Witch Hazel

May 22, 2019

If you don’t already know, the plants surrounding us have lots of medicinal properties! More than just passed down by word of mouth, a quick search on PubMed pulled up 127 studies where witch hazel was used for health benefits!

I want you to fall in love with the simplicity of using pure flower and plant extracts in your day to day life. While they aren’t fully without complication and safety* does need to be studied before using plants for health, I have found they offer simple solutions to health and just every day needs!

*not a doctor, just a Momma, making her best guess with life. While I can’t recommend treatment or diagnose your problems, you can be your own health advocate! Take my suggestions and maybe they fit into you life as well.

Uses for Witch Hazel

•Allergies
•Skin Toner
•Essential oil sprays
•After Shaving
•Skin Care
•Clean Jewelry

So when I’m getting used to using a new plant, I like to have quick uses in mind for it. For witch hazel, “Puffiness, skin, sprays”. Now, anytime I’m in need of something in those areas, witch hazel will quickly come up!

When allergies make your eyes puffy or itchy, you would maybe think to reach for an antihistamine. Witch hazel contains tannins that make it naturally an anti-inflammatory. Soak a cotton round with witch hazel and lay it over your (closed!) eyes. Leave it on for a bit before removing.

You need to use a toner after cleansing and before moisturizing your skin. In between, this balances the pH making it not too oily or not too dry. Grab a cotton round and soak it before wiping gently across your face. Just once at night should be fine!

Adding witch hazel to a spray bottle of water and essential oils (for a room spray, fabric refresher, or even after sun spray!), helps the water and oils combine + the aroma linger longer in the air. My favorite spray right now is 8 oz water, one oz of witch hazel, and then 10 drops Lavender Essential Oil to spray on my skin after being slightly burned in the sun.

Those little red bumps and ingrown hairs after shaving don’t have to happen. Use witch hazel (sprayed or cotton round and rubbed gently) on skin after you shave. Once again, it’s the anti inflammatory properties of the witch hazel plant that help your skin from not getting so angry.

Skin Care- in general, we reach for witch hazel straight or add it to a current routine. Boo boos don’t get washed with hydrogen peroxide but instead witch hazel. Always finding new ways to use it!

Cleaning jewelry with witch hazel isn’t something I’ve personally tried, but I hear it lifts dirt off great! This makes me think it would also be great to add with baking soda and lemon essential oil in a scrub for the bathroom as well. But for the jewelry, equal parts witch hazel and vinegar in a mason jar with a drop of tea tree essential oil. Let it sit overnight, scrub with a soft brush and baking soda the next day before rinsing in cold water.

How will you use witch hazel?

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Clean Your House

May 21, 2019

Once upon a time, I loved to unscrew every fabric softener lid, spray every fabric refresher, and sniff all the cleaners in store before purchasing. I clipped the coupons and made cleaning smell great + be affordable.

What I didn’t do, read the labels of what I was spraying around my home. (Trick question, does your household cleaner have an ingredient list?)

Then I had a baby. This wasn’t a normal baby without complications (HAHAHA, psych! all babies have their own complications). This sweet angel had the literal most difficult skin. I couldn’t even lay her next to me without her face breaking out. As if nursing wasn’t hard enough! And her clothes…. when they touched her skin, an instant rash. Her scalp was flaky and nasty and oozing. Yuck! I put bows on her to cover it up. But the truth was, she was miserable.

And so was I. No naps because her skin hurt. She couldn’t nurse comfortably, because her neck was raw. Nursery workers had to lay her blanket on them before holding her. I ditched the fragrance laundry detergent and fabric softener, opting to make my own. That helped some. We switched to bamboo liners in her cloth diapers and used cotton wash rags as wipes with just water. But still, the rashes persisted some.

With the second baby, I decided to go all in. We were ditching candles, fabric sprays (that one was HARD!), aerosol dusting spray, window cleaner, everything. I was mad at finding out that the chemicals I was using to scourge our home of germs was what made me cough and have headaches followed by sneezing for a day after cleaning. I attributed it to “stirring up dust”. It was also what was causing the last little bit of these rashes. Even without contact to her skin, my babies were breaking out from airborne toxins.

I’m still mad about it!

54% of stay at home Moms have an increased risk of dying from cancer… due to things like INDOOR POLLUTANTS. Get outta here, seriously? Solution- stop cleaning.

Or…. make you own home cleaners using the old fashioned way- vinegar and water and baking soda. While this does clean off grime and scrub away soap scum, it’s not cleaning beyond what the eye can see. Let’s just say, when my kids have a stomach bug and I am on hands and knees praying, I mean scrubbing, getting it out of the house, I don’t trust vinegar.

I needed something quick and easy. I was already a loyal customer to YL since the lavender essential oil and shae butter cream I made in my kitchen helped soothe the baby’s rash. I’m a sucker for anything with the YL brand on it, because I trust their toxic free standard. I decided after a year of using oils to give the cleaner a try. It smelled like Christmas and I didn’t love that. So, I added some more lemon and got to trying it out.

I fell in love with Thieves cleaner when I sprayed it on my microfiber kitchen chairs and with one swipe of a rag, the crusty spaghetti sauce from last week came right off.

What the what…. was this magic?

I soon learned that the “plant power” of this cleaner was behind breaking down the dirt using plant based enzymes and essential oils. Perfect!

Dusting: Left side drawers are untouched. Right side, cleaned with THC.
Siding: Left side moldy and dirty. Right side cleaned with THC (no scrubbing- just a waterhose pressure)
Car: Works for upholstery too!
Bathroom: White doesn’t have to look dirty with THC.

Quick list of WHAT I use this cleaner on:
• Toilets
• Bathroom counters
• Windows
• Pet food bowls
• Bump up laundry detergent power
• Fabric refresher
• Wash dogs
• Clean jewelry
• Mirrors
• Interior of Car
• Carpet cleaner
• Soak the tub
• Shower door scum
• Mopping
• Dusting
• Kitchen granite counters
• Walls
• Shoes
….. I’m sure I’m missing something, but can you see how I use it for everything now?

Each bottle is 14 ish ounces. One oz of the cleaner + 30 oz of water makes you a full size cleaning bottle. Do the math and… it costs about $1.61 per 30 oz spray bottle. I was WINNING at life from the day I started using Thieves Cleaner.

Get yours for free from now until May 30th plus a glass spray bottle.

Curious about more uses or specifics? Leave a comment. Basically, I add water, baking soda when needed, and use cotton or microfiber rags to clean with the diluted Thieves Cleaner.

•When you make a purchase from Young Living, you can become a member and get access to me being your mentor + our online community. Local monthly workshops as well as online education keep you informed. I never want you to not know how to make better wellness choices for your family

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Detox Baths

April 25, 2019

Let’s be specific with a self care practice that really helps your body heal, maintain, and protect as it was made to do.

*Skip to the bottom if you’re just here for the recipes! But I really just can’t tell you what to do without a little background info. Detox baths have been a great weekly practice for our entire household. What’s easier than dumping a cup of something into the bath and letting kids play by getting health benefits?!

BENEFITS OF A DETOX BATH
Detox baths are a great way to:

• Support the immune system
• Promote relaxation and sleep
• Flush toxins from the body
• Promote healthy circulation
• Increase concentration

What do you think of first when you hear “detox”? Most people will answer “weight loss”. But detox goes way beyond weight loss. If you are having a hard time losing weight have you considered it could be toxic overload in your body? Pesticides, fragrances in skin care products and in your environment that you breath in, and PCBs (industrial chemicals not allowed to be used today but are still present in our every day environment). Eliminating these toxins are good through clean eating and ditching toxic skin care products.
BUT… we can’t exactly undo what’s already been added to our environment by industrial use (breathed in) or pesticides used on or near our foods.

Detox simply means purifying the blood. Your blood is like a freeway of elimination between your organs. Most specifically your liver, but also your kidneys, intestines, lungs, skin, and lymphatic system. We can’t exactly cleanse our blood, but we can institute wellness practices that hurry along this elimination process.

Before you fly to the store shelves to purchase a bath bomb to soak in, ask yourself if items containing artificial dyes, fragrances, or PEGs are what you want soaked into your skin? If you’ve done your research, your answer is NOPE! The goal with a detox bath is to HELP your body, not hinder it’s natural processes. Here’s a briefing:

•Artificial Dyes- Entering your bloodstream which can lead to allergy like symptoms and skin irritation or more.
• Fragrances- known link to endocrine aka hormone disruption and an umbrella term for 3,000+ ingredients that are not disclosed and most likely are not safe
• PEGs- petroleum based ingredient that is a known carcinogen/cancer causing

Bath bombs and bubble baths aren’t detoxing your body! But minerals found in their most natural state are.

Your Choice of Addition:
1. Epsom Salts: make sure they’re labeled USP.
2. Seaweed: seems strange, but I prefer this.
3. Apple Cider Vinegar: local on tap at Earth Fare or online.
4. Baking Soda: great choice for kids.
5. Mineral Salts: most effective if we already aren’t feeling well.

Besides cost, consider how you feel in a bath with your choice from above.

These baths aren’t to treat symptoms necessarily. Think of them as preventative. For kids, do a weekly detox bath. Working to support a certain body system, work your way up to nightly detox baths.

PRO TIPS:
• Skip the soap and shampoo on detox bath nights. Let the oils and minerals/salts do their work without adding on products to their skin.
• Sip on water throughout your soak.
• Since the bath will help relax, these are best done at night to promote sleep.

Now, the fun part! Adding in essential oils to your bath for maximum benefit.

• Nighttime- Lavender and Cedarwood
• Calm- Tangerine or Lemon
• Winter Wellness- Peppermint, Thieves, or Rosemary
• After Workout- PanAway or Valor
• Chill, Momma- Stress Away
• Breathe- Eucalyptus or Peppermint
• Clear Head- Rosemary or Roman Chamomile

Young Living is always my preferred choice of essential oils. I have used them for many years and help others walk into the ease of aromatherapy use in their daily life. If you’re wanting to purchase with me as your mentor, I would be happy for you to follow my link to order. Choose “wholesale” for 24% discount and your choice of oil kits with diffuser + option to order anything you want with your continued discount.

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