Make it Yourself Monday-After Sun Spritzer

4 oz. Aloe Vera Juice (Water) *can be made from aloe powder
2 oz. Witch Hazel
1 oz. Distilled Water
30 drops German Blue Chamomile Essential Oil
15 drops Lavender Essential Oil
15 drops [Egyptian] Geranium Essential Oil
Preservative of Choice (use according to manufacturers directions)
*baking soda

Add all the ingredients together, mix well, then pour into a bottle with a spray top. While not necessary, storing this product in the refrigerator will extend the shelf life AND add to the cooling relief it offers.
 
Need more relief? You can mix some of the above with baking soda and apply a thin layer to a sun burn. This makes a wonderful cooling and soothing paste, much like a (facial) mud mask.

What's Up Wednesday- Contest

Since I was preoccupied with my Son's wedding and the fact that nature slapped many of us with a prolonged power outage, I have extended the NAME MY SOAP CONTEST until August 4th! If your name is chosen you will win a bar of the soap that you just named and some samples of various other products!

For now the soap is just called number 77. The picture put up with the other posts was of Irish Rain, and NOT #77. My apologies about that, but, the description was accurate, except for the fact that this one does not have jojoba beads in it. It is colored with French Green Clay, Spirulina, and Nettle. The scent is (mainly) a mixture of lavender and grapefruit, with a hint of eucalyptus. While there are other essential oils tossed in there, these three are really the only notes that are easily sniffed out. It is a nice clean, fresh scent, with a bit of an after bite. It is a different one for sure, truly unique, and a great new scent! To enter, leave your suggestions in comments here or on my face book page; https://www.facebook.com/UniqueGarden 

For the small print; This prize is only open to contestants who have mailing addresses within the continental USA. I will hapily mail the prize anywhere if the winner agrees to pay for postage, so enter if you like, no matter where you live.
Besides that, all entries should be "G" rated, as this is a family company.
Any entry that is deemed to be inappropriate or vulgar will be deleted. You may submit up to 5 different names. If the winning name has been submitted more than once, only the first to submit it will win the prize(s).
No trademarked names will be used, and should not be submitted. In the event that none of the submitted names are chosen to be used, one winner will be randomly chosen from all of the entries submitted, and will win the prize(s). That should do it for all the details, much luck!

Make it Yourself Monday-

Today's Make it Yourself Monday recipe is for some refreshing, Summertime drinks!

We will start with a nice Lavender Lemonade. To save calories or make for a diabetic, try using splenda or another sugar substitute.

You will need;
1/2 gallon of water
1 cup sugar or the equivalent in your choice of a sugar substitute 
1/3 cup lavender blossoms
6 large (whole) lemons

Boil water and pour the lavender buds. Allow it to infuse for 15 minutes, then strain the botanicals from the tea. Toss the solids and retain the liquid.

Juice the lemons, leaving 1/2 of a lemon for a garnish. Add the lemon juice to the lavender tea, then add the sugar or sugar substitute. You can add more or less than stated, depending upon your preference. Once mixed, slice the half of lemon  you saved for the garnish and float them on top of the pitcher. Chill the pitcher and serve the contents cold, or over ice. Enjoy! 




This next one is a Citrus Smoothie/Slushy. Healthy, tasty, and great for a hot Summer's day, this one can be made without any added sugar at all! 


You will need;
2 ripened oranges, peeled and chopped
1 lime, peeled and chopped
1 tray of ice cubes
2 ounces of orange juice

Toss everything into the blender and blend until smooth, pour into a glass and  refrigerate for five minutes. If you like you can add sugar or sugar substitute to taste. Drink up and enjoy!

Make it Yourself Monday- Bath Salt Gifts

My Daughter in law is already marking her "Days til Christmas" calendar (and I believe there are now 41 more days until!) so I know that it is just around the corner, whether I am ready or not! So here are is quick and easy gift idea. Bath Salts!

You can easily make up a pretty jar of bath salts for anyone on your gift list. You can purchase some epsom salts at your local drug store, to use alone or to mix in with some European or Dead Sea Salts. The Dead Sea Salts are the most expensive salts, so if you are looking to keep the cost down, stick to mixing the Dendrick or the European Salts with the Epsoms. To refresh your memory about the various types of salt available, look back over this old post. Once you have your salts, decide if you want to add scent or not and find some pretty jars and maybe some ribbon, then you will be all set!

Here are some recipes for you to consider, but you don't really need one, let your imagination and your nose be your guide! Just remember that you will only use 5 drops (maximum) of essential oil(s) in 2 cups of salts, and make sure that you don't use essential oils that tend to irritate, such as cinnamon. And, if you use food coloring, it is best to spread out the salts on a tray and allow them to dry before packaging them.

-Candy Canes are a must at Christmas, so why not give yours in a pretty bath salt?  All you need is some peppermint essential oil, red food coloring, whatever type of salts you choose, and a clear jar. Mix 4-5 drops of the essential oil in 3 cups of salts. It is best to put it into a container with a lid and shake, shake shake! Then take out 1/2 of the salts to keep white. Put 1 drop of red food coloring into the other half, replace the lid and shake, shake, shake some more. If you think the coloring is too light, you can probably add 1 more drop of coloring. Just be cautious. You will NOT get a deep red, as too much food coloring will stain the tub and can even stain the person! Leave the salt sit for a while so that it absorbs the scent and the color dries, then layer the colored salt with the plain salt until the jars are full. This makes such a beautiful display, and a very lovely gift!

-Try mixing 4 drops of lavender and 5 drops of eucalyptus essential oils in 3 cups of salts, for a nice, soothing and uplifting blend. You can add a drop of blue food coloring if you so choose.

-How about a lime and basil bath? Mix 5 cups of the salts of your choice with 5 drops of lime and 4 drops of basil essential oils. For a pretty presentation, add 1 drop of green food coloring and 1 drop of yellow food coloring to the entire mix, or double the recipe and color half, then layer or play with skewers and design like it is sand art! Want to get really fancy? Add some crushed (dried) basil.

*For an extra special presentation you can purchase jars that have cork stoppers. Then dip the cork into a colored, melted wax, then place into the bottle for a great seal and a cool look. Try green with the basil and lime bath, and red with the candy cane. Let your imagination run wild, and seal all your jars!

-Tie a ribbon or raffia around the jar lid to spruce it up a bit! You can even make a pretty gift tag to attach your holiday sentiments!

*You can add 1 cup of baking soda and 1/2 cup of citric acid to 2 cups of bath salts to make Fizzing bath salts!

TGIF

Here are a few newly completed products, ready for the cabin. Thanks to the flu I am still needing to finish a few things, but I did make a good start at it.


This is a Candy Cane Bath Salt, made with Dead Sea Salts, and scented with essential oils.

These twist up lotion bars are made with jojoba shea butter and other great ingredients. Perfect for deeply moisturizing winter skin.

These bars are made with the same great ingredients as the twist up containers, just  without the container. These all weigh between two and three ounces, plenty enough to share with the family, or just enough to last you a good long while!

This is one of my newest essential oil blends, Spiced Lavender. Spiced Lavender is a mixture of several essential oils, with pure Bulgarian Lavender at its heart. Add to that some nice, warm, slightly sultry base notes and a light, airy, top note, and you have the perfect lavender, both for cold winter weather, and for steamy summery nights.

The scent of these heart shaped soaps take me on  a walk through snow filled woods, perhaps in search for the family Christmas Tree. Frosted Forest sounds  like the perfect name to me!

Next week I hope to finish with the cabin inventory, and I will then have a few more pictures to share with you. Think ice cube snowmen, ornaments, wreathes and more!

Enjoy your weekend and remember, Christmas is only a matter of weeks away! 

Tripod Thursdays- Soaps 1-35

Frankly Speaking Friday

As you have probably already surmised, I love organic ingredients. The problem is that everything is very expensive these days, and organic choices are even more than their regular counterparts. This is true with food, as well as the herbs and essential oils that are needed for cosmetic/beauty ingredients. Just to give you an idea, a regular lavender essential oil (lavandula angustifolia) runs about $8.00 per ounce, while the organic one is $10-$12 per ounce. This is one reason why I maintained such a large garden at my old house. Actually, having that large garden with so much lavender in it was how/why I got started making Unique Garden Essences products, but I won't bore you with that story again. If you want to read it, you can go here.

At any rate, no matter how you look at it, living, especially trying to live healthily, costs us mo' money. So the question then becomes, how do we combat this? Well, I scrimp, save, utilize coupons and the price matching policies, and whatever else I can do for myself, rather than purchasing things that are full price. To this end, I shop sales, buy Christmas gifts in the summer, buy birthday gifts after Christmas, and of course I get up at unGodly hours to get the black Friday prices for special items.

In the food and herb department, I can, I freeze and I dehydrate a LOT of herbs, fruits and vegetables. It's amazing, because when I was young, I hated working in the garden. To me, it was not good tasting food, it was just the thing(s) that kept me home working instead of away and out riding, so I was quite resentful. And helping Mom during canning season was an even bigger pain in my hiney! Now, however, I feel privileged to have been exposed to that way of life, and I find myself wishing that I had the time and the ability to do more. But I don't, so I try do what I can.

If I need some herb that I no longer grow, first I try to find a friend that has it. If that fails, (during the spring and summer) I may purchase it from the Farmer's market or, when it is not available from the farmer's market, I buy it [fresh] in the organic section of the local warehouse type store, or the local superstore. I purchase it fresh so that I know it is organic and grown without pesticide usage. When cooking I prefer fresh, but I dehydrate the leftovers for later use. Actually, so that I will have plenty in the winter, I dehydrate the majority of my summer, outside crops. Even my year-round, indoor harvests are frequently found in the dehydrator, as I hate spoilage as much as I hate running out of things, so I like to make sure that I have a lot stored. Of course I like to use recycled containers for that storage. The drink mix containers are excellent for storing dried herbs. *They should be airtight and out of sunlight.

I have a wonderful dehydrator, with seven different layers/shelves. I use it to dehydrate fruit to eat as chips, except bananas, for some reason my bananas never come out right!, And also to grind and use in scrubs. I dehydrate herbs for teas, both the bath and the drinking kind, for poultices, for cooking, and for various skin & beauty product recipes. The dehydrator is a great tool to have. While I generally only dry one product at a time, I do mix them when I have small batches and when I know that the scents will work well together. Some of my favorite blends are lavender and sage, lavender and rosemary, lavender and eucalyptus, and any citrus with sage, chamomile, rosemary or eucalyptus. The aroma waifing throughout the house when the dehydrator is in use is like a large potpourri stewing or several of those scent plug in deals! The only smell that I wasn't that crazy about, was the venison smell when my Son used the dehydrator to make his jerky,.....but generally speaking, the scents that fill your home are great!

dried & ground orange peel, dried sage, rosemary, and eucalyptus.

Make It Yourself Monday - Honey Mayo Face Mask

Here we go, the first Monday of the new year and the first "make it yourself" recipe of the new year!

This one is for a sweet facial. You should have most of these ingredients in your kitchen, although you may have to purchase the essential oils if you do not regularly use them. This is a make and use recipe and should not be stored.

Ingredients;

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/8 cup pure clover honey

4 1/2 TBS. powdered milk (leave it in powdered state)

2 drops rosemary essential oil (EO)

1 drop lavender essential oil (EO)

Warm the honey, then blend into the mayonnaise and add the powdered milk. Once this is well blended, and not too hot, add the essential oils and mix well. Apply to your face and neck and allow to sit for 15 minutes, then rinse with tepid water and pat skin dry.

This is a really a nice, moisturizing mask, for any type of skin. However, if your skin is generally oily, you will want to limit this type of a face mask to no more than 1x a week. Not sure? Try it! If you live in a humid area and/or have extra oily skin, at worst, you may need to follow with your usual toner, but your skin will still enjoy the treat and, either way, your skin will look and feel smooth and soft.

Please note that Rosemary should NOT be used by epileptics. For most people, however, rosemary is a great essential oil. It is considered to be a non-toxic, non-irritating, non-sensitizing oil, and has a long list of benefits. In this application, its most noticeable attributes have to due with its effects on skin, especially skin with acne, eczema, scabies or dermatitis. Rosemary also enhances circulation and helps displace fluid retention. Just the aroma of the EO is said to fight off mental fatigue and reduce or eliminate headaches and migraine pain.

Lavender is the number one non-toxic, non-irritating, non-sensitizing essential oil and, as such, is a basic for everyones' medicine cabinet. It is one of the few EO's that can be used undiluted on the skin, and it has many properties, covering a wide variety of ailments. In this application, it is very toning to the skin and works well for all skin types. Lavender has anti-inflammatory properties, which make it perfect for skin care treatments. It also, specifically, helps with oily skin and acne, as well as skin problems such as burns, rashes (good for diaper rash too), sunburns, psoriasis and insect bites. The inhalation of lavender EO is known to have a soothing, calming, and relaxing effect on the nerves, the mind, and, in turn, one's mood. It is also an effective treatment for headache and migraines, and it promotes restful sleep.

*Remember that you must use therapeutic-grade EO's to reap the benefits, but together, these essential oils will give your skin a great treatment, along with protection, while the aromatherapy aspects will serve to calm and relax you as it rids you of the days stress and headache.

Compresses and Poultices

As we know, herbs were the first used "drugs". You can still utilize these natural remedies for a variety of maladies. Since many of the recipes I have offered have focused on essential oils for inhalation, today I'd like to discuss some other ways to use herbs, mainly compresses and poultices. A compress consists of a pad or cloth material(cotton or gauze is the best material choice) that has been soaked in an herbal tea, decoction, or extract and water mixture. After the appropriate tea, decoction, or extract is chosen and made, you soak the pad or cloth fabric in the liquid, wring it out, then apply it to the affected area. Compresses can be used either hot or cold. If swelling, muscle sprain, or a headache is involved, after it is soaked, place the compress in the freezer until it is cold, then apply it. Sometimes it is beneficial to alternate heated compresses with cold ones to help relieve pressure. Compresses are ideal for treating and helping to heal muscle injuries, wounds, and other external pain. To know what herbs to use for your ailment(s), refer to herbal or essential oil charts, where the benefits of the products are listed. The herbs can e used as single notes or you can try mixing more than one together at a time if you are feeling bold! For muscle pains you can try wintergreen, camphor, lemon grass, sage, or eucalyptus teas. For a headache try a cool lavender, chamomile and/or sage compress. For minor wounds or skin irritations, try rosemary, chamomile, thyme or lavender. While almost like a compress, with a poultice you apply the whole herb to an affected area instead of the liquid soaked fabric. First you must boil the fresh herb (roots can be used too), then you squeeze out the excess water. The herb is then placed on a thin layer of gauze, folded to keep the herb sandwiched inside, then laid over the affected area. The poultice should stay in place for for 3-4 hours, then be replaced with a fresh one if needed. Again, the choice of herbs/roots needs to be researched and well thought out, but a poultice of (either one or a combination of two or more) the herbs rosemary, thyme, lavender or chamomile would make a strong healing poultice. Chamomile on the skin helps to reduce redness and sooth inflamed skin, as well as being an antiseptic, bactericidal, and mild sedative. Thyme is reputed to be strongly anti-viral, while also being considered an antibacterial agent and fungicide. While lavender works well on all types of skin problems, it especially worlds well for healing boils, burns, sunburn, wounds, psoriasis, insect bites, and stings. Among many others, Lavender has the properties of an antiseptic, and an analgesic, an anti-inflammatory, a restorative and a mild sedative. Rosemary also possesses many properties, but for the purpose of a poultice it is important for its properties of an analgesic, an antimicrobial, an antiseptic, a fungicidal, and a restorative.

Much Ado About Bugs!

Bugs, bugs, bugs, how to deal with bugs! Spring has sprung and summer will be quickly upon us, so you'd better have a plan in place to deal with those ever present, yet uninvited guests...bugs! The best thing to have on hand is some lavender essential oil. Once bitten, to take care of the itchy, irritating feeling, here are some easy, home-made remedies!

• When bitten by a mosquito or black fly, place one drop of lavender essential oil directly on the bite.
• For multiple bites, take 1 cup of vinegar (apple cider) and mix with 10 drops of essential oil of lavender and 5 drops of essential oil of thyme. Blend well and add to a tub of tepid bath water. Pour mixture into the tub and swish to mix well before putting yourself or your child into the tub. Soak a washcloth or a sponge in the water and then use it to liberally wipe down the body areas affected by bites. Make sure to keep this water away from the eyes.

• Take 1/4 cup sweet oil and mix in 5 drops each of eucalyptus, thyme, chamomile, and oregano essential oils (you may substitute oregano extract if you'd prefer), This bug bite soother recipe will last about 6 months, so you can have a bottle on hand all summer long!

OR

• To protect you and your family from getting bites to begin with, try my all natural bug repellent soap. Made from a proprietary blend of several essential oils known to repel insects, this is a natural, chemical-free way to protect you and your family from pests that ruin beautiful, warm evenings! All that you need to do is to rub this solid bar over exposed areas of skin, making sure to keep away from the eyes and the mouth. Or, if you prefer, you can spray the skin with water first, then slide the bar over the dampened skin. Either way, you are sure to appreciate the ease of its use, as well as the fresh, herbal scent.
  http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12988012

Wrap It Up!

The Basics of Body Wrapping

While the treatments listed here are more time consuming than some of the facial or hair treatments, they are well worth the indulgence! In addition to the physical benefits brought forth by the various ingredients used, the rewarding spiritual effects cannot be ignored. So go ahead and wrap yourself in the ocean's best and emerge like a new creation, a mermaid perhaps?

Tips to Enhance Your Treatment

Prior to a treatment, make sure that you remove all lotion, perfume, deodorant, and dirt by taking a quick shower. It will be better if use a non-perfumed soap (an all natural soap is best, but a mild one will do). Warming the tools , towels, sheets and wrap ingredients will help with your body's heat retention, thus enhancing your experience. To this end, use of a space heater is also recommended. Placing it near your relaxation area will not only prolong the heat of the wrap for as long as possible, but it will increase your comfort level. You can further intensify your treatment, as well as raise your body's temperature by sipping on some hot herbal tea before your treatment. The cotton strips or sheet that you use to wrap should be immersed in water that is approximately 180 degrees F or 82 degrees C. Wearing rubber gloves to wring out the sheets will help you avoid burning your fingers. Begin by wrapping the strips snugly around your legs, then your arms, and lastly your torso. Make sure to tuck the ends of the strip under a wrapped area nearby to ensure a snug fit. Once you are finished, lay yourself on a plastic sheet (or a shower curtain) and wrap yourself up in it, then cover yourself with blankets, as this will help to maintain the warmth and heat helps activate your treatment. Once you are finished wrapping, put on a warm robe and sit and relax for 20 minutes, unless otherwise directed. Keep in mind that it is very important that you do NOT attempt any physical activity immediately after your treatment. It is usually best to slowly remove the strips and simply roll into bed after relaxation type wraps. Showering shortly after many treatment is not recommended, so please do so only if the recipe specifically mentions it in the instructions.

Recipes/Directions

To get prepared, select your relaxation spot, such as your bed, the bathtub or a lounge chair, then place the plastic sheet or shower curtain liner on it. Set up the space heater next to it and turn it on. Place blankets nearby.

Relaxation Wrap

1 Cup fresh, chopped, chamomile OR 1/2 Cup dried chamomile 1 Cup fresh, grated valerian root OR 1/2 Cup dried valerian root 1 Cup fresh, crushed lavender OR 1/2 Cup dried lavender 1 cotton or linen sheet cut into 3" wide strips 1 large pot for boiling water (a lobster or spaghetti pot works well) 1 plastic shower curtain liner or plastic sheet blankets Place the herbs in a large pot and fill with water, then bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for five minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for five minutes. With a strainer, scoop out as many of the herbs as possible. Then place the sheet strips in the pot and allow to steep for five minutes. Once your five minutes is up, remove the strips one at a time, as you use them, and wring out the excess water. Proceed to wrap yourself as described above, making sure to cover and relax for 10 minutes, after which you should remove the strips slowly and roll on into bed. Valerian has been used since ancient Roman times as a mild sedative, and is used today as a mild sleep aid and anxiety reliever. Chamomile offers calming and anti-spasmodic properties, while lavender lends its balancing, relaxing, and restorative properties, all of which combine to make this wrap the perfect end to a stressful day. Using this wrap just prior to bedtime will maximize its effectiveness, as will delaying washing until the next morning.

Detoxifying Wrap

1 Cup fresh, chopped lemongrass OR 1/2 Cup dried lemongrass 1 3" long piece of grated or minced ginger root 1 large pot for boiling 1 cotton or linen sheet cut into 3" wide strips 1 plastic sheet or shower curtain liner blankets place the lemongrass and the ginger in a large pot and filled with water. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit for another 5 minutes. Scoop out as much of the herbs as possible, then place the sheet strips in the pot and steep for 5 minutes. Remove the strips one at a time, as you use them, and wring out the excess water. Apply as instructed in the tip section above. Once completely wrapped, cover with blankets and relax for 15 minutes. After you remove the wrap strips, shower off. Ginger has been cultivated in Southeast Asia for over 2,500 years for its medicinal properties. It has been found to rid the body of flu-like symptoms, colds, and respiratory ailments, while the scent of lemongrass uplifts and rejuvenates moods. Lemongrass has tonic, invigorating and antiseptic properties, while ginger offers stimulating and cleansing effects, which makes this wrap perfect for part of your morning ritual.

Remineralizing Wrap

8 oz dried or powdered seaweed OR 3oz fresh seaweed water (enough to make a paste) 2 Plastic sheet or shower curtain liner blankets This wrap is probably best executed in the bathtub for ease of cleanup. Put a blanket (or blankets, enough so that you are comfortable) on the bottom of the tub, then set the plastic sheet or shower curtain liner on top of the blanket(s). While sitting in the tub, on top of the plastic, cover yourself with the seaweed past or the fresh seaweed, then wrap yourself with a plastic sheet and blankets. Relax for 20 minutes, then slowly unwrap yourself, remove the blankets and sheets from the tub, fill with warm water and relax for an additional 10 minutes. After the treatment pat your skin dry, and don't forget to moisturize. *Make sure that you use the space heater for this treatment. Seaweed wraps are a quick way to remineralize the body while replenishing the body with nutrients and elements that are lost on a daily basis, such as amino-acids, calcium, copper, iodine, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, protein, and vitamins. The molecular formation of the human blood cell and that of seawater is very similar, which allows nutrients from the seawater to easily filter through the pores of the skin and directly into the bloodstream. The most popular type of seaweed used for cosmetic and healing purposes is kelp, which is the common name for the leafy brown algae that grows along colder coastlines. Although using fresh seaweed is optimal, a seaweed powder (mixed with enough water to create a mayonnaise-like paste) will give you equally satisfying results.

The Essentials of Essential Oils

As previously discussed, herbs, flowers, spices, and shrubs and their essential oils have been used for centuries to treat various ailments. Used in the proper form, administered by a knowledgeable herbalist, maladies of all types have been relieved or even cured by essential oils. In deed, these oils are used to treat just about everything that modern day drugs do.

Of course, as with any drug, they can also be dangerous, therefore ingestion should only be attempted under the care of a knowledgeable professional. Before you begin using essential oils for any treatment you should make sure that you are purchasing from a reputable dealer, that their oils are of the highest quality, and that you are fully informed of any potential adverse interactions. Essential oils are highly concentrated and should only be used either diluted, or by the drop. Prior to use you should always perform a patch test. That is, use a very small amount of the oil on a small patch of skin and check fro irritation. If irritation occurs, thoroughly wash the area with soap and water . You can then try again with a more diluted version or simply not use at all. Some oils, mainly the citrus family and cassia (which is cinnamon bark) are to be used with the utmost of caution. While cinnamon bark is beneficial as a skin conditioner and an anti-inflammatory, it can also be very irritating to the skin. Therefore the amount used in any skin care recipe becomes very critical. An inexperienced bath and body creator may be inclined, which would be a huge mistake, of adding essential oils to scent, when they should be added for their benefit first and foremost! Whether adding for benefit or scent the creator must be cognizant of the essential oil to dilutant ratio. The safest recipes and most effective aromatherapy formulas are blended at a 2 1/2% concentration rate. This means that there will be 15 drops or less of essential oil per quart or liter of carrier oil. If you have seen the cost of some essential oils, this fact is actually a small plus!

While here, this may be a good time to mention that essential oils can be very pricey. You do not want to skimp and get the cheap one just because it is cheap. To illustrate my point take lavender for exampkle. Lavender comes in a mix called 40/42. It is a mixture of lavenders (Lavendula spp.), largely from Spain, that is steam distilled. One of the plusses for it is that is the least expensive lavender essential oil (eo) that you can buy. It is also the most floral smelling lavender, and the most consistantly lavender smelling one. Most people think of this scent when they think of lavender, because of this, it is often the lavender of choice for soaps, candles, perfumes and cosmetics. The issue, however, is that it is also the least therapeutic of lavender essential oils. So if you are looking for the therapeutic value found in lavender EO, you need to look for lavendula latifolia aka spike lavender, which is actually used in some pharmacutical applications, or lavendula angustifolia, aka Bulgarian lavender which is the prized lavender for perfumery. So, if you are making something that you just want to smell like lavender, buy all means use the 40/42. But, if you are counting on the therapeutic benefits to work, or marketing your products as theapeutic grade or aromatherapy quality, you will need to purchase the more expensive types. In this instance you will get what you pay for. By the same token, your favorite organic bath and body product maker may be using the 40/42 to save themselves money. In this instance you will be the one cheated out of the therapeutic benefits of lavender. If the bath and body maker is not knowledgeable, and sadly many are not, they will think they are saving money and making a sound business decision, when in fact, they are negating the main reason for their product. When you are in doubt, read their product descriptions and their company biography. Ask questions. Know what you are making and know what you are buying! At Unique Garden Essences, http://UniqueGardenEssences.com , I only use the highest queality, therapeutic grade, mostly food safe, essential oils. I believe in the healing powers of natural plants and once you experience them you will too!

While I certainly do not consider myself to be qualified to offer instruction on ingestion of oils, after many years of study, I can help you to navigate the what oil is for what path. There are many oils and some are more recognizable than others, but all can easily be found on line and from many health food stores. Additionally, many craft supply shops are now offering essential oils also. You should always start with a small bottle if you cannot sniff before you buy, so you won't be saddled with something that is not what you had in mind. You do need to understand though, that EO's are highly concentrated and that means they are stronger that you are use to. Also, if you are making a blend to treat a specific ailment, the scent is not what you should be focused on anyway. These next few posts will detail many of the EO's and what their uses and properties are. Remember that some properties can only be accessed by inhalation, some by dermal application, and some by ingestion. Of course some can also be accessed by multiple methods, this is just an overview for general knowledge.


*The majority of this post has been deleted due to my impending book

ESSENTIAL OILS

-Ajowan EO is from India and is a lot like thyme, with a herbacious, spicy scent.

-Allspice ... It is a powerful, spicy, sweet and warm fragrance. I.... Its use should be avoided during pregnancy.






-Amyris .... has a musty, warm, woodsy scent. 


-Angelica Root or Seed ..... It has a sharp, almost biting scent of green stems with peppery overtones. ....This is NOT to be used during pregnancy or by diabetics. Some materials I have read say that the seed oil users should avoid sun exposure, but not all sources noted this. Since I am not sure of the accuracy of this statement, I would error on the side of caution.



-Anniseed ... has a warm, sweet, spicy and licorice like scent. ..... acts as a narcotic and slows down circulation in large quantities, which can lead to cerebral disorers. It should NOT be used during pregnancy.