INHALATIONS: USING ESSENTIAL OILS FOR HEALING

Happy Sunday!

So I've been under the weather for the past couple of days, and it's like a head cold/sinus something or other.  Whenever this happens to me, I always put together an inhalation using essential oils.  And since whatever I had seems to be going around, I thought I'd share with you guys what I personally do!  

So first, you need to get a large bowl (think large mixing bowl; I prefer using a glass bowl), a towel large enough to cover your head (hand towel or larger), boiling water, and your essential oils.  The essential oils to use are: eucalyptus, peppermint, rosemary, and thyme.  Basically, these will not only help to clear up your stuffy head, but help to boost your immune system, which you really need when you're sick. 

Once your water is boiling, take your bowl and put about 5-8 drops of each essential oil into the bottom of the bowl.  Find a place to sit where you can sit (at a table, on the floor, etc) and have the bowl in front of you.  Put the bowl wherever you'll sit, pour the hot water over the essential oils, put the towel over your head and lean over the bowl of hot water.  The hot water hits the essential oils, creating a steam that will loosen everything up, so you'll want to be sure you have tissue next to you.  Be sure you do NOT have your eyes open when leaning over the bowl, as the essential oils can and likely will burn your eyes.  You'll want to sit and inhale deeply over the bowl for 15-20 minutes ideally.  You can either set a timer, or I listen to music. 

You'll feel SO much better after this!  But what if you don't have all of these essential oils? You're not going to go out and spend $30-$40 just to have these if you won't use them for anything else, right?  I actually offer a Cough/Cold blend in my Etsy shop that will allow you to buy them in a slightly diluted form, in a smaller vessel, so you don't have to spend so much money. 

I hope you all find this useful, and here's to breathing through the nose :)!

Natural Blessings - 

Candace

RedSunflower Designs

Why I Make Natural Bath & Body Products

Hello all, hope everyone is having a fabulous Sunday and wonderful weather :)!

So about a week ago I had posted a question on my Facebook page asking what everyone would like to see me blog about, and from the great questions I got, this week's blog was born.  I was asked how I came to be in this business, my passions, and what I like/dislike about being a business owner.  Since some of you may be new to my blog/Facebook/Twitter and business, I thought I would make this week's blog about how I got started making natural bath & beauty products. 

I've always has a preference for natural versus your standard commercial products.  As someone with very sensitive skin, I find that alot of the chemicals and preservatives used in commercially-produced products really irritate my skin.  And to be honest, I also tend to be really picky about things like consistency of products :P!  Another issue I often have with most products is the scent.  I have a pretty strong sense of smell, and because of that, often find that the scents used in perfumes & lotions are abit strong for me.  I like to smell nice, of course, but I don't like the whole "walk away and leave a scent trail thing".  You know when you talk to someone wearing a strong perfume, and for like 10 minutes after they leave, you still smell their perfume?  I'm not a big fan of that, personally. 

So, with all of this in mind, I decided one day to give it a try doing it myself, since I couldn't find anything that was natural, that was in my budget (I really can't justify spending $50 on creams, ya know?), and that was exactly the scent I was looking for.  Since I've been working with essential oils for various purposes for years, being able to blend these comes pretty naturally to me; this was the easy part. There was some definite tweaking of recipes for my lotion & body butter bases, with the first batch I ever attempted coming out very, um, firm (we're talking shellac, people).  After one or two rounds that did have to be tossed, I had it down.  

I keep a recipe book, so to speak, of my final formulas for all products.  I look at this as more of a base idea, as I'm always trying to improve my products, by adding in extra antioxidants or even changing out one ingredient for another if it's beneficial.  

Anyway, I hope this has given everyone an idea of how I got into the natural bath & beauty products game.  I love coming up with new blends and formulas, and am always working on new and different things, so check back often for new products!

If there are articles you would like to see in my blog, please feel free to leave a comment or post something to my Facebook page.  Also, leave a comment about this article, and let me know what you guys think!

Candace

RedSunflower Designs