Natural Body Guru

Essential oils are used by many cultures throughout the world for their healing properties. Some uses for the oils include increasing over-all well being and physical, emotional and mental health. Many essential oils can also stimulate the sex drive and work as powerful aphrodisiacs. So those looking to spice up their love lives this Valentine’s Day should consider filling their oil diffusers with one of the following essential oils:

~Ylang Ylang oil energizes the body and intensifies sexual desire.

~Rose oil aids in hormone balance. This oil works best for women, but is also said to boost sexuality in men.

~Jasmine oil is said to have a counter-effect on frigidity, impotence and premature ejaculation. It also boosts energy levels.

~Sandalwood oil is said to aid in the treatment of impotence and help to relieve the anxiety that leads to frigidity. It also produces something similar to androsterone, a male hormone secreted in the armpits as a sexual signal.

To have beautiful healthy nails, you have to not only treat the nail but also the nail bed or cuticle. There are many physical conditions that appear in the nails as ridges or thickening. Arthritic and rheumatoid illnesses show up as thickened nails and they often also become distorted. Aromatherapists who do body work should keep their nails short and they must constantly attend to their nail length because the essential oils they work with cause nails to grow quickly.

The essential oils to use for making your nails grow are lemon, carrot, grapefruit, lavender, eucalyptus, rosemary, peppermint and cypress. You can choose from jojoba, evening primrose and borage oil as well as almond, grapeseed and avocado oil to dilute your essential oils.

Here is a wonderful synergistic blend you can use to strengthen your nails:

• 2 teaspoons grapeseed oil
• 5 drops jojoba oil
• 3 drops carrot oil
• 8 drops lemon
• 2 drops rosemary

Make up the blend and store it in a dark colored bottle so it is ready to use. When you want to use it add 10 drops to 1 teaspoon avocado oil and blend it well. Massage this mixture well into your fingers and fingernails or your toes and toenails. Do this after you manicure your nails but do not add nail polish.

Mammals are the only animals that have hair and we humans really love ours. Hair is mostly composed of a protein called keratin. Wikipedia says that this keratin assembles itself into rope-like filaments and these filaments determine the strength of the hair shaft. While the hair shafts that we see on each others’ heads is “dead” because it has no biochemical activity, it comes from hair follicles located under the skin. These follicles  include the oil producing sebaceous gland which lubricates the hair and the erector pili muscles, which are responsible for causing hairs to stand-up when you have “goose bumps.”

Particular care should be taken for African-American hair in natural styles to keep the hair soft and supple. Many hair preparations contain petroleum based products which can cause poor blood circulation, clogged pores leading to dandruff and dry scalp and hair breakage. Why have a natural hairstyle and then groom it with an unnatural product? Instead, use an easy to apply oil for natural styles that contains tea tree oil, shea butter and other natural fruit oils that will soothe your hair and scalp, moisturize it and prevent itchiness.

If your hair is dry, it is probably because your sebaceous glands are not producing enough oil to keep it  healthy. The protective oils produced by your hair are essential for protecting it from the elements but exposure to sun, wind, heat, and chemicals can damage hair, leaving it frizzy.  Split ends, broken shafts and a rough texture are all signs that your hair is lacking a sufficient sebum coating.

Dry hair fixes include:

• Using a very gentle shampoo followed by a cream conditioner that you leave on for several minutes (on your hair, not your scalp)
• Avoiding the use of chemical products such as hair dye and styling products because they can be very harsh on hair and wearing a hat if you’re going to be out in the sun, and a swimming cap if you’re going to be in chlorinated water
• Adding a few drops of oil (coconut, jojoba, olive oil, etc) will give protective moisture to hair if you simply place a few drops  in your hands, rub your hands together and then work through your hair to give it a light sheen
• Drying hair on the low or coolest setting if you must blow it dry
• Combing your hair in the shower with conditioner in it because this is the time your hair is at its smoothest and strongest; otherwise, use a boar bristle brush, which will be more gentle and less likely to tear hair, as well as helping to distribute oil through the hair
• Washing your hair less often and using a weekly deep conditioner
• Having your hair trimmed if you are experiencing split ends- at least 1/2 inch above the splits

If your neck is showing signs of age, you might want to give it a special treatment of the following synergistic  blend of essential oils. Use 10 drops of rose, 7 drops clary-sage, 10 drops lemon, and 20 drops carrot essential oil blended well with 1 teaspoon  of evening primrose oil. Gently massage this mixture into the skin and leave it on for at least ten minutes before wiping off the excess oil.

After a long winter of turtle-neck sweaters and woolen scarves, the neck will benefit greatly if you slough off dead skin cells, brighten up and tone the neck and prepare it for a treatment oil as discussed in part I of essential oils for neck care. Mix 1 teaspoon of ground almond with 1/2 teaspoon of jojoba oil into a paste and rub it all over the neck and chest area in upward movements. Leave this on for 10 minutes then rinse it off with water followed by a rinse with the following tonic water: 1/4 teaspoon cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon spring water, 1 teaspoon witch hazel, and 2 drops lemon essential oil. Mix the lemon essential oil with the witch hazel and then blend that with the other ingredients. Rinse most of the paste off with water and then add the vinegar tonic water to the final rinse until all the almond paste is gone.

Have you ever seen a woman whose face was beautiful but when you glanced at her neck, it marred her appearance? No matter how much make up and concealer is on the face, if you don’t take care of the delicate skin on your neck, it will be like a lovely delicate rose on a stalk that can not support it. The neck is one of the first places the body begins to show its age.  Crinkled skin, loss of elasticity, wrinkles and double chins all lead one to look older even though great care is put into maintaining the good looks of the face. You can try to keep your neck covered with a scarf but that is not practical and, thankfully, the neck responds extremely well to essential oil treatments.

The essential oils to use for neck care are rose, geranium, clary-sage, lemon, lemongrass, black pepper, or carrot. Use any one of these oils added to a carrier oil like jojoba, evening primrose, or avocado to begin your treatments.  The neck is a very delicate area and must be cleansed with the same care you use on your face. Add one drop of one of the above essential oils to each 3/4 teaspoon of your usual cleansing cream. Then each night before bed apply the following blend: 8 drops of pettigraine, 3 drops of orange, 10 drops carrot oil, 14 drops palma rosa, and 5 drops of lemon blended well with 3 teaspoons jojoba oil, 2 teaspoons wheatgerm oil, and 2 teaspoons of avocado oil. Leave this on for a few minutes and then wipe off any excess with a tissue before going to bed.

The first time I went to the dentist might possibly have been my last if I didn’t inherit bad teeth like most of the women in my mother’s family. This was quite some time ago, in the late 1960s. I just wanted to find out why my mouth was hurting so but the dentist put his hands in my mouth (without gloves) and pronounced my tooth needed to come out. I didn’t want that to happen because his fingernails were dirty. He didn’t know I was about to vomit on him. He pulled my tooth anyway – and I was hysterical for days.

Thankfully, dentist offices have come a long way and I’m sure nothing like that happens today. I still don’t like going to the dentist but I asked my dentist to try using an essential oil diffuser, at least when I come in and he did! Now his office diffuses essential oils in the waiting room and dental rooms and they tell me it definitely seems to affect anxious client’s mood and helps them to feel calm and relaxed.

The best essential oils to use for apprehensive anxiety such as you feel in the dental chair are bergamot, lavender, neroli, rose otto, geranium, cedarwood, patchouli and sweet orange. Try it at home before you even go to the dentist. Make an apprehensive anxiety blend of:

• 15 drops bergamot
• 5 drops lavender
• 10 drops geranium

Blend the oils in an amber colored bottle and add 8-10 drops of the blend to the water in your diffuser. It’s best to close off the room you’re in if possible or stand close and sniff the molecules. Do this 10 -15 minutes before you leave for the dentist or wherever you need to go that has you apprehensive.

Wouldn’t you like to tone that double chin that seemed to appear from nowhere as you aged? Mine isn’t helped by the fact that I lost 94 pounds. Thanks to the collagen boosting compounds in grapeseed oil, we can firm the saggy skin around the jawline. Grapeseed oil works to firm the jawline and massage helps to fight bloating even more making your face appear slimmer.

Add 2 drops of grapefruit essential oil to 1 teaspoon of grapeseed oil and blend well. Use your thumbs to rub two drops of this blend onto your skin in small circles. Start from the base of your neck and move up to your chin. Do this daily. This blend should last a while before you need to make more. Be sure to keep the blend covered and away from heat.

I didn’t know what cankles were until my friend complained about hers. “Cankles” is a slang term that combines the words “calf” and “ankle.” People with cankles will say that they have fat ankles or thick ankles. The anti-inflammatory properties of lavender essential oil helps relieve swelling around joints in the feet and ankles. Lavender also reduces the appearance of spider veins because it constricts blood vessels.

Mix 6 drops of lavender essential oil with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. Rub the blend on your feed. Then put your palms on the sides of each ankle and massage them up to the knee using long gentle strokes. Then rub from the heel up to the back of the knee. Repeat this 10 times on each leg.

Our body controls temperature and eliminates toxins by sweating, so stopping underarm sweat with antiperspirant is not healthy and is often thought to be one reason for the rise in breast cancer. The  medical profession does not support this idea and considers it a myth but it just makes sense that if toxins are trapped in your body they can lead to health problems.

If you are not willing to take a chance with your health, it is worth your while to try Crystal Deodorant in either a spray or roll on bottle. It is 100% natural and contains potassium alum mineral salts. It is non-aerosol, ozone friendly, hypoallergenic, unscented, non-staining, contains no alcohol, and kills odor causing bacteria.  Do antiperspirants contribute to breast cancer? Myth or fact, you decide.

My husband and I went for a couple’s massage today.  It is our gift to ourselves for our 52nd anniversary.  We had one when we went on a cruise and we thought it was time for another one. We had been talking about getting another one since that first time so I booked it as a gift for us both.

The time flew by and our massage ended.  Afterwards we were both so satisfied and relaxed that we wanted to book another appointment for the following week but they were all booked.  Then we went to the store and bought some massage oils similar to the ones used at the spa so we can give each other massages ourselves.  The clerk at Fragrance World of Topeka blended the massage oil with ylang-ylang for us. She said it’s an aphrodisiac. There’s nothing like a professional massage, but a massage from your loved one is a close second.