Teaching Tuesday- Sea Buckthorn Oil

I just reformulated my facial serum to include meadowfoam seed oil and Sea Buckthorn, so I thought we'd review the benefits of sea buckthorn oil in today's Teaching Tuesday post. To view more information about Meadowfoam seed oil, see this previous post.

Sea Buckthorn's botanical name is Hippophae rhamnoides. It is a shrub that grows anywhere from one and a half feet tall to twenty feet tall, but some of the plants in central Asia have been known to reach as high as thirty-three feet. While the plant is native to Russia, Mongolia and China, over ninety percent of the world's sea buckthorn plantations are located in China, where the plant is used for soil and water conservation, as much as its fruit.  In the last twenty years experimental crops of sea buckthorn have been grown in Canada and a few US states, thanks to the efforts of Russian and East German horticulturists who worked to develop new varieties of sea buckthorn. These new cultivars have different ripening months, larger berries, more nutritional value, and branches that make harvesting easier. 

Sea buckthorn oil is extracted by cold pressing the entire fruiting body, the seeds and the berries of this shrub. Getting to the fruit to harvest it though, is fairly difficult because there is a pretty dense arrangement of thorns all around the berries on each branch. One harvesting technique is to remove the entire branch and freeze it, making it easy to then shake off the berries. This does help to avoid the thorns while getting at the berries, but it is destructive to the shrub, and it reduces future harvests as well.  

It takes about ten pounds of the thorn surrounded berries to produce just one pound of oil. Because of the labor intensive harvest, as well as the amount of berries needed to produce a small amount of oil, this cost of this oil is on the pricey side. Most would say though, its benefits are worth the cost. 

The oil itself is fairly viscous, a syrupy consistency. It comes in a deep amber to a nice red color palate. It is liquid at room temperature, but when it gets cold it tends to solidify. When  properly stored, at room temperature and out of direct sunlight, it generally has a shelf life of about two years. This oil is one that must be used diluted though, as it will stain clothing, counter tops and even your skin when undiluted. 

Sea buckthorn oil contains about fifteen times more vitamin C than an orange, a very high amount of vitamin E, beta carotene, anti-oxidants, carotenoid, and contains many other vitamins, minerals and fatty acids. The fruit of the sea buckthorn, the berries, are edible, but are pretty acidy and oily, so they aren't very tasty. But since they are ultra high in nutrients, they make a super food, and used in many foods. In fact, the fruit is quite popular overseas, where you will find it in jellies, jams, pies, liquors, even baby food, as well as lotions and other skin care products.  By using just one part sea buckthorn to five parts water and sweetening to taste, you can blend it, strain it, and have an orange or peach tasting juice, with more vitamins than the other fruits would provide. When you allow the berries to frost (called bletting) before gathering them, the cold helps to decrease the tartness enough that they can be eaten raw, however most people still think they are better when mixed into a juice, with other juices, or made into other products. 

The sea buckthorn has long been recognized as a wonderful skin repairing, skin regenerating and skin conditioning oil. It has been used to heal wounds, burns, lesions, eczema, abrasions, wounds, and to repair sun damage and other skin injuries for centuries. In fact, its amazing skin healing properties have led to (further) studies which support the use of this oil internally for healthful purposes. Generally speaking the recommendation is to take 2000-2500 mg daily (in capsules), or one tablespoon of raw oil daily in order to promote healthy blood circulation, as a soothing agent for the gastro- intestinal tract, or to treat colitis, stomach ulcers. More studies are needed, but they are currently exploring the benefits of this oil for treating inflammatory disorders, certain cancers, and even for improving the health of bone marrow after chemotherapy. 

For centuries, this shrub has been used to relieve coughs, aide digestion, alleviate pain, and invigorate blood circulation. It has been used to treat diarrhea and dermal disorders. It has been taken orally and applied topically. It has also been added to medications for pulmonary, gastrointestinal, cardiac, blood and metabolic disorders in Indian, Chinese and Tibetan medicines. So, while we may use it primarily for its skin benefiting properties, the other implications certainly bare more investigation. 

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.