Hormones just want to be friends. If our bodies and their different parts and pieces were all different characters in a fictional story, I propose that hormones would be the antagonists. Which would then make our brains the protagonist. But as in any good story, a...
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Essential Oils
Aromatic Rituals: Aligning Essential Oils with the Spring Equinox
In what feels like our longest dormancy, the stimulation of “spring fever” is being activated by the shift and increase of sunlight, early sightings of flower buds and touches of warm weather in the atmosphere. March 20th marks the official launch of Spring along with...
Helichrysum in Skin Care
If I had to choose only one essential oil to work with for skin care purposes, hands down Helichrysum italicum would be the one. In a way it’s interesting to hear myself say this because it took me many years as a formulator to feel ready to incorporate this essential...
Essential Oils Enhance Sleep
“A Good Laugh and a Long Sleep Are the Two Best Cures for Anything”. -Irish Proverb Have you ever had a hard time starting a conversation with someone? Ask them about last night’s sleep and you should get an earful! Just ask me. So, last night’s sleep was good for me,...
The Art of Self Love: A Pathway to Compassion
Love is one of the greatest gifts one can give. It is the expression of care, compassion, empathy and kindness. It can be expressed in a multitude of ways: through a hug or embrace, a gesture -- random acts of kindness for a neighbor, volunteering at a charity,...
AROMATICS IN SKIN CARE
Essential oils have been in my life as long as I can remember. When I was little, my mom would help to soothe our stomach aches with a drop of peppermint oil on a teaspoon of honey and she would rub our backs, chests and feet with camphor when we had colds. At that...
What’s the difference between an Essential Oil, a CO2 Extract and an Absolute?
While essential oils, CO2 Extracts and absolutes are all considered aromatic extracts, what makes them unique is their method of extraction and the resulting chemical composition of each type of extraction. This article has been created to help you decipher how these...
What are Essential Oils?
Essential oils are highly concentrated aromatic extracts that are distilled or expressed from a variety of aromatic plant material, including flowers, flowering tops, fruits/zests, grasses, leaves, needles and twigs, resins, roots, seeds, and woods. Through the...
Essential Oils and the Gut Microbiome
No Guts, No Glory: The Impact of Essential Oils on the Gut Microbiome The gut microbiome -- everybody’s talking about it, everybody’s gulping down yogurt, everybody’s popping probiotics like their lives depend on it. And in a way… they do. Trillions of microorganisms...
Painful Periods: Dysmenorrhea and Essential oils – Part II
Modern Treatment Strategies Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are the first line of treatment by clinical specialists for Primary dysmenorrhea (PD). The most commonly used NSAIDS for menstrual pain are aspirin, ibuprofen, mefenamic acid and naproxen. They work to...
Painful Menstruation: Dysmenorrhea and Essential Oils – Part I
Dysmenorrhea Dysmenorrhea, the term for painful periods, is derived from the Greek words dys (difficult, painful, or abnormal), meno (month), and rrhea (flow). Cathleen Morrow and Betsy Naumburg, authors of the excellent chapter “Dysmenorrhea” in Women’s HealthPrimary...
Essential Oil Allies: Cedarwood
Cedarwood syn. Atlas Cedar Cedrus atlantica Cedrus atlantica is one of the true cedars and is a native of the Atlas Mountains in Algeria and Morocco. Cedarwood is a member of the Pinaceae family, which includes fir, hemlock, spruce, and pine species. The essential oil...