Natural Beauty: Breakin' It Down (By Ingredient)

Natural beauty is better for you, better for the planet, and better for your wallet.  For centuries, women all around the world have learned how to use things in nature on their hair, nails, and body.  I really want to bring back some of that knowledge, the beauty of simplicity.

With only a couple of posts left regarding aromatherapy & the chakras, I've been thinking about what I wanted my next "mini series" to be.   I've decided to do a series of posts regarding natural beauty, easy DIY things you can make with the items you likely already have at home, and posts discussing the most popular ingredients I use in my products.

I've been contemplating doing this series of posts for awhile, and I've just decided to go forth with it.  Beginning this week, you'll start seeing posts about these topics.  I'll also be finishing up the aromatherapy/chakra posts over the coming weeks.  Be sure to check back, or subscribe so that you know when new posts appear.  Invite your friends who would be interested in these topics as well!

One last note (sorry to piggyback onto this post, but meh): I'm looking for other blogs/sites who have buttons that I can grab to put on this site.  They need to be in keeping with living naturally, natural beauty, aromatherapy ... you see where this is going.  So if you would like for me to consider yours, or recommend one, drop me a note :)

Namaste - 

Candace 

RedSunflower Designs

Healing the Natural Way: Using Herbs & Essential Oils for Health

 I don't know about everyone else, but I came back from the holidays to an office full of people sniffling, sneezing, and coughing their heads off.  One of my goals this year (as "resolutions" seems to be a four-letter word to my subconscious mind) is to use natural healing methods as much as possible, and take a holistic approach to my healthcare.  For me, this means eating well, exercising, and getting enough sleep; while I generally eat pretty well, the other two are things I'm constantly striving to improve. 

With the pace of life today, though, we all experience stress and negativity that you can't always get away from no matter what you do, which leaves us open to illness.  We all know that you should drink plenty of fluids, get a full night's rest, and eat light meals.  But I want to share with you some ways, such as herbal tinctures, essential oils, and key foods to eat, to heal yourself naturally when you or a loved one falls ill.

•  Eat plenty of protein. Carbs convert easily to sugar, and too much sugar production taxes your immune system. 
• Lay off the caffeine.  Yes, much to my chagrin, this includes coffee.  The reasoning here is that caffeine in any form dehydrates your body, and at a time when you need to keep up on your fluids this can make you feel even more drained. 
• Eat raw.  Fruits & veggies in their raw form contain the highest amounts of vitamins and minerals, which are lost to some degree cooking. 
• Have a snowball fight.  Okay, so you don't have to do this.  But spending some time out in the cold will stimulate your thyroid gland, which can help relieve you of some of those blah feelings and make you feel more energized. 
• Drink some echinacea tea; add alittle honey to coat your throat if you're coughing alot.  If you're a woman, add alittle red clover as it's good for your system. 
• Chicken soup to the rescue.  Eating fresh chicken soup made with lots of onion, garlic, celery and carrots can provide your body with an additional antioxidant boost.  Also, this combo of veggies seems to pack an additional immune-boosting punch!
• Get moving! Mild exercise, such as talking a leisurely walk in a park, etc, can actually be beneficial.  It gets your blood pumping, which will help your body to flush out any illness and toxins. 
• Apply some oregano or cinnamon essential oil to the bottoms of your feet.  Be sure you've diluted them as both of these oils are considered "hot" oils and can burn and irritate the skin!!! Don't dilute with water, but with a base oil such as olive, almond, jojoba, or grapeseed oil.
• Add a fresh lemon wedge to your glass of water. This is a great immune system boost. 
• Peppermint or eucalyptus essential oils are both considered "cooling" oils and give you that tingly, refreshed feeling.  Use these diluted in either oil or in a salve; rub the oil/salve under your nose to help with congestion.  This can also help with lung issues, such as coughing.
• Be sure to use Thieves.  This is an oil blend that originated during the Black Plague in France.  Thieves would apply this to their body in order to enter and rob the homes of those with the disease without getting sick themselves.   I have a Thieve's oil blend available in my Etsy shop. PLEASE NOTE: This is for external use only  If you're interested in finding out how to make Four Thieve's Vinegar, which is a tincture that you can take internally (and I recommend) you can get the recipe here. 

Stay healthy, and remember, nature's way is always the right way to take care of yourself. After all, that's where we came from ;)!

Candace 

RedSunflower Designs

Facial Cleanser from Grapes? Absolutely!

Happy Sunday all!

As a tribute to my love for a good red wine, this week's DIY Fall Beauty recipe is going to focus on the amazing grape.   So, if your face needs some pep, red grapes can give it an anti-oxidant lift!  

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 cup mashed grapes (or so; doesn't have to be exact)
• around 1 tsp olive oil (adjust up or down a smidge depending on skin type)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup milk (can be cow, goat, soy, whatever you want)

In a blender, combine the grapes, oil, baking soda and milk, and mix well.  Gently wash your face with this morning and evening. Rinse off with warm water.  

If you refrigerate, this should keep for about a week. 

This is GREAT for your skin because, as we all know, grapes are super high in antioxidants.  The olive oil helps your skin to retain moisture.  Baking soda helps to soften the skin - for that "smooth as a baby's bottom" complexion we all want!  Finally, the enzymes in milk help to gently exfoliate your skin.

I hope you guys have all enjoyed this recipe and found it useful.  Please feel free to comment and let us know how it goes. 

See ya next week :)!

Candace

RedSunflower Designs

Choices

Happy Sunday all! 

I've been trying to decide what to write about this week ALL MORNING.  Should I do another home beauty recipe?  You're probably getting alittle bored with those, right?  Maybe I should discuss the benefits of a specific essential oil or plant; feels alittle too much like lecturing for my mood.  So I've decided today will be more like a journal entry about me and my life. 

There comes a time when you have to decide what you want out of life; I mean what you really, truly want your life to be.  Then you have to figure out how to make it happen.  Sometimes this means changing directions on your path, or choosing a different path completely.  (I can hear the panic now.  Don't worry, I'm not leaving.) It can be really hard to make the decisions that we know we need to make.  Will things work out if I do this?  Am I making a big mistake?  What if I do X for Y purpose, and it back fires?  

These are thoughts we all have when we realize we are at a crossroads in our life path.  I've recently made a big decision to let one part of my life go in order to pursue the life I truly want.  It was a really hard decision in some ways, but in the end it was a huge relief to have chosen to take that step.  And I'm really happy about my decision.  I won't say I don't have moments of doubt.  Of course, I do.  But I've made the decision that I know is best for me & the direction I want my life to take.  Sometimes you just have to have faith;  faith in yourself, faith in life, and faith in God/the Universe/whatever.  So, I'm taking a big leap to see what the future holds. 

Take a look at your life.  Is there something holding you back that you need to let go of in order to become a better you or to have the life you want?  If so, don't be afraid to make the decisions that will help you get there. 

Natural Blessings, 

Candace

RedSunflower Designs

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

How To Age Like a French Woman!

Happy Sunday all!  Sorry this is coming to you so late in the day; I had a project to complete, and it took alittle longer than planned.

Given my new vinotherapy skin care line, I've been planning to speak about the benefits of reservatrol for a couple of weeks now. We all know that red wine is good for your health, but why is that?  Simply put: reservatrol.  Reservatrol is the main phytochemical (a naturally-occurring chemical compound found in plants that help stave off disease in many forms) found in the skin of red grapes.  Reservatrol is also a natural anti-oxidant, meaning it can also help to protect your body from the effects of environmental pollutants, found in most every city worldwide today.  Combine that with the amount of processed foods we eat, particularly in the West, and you can see why it would be beneficial to try to combat these affects.

Aside from being an anti-inflammatory, reservatrol also has anti-aging benefits;  the phytochemical helps in cell regeneration, allowing your skin to appear younger.

Reservatrol is further credited with being responsible for the French Paradox. The French Paradox is the observation that the French suffer a relatively low incidence of coronary heart disease, despite having a diet relatively rich in saturated fats (think full fat dairy), and high rates of smoking.  By all accounts, the French should probably have significantly higher rates of disease, but they don't.  While there are still studies being done, many believe reservatrol is the reason.  Think about it: don't you look at French women and wonder how they age so well???  As someone who lived in France for several years, I can tell you that the French don't believe in "fat free".  And we all know that the French love their red wine!

I hope this has helped to shed some light on why reservatrol is "the" thing right now, and why the French and other cultures have known about it's benefits for years.   Feel free to leave me comments and let me know what you guys think!

You can view my WineOh! Vinotherapy Skincare Line here.

Until next week, Natural Blessings!

Candace

RedSunflower Designs

Healing, The Way Nature Intended!

Happy Sunday all!

So last week, I said I was going to talk about the benefits of reservatrol for the skin. But I'm actually going to push that to next week's blog.  This week, I want to give something back.  I've always found folk remedies to be fascinating.  How did people back in the day figure out that a certain herb would help to heal a wound, or help with cramps, or cure a toothache?  I wish that I had learned more of these from my grandparents and great-grandparents when they were still around.  But I've learned through research, and personal trial & error, some of the ways we can use herbs and oils for healing, and that's what I'm discussing today. 

Lavender oil has so many uses, therapeutically speaking.  It's known for helping to calm us during periods of stress and anxiety, and is also known to help with depression.  It is also very useful as a bug repellent, and great for burns.  Not only will it help take the sting out of the burn, but lavender oil is a natural antiseptic/antibiotic, so it can help to prevent infection at the burn site as well. Many older French women keep a bottle of lavender oil in their kitchens for this very reason.  Additionally, lavender is one of the few essential oils that is safe to use "neat" on the skin, or without diluting. 

If you're looking to detox from a night out on the town in smoky bars, detox from stress, or just clear out your system, grapefruit oil is the way to go.  Whether it's pink or white grapefruit oil, it's great to help with muscle fatigue, and mental exhaustion.  It's tonic qualities make it perfect as part of any detox plan. One word of caution: grapefruit essential oil is highly concentrated, and thus, should always be diluted in a carrier oil for topical use.  You can also use this in an oil burner; this is a great way to reap the benefits if you're needing more of a mental vs physical detox.  Dispersing the scent of this oil by burning it will leave you feeling refreshed and restored.

Ginger has long been used for its medicinal properties for everything from nausea to colds & rheumatism.  Many cultures have used this remedy for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, because its application is so diverse.  For example, in Senegal (West Africa), tribal women will make belts of ginger to arouse their partners sexual interest ;)!  Ginger oil is most prized in the West for helping nausea.  This is why, if you have a stomach flu, you are often advised to drink ginger ale, as it will calm your stomach.  If you're just nauseous, however, you can use it easily as an inhalation.  Uncap the bottle, put it directly under your nose, and inhale deeply.  Do that for 2-3 breaths, and you should start to feel the nausea subside.  DO NOT use ginger oil neat; ginger, along with other spice oils, can be very irritating to the skin.  Always mix with a carrier oil, and then test a small area on your skin.  Some people, especially those with sensitive skin, may still not be able to use the oil topically. 

A great source for all of the oils mentioned here, as well as a plethora of others, is Mountain Rose Herbs .  Their quality is fabulous and I would recommend them to anyone.

I hope you've enjoyed learning a few ways to heal yourself with nature.  Next week, I'll walk about the benefits of reservatrol in skin care, as promised.  

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend everyone!  

Natural Blessings, 

Candace 

RedSunflower Designs