The beautiful orange liquid of Rosehip seed oil is becoming well-known as useful skin and beauty product around the world, as scientific study has recently validated it’s positive effects on many types of skin condtions. The pure oil has produced miraculous results for some, useful for a great myriad of conditions from premature aging and over-exposure to the sun, to lessening the appearannce of many types of scarring. Where does this lusciuos oil come from, how does it work, and perhaps of greatest interest, can it work for you?

Rosehip seed oil is made from the seeds of the fruit of wild thorny rose bushes native to mountainous regions of South America. Also known as ‘Rosa Mosqueta’, the oil has been used by native people for hundreds of years.

Rosehip seed oil is produced via solvent extraction or pressing of the seed. The cold-pressed oil is the closest to nature and likely the healthiest variety - it has a high essential fatty acid content, and is considered more delicate than other common seed and nut oils. Because of it’s delecate nature, Rosehip seed oil should be refrigerated, or at least kept in a dark, cool place, and used within one year of purchase.

Rosehip seed oil is an excellent source of natural vitamin E and natural vitamin A, or ‘trans-retinoic acid’. Retinoic acid, the acid derivative of vitamin A, is the active ingredient found in Retin-A or Tretinoin. Retin-A (a pharmaceutical preparation) has been heralded as a wrinkle cure because of its ability to increase skin cell
proliferation - or speed the time it takes for your skin to regenerate. In fact, rosehip seed oil has been extensively studied for many of the same actions attributed to Retin-A, and has been shown effective without side effects (like over-drying and peeling - though unlike Retin-A, it should not be used to treat acne).

The first major study on rosehip seed oil was performed in 1983 by a team of researchers at the University of Santiago, Chile. The study’s participants included individuals with diverse forms of skin damage: deep wrinkles and other premature aging, UV damage, radiation damage, acne scarring, burn scarring, dermatitis, and other problems of this type. Rosehip seed oil was shown to have significant, noticeable effects in regenerating the skin, reducing wrinkles and scars, and helping the skin to regain its natural color and
tone.

Another later study was conducted on women ages 25-35 with extensive premature aging of their skin. Again, rosehip seed oil significantly reduced the appearance of wrinkles and sun spots after daily application for four months. Research has continued on the oil, with one study noting: “On some skin troubles like superficial wrinkles, chestnut spots and ephelides, good results have been obtained. After 16 weeks
of treatment, wrinkles and spots become imperceptible.” The oil has been used to successfully treat a long list of skin related conditions, including: age spots, wrinkles and premature aging, sun damage, scars from acne, burns, and surgery, eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, hyper-pigmentation, brittle nails, and even dry and damaged hair.

In addition to it’s skin regenerative properties, the oil is also a fantastic moisturizer and nutrative agent due to it’s high essential fatty acid content. The oil easily penetrates the skin and is well absorbed - it does not leave an oily feeling, but rather one of healthy skin moisture.

Rosehip seed oil may be used directly on the skin daily - It may also be blended with other oils like jojoba and sweet almond, and will still give noticable results at one-tenth of the concentration. In addition, rosehip seed oil makes an excellent carrier oil for aromatherapy, blending it with essential oils having skin regenerative properties will make an exceptional natural skin care product.

To smooth scars on the skin, blend of twenty drops of Helichrysum Italicum essential oil in each ounce of rosehip seed and applied daily to the area. Helichrysum Italicum essential oil is well known for its content of regenerative di-ketones, and has long been used for this purpose. For a more luxurious beauty blend, experiment with this combination in four ounces of rosehip seed: five drops Helichrysum, five drops Lavender angustifolia, 3 drops Sandalwood (Pacific Island Sandalwood is an excellent choice), three drops Neroli (bitter orange flower oil), three drops Carrot Seed oil (a very moisturizing essential oil), three drops Geranium (also for hydration), two drops Roman Chamomile (for it’s anti-inflammatory properties), two drops of Jasmine absolute and one drop each of Palmarosa and Ylang Ylang essential oils. This blend is very much appreciated by those using it on a regular basis. Even a simple blend using the Helichrysum and Lavender essential oils will go a long way.

Using rosehip seed oil for healing your skin or just giving it a little needed nourishment will almost certainly produce positive, noticable effects. This fantastic oil, with its wonderful range of uses, will likely take an important place in your natural beauty collection.

How can I protect my children from mosquitoes?

Now that summer is here, the mosquitoes are out to feed. Mosquitoes are a huge nuisance and can leave permanent damage if not careful. They can spread many serious diseases such as Malaria, Dengue Fever, West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis through their bites, and these bites can be scratched and picked by our children and lead to scabbing, scarring and various skin infections.

If you want to reduce the population of mosquitoes around your home, you need to make it difficult for mosquitoes to breed. To do this, you first need to empty containers of standing water whether it be old tires, bird baths, flowerpots or old dog bowls. You should also clean out your gutter and drainage pipes to prevent standing water.

Female mosquitoes are the ones that bite your children and they are most active early in the morning and late in the evening. This is the time you should protect your kids as they are heading to outside to play. It also matters how you dress your children, light colored clothes are less attractive to mosquitoes. Also be careful not to put sweet smelling fragrances on your children and that includes lotion.

Last but not least, you need to find a safe and effective mosquito repellent that your children don’t mind you putting on them. The best studied repellent on the market usually contains the active ingredient deet. There have been numerous studies that show deet is very harmful to kids, especially if they digest it. I would not recommend using a repellent that contains deet on young children. Rare allergies and skin irritations are likely to occur when you apply certain lotions or sprays to you children’s sensitive skin. It is best to test the repellent on a small part of your child’s body to see if they are allergic to the repellent. If your child plans on going swimming, you must reapply the repellent every hour or even less. If you happen to use a product that contains deet make sure you thoroughly wash your child at the end of the day.

There are also other products on the market that have been proven to repel mosquitoes using all natural ingredients. The CDC has recommended the use of picaridin and lemon eucalyptus oil. These two ingredients have proven to be as effective as deet in many cases. Families prefer natural products because of their more pleasant smell and feel. There are other products on the market that claim to work such as zappers and sonic devices.. don’t be fooled, they are a gimmick. If you are looking for an all natural product that claims to work don’t purchase it unless they have test results showing the product does what it says.

The use of various scents to provide relief to mental and physical ailments is Aromatherapy. Aromatherapy has many benefits and has been enforced by both spiritualists and scientists. Within this article, we will entail the many benefits of using incense in aromatherapy to provide the means for achieving relief.

While many people implement the use of aromatherapy by applying and/or inhaling certain fragrances, it has been found that the use of incense can be just as effective. If you decide to implement the use of incense, it should be noted that you use the proper precautions to ensure that you and your surroundings are kept safe. You should use the proper incense burning tools, and never leave the incense unattended.

The following represents a list of various types of incense and how they are used in conjunction with aromatherapy. This is just a small list of the benefits of different types of incense and their uses in aromatherapy. You can generally look up an incense fragrance to see what kind of benefits it will provide you mentally and physically online, or through books in your local library.

1. The first incense to discuss is called Dragon’s Blood incense. This incense has been used for numerous things in aromatherapy such as the relief of diarrhea, reduced fevers, alleviate the effects of stomach viruses and assisting with the pain of ulcers.
2. Sandalwood incense has been used to alleviate stress and to bring one closer to spiritual awareness.
3. An incense known for calming and soothing people is the lavender incense.
4. The incense Amber helps to keep the body’s systems functioning properly.
5. If you suffer from depression and similar mood disorders, you may consider burning Indian Cedar incense.
6. To balance hormones in the body, or to stimulate sexual activity, you may consider burning Jasmine incense. Jasmine incense benefits both men and women in the area of hormones and all things related to hormones.
7. Patchouli incense has been found to help soothe the nerves in the body. It has also been found to make the nerves stronger.
8. Rose incense helps to promote balance with your spiritual side. It has also been noted to assist in meditation and focusing one’s attention.

The use of incense in aromatherapy provides many benefits for an extremely inexpensive price. For just under a dollar, you can purchase as many as 20 different incense. Sometimes you can even get a larger amount with a variety of scents. The larger packages with a large variety are usually the best deal when buying incense.

Aromatherapy is extremely beneficial and safe. There are no dangerous side effects to the use of aromatherapy, so, it can be performed at any time. The use of incense of aromatherapy has been proven effective for many years now. Numerous other scents provide aromatherapy benefits. You can find these scents by doing a simple internet search, or looking up books on it at your local library.

Essential oils have long played a roll in the health and fitness of athletes around the world - perhaps without them even knowing it! Sports massage for enhanced performance and recovery almost always includes massage blends including Eucalyptus, Wintergreen and Rosemary - essential oils that enhance circulation to the muscles and enhance recovery by clearing post-exercise lactic acid and other waste products. ‘Tiger Balm’ - a popular remedy for muscular aches and pains contains camphor, menthol (found in Peppermint), cajeput, mint and clove oils. Other blends can greatly speed healing time of injuries, getting one ‘back in the game’ as fast as possible. Here we’ll have a look at some of the most popular means of enhancing the sporting life with the magic of essential oils.

The Foundation of Aromatherapy in Sport - The Pre and Post Exertion Massage: Even if you don’t have a team of massage therapists traveling with you al la Lance Armstrong, you can still benefit from easy-to-use massage formulas before and after workouts and competition. The pre and post sports formulas utilize these essential oils - Eucalyptus, which aids breathing, de-congests, invigorates and relieves pain; Lavender, with anti-inflammatory effects, relieves pain, relaxes spasms, and brings mental calm without sedation; Rosemary relieves pain, stimulates the mind and body, and has a warming effect on the muscles; Juniper Berry, used in the post-exercise formula, detoxifies and helps eliminate lactic acid from muscles; and Sweet Marjoram which helps relieve cramping in over-exerted muscles.

Example massage blends for pre- and post-exercise: For before exercise and competition, give a gentle rub to the entire body (or just the critical appendages, if so desired) with a blend containing eight drops of Rosemary, four drops Lavender and four drops of Eucalyptus oil in each ounce of ‘base’ oil (Sweet Almond oil is the most common of all oils used in massage). The massage should be vigorous enough to get the blood flowing but not so deep as to provoke pain in any way - generally, quick, light strokes are used. For the post-exercise rub, try a blend including eight drops of Lavender, four drops of Juniper Berry and four drops of Marjoram per ounce of base oil. Stronger, longer strokes are used, moving toward the heart or center of the body. The post-exercise rub can certainly be deeper, but care should be taken not to cause further inflammation in very sore or tight areas - work on these more deeply when the body has had a day or two to recover. Also, you can adjust the concentration of oils to suit your particular tastes and body’s response; in general, higher concentrations of essential oils will be stimulating, and lower ones will be relaxing.

Aromatherapy oils can be used during pre and post exercise baths and showers as well, using the same oils and blends mentioned above. Oils can be added directly to bathwater (after the bath is filled) where they will be well-absorbed over the entire body. Before showers, essential oils can be applied undiluted to the body; this is particularly advised post-exertion to support the elimination of metabolic wastes. Try one drop each of Rosemary, Lemon and Eucalyptus. A massage oil blend as described earlier should be used after a shower or bath when the pores are open. Choose a stimulating or relaxing mix depending on your needs.

Sometimes the going gets a little more rough for all athletes; injuries such as sprains, strains and bruises are common in many sports. The most important prescription for any injury is rest, but most athletes, eager to maintain their hard-earned level of fitness, rarely heed this suggestion. Enter the healing support of essential oils. Many essential oils are powerful healers of skin, muscle and connective tissue. Several well-known oils have strong anti-inflammatory properties, and contain safe varieties of ‘ketones’ which signal the regeneration of tissue. On top of that, there’s the stress-relieving ‘aromatherapy’ aspect, which can further enhance the healing process in nearly all cases.

To treat bruises and strains, there is no match for the synergistic molecules making up Helichrysum Italicum essential oil. Helichrysum Italicum (also known as Everlasting oil), as noted by Dr. Kurt Schnaubelt in ‘Advanced Aromatherapy’ is “certainly one of the most astounding essential oils. Its very unique chemical composition along with the oil’s general ability to penetrate into tissue ad the circulatory system permit some spectacular treatments. Used for bruises, sprains, and twisted ankles - usually accompanied by swelling and subsequent hemorrhages - this oil proves to be practically a wonder cure.” The oil can be used ‘neat’ (undiluted) when immediate relief is needed, and can be diluted for subsequent, repeated applications. The oil is rare, and somewhat expensive, though there is no substitute for its healing properties. Diluting the oil in a carrier such as jojoba to a 10% concentration will not reducing its healing effects, and may even extend the oil a bit with less of it evaporating into the air. Apply the oil or mixture frequently to the affected area, alternating with short applications of ice in the early stages if necessary.

Athletes of all ages playing hard will often incur minor cuts and scrapes. Essential oils have a broad range of antibiotic effects, and can prevent infection while speeding wound healing. Tea Tree oil, an essential oil distilled from a plant long used by native Australians for its healing properties, is highly effective antimicrobial properties. Lavender essential oil, distilled from the plant’s flowering tops, is anti-inflammatory and regenerative. Together, they make a wonderful topical treatment for athletes of all ages. Blend the two oils together in equal parts and apply directly to cuts and scrapes after the wound has been properly cleansed. - if this is too strong a blend, simply apply a drop or two to the gauze portion of a band-aid and cover the wound for the same effect. The blend can be applied again whenever the dressing is changed. These essential oils are widely available in health food stores.

Finally, aside from the direct ’sports related’ uses of essential oils, the health and fitness of any athlete should be supported for top performance. During periods of especially strenuous Training or competition, athletes may be particularly susceptible to infectious illnesses - colds, flu and the like. Immune support can be provided by diffusing ‘air clearing’ essential oils like Eucalyptus, Tea Tree, Thyme, Rosemary and Lemon into the living space to disinfect the air and prevent transmission of illness. Another highly regarded method of strengthening the immune system is applying Niaouli essential oil directly to the body after a warm shower; ten to twenty drops rubbed into the skin is recommended by one of America’s leading medical aromatherapists for this purpose.

This is a brief overview of many common applications of aromatherapy for supporting the health, fitness and performance of any athlete. There are many variations of the essential oils suggested - if one oil is found offensive, too stimulating, etc., try another, as this is usually the body’s natural way saying the timing of a particular oil is not right, or the oil is not compatible with the individual’s chemistry at the moment. With a little research and experimentation, an effective and rewarding combination of essential oils can enhance nearly any athletes health, fitness and competition endeavors.

As the interest in aromatherapy grows for those interested in alternative health, wellness, and fitness, many folks ask “what are essential oils” and “how do they differ from other oils like olive oil, coconut and the like”? This brief primer should help clarify the matter, and get you started in the wonderful world of aromatherapy. Essential oils are concentrated volatile aromatic compounds produced by plants - these are the easily evaporated essences that give plants their wonderful scents, more akin to an alcohol than what we commonly think of as an oil . Each of these complex precious liquids is extracted from a particular plant species. Each plant species originates in certain regions of the world, with particular environmental conditions and neighboring fauna and flora. The result is a very diverse library of aromatic compounds, with some essential oils being made up of more than one hundred distinct organic chemicals.

Essential oils are extracted from oil ’sacs’ in flowers, leaves, stems, roots, seeds, wood and bark. They differ significantly from the well-known vegetable, nut and seed oils which are made up of various fatty acids (essential oils are not). Essential oils are used by the plants in somewhat the same way they are by humans - they fight infection, contain hormone-like compounds, initiate cellular regeneration, and work as chemical defense against fungal, viral, and animal foes. Despite their foliar origins however, essential oils have a similar structure to some compounds found in blood and tissues, allowing them to be compatible with our own physiology.

Distilling pure essential oils of therapeutic grade is a delicate process. Steam distillation is the most common method, where steam is passed through a vessel containing fresh plant materials. The steam is captured and cooled, the resultant oil and water separated. To make an oil of the highest quality begins with the finest plant materials, followed with a close attention to the time, temperature and pressure of the distillation process. To much or too little of any factor can produce an oil of inferior quality and aroma, and one with lesser therapeutic properties. To chose an essential oil supplier, sample products from several companies - you can usually tell right away which oil will have the most profound uses for natural health and wellness simply by the beauty of the aroma.

The use of essential oils by man dates back many thousands of years. Their earliest use is thought around 4500 BC, though it was the ancient Egyptian civilization that developed essential oil production on a grand scale. Roughly 350 liters of oil were found in King Tut’s tomb, and essential oils played a significant roll in the embalming process. The Christian Bible contains hundreds of references aromatic oils and incense - perhaps the most well-known being the anointing of the feet of Jesus with Spikenard by Mary Magdalene before his crucifixion. Anointing for spiritual and purification purposes is often mentioned. Other references make note of these oils being used to heal the sick - a testament to the knowledge of the natural healing powers of essential oils.

Modern use of essential oils in natural health, wellness and fitness programs began with the discovery of Lavender’s healing properties by a French scientist in the middle of the last century. Lavender was found to have effective healing properties for skin wounds, strong anti-inflammatory properties, and wonderful calming effects when inhaled. Further research has confirmed superior efficacy of essential oils for a broad range of physiological conditions.

The most promising use of essential oils is in the treatment of infectious illness. Most essential oils display antibacterial effects, some also with strong antiviral properties as well. They can be used to fight infectious illness, or support the immune system to prevent the onset of illness in the first place. It does take a qualified practitioner, or a significantly strong knowledge to choose the right oil for each condition, however. Some oils are particularly effective in treating certain illnesses and not others; these ‘other’ illnesses will have their own best essential oil (or combination of) for treatment. Beyond infectious illness, certain essential oils have strong anti-inflammatory properties, other oils can stimulate the regeneration of tissues, others can help cleanse and purify the body, and still others can reduce muscular and joint pain while increasing circulation. As you can see, essential oils can play a significant role an any natural health, wellness and/or fitness program - the important part is proper education of the user.

Using essential oils is very easy, fun, and can be extremely rewarding. Employing oils is most commonly done using one of these methods: inhalation, topical application, and in certain instances ingestion. Diffusing essential oils with a cold-air nebulizer is best for inhalation, as these units make a fine mist of the oils which are easily absorbed in significant quantities. This method is effective both for psychological effects and support for the respiratory system. Topical application usually involved the dilution of essential oils in a carrier oil to a 5% or less concentration to be used with certain massage techniques. Massage is often used for relief of muscle and joint pain, and also with calming and uplifting psychological results. Topical application will frequently take the form of blends for healing various skin conditions such as eczema, acne, and even revitalizing aging skin. Finally, ingestion - which should only be done with very detailed knowledge from a qualified professional - is often used in the form of oil placed in gel capsules. Peppermint oil is frequently used this way for digestive complaints. There is such a wonderful variety of uses for essential oils; to get the most from them, educate yourself further through courses, texts and knowledgeable practitioners. Most of all, be safe, have fun, and welcome this new edition to your alternative natural health regimen.