , Coriander and Clove bud . All of these oils will not harm your plants and will actually help strengthen them according to Carol and David Schiller. In their book 500 Formulas for Aromatherapy, they recommend making some misting sprays to be used a few days apart to rid your plants of insect infestations. Do not soak the leaves, just mist them lightly.

One simple blend to spray on your plants is
Sage - 45 drops Thyme - 45 drops and 4 ounces distilled water. Shake well and spray on your infected plants.

Another blend is Lavender - 50 drops and Fennel - 40 drops again in 4 ounces of water. Shake well and spray.

Helpful Hint: To keep bugs and other insects that crawl from entering your home. Remember to spray a mixture of Peppermint essential oil and distilled water around windows and screens and on the threshold of your door entrances. Peppermint will also deter those little furry creatures mice and moles from entering the home.

Recipes to try

BIRCH HILL HAPPENINGS NEWS

Hello Everyone,
Spring has finally arrived and Summer is just around the corner! Yeah!!!

As many of you may remember from last month Penny lost a lot of Recipe File e-mail addresses when her hard drive failed on her computer. Several of you have resigned up and this is greatly appreciated. You can sign up anytime by e-mailing her at
recipes@birchhillhappenings.com and request to be signed up for the recipes files notification. Thanks again for signing up for the Recipe Files Notification. I hope to have new recipes available sometime very soon.

New product announcement: We have a couple new Ceramic Tea light diffusers available. One is the Porcelain Rose it is a beautiful hand decorated porcelain diffuser. It has a large capacity bowl, so you can put about 4 ounces of water and several drops of essential oils It uses one tea light candle and so should last during a whole evening of entertaining or relaxation. It makes a lovely centerpiece for any table or mantle. We also have two cute ceramic diffusers - The Beehive and the Daisy. Both are reasonably priced and would work very nicely in a kitchen or breakfast sitting area. (or any area you think would be appropriate!) The Sea Shell ceramic diffuser is also available again.


Don't forget to try one of our two new products for repelling insects. We have both Insect repellants available. They have been proven to repel those nasty little flying insects. One is a blend of Catnip essential oil and several essential oils. It is mixed in fractionated coconut oil. It has several essential oils known and proven in research to be better than DEET to repel mosquitoes. Simply spray a little on the exposed skin and gently rub in.

The other is an old tried and true recipe that we have used for years and have decided to share it with our customers. We have used it while out in the deep woods, while hiking, fishing and camping. We have never been bothered like others around us have been. Mosquito's are such little pests! Click Here to learn more

Our Lavender Sachets have been a wonderful and successful hit. Many of you have ordered several of them. You have told us you were going to use them for storage of your shoes, others for use while traveling and others, well, they didn't tell us what they were using them for - maybe just to enjoy, as they do smell wonderful. We do know they smell great, are easy to use, and are inexpensive. They are made with Lavender buds and our 100% Pure Essential oil of Lavender impregnated in scent beads. Currently we have the only the Pure Lavender Sachet available, but we are working on a variety of Lavender blended scents. Click here for more information and to order.
These little sachets can be tucked away any place you would like subtle scenting. Shoes, closets, boxes, Auto's, in your desk, dressers. Be creative and have fun!

As always, if we can help you with any aromatherapy question please send us an E-mail at bhhinfo@birchhillhappenings.com and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

‘til next month,

Yours in Aromatherapy,
Alan and Penny
E-mail us at bhhinfo@birchhillhappenings.com