Women's Menopause Health Center  January, 2008 Newsletter.

Menopause and Perimenopause Bath and Beauty Recipes.

 

EASY NATURAL BODY CARE PRODUCTS.
 

It's easy to make your own natural body care products. You'll save money and feel good knowing that your body care items contain none of the unpronounceable-and in some cases toxic-chemicals frequently found in those overly packaged department store offerings.

Unlike the ingredients list on your standard bath products, your own personal care items often require minimal and common ingredients. Some basics-including distilled water, vodka (now available in an organic version), salt, sugar, and olive oil-are probably already in your pantry.

Look for essential oils and other natural ingredients at your local health food store. Try the essential oil blends with the basic recipes that follow to customize your products. These healing aromas do more than smell good and keep your skin soft. When inhaled or absorbed through the skin, essential oils can improve mood, increase energy, and promote relaxation.

Essential oils contain other beneficial properties depending on the synergistic chemistry of an oil or blend, explains Joni Keirn, aromatherapy consultant, technical director for Oshadhi USA, and coauthor of Daily Aromatherapy. For example, citrus oils appear to lift moods while lavender oil relaxes.

HEALING BLENDS: Always begin blending by making a small batch. Test the fragrance on strips of plain white paper, suggests Tom Havran, aromatherapy specialist and product developer for Aura Cacia. Note how many drops of various oils you use in the blend. Once you have a fragrance you like, follow your notes to multiply the batch for use in body care products.

Citrus or spice essential oils can react with the skin, so use them in diffusers or misting sprays rather than skin care products. "Do not take essential oils internally;' says aromatherapist and herbalist Mindy Green. "Also avoid essential oil use in the first trimester of pregnancy;' she adds.

Essential oils need to be highly diluted (10 to 12 drops of essential oil per ounce of carrier oil is best for healthy adults). Even though these uplifting aromas offer real healing benefits, they can be phototoxic to the skin when used undiluted on skin exposed to sunlight. For more about their properties and safe use, visit www.auracacia.com or www .oshadhiusa.com.

ESSENTIAL OIL BLENDS:
Calm Alert Blend
13 drops of lavender
8 drops of coriander
4 drops of pink grapefruit.

Invigorating Blend
17 drops of rosemary
8 drops of peppermint.

Relaxation Blend
20 drops of lavender
3 drops of ylang ylang
2 drops of frankincense or sandalwood.

Sensual Blend
10 drops of orange
10 drops of sandalwood or cedarwood
5 drops of ylang ylang

SOME BASIC RECIPES:

Lip Balm
In a double boiler or a microwave, melt 1 ounce of crushed or grated beeswax in 3 ounces of extra-virgin olive oil until the wax has softened. Stir together. Remove from heat and mix in 12 to 25 drops of an essential oil blend. Always start with a little and work your way up; some oils are more intense than others. Pour the mixture into 1/4-ounce plastic lip-balm tubes, carried in some natural food and herb shops. Let tubes sit, uncapped, until the mixture solidifies.

Massage & Body Oil (for massages, to moisturize the body, after a shower, or to add to a bath)
Bottle 4 ounces of either apricot, sweet almond, jojoba, grape seed, or avocado oils with up to 50 drops of either the Relaxation or Sensual Blend. "Sweet almond or apricot kernel oils provide a good balance of glide time and absorbency," says Aura Cacia's Havran.
"Use jojoba or grape seed oils if you want a lighter, quicker absorbing oil that will create more friction and a heat-building massage." Rich, moisturizing avocado oil is helpful for dry wintertime skin. Look for cold-pressed oils in the grocery aisle or carrier oils in the body care sections of your natural products store. Pour into glass or PET plastic bottles with flip or pump tops.

Body Scrub (great way to slough off dead skin in the bath or shower)
Stir together approximately 1 cup of salt or sugar with 1/2 cup of olive, canola, or jojoba oil and 50 drops of your favorite essential oil blend. Experiment with different kinds of sugar and salt. Coarser grinds of both will provide a rougher scrub for hands and feet. Finer grinds are perfect for the body. Scoop the mixture into glass jars, decorative glass, or PET plastic containers. Make sure you have a tight seal without any sugar or salt on the rim-body scrubs are notorious for leaking.

Aromatherapy Mist (spray into the air or on linens)
Mix 3 ounces of distilled water with 1 ounce of vodka and 50 drops of an essential oil blend. (Consider using citrus and spice essential oils for mists, since these oils are irritating to the skin.) The vodka helps disperse the essential oils in the water.
Pour into glass or PET plastic spray bottles.


By Maria Noel Groves, www.Wintergreen Botanicals.com, is a clinical herbalist and freelance health journalist.

GREAT SIMPLES "It's not necessary to blend to get really powerful effects," says Marge Clark, founder and CEO of www.naturesgift.com. Lavender, peppermint, and spearmint are affordable and almost universally popular essential oils that can use solo in body care products if you don't have the time, money, or energy to blend several essential oils. Start with small amounts no matter what oil you choose. Mint oils, for example, can easily overpower a recipe-use only a few drops per 4 ounces of basic recipe.
 

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