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Better Living With Essential
Oils
By Gerald F. McCarthy
Practical formulas you can use
in personal care and your environment.
Personal Care - What Essential
Oils can do for Your Skin:
- Penetrate lower skin layers
to work on moisturizing and healing.
- Stimulate and regenerate skin
cells, to heal skin damaged by sun, burns, wrinkles, or injury.
- Destroy infectious bacteria,
viruses, and fungi such as those associated wit acne and other
skin problems.
- Reduce inflammation and puffiness.
Drop Equivalent
- 20 drops = 1/5 Teaspoon = 1
ml.
- 100 drops = 1 Teaspoon = 5 ml.
- 300 drops = 1 Tablespoon = 15
ml.
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Facial Formulas
Dry Skin: Avoid cosmetics with
alcohol and harsh soaps. Diet: May be helped by Vitamin A supplement.
Helpful oils: sandalwood, rose, neroli, rosewood, palmarosa,
lavender and myrrh.
For Sensitive Skin: 2 drops chamomile,
1 drop myrrh, 1 drop rose, 2 ounces jojoba or almond oil. Combine
oils and store in amber bottle to preserve from light damage. |
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For Mature Skin: 2 drops frankincense,
2 drops myrrh, 2 ounces jojoba or almond oil. Combine oils and
place in amber bottle.
For Acne: 15 drops tea tree,
10 drops lavender, 2 ounces jojoba or almond oil. Combine and
store in amber bottle.
Whole Body Skin Soother : In
a large cup mix the following: 1 cup of milk, 1 teaspoon of honey,
1 teaspoon of vinegar, 2 drops of spearmint, 2 drops of lavender,
1 teaspoon olive oil. Run a WARM (not hot) bath. When the water
is done filling the tub add the above mixture and stir. Soak
and relax as it soothes your irritated skin.
Hair Formulas
Dry Shampoo: Washing your hair
too often can strip it of it's protective acid mantle.
Between shampoos or when short
on time, use this dry shampoo: 1 drop rosemary, 1 tablespoon
orris root powder. Mix ingredients. Part hair in sections and
sprinkle mixture on. Leave on 5 minutes, then brush thoroughly.
To Stimulate Hair Growth: 10
drops rosemary, 8 drops bay, 7 drops cedarwood, 50 ml. jojoba.
Add essential oils to jojoba, apply to scalp, cover with towel
or shower cap and leave on overnight. Wash your hair the next
morning. Store in amber bottle to prevent light damage.
Household Uses for Essential
Oils
Herbal Disinfectant: 2 cups hot
water, 10 drops thyme essential oil, 1/4 cup borax. Combine all
ingredients in a spray bottle and shake well. Spray on surfaces
and wipe clean with a damp cloth or sponge.
Mold Deterrent: 1/4 cup white
vinegar, 3/4 cup water, 2 drops cinnamon leaf, 5 drops patchouli,
2 teaspoons tea tree and 2 drops tagettes. Combine all ingredients
in a spray bottle. If you already have a buildup of mold or mildew,
allow the spray to "rest" on the surface for a few
hours. Wipe with a soft cloth, re-spray the area and let dry
without rinsing.
Lavender Soft Scrubber: 3/4 cup
baking soda, 1/4 cup powdered milk, 1/8 cup liquid castile soap,
5 drops lavender and water. Combine baking soda, milk, castile
soap and lavender in a squirt-top bottle. Add just enough water
to make a smooth paste. Shake or stir to mix. Apply to surface,
then wipe area clean with a damp sponge or cloth. Rinse Well.
29 Ways to Use Essential Oils
Essential Oil Blending Recipes
for the home:
1. Make scented candles by adding a drop to the
pool of melted wax around the wick. Light a candle, blow out
after a few minutes. Add oil to melted wax. Do not add while
candle is lit as the oils are volatile.
2. Freshen sneakers and shoes. Place cotton balls
dabbed with geranium, lemon or tea tree into shoes overnight.
3. Gently scent a room by adding a few drops of
to a pan of water simmering on a burner or wood stove. Even easier,
use an essential oil diffuser.
4. Scent linens and towels. Add a few drops of your
favorite to a piece of terrycloth and add to your clothes dryer
for a natural dryer sheet.
5. Repel flies: Dab lavender on door and window
sills.
6. Get rid of musty food odors. Add one drop orange,
lemon, lime, grapefruit, bergamot or mandarin oil to a cup of
water. Rinse surface of icebox, freezer, oven, trash cans.
7. Add a few drops of to a small spray bottle of
water to make an air freshener.
8. Repel mice. Place peppermint oil on cotton balls
in problem areas.
9. Make your own carpet freshener. Add 10 drops
to cornstarch or baking soda let sit for 24 hours. Sprinkle carpet
and vacuum after about an hour.
10. Doggy odor? Add a few drops of rose or geranium
to dog collar, and to a cotton ball placed inside the vacuum
canister of your vacuum cleaner. Make a safe, effective flea
collar: Saturate a soft rope with tea tree oil, the rope into
a bandana to tie loosely around the doggy's neck.
Essential Oil Blending Recipes
for the Body
11. Tired muscles and aching joints? Add one part
each eucalyptus, sage and basil oil to 4 parts Jojoba or your
favorite oil. Massage into area as needed.
12. Make your own deodorant powder: add 2 ounces
cornstarch, 1 ounce baking soda, and a few drops essential oil.
See precautions about skin contact.
13. Make home-made massage oil. Add 10 to 12 drops
of your favorite to 1 ounce jojoba oil. See precautions about
skin sensitivity.
14. Repel mosquitoes and black flies by placing a
few drops of citronella on tablecloths at picnics, or cap.
15. For a hangover: blend juniper, cedarwood, grapefruit,
lavender, rosemary, lemon or fennel. Add 6 to 10 drops to a hot
bath and soak it away.
16. Speed healing of minor burns and scratches: Add
1 drop tea tree to oil from Vitamin E capsule, apply directly
to affected area
17. Long Drive Ahead? Stimulate attentiveness! Place
peppermint or rosemary on cotton ball near the car heating/cooling
vents for a refreshing scent.
18. Insomnia? Place hanky sprinkled with chamomile
and lavender oil under the pillow.
19. Going on vacation? Add a few drops of chamomile
and lavender to travel-sized mister. Spray in guest or hotel
room.
20. For athletes foot: dab toes with tea tree to
soothe burning, tired feet.
21. Aid memory by placing a drop of rosemary on a
light bulb in a study area.
22. Ease headache pain: Massage one drop rosemary/lavender
blend to back of neck.
Make Great Gifts with Essential
Oil Blending Recipes
23. Make lavender water by placing 1 ounce alcohol,
1 teaspoon lavender oil and 1/2 cup rosewater into a clean bottle.
Let sit for a month and shake the bottle frequently, then pour
into perfume bottles or buy one of our all natural floral waters.
24. Make scented stationery: Add a few drops of your
favorite scent to paper and envelopes, then seal inside a plastic
bag for 24 hours. Place in a wooden box afterwards.
25. Make aromatic sachets: Add a few drops of to
dried flowers or herbs then tie or sew them in decorative cloth
bags.
26. Make herbal potpourri gifts: Fill glass jars
or decorative boxes with dried flowers scented with a few drops
of of your favorite scent extract.
27. Make your own perfume blends:. Add 25 drops your
favorite to 1 ounce jojoba oil. Let sit in a tightly capped bottle
for two weeks before using.
28. Make herbal bath oils by adding a few drops to
a bottle of apricot or almond oil and shaking thoroughly. Pour
into smaller bottles.
29. I use 10 drops of our blend, Summer Cooler, in
each water tank of my humidifier in the winter to deter bacteria.
The aroma also gives an uplifting feeling during the cold winter
months. |
Beauty Secrets of the World
