Natural Body Guru

Blocked sebum become blackheads (medically known as a comedo or comedones) when the surface cells develop sulphides which, in turn contact  oxygen, causing  the cells to turn black. Blackheads are unsightly and can easily become infected. When you remove them and the opening just fills up again with more sebum; this condition is related to seborrhea, overproduction of the sebaceous glands. Even people with dry skin can develop blackheads, especially on the nose or chin but blackheads can develop practically anywhere on the body, as well as on the face. Wherever they develop, the treatment for blackheads is the same, they need to be removed.

To remove blackheads, get a bowl of steaming hot water, put 1 drop of lavender essential oil on the water and cover your head with a towel, being sure to close off the sides too and steam your face for 10 minutes. Rinse the face with 1 teaspoon of cider vinegar mixed in a bowl of hot (but not boiling) water. If the blackheads are loose, squeeze gently taking care not to damage the skin. Then splash the face with a mixture of 2 ounces of mineral water, 2 teaspoons cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon witch hazel, 2 drops each of bergamot and cypress essential oils.

After patting the skin dry, massage the following oils into the skin. This will help to prevent blackheads from coming back and also loosen the ones that are already there:

• Lemongrass – 8 drops
• Lavender – 5 drops
• Clary-sage – 2 drops
• Thyme – 5 drops
• Jojoba oil – 5 drops

Use this massage mixture morning and night. When you wash your face, take care to use a pure natural soap. You can use eye makeup if you like but avoid face makeup and powder.

When I turned about thirteen, I suddenly got hit by puberty and puberty hit me hard. I was plagued by greasy skin and acne and it became very embarrassing for me. I would wash my face constantly with soap and water when I was at home, but my acne didn’t seem to be going away at all and it really lowered my self-esteem, which is tough enough as it is for a teenager.

In my later teenage years, I started to use some different skin care beauty products that I had heard might help me through my long-lasting acne problems. I began to notice a change almost immediately once I picked the right products. As I grew older and continued using these products, I noticed that my skin started to feel better than it ever had before.

I promised I would give you some different essential oil blends for your aromatherapy deodorant yesterday in case you don’t like the Citrus Celebration blend. Of course, you can always use your favorite oils and come up with your own snazzy name for it too. My favorite one is something I made up by accident. I had a bottle of lavender lotion (unscented lotion that I had blended with lavender essential oil) and the bottle was running low. I was in a hurry so I added some lotion from another scented lotion I had that contained patchouli and I fell in love with that blended scent. It makes a wonderful deodorant fragrance too. Unfortunately, I can’t wear it to work because there are some people who do not like the fragrance so take that into account if you use patchouli. I think it reminds them of hippies!

1960 Blend

• 15 drops patchouli
• 5 drops sandalwood

You Smell Like A Rose

• 6 drops rose otto
• 7 drops palmarosa
• 7 drops geranium

I Don’t Care How It Smells – It Works

• 8 drops tea tree
• 4 drops lemon
• 5 drops palmarosa
• 3 drops eucalyptus

Larita’s Blend Plus

• 6 drops patchouli
• 8 drops bergamot
• 6 drops lavender

Try one of these blends or come up with one you like and let me know how it turns out.

Thanks to Aromahead, I have a recipe for a great aromatherapy deodorant that is organic, easy to make, feels good and smells good too. You can still use the crystal deodorant if you like and don’t want to take time to enjoy blending this easy recipe. I love the crystal deodorant but I am going to make the recipe myself because occasionally, I like to try something new. Who knows, I might like it even better!

Ingredients

• 1 ounce coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon baking soda or arrowroot powder
• 1 tablespoon green clay
• 18 drops essential oil (your choice)

You will need a 2 ounce glass jar to contain the deodorant after you blend it.

Directions

1. Mix the coconut oil, clay and baking soda or arrowroot in a small bowl, blending well.
2. Add your choice of essential oils (choose from below)
3. Use a small amount under your arm as a test to ensure that the baking soda or arrowroot doesn’t irritate your skin. In most cases it will be fine.

Citrus Celebration Blend

• 10 drops lemon
• 5 drops distilled lime (use distilled because it is not phototoxic)
• 5 drops sweet orange

I’ll have some more blends for you to use to customize your natural aromatherapy deodorant in tomorrow’s blog so hold up! You may want to try a different blend because of the different essential oils we’ll be using.

Impotence is a distressing subject for the person who is suffering from it as well as his partner. There is usually no physical reason for the inability to achieve an erection and the causes are almost always due to mental and or emotional issues. There can be anxiety about a specific sexual encounter or about a man’s sexuality in general that leads to a failure and that leads to further anxiety and creates a vicious circle that can have a devastating effect. Other areas of life such as finances, health, or work can cause external stress leading to impotence too.

The use of aphrodisiac essential oils can break this cycle by working on stress in general. Having a massage by a trained massage therapist will provide the enjoyable use of touch in a completely non-sexual situation while also being generally relaxing and de-stressing. The therapist can use Aromatic baths before bedtime and even using these powerful aphrodisiac essential as a perfume or after shave will also assist.

Use any of the following oils for impotence:

• Sandalwood
• Jasmine
• Clary Sage (do not use if drinking alcohol – alcohol is an enemy to virility anyway.)

These oils have the ability to relax the mind and emotions. The man’s partner can blend one or more of the above essential oils with coconut carrier oil and give him a massage. This massage is not intended to lead to lovemaking and intercourse. If it does, that is good but that is not the point of it and the massage is successful if the man is simply more relaxed afterwards.

Friends are asking me how to treat their eczema with a more natural alternative to prescription medicine. First of all, eczema is often the result of an allergy. For children, this allergy is commonly to cow’s milk or eggs. My daughter was allergic to wheat when she was a baby but she got over it eventually and can eat it now with no breakout of eczema. I believe my eczema comes from chocolate. I still eat it, I just don’t eat it very often so that the breakout is minor and over quickly.

To ease the itch of eczema, apply this formula to the affected area twice a day:

• Chamomile essential oil – 10 drops
• Yarrow essential oil – 5 drops
• Tagetes essential oil – 5 drops

Diluted in:

• Almond oil – 2 tablespoons
• Jojoba oil – 30 drops
• Evening Primrose oil – 10 drops

If you get a more serious breakout of eczema you can get cortisone cream, an over the counter medicine that helps when used with the above. With severe cases, I suggest you see your physician.

Shingles is a viral infection characterized by a painful rash. The rash can appear anywhere on the body but usually it is a single stripe of blisters along the right or left side of the torso. It mostly appears in people over the age of 50 but anyone can get shingles if they had chicken pox as a child or a person of any age can contract the disease if they come into contact with someone who has open sores from shingles.

You have a higher risk of developing shingles if you:

1. are over 50
2. have a weakened immune system
3. are taking cancer treatments
4. take certain medications

If you think you may have shingles, see your physician right away to prevent further complications. There is no cure for shingles but you doctor will prescribe anti-viral medications to help your symptoms and prevent complications from arising. Many people find relief with essential oils. Several essential oils have been found to help soothe painful rashes and possibly help speed up the healing process.

The seven essential oils recommended for shingles below can be used topically in the bath or in a carrier oil as a massage; or they can be diffused into the air with a diffuser. Try any of these oils alone or in a blend of 2 or 3 that you like. Use 6 to 8 drops in your bath or 2 – 4 drops in a carrier oil such as sweet almond oil or jojoba oil.

1. tea tree
2. lavender
3. chamomile
4. lemongrass
5. bergamot
6. geranium
7.  black seed oil

Most essential oils inhibit the growth of bacteria because they have antiseptic properties and are bactericides. However you use essential oils in your home, they not only make your environment smell nice, they also make it safe for you and your family. The following essential oils are also antifungal and antiviral so they are powerful bacteria busters and inexpensive.

• Cinnamon
• Clove
• Lemon
• Eucalyptus
• Lavender
• Pine
• Thyme
• Grapefruit
• Lime

Most essential oils have a shelf life of about 2 years (they will last forever as a perfume.) The disinfectant quality of eucalyptus oil actually improves with age! If you have some essential oils that are too old to use in body or skin care, keep them in the kitchen or bathroom and use 2 drops on your sponge or cloth to wipe surfaces and then squeeze it out and let the water run down the drain to kill any bacteria hiding there.

A while ago, I had the doctor remove some moles from my neck and the whole procedure went well. He even gave me the moles in a little jar of formaldehyde. That sounds gross but my granddaughter used to play with them when they were on my neck so I wanted to show her where they went.

The doctor burned the moles off with a little tool that he said is a disposable laser of some sort and I had no problem in any of the 18 spots where he burned off moles, except for one. For some reason this spot has been irritated all along and it wasn’t even the biggest mole. I kept unconsciously rubbing it and I must have made it worse. Well,  this blog is to let you know that I put one drop of lavender and one drop of tea tree oil on a cotton swab and dabbed it on the irritated spot. Voila, after one application, it no longer itched and was no  longer irritated.

If you don’t have any other essential oils, please get either one or both of these two. Lavender is a natural antibiotic, antiseptic, antidepressant, sedative and detoxifier. It is excellent in the treatment of burns and minor skin irritations. Tea tree is antiviral, antibacterial and antifungul so it can be used to treat all kinds of infections and a wide range of other conditions such as ringworm, sunburn, acne, athlete’s foot and toothache.

Women always talk about how to care for our skin because we  want to look beautiful but men aren’t usually concerned with their skin until there is a problem that needs solving. The first thing others notice about you is your face so here are a few tips to ensure that your skin stays healthy and you look good. The face in the picture is my husband of 52 years. He is a handsome man, in my opinion with great looking skin.

• Cleanse by washing your face daily with a natural soap like Dudu-Osun Natural Black Soap. It not only cleans but also exfoliates so that you get a deep cleansing and your pores stay clear and your face looks healthy.
• Tone your skin with a natural astringent containing 1 ounce witch hazel, 3 ounces distilled water, 1 teaspoon cider vinegar and the following essential oils: 2 drops juniper berry, 1 drop lime, and 1 drop grapefruit. This mixture must be shaken each time you use it.
• Moisturize your face daily with a natural moisturizer that contains no alcohol or fragrances.
• Protect your skin by: avoiding overexposure to the sun, eating healthy, drinking lots of water, staying in shape with exercise, and steering clear of alcohol, smoking, fatigue and stress.