Blue Oils
While most essential oils are clear or slightly colored, some of them offer a rainbow of hues from dark brown (Vetiver, Patchouli), bright orange (Red Mandarin) and yellow (Turmeric), to beautiful turquoise (Inula), and inky dark blues (Yarrow, German Chamomile, Blue Tansy). These colors are a consequence of the chemical compounds present in the…
Self Care Mini Vacation for Mother’s Day
Being a mom has certainly evolved since I was a kid. The demands and expectations of motherhood are at an all-time high and it’s not exactly glamourous. First, there are the daily chores of cooking, cleaning, laundry, driving kids to activities, and running errands. Then, schools often depend on parents to join various committees to…
Essential Oil Allies: Spanish Lavender
Lavendula stoechas essential oil is obtained by steam distilling the flowering tops of “Spanish” lavender. Like other plants in the lavender genus, this plant seems to have an identity crisis going by several common names: Spanish, French, Arabian, Maritime, Butterfly, Topped, Cotton or Crested lavender. It has been confused with other plants over centuries….
Aromatic Mood Support for Families
Did you ever smell something that completely takes you back to a memory you haven’t thought about in a long time? I was 3 years old when I started preschool which was near a coffee manufacturer. On certain days on my way to school, I could smell the strong aroma in the air. Sometimes when…
Earth Day: Essential Oils and the Environment
As aromatherapy thrives and becomes, at best, a widely used natural, holistic healing modality, and at worst, a soulless cash cow, it is important to remember that behind each bottle of essential oil is a plant, growing somewhere on the planet. It is easy to forget that fact when essential oils moguls focus on…
Ticked Off: Essential Oils for Pest Control
Welcome, friends. We’re here today to discuss everybody’s favorite topic: bloodsucking arthropods! And not just any old arthropod. I’m talking about those loathsome emissaries of infectious disease — and the heebie geebies in general – ticks. Infectious disease has been on the rise in the last century. Indeed, an astonishing 335 human diseases have…