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In this newsletter we will try to help you further
your knowledge and use of essential oils.
Physical ailment
Sunburn
by Penny Keay
Summer is finally here and in full swing. Hot summery days and vacations abound!
Now, many of us are ‘couch potatoes’ and then comes summer. We are outdoors more than any other time of the year.
Some of us enjoy sitting in the shade while others prefer the sunshine.
Well, what happens is that us shade dwellers forget about protection and next thing you know, we have us a nice little ‘sunburn’!!
Just like any other type of burn, get away (or out of) of the source of the problem. Stay covered while outdoors.
How to get relief if you do get sunburned? First if it is severe – actually to the point of blisters – seek medical attention.
If you have very red skin and it is hot to the touch, you need to cool it down.
To start apply some cool compresses. (See below for more information) Add several drops of
Lavender essential oil to a basin of cool water and use a compress to soak up the water, wring out and apply
ever so gently to the sun burned areas. Continue to do this for several minutes to even an hour or more.
Do not use ice as this can do even more damage to your already damaged skin.
Roman Roman Chamomile ,
Geranium ,
Eucalyptus,
Neroli ,
Helichrysum
and Rose Otto oils are also good oils to use on minor sunburn and other burns.
Lavender
can be applied 'neatly' - undiluted on small and minor burns but for wide spread burns such as sunburn,
a cool water bath or compress with
Lavender added is recommended.
Other oils should be added to carrier oils such as
Sweet almond,
<Sunflower oil or other light oil.
Then apply several times a day to the affected area.
To make a simple Homemade Burn formula
To a cold water bath (bowl of water) - 5 drops
Roman Chamomile
or
8 drops Lavender
oil for each cup of cold water to which a few ice cubes have been added.
Submerge the burned area to give relief.
Personally we have found that you will get much relief if you can hold your burned area in the cold water for about an hour. Use caution to not freeze your burned area. You should use cold water not ICE water. A couple of ice cubes will help to chill the water but not to freeze the skin.
A nice After Burn formula to apply
after the initial cold treatment is to use
Lavender- 25 drops
Peppermint - 2 drops
Camellia oil - 2 ounce
Shake well and apply a few drops several times a day to the burned area.
Be sure to have plenty on hand as you venture out to the beaches this summer!
You can also apply our
In the Sun Oil after a cool bath.
In the Sun Oil is NOT a sun blocker and
is only useful after you have been in the sun.
(Maybe we’ll have to rename it to “After being in the sun oil”!!)
Remember that common sense in the sun is the best prevention.
Of course sunburn including any serious or widespread burns should be attended by a medical professional.
Do not attempt to treat serious burns without consulting a physician.
Emotional Concern
Feeling Contented
by Penny Keay
Contentment is such a wonderful feeling. And when you are content, typically you are happy.
Being content and being happy are two emotions that go hand in hand. When you are content and happy, you will feel healthy,
have a health attitude and have a healthy glow too.
To most of us we feel the happiest when we have a sense of contentment inside. When the outside pressures can be left
aside and you can have a certain "snuggly and warm" feeling inside.
Happiness to us doesn't have to be all jolly and laughing - you know 'let the good times roll' feeling.
In fact, for many, they need to think about what true happiness is just for them.
Happiness is a very personal state.
Truly happy people have a special aura around them that often times will attract others to them.
Being content again, is a personal thing. Being satisfied with the way life has been for you and what it is to become
will play a part of what makes you happy. Again, people who are content with themselves will again attract others.
Essential oils can not bring happiness or contentment.
What?? But what they can do is help you to clear your thought processes and sort out the things that really do matter in life.
Using essential oils will definitely bring your spirits up and be uplifting emotionally. Using them around others will produce
the same affects.
Good oils to help with happiness and contentment include:
Orange,
Rose Otto,
Coriander,
Clove bud,
Benzoin,
Jasmine ,
Ginger ,
Cinnamon ,
Geranium ,
Geranium and Rose blend,
Bergamot ,
Sandalwood,
Ylang Ylang ,
Cypress,
Neroli ,
Patchouli and
Roman Chamomile .
Try this Happiness blend:
Orange - 19 drops
Geranium and Rose blend - 5 drops
Clove bud - 1 drop
Cinnamon - 1 drop
Blend all and diffuse. You can also add 5 drops to a bath.
Try this Contentment blend:
Bergamot - 10 drops
Clove bud - 5 drops
Sandalwood - 10 drops
Ylang Ylang - 5 drops.
Mix together and diffuse. This blend can be used to settle restlessness too.
Let us know how these blends work for you or if you have others you use, please share.
For a premixed blend you can try our Elation blend
or Inspiration blend.
A rule of thumb though in aromatherapy,
any essential oil that makes you feel good or happy, those are the ones to use!!
Health and Beauty
Dry and Frizzy Hair
by Penny Keay
The summer and sunshine can really take its toll on your hair. And if you have natural curly hair and if you live in a
high humidity area the curls can become frizzy and unmanagable!!
The hot summer sun, wind, coloring and especially bleaching, hair dryers and blowers, curling or straightening
irons can all cause damage and drying to the structure of your hair.
There a few essential oils that will stimulate your bodies production of the natural oils from the sebaceous glands
to help restore hair to its' natural oiled condition.
Using Geranium ,
Lavender,
or Juniper
will help to stimulate your sebaceous glands. So adding these to your shampoo
(one or any combination) will help.
Other oils that can also help include:
Carrotseed
Cedarwood,
Frankincense,
Myrrh,
Palmarosa,
Peppermint,
Sandalwood,
Thyme, and
Vetiver.
Again, adding a drop or two to your shampoo or conditioner can help. Another method is to add a drop to your brush
and brush through your hair.
Another so called hair treatment that was popular a few years ago, but you don’t really hear about it any more is the Hot Oil Treatment.
For those that have very dry hair you can do this simple at home treatment.
Using Jojoba or
Camellia oilplace about
1-2 tablespoons in a PET bottle, then place hot tap water in a bowl and set the bottle of
Jojoba or
Camellia oilin that to warm the oil gently.
Massage the warmed Jojoba or
Camellia oilinto your hair and scalp.
Wrap your head/hair with a towel and leave the oils
in for 30minutes to an hour.
Then wash your hair as usual. You may have to do a second shampooing if your hair feels to greasy. Although,
if your hair is extremely dry, you might want to shampoo it only once. You don’t want to wash all
the oils out of your hair.
You can add a drop or two of one or two of the above mentioned essential oils to this ‘hot oil’ treatment.
Remember that keeping your hair covered and out of the sun will help it too. I wish I could tell you how to
lessen the humidity, but Mother Nature is the one that handles that!
Around the House and Garden
Stinky Garbage!!
by Penny Keay
Have you eve wondered where that unusual smell is coming from?
Several years ago, we had a Bar-B-Q party and several relatives with small children attended. Of course,
the child did not intend to, but a burger was left in an area of our home that was not usual for eating.
A few days after the Party, we started smelling rotten meat. Pewey! Stinky, stinky, stinky!
Of course a few flies found their way to it first. Enough of that story, I’m sure you get my point.
It was very unpleasant.
This was before Al and I knew anything about Essential oils, but had we known, we could have taken care
of the situation more quickly.
After cleaning up such a smelly mess with the usual soap and water, you may have a lingering odor to deal with.
One thing we do, is cases of such a smelly ordeal, is to put some baking soda over the area.
Then sprinkle a few drops of your favorite essential oil.
I have used Orange
and
as they are good clean smells.
After 24 hours, sweep or vacuum up the baking soda, if needed wash the area again.
As for the rest of the house or area – simply diffuse some essential oils. Most the time rotten meat or other
offensive smells are coming from the gases that bacteria and other germs produce as they are growing on the surfaces.
They produce waste materials too.
The essential oils diffused into the air will not only help with the odors the bacteria are producing but also to help
control the growth and destroy the offenders. All essential oils are germicidal & bactericidal and many will also
destroy viruses to a certain degree.
Use your favorites or those of the person spending most of the time in the room involved.
Good oils to try include: Lemon,
Clary Sage,
Geranium ,
Bergamot ,
Lavender ,
Grapefruit and
Lime.
Some stronger smelling oils like Clove bud and Cinnamon may also help.
Remember all essential oils have antibacterial, anti fungal, anti microbial and antiseptic properties.
If the odors are coming from any of these sources, the oils will help destroy the odor causing bugs too.
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BIRCH HILL HAPPENINGS NEWS
Hello Everyone,
Construction continues and we are very excited to see the results. Of course, we are a long way off from being completed.
Here is a sampling of what’s happening. For more and to see what we’ve been up to you should visit our –
“Building of a Dream” page and see the photos and read the story.
Click Here or copy and paste the following link http://birchhillhappenings.com/bedbreak.htm
We do appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding while we are under construction.
Just a reminder, if you get our voice message when you call, please leave a message and we’ll call you back as soon as we can or better yet, send us an e-mail. Again, we will get back to you as soon as possible. But right now and being we only have a few short months when we can do outdoor work, we may not get back to you the same business day, but we will call you or e-mail you as quickly as we can.
Orders are still being shipped out as usual - within 24-48 business hours of us receiving them. And Al is still answering e-mail every morning!
Just a few brief notes about other Happenings here.
We haven’t added any new products at this time, but are looking for some input and suggestions.
We are having a difficult time getting any more of our 8 ounce Cobalt Blue Candle jars.
Here are some things we are considering. Your ideas and comments are very welcome.
We have considered smaller cobalt candle jars – 4 ounce or using metal tins.
The candles would burn about 30 hours in either one of those. The candle price over all would be less
(even though the smaller containers cost more for us to purchase - figure that one out?)
We are going to have some SCENTED TARTS, in the very near future, to be used in the Tealight and Electric Oil and Tart Warmers. Please send us your suggestions for scents so we can get them made. We should have them available soon but would love your suggestions. Give us 5 or 10 suggestions of what scents you would love to diffuse. Also, how would you like them packaged – Individually or in packages of 2 or 3. We are here to try to accommodate your needs, and love the recommendations.
So, any ideas would be great about the candles and tarts and anything else you would like us to sell.
Well, that’s it for this time. Just a quick and short letter for this month as I’m sure you are like us and want to spend time enjoying the outdoors – as summer passes way to fast.
If you have suggestions, questions or comments please feel free to send us an e-mail to bhhinfo@birchhillhappenings.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
‘til next month,
Yours in Aromatherapy,
Alan and Penny
E-mail us at bhhinfo@birchhillhappenings.com
CLICK HERE to SEE WHAT'S NEW!!
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since 1999
