Elegant Rose

What’s all the hype about using all natural products, deodorant in particular? Well, there have been many studies done on the affects of aluminum on the body and few know the health hazards from using commercial underarm deodorants. Beyond the synthetic fragrances and toxic ingredients found in most personal care products, antiperspirant and deodorants are loaded with aluminum compounds that have been linked to Alzheimer’s disease, brain and respiratory disorders.

Aluminum compounds or aluminum salts, such as aluminum oxide, are key ingredients in almost every antiperspirant. They are powerful astringents that close pores, stopping sweat and odor from escaping the body. They may leave the outside of the body smelling fresh and clean, but inside, the toxins that would have escaped the body in the sweat, have nowhere to go. Not only that, but the aluminum and other chemicals are taken into the body and who knows what happens after that.

An alternative to using all of that aluminum is to try a natural deodorant, and I have tried more than my share before finding one I liked. When I did, the cost soon became too much, especially with so many in the house using it. So, my experimenting began. I searched and searched to find something comparable to what we were using and finally decided to make my own.

The best essential oils to look for in a deodorant are the following: lavender, patchouli, peppermint, spearmint, eucalyptus, tea tree, and rosemary as all of these oils have anti-bacterial qualities. Natural deodorants still allow you to sweat, but your sweat won’t smell bad.

If you are in a pinch, you can even apply the essential oils directly, you will most likely need to mix the oils with olive oil or another oil of your choosing. As always, be careful when applying oils with your hands, it’s easy to inadvertently touch your eyes forgetting you have essential oils on your hands. I have gotten in the habit of applying any oils with my left hand as it would then be less likely to happen, as sometimes I get sidetracked and forget to wash my hands after applying the oils.

At the very least, read the label on your deodorant and consider whether you are comfortable using all those ingredients you can’t even read, let alone know what it is.

To see what I’ve come up with, visit my etsy shop at www.elegantroseboutique.etsy.com.

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Congratulations to Angelique on winning a bar of chocolate mint soap! Also, thank you to all who entered. Stay tuned for more giveaways in the future.

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Here’s your chance to win a bar of my soap, scent is your choice! All you have to do is leave a comment on the following link to be entered in the drawing.

http://theeclecticelement.blogspot.com/2009/04/win-all-natural-soap-bar-of-your-choice.html

Good luck!

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This article is probably not about what you are thinking! I thought I would give you a little peek into our life, so that you could understand where I come from. This of course took place many years ago, before we knew about such things.

Many years ago, we started having allergy problems. One of the problems was perplexing at first, however, once I thought about it, it all made sense. We used to go out for ice cream occasionally as a treat. We found that everyone was suffering from this family event. Some would get all congested, some would have runny noses, some would get bloody noses, etc. So, we changed our little outings to those colorful frozen drinks, you know the kind, grape, cherry, frozen coke, orange….. I soon realized that there was a problem, by the next day, my easiest going child started acting like a totally different child, kind of like Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. It was very strange and like I said took me a few times to make the correlation. It turns out he was allergic to red #40 and all colorings for that matter. Thus, we cut out all colorings and life is grand!

I only reveal this to hopefully help others and to show why I am so against colorings, whether it be in food or soap!

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A fellow etsian wrote a beautiful feature article about my soaps and etsy shop. She did a beautiful job! I will be giving away a free soap on her blog, check it out!

http://theeclecticelement.blogspot.com/2009/04/au-natural-elegantroseboutique.html

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If you are thinking about going more natural and searching for the right alternative to store bought chemical soap, that are not really soaps, by the way, here are some things to keep in mind.

* Make sure you know what every ingredient is that is in the soap

* Look at the products used for coloring the soap, are they really safe? Sometimes it takes years and years for someone to figure out that this or that is harmful. It makes the soap look nice, but what are the long term affects on your body?

* Fragrance oils are synthetic, man made, made of who knows what….Essential oils come from the plants provided to us.

* Some people list soaps and don’t fully disclose all of the ingredients, beware.

* Your skin is your bodies largest organ, it absorbs all that is put on it.

Do you ever wonder why there is so much skin cancer and so many skin conditions? What are you putting on yourr skin? Most people don’t even think about it. They blindly believe all of the commercials and continue to poison their body with who knows what kind of chemicals, then wonder why they never feel good. How does your body get rid of all of these toxins? What happens when it is overloaded with toxins? These are things to think about.

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I have lots of favorite essential oils, and this is one of them. RC essential oil is a combination of 4 different eucalyptus oils, myrtle , pine, spruce, marjoram, lavender, cypress, and peppermint. This oil is used for sinus congestion and head colds. It is has a wonderful smell, of course you have to like eucalyptus. To use this oil, put a drop or two on your finger and massage onto your chest, throat and back of neck, or if you prefer, it can be rubbed onto the bottoms of your feet with similar results. You can also put some in a bowl of steaming water and place a towel over your head and inhale the steam.

We first started using RC about 6 years ago and have had wonderful results. The most interesting is the story my mother told me after using it for 3-4 months consistently. She had been putting it on everyday, sometimes twice a day for this time, then summer hit and she realized that she was able to sit on the swing with straw on the ground around her, without it bothering her at all, this wasn’t the case the previous summer. She could also leave the windows open when the grass was mowed whereas previously, she had to shut everything up tight and still had problems. She was so thrilled to be clear of these things. She still occasionally has problems, but she just pulls our her faithful RC and it takes care of it.

A word of caution - if you are asthmatic, never put the oils around your face, in other words, use the oils only on your feet as they can cause some to have an asthmatic reaction.

If you are interested in trying these oils, please contact me and I will tell you how to get them.

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Helichrysum essential oil is an amazing oil. This past December, I cut my thumb while washing a candy thermometer. It was cut in the shape of a V and I was having trouble getting it to stop bleeding. Then I remembered that Helichrysum essential oil was supposed to stop the bleeding. So off to find it I went. I put one drop on and almost immediately the bleeding stopped. I then put a drop of lavender oil on and bandaged it up. Twenty four hours later, I took the bandaid off and couldn’t believe my eyes. It was totally sealed up, whereas 24 hours earlier, I had a flap of skin hanging, it was sealed tight, I ran my finger across it and it still didn’t budge. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it myself. Usually you have the flap of skin open for days or longer, not this time. I’m convinced and will keep a bottle of helichrysum on hand for emergencies. Helichrysum is very costly, but worth it in cases where you need to stop the bleeding. I’m sure the lavender helped also, as it is known for healing the skin, I just didn’t know it could work that fast.

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I found this some time ago and have been using it ever since, with minor adaptions. This is what I do. I purchase a foaming soap from the store, usually Dial as I think they hold up better. Typically I dump it, because we seem to have trouble with the harsh chemicals in store bought soap. I purchase a big bottle of Dr. Bronner’s Castille Soap. It should be available at your local health food store or through a co-op. I then put about 1/4 inch of Dr. Bronner’s Castille Soap in the bottom of the soap container, at this point, you can just fill it with water and use or add approximately 4 drops of your favorite essential oil. Try any of the following, lemon, lavender, thieves, clove, or any other favorite essential oil, thus making it antibacterial if you so desire. You can actually use any essential oil, but not all essential oils are antibacterial.

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Have you ever tried activated charcoal? Or are you saying “What in the world would I use that for?” Well, I’ll tell you. Activated Charcoal has been used effectively in the healing arts for centuries. Doctors still use it today as a healing agent, an antidote for poisons, and an effective treatment for indigestion and gas. Many industries rely on Charcoal to deodorize, and decolorize. Charcoal can do these tasks because of its amazing ability to attract other substances to its surface and hold them there. This is called adsorption. Charcoal can adsorb thousands of times its own weight in gases, heavy metals, poisons, and other chemicals, thus making them ineffective or harmless.

Today doctors, paramedics and medical centers use Activated Charcoal in a number of different ways:
1. to eliminate toxic by-products that cause anemia in cancer patients
2. to disinfect and deodorize wounds
3. to filter toxins from the blood in liver and kidney diseases
4. to purify blood in transfusions
5. to cut down on odors for ileostomy and colostomy patients
6. to treat poisonings and overdoses of aspirin, Tylenol and other drugs
7. to treat some forms of dysentery, diarrhea, dyspepsia, and “foot and mouth” disease
8. to treat poisonous snake, spider and insect bites

So, what does this have to do with you? Well, activated charcoal comes in 3 forms and I keep all three forms on hand, powder, capsules and chewable. Here is how we use it. We first keep the chewable tablets on hand for the younger children, we have many allergies and I was once told to combat a food reaction, put 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda in a small amount of water, it neutralizes the acidity in your body and somehow alleviates gas. Well, at some point I ran across an article saying to use charcoal to pull poisons from your body. So, I correlated that if I am having a reaction to a food, my body is calling it a poison or a bad thing. That being said, I stared using Activated Charcoal for my many and varied reactions, all related to food. I had been tested and was allergic to beef, chicken, lettuce, wheat, yeast, chocolate, soy, dairy, pretty much all of the basic stuff. So, when I couldn’t stay away from the food, I used charcoal as a bandaide I guess, allowing me to enjoy a food I otherwise could not. My children also have many allergies and would use the chewable charcoal tablets after visiting friends or going on outings, for their stomach aches. It is very affective, with no side affects except to take away your reaction. Occasionally, I would have to take a second dose. I took the capsule myself. I also used it or baking soda for colic or gas in my babies, it worked wonderfully. I just put a small amount in a bottle with water and down it went. A few minutes later they were belching up the excess gas.

The activated charcoal powder comes in very handy for bee stings. One of my sons swells up terribly to bee stings, so we put the powder on a wet paper towel and apply it to his sting, it removes the poison. I know it works because his reactions are very bad. He may stay swollen for a few days, but it stops it from being a run to the hospital situation.

Please always consult your doctor before trying charcoal and be aware that it will pull any prescription medication out of your body, thus making the medication useless. I believe that you can take it 2 hours before or after, but always double check. Of course if you are reacting to a medication as I have, go ahead and take it to alleviate your symptoms.

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