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In this newsletter we will try to help you further
your knowledge and use of essential oils.
It was recently brought to our attention that if there are hyper links on the pages and
you try to print them out, you may not be able to see them. So All hyperlinks have been eliminated from this
page except for the link at the bottom of the page that will take you to our Online Catalog. Hope this helps with
your printing of our newsletter for future references.
Physical Ailments
Overworked muscles
Soon it may be time to move your college student into their dorm room or new apartment.
You have a ton of boxes to move, not to mention furniture. Up and down the stairs, carrying awkward packages and
boxes. What seemed like an easy task lasts many hours. Not to mention you may have a long ride to and from the
destination. Then you get to move things again!!
At the end of the day you are worn out, your muscles are telling you they've had enough. They are tired and
maybe a little tight. You deserve some time to yourself. Fill the tub and enjoy a nice hot bath with some
wonderful essential oils. The scent they produce will make you feel better, but there are others that with
the hot water will bring welcome relief to those overworked and tired muscles.
Of course not all of us have college students, but you understand what I'm saying. You have been busy doing something
with your arms, legs, back and more that have made you feel tired, sore and plain old "pooped out".
Essential oils that are good and that help to penetrate the sore, tired and overworked muscles are
Others include Eucalyptus globulus,
Peppermint,
Coriander,
Cypress,
Marjoram,
Lavender,Vetiver,
Ginger,
Nutmeg,
Pine needle,
Rosemary,
Thyme,
Oregano,
Juniper and
Black Pepper
Simply put up to 5-6 drops in the bath. Please use caution with some of these oils as they can make hot water feel hotter
than normal. So please start out with 2-3 drops if you are unsure how 'hot' you want it!
Or if you can't take a hot bath, add up to a total of 12-15 drops of two or three different essential oils to 1 ounce of a
carrier oil. Blend well and use to massage.
A very common blend for sore, tired and overworked muscles is very easy to make.
Simply put 15 drops of Peppermint and 15 drops of Eucalyptus in 2 ounces of Almond or Sunflower oil. Shake well.
You'll only need to massage a few drops of this blend into the affected area.
It will make the area feel warm and cool at the same time. Very wonderful sensation and for many, gives you the welcome relief you seek.
Emotional Concerns
Meditation
Many people practice meditation on a daily basis. This, I understand is a great way to
reconnect with yourself and in doing so, actually helps you to have a more productive day or week.
Although Al and I don't necessarily practice meditation we do love to just sit quietly and 'zone'. Not really thinking
of anything in particular but just relaxing and enjoying the moments.
For those that do meditate or those wanting to start, there are several essential oils that have given themselves
to just this purpose. Commonly used Frankincense and Myrrh are almost always found in every meditation blend.
Other oils include, Helichrysum, Juniper, Sandalwood, ylang ylang, lavender, lemon, jasmine, rose,
chamomile, cypress, neroli, geranium cedarwood and Spikenard.
You may even have your favorites.
Here is a simple Mediation blend
Lavender - 5 drops
Lemon - 15 drops
Juniper - 5 drops
Geranium - 5 drops
Frankincense - 3 drops
Blend together, diffuse in any diffuser - best to use only 5-6 drops to start with, more can always be added.
We have several blends you may want to try. Meditation blend of course, but others may include; calming, relaxing,
take five, enlighten, forest rain, beautiful and sensual. Several of these blends have 2-4 of the above essential
oils and may quickly be your blend of choice when meditating or just plain winding down for a few minutes.
Beauty and Skin Care
Simple Facial Cleanser
Did you know that you don't need to use soap to clean your face?
In many places around the world, many women use a blend of carrier oils and essential oils to clean their skin.
It can be used to clean all types of skin.
As a young girl growing up, I would watch my older sisters clean their faces. They wore makeup and so had to remove
it each night. I remember one of them used a face cream by or called "Ponds". I'm not even sure if they make it any
more. My other sister used " Noxzema". The Ponds was soft and creamy, so was the Noxzema, but the Noxzema had a terrible smell
at least to a 5 year old!
Anyway, the basis of these was to loosen and remove any oily residues from the makeup and to help clean the skin and
pores of the daily dirt that accumulated.
You can make your own face cleanser the same way by using a blend of carrier oils and essential oils.
Simply blend a carrier oil (about 3 ounces) with a little water (1-2 ounces) and a few drops (1-3) of your favorite essential oil.
Whip in a blender at high speed. The blender will make a soft whip type oily paste/ cream that you can then use to remove the days grime.
What carrier oils are best for your skin type? If you have very dry skin use avocado. If you have oily skin a light
oil such as Sweet almond or sunflower would be best.
What essential oils to use? Of course this may be a personal preference. Some oils you might want to use include
Clary sage, lemon, lime, rosemary, chamomile, lavender or geranium. Remember though, only use a couple drops of
one or two of these oils.
After you have finished removing the oil blend with a soft cloth or makeup removing pads, you should rinse your
face with a little water. After this you can pat your face dry or apply a toner followed by your night creams or
lotions if you feel they are necessary. Most likely though your face will feel - oh so soft!
Some women may want to add a little 'scrubbing' ingredient. There are several you can choose from. Some mix a little
brown sugar into the oil (omit any water from this scrub) or ground almonds, oatmeal or cornmeal. If you choose to
add these to the mix you will need to use within 3 days of blending. Also, you will need to keep it in the refrigerator to
keep them from spoiling.
No matter what you choose, your skin will feel soft and supple. Remember carrier oils are very nourishing to the
skin. We have a very large selection to choose from including the two most commonly used for face and skin care.
Jojoba and Camellia oil are excellent oils but you may want to use them blended with a less expensive oil such as
Almond or Sunflower. Only a small amount of Jojoba or Camellia oil would be needed in each blend. Of course you
could use them straight or apply just a small amount after your cleaning ritual.
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Around the House and Garden
The Utility Room
Everyone's home or apartment has one of "these" rooms. And like most of us these rooms tend
to become the 'catch all' room. You know. Hurry up and pickup before company comes - you throw everything in a box or
laundry basket and stick it in the room. Only to forget you stuck it in there weeks later!
Of course, some of these utility rooms are actually a room where your furnace or cooling units are found. Or your hot
water heater, water softener etc. The utility room may or may not be where your laundry facilities are located.
If it is, you may still have a problem.
Some of these rooms even have shelving and storage. Maybe you keep your mop bucket
and cleaning supplies in here. Sometimes these rooms can become very smelly. You know from that damp towel that
was thrown in there or maybe the mop bucket didn't get thoroughly cleaned or worse yet the cat or dog decides that
it might be the perfect bathroom site if no one is around!!
In any case, you get my drift, this room is often neglected and the door kept closed for a reason - it is just not
a fun room to enter. It may smell like mildew or moldy. Or worse yet some other unidentifiable odor.
With all the rain and or hot humid weather some of these rooms take on unwelcome wetness. In some homes that have
basements this may be the room for the floor drain. Again, another odor producer!
This room can be made to be a little bit more pleasant by doing a few simple things.
First off, try to keep things picked up off the floor and organized!
Sometimes this is easier said than done but start there.
If your washing machine and dryer are here. Simply use some essential oils when ever you do your laundry. A few drops in
the rinse cycle or a few drops on a damp cloth and tossed in the dryer. This might be all it takes to give this room a
more welcome smell.
If this room is not the laundry area, but has a floor drain. Mix up your mop water, swab the deck and let the water
run down into the drain. What to add to the mop bucket? If you have a mold or mildew smell, you might want to mix
tea tree in the water. Other oils include Cinnamon, Thyme and oregano. Of course the last two might not smell as good
as the cinnamon, but they do a good job at getting fungus under control. You might want to add Thieves blend to your
cleaning bucket.
Other nice smelling oils to use are the Citrus ones - orange and lemon are very commonly used, as is found in many commercial
cleaning products. But you might prefer, lime, mandarin or bergamot. Or the evergreen scents of Pine, Spruce and Fir
needles, Juniper and Cypress
Lavender is a nice and simple floral smell. You might want something exotic such as ylang ylang, or other floral smell
like Geranium, Rosewood, or palmarosa. I probably wouldn't recommend using the expensive essential oils but if
you want rose, neroli, and jasmine could be used. I think most people would prefer to save these for other rooms other
than the utility rooms!
Besides cleaning, some of the easiest diffusers to use in this room are the "passive" type. You simply apply several drops
of essential oils of your choice to the surface of these and let them set. They will give off the aroma for several
days to weeks depending on the essential oils used. Some passive type diffusers have a hanging string - simply add the
essential oils and hang on a rod or other hanger.
Next time you walk into your utility room, it shouldn't make you back off, That is if you put a few essential oils to work
for you!
A Recipe for you to add to your mop bucket.
Lemongrass - 20 drops
Spruce - 10 drops
Pine - 10 drops
Cedarwood - 5 drops
Patchouli - 5 drops
Blend these together then add to your mop bucket. This blend is great at getting rid of foul odors. When finished mopping,
don't forget to let this run into your floor drain!
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BIRCH HILL HAPPENINGS NEWS
Hello Everyone,
We hope everyone has been having a wonderful summer. And taken a bit of time off to enjoy a picnic
or weekend getaway or better yet a time for rest and relaxation during a summertime vacation!
This brings up our first bit of news for this issue. Al and I as you know are the only ones that
run Birch Hill Happenings. And as many of you know we very rarely take any time away, (not including
weekends and an occasional long weekend) But once a year we do take a 10 day vacation where we
get away from everything - including the phones and television!
Well, it's just about time for our "vacation" this year. So mark your calendars now.
We will be out of the office taking our vacation from August 19 until August 29th.
So this means if you need oils or aromatherapy supplies
we suggest you order soon and not later than Noon on August 18th. Otherwise any orders placed
while we are gone will be processed and shipped upon our return after the 29th.
We hope you all understand we need to take a break too.
Well, now onto other news.
We have a few new Electric Oil warmers and Tealight diffusers. We think they are really beautiful.
Just in time for all you crafty people that love to make your own holiday gifts, we are offering
larger quantities of some essential oils, carrier oils and unscented base products.
Many of you have requested gallon sizes of several of the Carrier oils and Unscented Base Products.
So we have taken the plunge and are trying to keep in stock larger quantities of these products.
As a result you will be able to order several of these in the gallon sizes. If you need more than
a gallon or two of any one particular product, we do ask that you call or e-mail us to make sure
we are able to fulfill your order.
As for the Essential oils we are offering several of the most commonly used in 4 ounce amber bottles.
You will be able to order them the same way as our other sizes. Just make your size selection and add
to your shopping cart. If you want a particular oil that is not offered in the 4 ounce size our
website, Simply e-mail Al and he can give you a quote.
That's about it for this issue. Don't forget to place an order before August 18th if you need something before the end
of August. Otherwise we will ship out your orders placed between Noon on August 18 through August 29th
after we return from our vacation.
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
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