Essential Oils

Nervines and Other Natural Help for Stress and Anxiety

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Ahh, the holidays….nothing like high expectations and extra obligations to turn up the heat on stress and anxiety levels. It’s a shame that the most joyful, festive, family-oriented time of year also has to be one of the hardest for many people. Stress and anxiety cause problems all year long of course, but it seems like this time of year people are rushing around much more with longer to-do lists and shorter fuses. Luckily for us, the natural world has plenty of help to offer, so much so that it seems pretty clear that nature would really like to tell all of us to chill out a bit. Since there are so many options out there, I’ve limited this post to just a few herbal and natural choices that cover the range of stress and anxiety from mild to intense but it’s still rather long. If you don’t see what you are looking for, feel free to contact me.

Nervines are a class of herbs that focus on the nervous system. They share similarities with adaptogens, which I posted about earlier, which are a different class of herbs that offer help with stress and anxiety by balancing out the body overall, with specific attention paid to the endocrine system. A great, concise article about the difference between adaptogens and nervines and when to use which can be found here. Nervines are good for any kind of stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and certain types of pain. They range in their strength from gentle tonic (such as Skullcap) to powerful sedative (such as Valerian). Most fall in-between the extremes and you can find plenty of blends that allow the herbs to work in a synergistic way.

Kava Kava is one of the most popular calming herbs, but it’s also an herb that has some warnings attached to it. Although it’s been in use in the South Pacific for it’s relaxing and euphoric qualities since ancient times, there have been a couple of issues recently that could indicate Kava might be damaging to certain people’s livers. It’s all quite inconclusive but some products do come with a warning on it, and some stores just stopped selling it, although it is still readily available in capsules, tinctures, and teas both online and found at brick and mortar stores. If you have an overload of toxins in your body, or a compromised liver for any reason, you might want to stick to other calming herbs or blend of herbs. Also, if you are taking it as a tincture, be prepared for it to numb your lips at first~ that just means it’s a potent product and it is a good sign.

Valerian which is also found in tincture, pill, or tea form is deeply relaxing and often part of herbal sleep aides. If you are not familiar with the herb, be forewarned that it has a strong scent although it doesn’t taste bad at all. More than once I’ve smelled the herb near someone or in their pocket and mistakenly thought the person was ill because it is that strong (and I have an over-active nose). If you need to address insomnia, Valerian is a good place to start.

Skullcap is also found in insomnia formulas but is milder and can be used throughout the day as a tonic for the nervous system. This is a particularly good herb for you if you find that your brain gets stuck on repeating anxious thoughts or has circular patterns of negativity.  Capsules and tea forms are also available.

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Blends are a healthy option if you are not sure which herb is best for you. Herb Pharm makes one which has a unique lavender taste and also comes in capsule form.

 

For children, the line Herbs for Kids makes a couple of non-alcoholic blends, a Valerian based one and a milder Chamomile based option. Herb Pharm also makes a kid- friendly blend to help with nighttime and nap-time that is also alcohol-free.

Most people know St. John’s Wort is good for minor depression such as the kind caused by seasonal affective disorder (SAD). It takes two to three weeks to feel the benefits of this mild tonic nervine but it really does have the ability to make one’s outlook a bit sunnier. In fact, St. John’s Wort can increase one’s photo-sensitivity so if you live in a sunny climate, do be aware that your skin just might surprise you with its quicker than usual darkening  or reddening. I actually love this about the herb because SAD is related to lack of sunshine and vitamin D, so what does St. John’s Wort do? Increases your sensitivity to the sun! All the citrus essential oils act in the same way by the way~ they too increase your photo-sensitivity and they are also anti-depressants, so if you are using them in a body oil or body spray you should keep that in mind.

A word about deciding how to take your nervines. Tinctures are a great option because if you put the liquid right under your tongue you will feel the effects almost immediately. (It might burn so have some water nearby to wash the rest down your throat.) Stress and anxiety often lead to less than optimal digestion which may inhibit the results of a capsule or tablet, so if you use a tincture or tea, that alleviates the potential problem of not getting the most out of your supplement (and therefore your money). Of course, use whatever form works best for you because in the end, the best form is the form you actually take.

There are other natural products that help with stress and anxiety as well. B vitamins are important for daily stress management and are often even labeled with the word ‘stress’ right on the front them. If your daily tension levels are high then looking into a total B could prove beneficial.

As discussed earlier, vitamin D plays a role in SAD and is especially important in places where the word ‘overcast’ is in the daily forecast. Using a liquid formula is the most affective way to take D, other than getting at least a half hour of sunshine on some bare skin every day. (And that includes no sunscreen for that half hour.)

For times when your anxiety is high because of a certain event, or you are anticipating something stressful, then GABA might be your answer. GABA is a neurotransmitter already found in our brain that has anti-anxiety action. This study gives a brief explanation of one test and what the results were if you are interested. My naturopath actually first suggested GABA to me for times when I had to take my kids to get shots because of the extreme stress around those situations. (The GABA was suggested for my kids but I needed it too!) We use the chewables or lozenges because they are faster acting and personally, I feel the effects far greater than with capsules.

Essential oils are really at their prime working on stress and anxiety. They are definitely nature’s messengers telling us silly humans to relax, enjoy beauty, and quite literally to stop and smell the roses, or at least the rose oil. Neroli blossoms used to always be part of bridal bouquets because of their calming attributes and the essential oil continues that tradition of being a powerful anti-anxiety oil. Lavender is well-known as a relaxing scent and it combines beautifully with almost any other essential oil. Combining it with Neroli creates an affective anti-anxiety spray or oil, and combining Lavender with a citrus oil creates a lovely uplifting scent for diffusing or wearing. As mentioned above, all the citrus oils are anti-depressant (and also mildly stimulating), but the best ones for uplifting your mood are  Orange, Grapefruit, and Bergamot.

Clary Sage is often referred to as a ‘euphoric’ and it combines well with Bergamot for an uplifting, anti-depressant effect. I like to make body/room sprays that are half Clary Sage and half Bergamot.

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Making body oils is a great way to wear your anti-anxiety and anti-stress essential oils like a shield. You can put the oil on the bottom of your feet, all over your body, or make a stronger scented perfume oil or spray that you can reapply to your pressure points throughout the day. There are so many natural options for help with stress and anxiety that you really don’t need to just push through those moments, days, or seasons alone. Of course, always consult a medical professional if you are struggling to the point of it disrupting your daily activities, but know there are plenty of natural options to help you enjoy your life fully and with optimal health.

Peace to all of you this season and please share this with anyone who might be looking for a little natural help with stress, depression, and/or anxiety, and subscribe for more posts like this one on a weekly basis.

Herbal Gifts Kids Can Make (Adults too!)

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This time of year it can be nice to take a break from the holiday craziness for a couple of hours and be creative, work with nature’s gifts, and maybe even a kid or two, to make something for yourself or others. I remember watching Little House on the Prairie and being shocked at how excited they were for their Christmas gifts which were always something like a penny and a hand-sewn apron for their one and only doll. Those days may be long gone but we can still appreciate the small things, the natural gifts that are crafted by hand that can add a sparkle of ‘special’ to a bath, a meal, or a daily routine. Kids love to be creative and make things, something that seems to happen less and less in school these days, so really if you are crafting with kids you are giving them a gift in the making as well as in the giving. Part of the fun is the labeling and packaging too, so let yourself or your young helper/s let out their inner artist. Including instructions with the gifts is also a good idea just to make sure the receiver remembers how to use the gift days later when all the chaos and hubbub of gift giving is over, plus it’s a sneaky little writing exercise for youngsters too, and can be awfully cute. It’s also a great time to share the value of reusing glass bottles and other containers, as well as why choosing ‘natural’ over ‘artificial’ is important. Some ideas to consider:

For the cook~ Bouquet Garni, Olive Oil and Vinegar infused with herbs (For the bouquet garni you will need cooking twine or muslin bags, parsley, thyme, and a bay leaf or two, plus other herbs if you want.) Use dried herbs only with the oil, but vinegar can take dry or fresh. See video below for more details.

For the homebody~ Room spray / body spray (could even be labeled car spray for the new driver or car aficionado), body oil These links take you to other posts with videos.

For the bath and spa lover~ Bath salts, Herbal bath mixtures, Bath milks,  Salt Scrub, Massage oil (can be made the same as a body oil). See video below for more details.

For the traveler~ Herbal Eye Pillow (this link takes you to Pinterest tutorials), Relaxing essential oil perfume (this link takes you another post with a how-to video).

For the yoga and/or meditation practitioner: Chakra oils (This link takes you to another post with a how-to tutorial.)

For men~ Cologne (video below but using a recipe from Wormwood’s The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy), body oil, hair growth blend (Links to other posts with the how-to info.)

 

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Bottle of 2 oz. Castor oil with 5 drops of Rosemary Essential Oil with a dropper (for hair growth)
For the cat fanatic~ Catnip pillow (you can do this for dogs too, just sick some treats in there instead of the catnip.) Link is to Pinterest how-to tutorials.

I really enjoy the labeling process (as you can clearly see by all the options I included) so here are ideas to get you started:

Chalkboard Labels or these

Apothecary Labels

Craft Labels

Japan Style Labels

Natural History Labels

Art Nouveau Labels

European Tiles Labels

In case you can’t reuse the glass bottles and jars that you already have, here are a couple of options:

Clear Vintage Bottles

Green Vintage Bottles

Vintage Apothecary Jars

Craft Jars

Enjoy being creative and fashioning nature’s gifts into self-care treats for yourself or others, and please share with anyone who might be looking for DIY ideas, especially if they have little ones they are crafting with. Kids love creating and especially love working with herbs and essential oils. They just seem to have an instinct for the ancestral authenticity of it. I hope your winter season is full of natural delights and plenty of rest and rejuvenation. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

Sense-ational Scents

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This is a post in conjunction with another blogger’s month long celebration of the senses. I’ve chosen the sense of smell for Litebeing Chronicles’ “Sense-ational Challenge” because essential oils are a beautiful, fully positive part of my life and they fulfill the requirements of ‘joy and delight’ that are part of the criteria as we celebrate the human, earthly experience that our spirits both endure and relish in.

Scents are a positive part of my day, all day long. I start every day by diffusing essential oils into the air to wake up the brain with happy, invigorating scents~ as I said before, the usual combination is Rosemary and Orange oil. While getting dressed, I first lather up my arms and stomach with oil blends that I make which are meant to lightly perfume my personal world with intention. (I’ll show you how to make your own down below.) After I’m dressed I spray myself with blends that I make that are either calming or stimulating, depending on the time of day. My favorite daytime combination is Bergamot and Clary Sage in a 50/50 ratio. This is an anti-depressant combo that is happy, uplifting, and awakening with calm undertones. It can be hard to remember at times that calmness is an important part of ‘happy and stimulating’,  because we often equate happiness and being energetic with a kind of jumpy attribute, like an over-caffeinated cartoon, but calmness preserves energy for long term use and is the happy place for the brain and body. Calm does not mean tired, although being calm is definitely a prerequisite for a good night’s sleep. During the day I use the sprays periodically as needed on both my body and the rooms I am in, and I also diffuse essential oils throughout the day. Lately I’ve been using Fennel essential oil around meal times because it encourages proper digestion and it smells good with food.

Here’s a quick video on making your own body oil or perfume with essential oils which is healthy for the body, brain, emotions, and even the environment. Be sure to reuse your glass bottles and know you are doing beautiful goodness for yourself and others by avoiding chemical fragrances with their endocrine disruptors and carcinogens, and instead opting for the natural beauty of earthly gifts.

If you don’t want to make your own body oil, Kate’s Magik makes lovely body oils that are also Reiki infused. They are labeled by intention, not scent, but the blends are all deep and decadent so you can’t go wrong by picking one out based on your intuition and intention. There’s one for Transformation and Change, one for Passion, Love and Creativity, one to Evoke Love and Trust, one for Grounding and Empowerment, and one for Clarity and Strength. These are great for both men and women by the way. I actually found these by getting one for husband’s stocking one Christmas years ago and we’ve both used them off and on every since.

When making my own perfumes and body oils I usually use Aura Cacia brand ingredients because they are readily available at Whole Foods and other natural foods stores. Be sure to make certain you use reputable brands that are pure and natural because chemical fragrances are not going to give you the mental and emotional benefits that naturals give you. Have fun, be creative, and delight in your sense of smell a bit every day. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

The next blogger doing a post within the blogging challenge is C at https://judahfirst.wordpress.com/ so follow along if you wish.

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Natural Help for Thinning and Graying Hair

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WP_20170605_12_43_57_Pro[1]It’s funny, now that I’ve entered my 40s a new conversation has become common among my friends~ worry about thinning hair. I’ve been dealing with grays for a couple of decades so that isn’t new, but the realization that all that ‘dealing’ with grays might cause hair thinning was partially what led me to switch to henna and other herbs instead of conventional dying. (More on that in another post.) Other friends have the same issue, and certainly hair thinning isn’t just related to heavy processing, it’s a part of aging just like wrinkles and wisdom, and it’s often men who have that issue earliest and most severe, though women suffer with hair loss too. There are things you can do, whether you want to work from the inside-out, or outside-in, or attack hair loss from both sides and hopefully stop it in its tracks or at least minimize it. Taking action sends the message to yourself that you have some control so that alone alleviates some stress over the situation, and everyone knows that stress contributes to all things bad, including hair loss and graying.

The first and most basic thing is to make sure you are getting enough B vitamins. B vitamins are water soluble, meaning they don’t accumulate in your body like vitamins A and E, so it’s important to get Bs everyday. Vegetarians and vegans especially need to supplement with B12, and I’d say a total B with added B12 because all the Bs are together under “B” because they need each other to work together. That’s why there is B1, Folic Acid, B12, niacin, etc in a total B supplement. B vitamins are also essential in stress and anxiety regulation, as well as energy production, so they are pretty important in how you feel on a day to day basis. There is sound science around B12 and graying hair and hair loss, but I’ll let you read about that elsewhere and just continue on here with some other things you can do for prevention and recovery.

Collagen has become an important ingredient lately in the beauty nutrients arena. Collagen, which you can read much more about by clicking that link, not only is important for healthy hair, it’s important for healthy skin, nails, and bones. There are quite a few products that incorporate collagen into their recipes so it’s easy to find something that works for you. Neocell makes these delicious chews which is a nice way to take a supplement if you are sick of pills. Biosil is a popular supplement that is a collagen booster, and you can read about the difference on their website. It comes in caps or powder, has great reviews, and has been featured in Vogue recently in an article on growing out hair.

Hair, Skin, and Nails is a classic beauty multivitamin which has been around for ages. If you want to just know that your multi is helping you achieve your beauty goals, Futurebiotics has you covered. I love that they have one specifically for men too. That might be a nice stocking stuffer for anyone trying to get their guy to take a daily vitamin for his New Year’s resolution. There are good formulas from other reputable brands as well, like Megafood’s.

Still working from the inside out, there are herbs that are traditionally known to help hair stay vibrant, thick, youthful, and even to prevent graying and reverse graying. I can’t guarantee results with the gray reversal because it seems to really depend on the person, but two things can be said about these herbs in regards to that~ 1. it takes time to work. Don’t expect results for months, possibly even 6 months, and 2. even if they don’t reverse graying, they will make your hair healthier, thicker, and more youthful and help to prevent more grays. Not bad side effects, eh? If you know anything about herbs you probably already know one of them which I’m referencing: Fo ti. This herb comes from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and is an adaptogen with anti-aging effects on the entire body. It is traditionally used for longevity, disease prevention, and beauty, including beautiful hair. Also known as He/ho Shou Wu, which means roughly ‘Mr. Ho’s black hair’ because of the legend of a weak man (Mr. Ho or He) returning to vitality with the help of the herb, including his hair going back to black. Adaptogens are a group of herbs that not only all have wide reaching positive benefits including stress management and overall system balancing, they are also in that category because they are generally beneficial for all people without a great risk of harm. That said, they are also herbs to be taken in small doses over a long period of time, and as I’ve said before, keep in mind that herbs have fiber and adding them into your daily diet is something to be done with a light hand, else you might encounter digestive issues. Our bodies get used to the amount of fiber they generally have, and will get used to having more daily fiber, but it needs to be done slowly, especially in the case of Fo-ti. I’ll tell you how I take it below, after I introduce the other hair herb.

The Ayurvedic tradition gives us another herb known to reverse graying or at the very least, provide it with nutrients to increase its youthful thickness and luster. Amla is also an adaptogen with wide-ranging benefits, but specifically for hair, you can not only take it internally, you can also make a hair mask of the powdered Amla to invigorate your hair externally. It’s especially good on curls and texture, which is something I like to do when I henna my roots because it revitalizes the curl while henna can somewhat relax it. Internally, I take it by making a blend of Amla powder and Fo-ti powder and put a 1/2 teaspoon into my coffee in the morning and another 1/2 teaspoon in tea or coffee in the afternoon. I barely taste it and enjoy the earthiness, but if it bothers you, milk and/or a sweetener can be added, or throw it in a smoothie or mix it with juice. This is important: more does not make it work faster so start with just a 1/2 teaspoon and work up to two 1/2 teaspoons per day if you desire.

Working externally, a lot has been said about castor oil. If you want to fiddle with ingredients and concoct something more or less complicated, pinterest has you covered. If simple is more your style, put some castor oil in a dropper bottle and make your way around your head, rubbing it in gently, sleep with it and in the morning wash it out. Once or twice a week seems to be the recommended amount of doing this, with again, more not being better, but honestly I haven’t tried it yet because it also makes your hair grow faster and that’s not something I’m currently desiring.

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Bottle of 2 oz. Castor oil with 5 drops of Rosemary Essential Oil with a dropper
If I were to use castor oil for thickness, the only thing I’d add into it is Rosemary essential oil. Rosemary is of course a stimulant oil so I wouldn’t add more than a drop in if I intended to sleep with it, but it’s the best known essential oil for stimulating hair growth. There are many ways to incorporate Rosemary into your hair routine, including Rosemary hydrosol which can just be sprayed on your hair (aim for the roots) or adding Rosemary essential oil to your (all natural) shampoo, conditioner, and gel or mousse. Rosemary boosts memory and helps with brain fog as well, so don’t be surprised if your brain gets a boost along with your hair. I actually start every day with diffusing Rosemary and Orange essential oils to wake my sons’ brains up for school (and my own brain too!) with happy stimulation.

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As mentioned above, stress also plays a role in hair health just as it plays a role in overall health, so in the next post there will be more ways to combat stress and a little hint, you’ll be hearing more about adaptogens. In the meantime, why not make yourself some chakra oils and spend a few moments every day putting energy back into yourself. You deserve to be your healthiest self. Please share this with anyone you know who might be looking for some help with thinning and/or graying hair because we need to feel confident about taking action for our own best selves~ body, and mind, and to know we have options. I’ve read that November is men’s health month so especially pass this along to your favorite guys if it might be something that would interest them. The truth is, hair is important to how we feel, our self-esteem, and our self-concept, so let’s give it some love and care.

Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

 

Chakra Balancing Essential Oil Set

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Yogis, healers, Reiki masters, and those who meditate agree, chakras are the keys to our body’s health on all different levels. Actually, they might be better described as keyholes, and essential oils are the keys to opening blocked ones and balancing out others. If you feel unbalanced or stuck in some area of your life, it just might be worth it to look into what chakra that stuck pattern might fall under, and administer some healing. Self-care is as simple as taking a moment to put essential oils around your chakras which will show intention of healing, and the essential oils will do their part in opening and balancing out the chakras deep through the body and in the aura.

There are fabulous articles on chakras out there, including this one which is intended for beginners. I’ve been reading up on using essential oils specifically for certain chakras for a while now with the intent of making a complete set and thought I’d share the process here. It’d make a fabulous gift for anyone who meditates or does yoga or Reiki, or is just interested in optimal health and well-being, or perhaps someone who obviously needs a bit of balance in an area (or two or seven) in his/her life.

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All you need are seven bottles, essential oils that correspond to the different chakras, a base oil or two, labels of some sort and of course a notebook to write down what you have concocted. I personally like the idea of presenting these in a lovely box so they are kept together safely and in a dark place. Above are some of my ingredients, but not all of them. If you don’t feel like you have a range of essential oils, don’t worry, I’ve actually read that in a pinch, lavender works to open and balance all the chakras, and if someone only has one essential oil in their possession, it’s most likely lavender, am I right?

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For the base I’m using sweet almond and jojoba oil combined. The base oil goes into the little bottles first, filling them up most of the way, but leaving room for the essential oils. For this size bottle (.33 oz), plan for 4-6 drops essential oil. (A little goes a long way!) Ideally, reuse your old bottles, or find new ones here, then reuse them.

InstagramCapture_0d7cf70b-5d22-4e4a-a917-e2e4f3a1fea4[1]That’s my son’s little finger helping there. He helped me out the day I made these~ you’ll see more of his fingers later.

Adding the essential oils to the base oil is the fun part! I have saved several charts on my pinterest page dedicated to pairing chakras and essential oils but I encourage you to get creative, use your intuition, use the many resources online, or you can just use my combinations below:

Root Chakra: 3 drops Frankincense and 3 drops Cedarwood

Sacral Chakra: 2 drops each Jasmine (absolute), Bergamot, and Sandalwood (absolute)

Solar Plexus: 2 drops each Frankincense, Rosemary, and Basil

Heart: 2 drops each Rose (absolute), Neroli (absolute), and Geranium

Throat: 2 drops each Jasmine (absolute), Clary Sage, and Sandalwood (absolute)

Third Eye: 5 drops of Lavender

Crown Chakra: 2 drops each of Frankincense, Ylang Ylang, and Clary Sage

In the above I’ve linked to absolutes instead of the pure essential oil in cases where the pure oil is very expensive. If you prefer not to use absolutes (which means the essential oil is already blended with a base oil, such as jojoba), then by all means, use the pure essential oil. If you can’t find them on amazon, try Mountain Rose Herbs. Aura Cacia and Mountain Rose Herbs are both reputable brands and their sites are worth checking out for recipes and information regarding their products.

Be sure to label them right away and don’t forget to mix them by rolling them back and forth in your hands. There are my youngest son’s fingers again! InstagramCapture_cfd82edb-914f-4b56-b6f8-b2d849a9346d[1]

Great times to use these oils include right before meditating, yoga, or when feeling ‘off’ in any way. They can be used one at a time or all at once. You just need a couple of drops to rub in a clockwise circle where the corresponding chakra is. If you are unsure on where the chakras are there are many images online. Here is one, but a simple search will turn up many more. The root oil can be added to your feet instead of trying to find that chakra since the important part for the root is to be grounded anyway. The others are fairly straightforward and easy to access.

Another idea for gift giving, since we are rapidly approaching that time of year, is to add a stone dedicated to each chakra along with the oils. Or if you know someone who is working on a certain chakra, such as the heart due to heartbreak or heart health problems, then make a larger bottle of just that particular chakra oil along with a dedicated crystal or two. To find out which stones go along with which chakras, I’ve posted some on my pinterest board.

I’ll be using these myself, but if I were to give them as a gift I’d put some pretty material in the box to keep the glass bottles safe, and maybe some  instructions for use, depending on the person.

Poor Bailey thinks these are for her. Sorry B, you can sniff but you can’t touch.

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This an updated piece on making your essential oil chakra set for yourself or to gift someone. I originally wrote this for MindBodyGreen.com and also posted it on my first blog. This version includes basic editing plus links to my pinterest boards with saved pins on essential oils, crystals/stones, and the chakras they correspond with. I’ve also included links to ingredients for easy shopping. For more info on that, check out my affiliation policy.  Happy creating and healing! 

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Essential Oil Sprays for Body and Home

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We all know by now to avoid that word ‘fragrance’ on labels, right? If you need a quick reminder of why, it’s because that word can be a multitude of different chemicals that do not legally need to be detailed out on labels. Those chemicals include known endocrine disruptors and carcinogens. When we think about the widespread use of ‘fragrance’ in a multitude of industries~ personal care products, candles, cleaning products, furniture, etc, and the exposure which occurs over a lifetime, then it gets pretty clear that avoiding fragrance as much as one can is the best choice for optimal health, both for individuals and for the environment. I’m going to be showing easy ways to use essential oils for scenting and the first is a body spray which can just as well be used as a room spray. The benefits of essential oils are endless. I hope you enjoy exploring them as much as I do.

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