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

Physical Ailments

Tennis Elbow - A Gripping Problem

This debilitating form of tendonitis or/and bursitis can be extremely painful and can take a long time to heal.

Tennis elbow results from overuse of the muscles and tendons involved while gripping objects. Named for tennis players it is not limited to those who play the sport. Carpenters, painters and anyone who use their hands to grip and perform repetitive motion involving the muscles of the forearm are at risk.

Rest, Ice and supportive care when it occurs acutely are the best course of treatment.

Massage of the sore muscles and tendons help to speed the healing process. Several essential oils are helpful to relieve pain, increase the circulation and release the contracture of the muscles involved.

Tennis Elbow Massage
Eucalyptus - 10 drops
Peppermint - 5 drops
Ginger - 10 drops
Rosemary - 5 drops
Sunflower oils- 2 tablespoons

Blend all in a bottle. Use to massage the affected forearm/ elbow area as needed. Twice daily at a minimum.

A blend using any of the following essential oils are known to give relief for tendonitis Roman Chamomile , Cypress, Ginger , Juniper , Marjoram Basil , Rosemary, Geranium , Peppermint , and Eucalyptus

If you have a favorite among those listed simply add 5 drops in 1 teaspoon of any carrier oil or blend and massage into the sore muscles.

Emotional Concerns

Invigorating Oils

Several essential oils are stimulating and invigorating. Using them whenever you are down, feeling lethargic and you know you have to get moving.

Simply smelling them will give you a pick me up, but using them first thing in the morning in the shower to get moving will be a great start to anyone's day!

Stimulating Morning Blend
Rosemary - 3 drops
Basil - 2 drops
Juniper - 1 drop
Peppermint -1 drop

Blend all in a small amber bottle. Then add to your morning bath or apply to your shower sponge and rub vigorously over your entire body. Enjoying the wonderful smell these oils provide.

Other stimulating and invigorating oils Bergamot , Cardamom, Cypress, Cedarwood , Cinnamon, Coriander , Eucalyptus Citriodora, Eucalyptus Radiata, Geranium , Ginger , Grapefruit, Lemon, Neroli , Patchouli , Petitgrain and , Pine , Thyme, and Ylang Ylang .

Beauty and Skin Care

Scaly Skin

Anyone can develop a dry scaly patch of skin. The cause may not be known. You could have had irritation from exposure to a lot of water, or even a minor scrape. Over exposure to the sun where your skin has burned and peeled can leave you with a dry scaly patch of skin.

Simple relief is to apply a lotion but if the lesion doesn't appear to be healing or disappearing you might want to try adding a blend of essential oils to help heal and provide the added moisturizing properties of one of the nourishing carrier oils.

Jojoba is very nourishing and is very much like the natural oils in your skin. Applying this alone may be all you will need to do. You can add several essential oils known to help with dry skin. Lavender and Rose are excellent.

Here is a blend especially for Men and scaly skin

Cedarwood - 8 drops
Roman Chamomile - 6 drops
Lavender - 4 drops
Rose - 1 drop
Patchouli - 1 drop
Grapeseed oil- 1 teaspoon
Jojoba - 1 teaspoon
Sweet almond - 1 teaspoon

Blend all of the essential oils together and add to the carrier oil mixture. Apply to the dry patches as needed.

A dry Scaly blend for Women

Clary Sage- 5 drops
Jasmine - 2 drops
Rosemary - 2 drops
Rose - 2 drops
Sandalwood - 2 drops
Grapeseed oil- 1 teaspoon
Jojoba - 1 teaspoon
Sweet almond - 1 teaspoon

Blend all of the essential oils together and add to the carrier oil mixture. Apply to the dry patches as needed.

Around the House and Garden

Four Legged Furry Visitors

Fall is just around the corner and with the cooler nighttime temperatures all the furry little critters will be seeking a warm safe place to stay for the next several months ahead.

If you are like me, although I think mice are very cute, I prefer seeing them outdoors - not running around my house.

There are no essential oils to remove them from the house once they have established residence. Although often times you can use some around the outside of your home to keep them from entering in the first place.

Peppermint and Spearmint are both known to help keep our furry friends from entering the home.

Simple apply Peppermint and or Spearmint mixed with a little Sunflower oil to a few cotton balls and place near your entrances of your home.

Alternately you can mix with distilled water and spray around the openings and across the threshold of your doors.

If you do get an unwanted furry visitor inside the house - place cotton balls in the areas you absolutely want them to avoid until you can catch or eliminate them.

I have a friend who has a camper and a cabin - she has been using the cotton balls with Peppermint oil for several years and is happy to not have to clean up either the camper or cabin each spring from the leftovers from unwanted mice. The Peppermint has kept both buildings mice free.

Hope this wonderful smelling essential oil will help prevent you from having any unwanted furry visitors too.

Recipes to try

BIRCH HILL HAPPENINGS NEWS

Hello Everyone,

Summer has been great for us. The weather in Minnesota has been exceptionally great. An old fashioned Minnesota summer. Hot days and nights. But Boy am I glad we have air conditioning in our home.

The older I get the less tolerant of heat. Although I do love the sunshine. That is the best part of summer.

Sure hope everyone has had a chance to get away and have some summertime fun. We are finally getting away too. From August 19 through August 29th we won't be in the office.

Although our son, Phil, will be packing and shipping out orders placed over the internet (he won't be taking any phone orders).

He has another full time job so will be packing and shipping out packages around his other work hours. He will try to ship out the orders as quickly as he can. He won't be able to answer the phone or return any calls. Although he will e-mail out the notices once your orders have been shipped.

We appreciate you understanding us taking a vacation and being patient as Phil gets the orders packed and shipped to you.

Now onto our new products. We have three new Passive Ceramic diffusers. Passive diffuser collection are our Rooster, Butterfly and Kitty ceramic diffusers. Click here to order.

Simply add essential oils to the surface or you can remove the cork and put several drops inside. They hang in closets or cupboards, any place you want to scent. Small rooms, bathrooms, and near your desk. Some might even want to tuck them under the seat of your car.

After being out of several of the Decoders and Wall Charts for quite sometime, we finally found a new supplier and have all of them back in stock with the exception of the Aromatherapy Wall chart. We have to wait for them to be printed. We were told they should be available again in September. We hope to have them here by the end of September too. We will let you know as soon as we know.

Just a gentle reminder - Now is the time to start thinking of your Holiday gifts. When you use essential oils to make special blends of Lotions, Shampoos, Creams, etc you will want to get them blended soon. The essential oils when mixed in these products take several weeks to have time to blend and mix properly into your finished products. Order your supplies soon and experiment now so you can surprise your family and friends with a most appreciative and thoughtful gift.

Soap makers - you need to get your soaps made now so they have plenty of time to dry before the holidays.

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

**Resources for information in this newsletter (including recipes) and others were obtained from the following sources:
"Aromatherapy A Lifetime Guide to Healing with Essential Oils" by Valerie Gennari Cooksley
"500 Formulas for Aromatherapy" by Schiller and Schiller
"The Little Giant Encyclopedia of Aromatherapy" by Schiller and Schiller
""The Fragrant Veil" by Elisabeth Millar
"The Fragrant Mind Aromatherapy for Personality, Mind, Mood, and Emotion" by Valerie Ann Worwood
"Aromatherapy An A-Z" by Patricia Davis
"Aromatherapy for Vibrant Health and Beauty" by Roberta Wilson
"Aromatherapy through the Seasons" by Judith Fitzsimmons and Paula M Bousquet
"Advanced Aromatherapy The Science of Essential Oil Therapy" by Kurt Schnaubelt, Ph.D.
"Aromatherapy Companion" by Victoria H Edwards
"We have a large reference library and confer with many books while answering questions on Aromatherapy.
"Practical Aromatherapy for Home and Garden Decoder"
"Aromatherapy Decoder"
"Advanced Aromatherapy Decoder"
The Decoders are available from Birch Hill Happenings