Using Essential Oils in a Healthy Home

Because smarter people than me find more and more interesting and good ways to use essential oils instead of harsh chemicals in the home, this will be a work in progress type blog. I have no doubt, that it will enjoy many sequels, maybe not as many as the Fast and Furious franchise, but who knows :))

Photo Credit: Diaga Ellaby from Unsplash

Essential oils are an effective and natural way to help replace toxic cleaners with natural alternatives without sacrificing quality or paying a high price. Supporting products that will help you in your quest to create a healthy home cleaning environment include: vinegar, witch hazel, rubbing alcohol, baking soda, beeswax and borax.

Tips When Cleaning With Essential Oils

• Add the essential oils last when putting together your own cleaning product.

• Always shake well before use, as we all know "oil and water for not mix well"

• Try and store your products in dark bottles when possible, or in a dark cupboard when not in use to maintain efficacy.

Here is the list!

1. Make your own all-purpose cleaner: Many essential oils have antibacterial and antiviral properties. Why not maximize that power in a homemade cleaner? Mix three drops of tea tree oil, three drops of lemon oil and three drops of clove or oregano oil in two cups of water. Spray the cleaner onto any surface and allow to sit for about 10 minutes, then wipe clean. Your surfaces will be disinfected

2. Shower cleaner: Place four drops of eucalyptus oil and four drops of tea tree oil in a spray bottle along with 16 ounces of warm water. Spray on the shower and wipe clean to kill mould and remove soap scum.

3. Simple carpet cleaner: Replace toxic cleaners with this natural version. Mix 20 drops of tea tree oil with one box of Borax and sprinkle onto carpets. Allow the mixture to sit for about 10 minutes, then vacuum away.

4. Veggie cleanser: Place two drops of lemon essential oil into a sink full of water. Place produce in the water and allow it to sit for a few minutes to remove unwanted bacteria from the surface of produce.

5. Fridge cleaner: While cleaning the fridge, add two or three drops of lime or grapefruit oil to the rinse water to eliminate bad fridge smells. Also, a small open container with baking soda & a couple drops of lemon essential oil will keep your fridge smelling good without any fuss.

6. Smoke smells: Place four drops of tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil, and rosemary oil in a spray bottle along with 500mls of water and spray into the air to remove lingering smoke smell.

7. Freshen shoes: If your shoes smell bad, freshen them up and eliminate odours by adding two drops of tea tree oil to the inside of the shoe after cleaning. This will kill off any bacteria or fungus that cause the unpleasant odours.

8. Dishwasher Cleaning Hack: Place a dishwasher safe dish, such as a Pyrex measuring jug on the top rack. Into this put 1 cup of white vinegar & 5 drops of a citrus essential oil. Run the dishwasher on the hottest cycle. When it finishes it’s run, before the drying cycle, wipe the inside with a fibre cloth – awesome results!

9. Spot cleaner: If your dishes always come out spotty, add a few drops of lemon oil to the dishwasher before turning it on. This will remove all signs of spots after rinsing.

10. Remove unwanted rubbish smells: Place five drops of your favourite essential oil onto a cotton ball and place it inside your bin receptacle. When the scent leaves, add a new soaked cotton ball to easily control unwanted smells. Good for litter box smells too.

11. Gunk remover: Place five drops of lemon oil onto gum, sticker residue or other sticky substances to make it easy to remove with minimal effort.

12. Animal repellent: If you are plagued by vermin like mice, spiders and other large bugs, soak a few cotton balls in peppermint oil. Place the peppermint balls near areas where vermin and bugs like to hang out to keep them away. The odour is too strong for the critters and will keep them away. Also, spray Eucalyptus oil diluted to keep rats away.

13. Clean your hands: Use a few drops of antibacterial oils, such as oregano, clove, lemon and peppermint for an immune system boost that won’t interfere with your skin’s normal barrier of defense. – our guardian Blend oil will do the trick for you.

14. Dryer sheets: Soak some fabric strips, (any cotton-based material will do, and especially good is muslin) in ½ a cup of vinegar & water and add 10 drops of your favourite essential oil. Throw a strip into your dryer to add scent to your clothing without any chemical residue.

15. Wood polish: Mix ¼ cup of vinegar, two tablespoons of olive oil, ½ a teaspoon of lemon oil and 1 ½ cups of water in a spray bottle. Use to clean wood and other furniture.

16. Homemade potpourri: Add a few drops of essential oils to wood shavings, dried flowers, or other potpourri blends for a customized scent.

17. Waste Disposal Unit: Place ½ cup of vinegar followed by 5 drops of lemon essential oil into the unit. Leave sit overnight, next morning, rinse through with hot water – smells are gone! Also, did you know that ICE sharpens the blades, yes, just toss in a couple, turn it on – done!

18. DIY Linen Freshener Spray: Use a medium sized spray bottle approx. 100mls should do. Fill it up ¾ way with Witch hazel. To this add 5-7 drops each of lavender, chamomile & sweet orange. Shake well before using. Spray a fine mist over your bed linens, let it dry, (a couple of minutes should do - remember a light misting). Keep in a dark location, in a drawer beside the bed maybe and use before bed to help promote a good night’s sleep 😊

19. Purify Nursery Pots and Flats: Put 24 drops of Sweet Orange Essential Oil in a bucket of soapy water. The Antiseptic properties of the oil will make your pots & flats ready for reuse without worry of contamination.

20. Toy Cleaner: A good method is to put the plastic toys into a lingerie bag and place on the top rack of your dishwasher. Use the sanitizing setting to clean. *********************************************************************************** Another on the go & great option is to use the old reliable Lavender, in a sanitizing spray. Use 1 cup of vinegar & 1 cup of water and to this add 30 drops of Lavender Oil. Shake it up, spray toys, leave for approx. 2 mins and then wipe them clean.

Shampoo, Me and why so many Hair types?

I remember as a teenager being swept away by the hair product ads that featured the most beautiful people and thinking to myself, how good would my straw like frizzy hair look if only I could afford to buy that premium shampoo (that bubbles and lathers so well and smells of the South Pacific).

Soon the day came when this premium product was mine, my hair smelt divine, but sadly, it remained shockingly straw like and frizzy as ever. I really thought that there was no hope for me, however, I found salvation with the slew of hair conditioners specially formulated for my hair type – oh the excitement.

These conditioners, (an expensive way of correcting the damage done by shampoos), promised me that they would bring back my natural sheen and tame my unruly hair. Over time, my hair became a little more respectable but needed additional support from all whole class of mousse & gel concoctions.

So, what is it about Shampoo and the supporting arsenal of sideshow products that we are told we need to have normal looking hair? When did these so-called categories of different hair types come into being? To get to the bottom of this perplexing question we must look to our history and brief look this will be too.

Quick History of Hair Care through the Ages

Hair grooming has a history going right back to the Egyptians and even before then. However, the thing about the Egyptians is that they invented wigs because they had a penchant for shaving their heads, ( to prevent lice affliction).

However, they dutifully cared for their wigs by washing them in citric acid to keep them clean and critter free. Those who kept their hair, did massage a combination of castor oil and almond oil into the scalp in an effort to help promote hair growth and cleansing the hair.

In Ancient China, people used the Cedrela plant, a fragrant wooded plant that is used currently to make cigar boxes, to wash their hair. They also washed their hair with rice water, which contain mild saponins.

South Americans washed their hair with quinoa water.

While in India shikaki pods, reetha berry, hibiscus leaves and flowers were widely used. Indians also used different muds/clay to wash their hair.

Caribbean people used Aloe Vera gel - fresh from the leaf, which is quite sticky and supposed to be a mild cleanser.

People from Morocco used Rhassoul clay.

Native Americans used yucca root and Aloe Vera.

The Greeks and Romans used olive oil to condition their hair and keep it soft, and vinegar rinses to keep it clean and to lighten the colour, chamomile is ideal for blonde hair.

In Aleppo, in current day Syria soap was reportedly invented back in 800AD. Over time, it was bought to the West by travelers/merchants who brought with them the techniques/recipes and developed soaps the most notable European Soap being Castille Soap.

Medieval Europe it was reported that women washed their hair with vinegar, rosemary water, nettles, mint, thyme and several other herbs.

Modern Shampoo Origin

The invention of “shampoo” as we know today is attributed to Hans Schwarzkopf who developed and sold a powdered based water-soluble hair wash in his Pharmacy in Berlin – later he developed it into a liquid form in 1927 and his company is still going strong today.

The word “Shampoo” is believed to be from the Indian word Champo, where hair care involved the massage of oils into the scalp. This practice came over to Europe in the 1800’s with the returning settlers who adopted this practice and called it Champing.

These natural soaps and oils were 100% natural and it wasn’t until the Scientists took over in the 20th Century, (they being very prolific between the two world wars) that Shampoo evolved to have a host of man-made ingredients with unpronounceable words.

Synthetic shampoos came with the discovery of a chemical that could saponify mineral oils creating a product called a surfactant. Surfactants were excellent at creating a lather & they became the building block for all detergents. The initial uses for these strong detergents were for commercial uses, such as de-greasing engines etc as they were deemed to be too harsh to use on the human skin and an irritant to eyes.

But where there is a will there will be a way and with some tweaking, (more inventing) and some rigorous animal testing these synthetic detergents were experimented on to make them usable in the cosmetic industry.

Proctor & Gamble who had been producing a natural form of Shampoo, (shaved Castille Soap called “Ivory Soap and a conditioner made with natural oils & Ylang Ylang) since 1859 introduced their first modern synthetic shampoo in the mid-1930’s under the brand name Drene.

This product proved to be very popular with the public due in most part by their sponsorship of very popular Radio Shows that featured ads for their brands. It was from these ads and their association with entertainment shows that the “Soaps” TV and Radio genre originated. Another interesting by product that evolved with the promotion of the new shampoo revolution.

Once the Synthetic formulations were good to go the advertisers and marketeers, (‘Mad Men”) worked on our new categories of hair types: Oily, Dry, Frizzy, Difficult, Normal, Damaged, Thinning, etc. etc.

To support this array of hair types and problems we were treated to, Medicated Shampoos, Baby Shampoos, Family Shampoos, Men’s Shampoos, Salon Shampoos, Dandruff Shampoos, Pet Shampoos and the list goes and on. All presented to us in pretty plastic bottles, from the small designer size to the bulk size and all derived for the most part from the laboratory discoveries of the early decades of the 20th Century.

But “beautiful hair” always existed!

Hair has always had a major significance in women’s life. It is directly associated with beauty and youthfulness of women. It’s no wonder that hair is a “crowning glory” for women. This is the saying since Biblical times.

I can imagine that even in prehistoric times, hair played a very important role, seeing as that we humans and our ancestors, had far more hair to work with :)

Up until the 1920’s in the western world, pricey hair products were mostly available to the well-heeled but every day folks did have their own hog hair bristle brushes & combs made of bone.

Tried and tested home-made concoctions were handed down from mother to daughter & sons too to help keep hair beautiful. Without the harsh detergents in modern shampoos that strip the natural oils from the scalp, the hair of women in the Victorian through to the Georgian eras could go much longer between washings without their hair getting too oily. If we were to leave our hair washing to be less frequent, there is no doubt that we also would also be presentable.

And we must not forget that it was those pre-shampoo /conditioner /hairspray /gel /mousse women that inspired the works of the most revered and celebrated poets and artists of all time.

For example, do you think Juliet suffered from dull lifeless hair? I’m sure that Romeo didn’t think so.

How about, the lovely Fanny Brawne, whom John Keats loved and who inspired some of his best and most intense poetry, including “La Belle Dame Sans Merci and Bright Star.”

See what he had to say about her in his letter to his brother, “Shall I give you Miss Brawne? She is about my height with a fine style of countenance of the lengthened sort – she wants sentiment in every feature – she manages to make her hair look well – her nostrils are fine though a little painful”…. I wonder was her hair of the normal ilk or was it sleek and shiny and did she rinse it twice a day?

What did Darcy think of Elizabeth Bennett s’ hair, I know that she like Juliet, is a fictional character, but we didn’t hear Jane Austen gushing on and on about her flyaway locks, and lack luster sheen!

Maude Gonne, the muse of William Butler Yeats who wrote that when he met the red-haired Irish nationalist in 1889 “the troubles in my life began.” Note, he mentioned her red hair, I wonder was it a frizzy head like mine or something more glamour modelesque? How did she keep her tresses so shiny and beautiful? She went on to inspire so many of his works, and the one that I love most is his poem "Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven" ending with a reference to her:

“I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams”.

So, did our very tiny small sample of women muses suffer from oily, dandruff ridden thinning hair, or frizzy flyaway hair and of course the dull lifeless hair? I doubt it?

When by the way when was normal hair discovered? With my extensive search of the internet, many books and magazines, I unfortunately couldn't get to the bottom of this perplexing question:(

We now know that modern shampoos are not always the best for our health and well being.

With Dr. Google and Pinterest et al we see that there a host of easy to make natural alternatives to shampoo out there that we can explore/experiment with and still keep our tendrils glossy and healthy. It is up to us to keep our hair beautiful, it will be better in the end for our body, our children and the natural world we live in.

How to Reduce the Appearance of Dark Circles Naturally

We all have hectic lifestyles and there are times when the stresses of life shows up in the guise of the dreaded dark circles & worse still, the bags under our eyes!

The skin around the eyes is the most delicate part of the body. When we become dehydrated this skin thins and blood vessels become prominent.

A good concealer goes a long way to reducing the appearance of the circles. However, if we choose, and make a little bit of extra effort, we can reduce our reliance on these temporary cosmetic fixes. And make our eyes look bright & sparkling again naturally.

Tried, tested and best known

Buy a good quality organic tea of peppermint or chamomile. or better still grow your own herbs. First of all, drink the brew and let the tea bag cool down. Place the tea bags over your eyes and relax for 10 minutes, without falling asleep. Rinse off with cool water.

If you are using your own herbs, you can bruise the mint leaves to make a paste. Put the paste on your dark circles gently, careful not to put into your eyes. Leave on for 10 minutes, rinse off with cool water. Try this for a week and see the difference.

Wake-Up Ice Cube Massage

Freeze your peppermint or chamomile teas into cubes. Use one to give the eye area a refreshing gentle massage when you feel eye strain or are tired.

Cucumber Relief

Grab a fresh cucumber from the fridge. Place a slice on each eye and relax for 10 minutes or longer if you like, again stay awake!. Then gently rinse your face & eyes with cool water. Your eyes will feel instantly refreshed.

Almond Oil

Almonds are packed with vitamin E and this natural source is perfect to help soothe tired eyes. Before bed, just apply some almond oil onto the dark circles and gently massage. You will notice the difference, in the morning. If you continue to do this over a prolonged period, you may well be pleasantly surprised.

Buttermilk & Turmeric

Turmeric is known for its multiple health benefits and combined with buttermilk it can work wonders for lessening the effect of dark circles. Quick & easy, just mix 2 tablespoons each of turmeric & buttermilk and create a paste. Apply to the dark circles, taking care to avoiding the eye. Leave this on for 15 minutes and then rinse off with lukewarm water.

FOODS TO HELP OUR EYES AND REDUCE THE APPEARANCE OF DARK CIRCLES:

Cucumber: Has a high water content to re hydrate the skin. Also, they contain silica that naturally boosts collagen and sulfur, known to promote stronger skin.

Watermelon: Contains beta carotene especially beneficial to support eye health.

Broccoli: Rich in Vitamin K and a great source of goodness used by the body to promote excellent blood circulation. Boosted circulation will make it easier for your nutritious blood to reach the tender skin under the eyes.

Tomatoes: Contain Lycopene and high in antioxidants that protect our blood vessels and improve circulation to the eyes.

Oranges: Are rich in Vitamin C and helps our body boost collagen production.

Beetroot: Contains detoxifying Betalain antioxidants in the red pigment shown to help promote healthy eyes.

and finally:

Carrots: are rich in beta-carotene, a carotenoid pigment which is an essential precursor for vitamin A. Vitamin A helps the surface of the eye, mucous membranes and skin be effective barriers to bacteria and viruses, reducing the risk of eye infections. Carrots also contain lutein, an important antioxidant.  Lutein-rich foods are known to increase the density of pigment in the macula, the yellow-shaped oval area in the center of the retina

THE BIG PICTURE

Yoga & Meditation

All the fixes natural and otherwise for dark circles, will not be sustained if you have a hectic lifestyle and a busy restless mind. Our hectic lifestyles ebb and flow, but our busy mind is something that we control no matter what is going on in our lives.

Studies show that yoga and meditation practiced regularly, are key to reducing stress & calming the mind, body and spirit.

It is from within that we can finally banish those dark circles. If you can't make a Yoga class/Meditation class, you can always find a good Youtube or online video to follow along with. In time, your new wellness practice of relaxation & meditation will fit nicely into your daily routines, thereby reducing stress from the inside out.

The best medicine, is prevention, some one wise once said.