Thoughts on natural wellness, ancient remedies, and simple living.
Now, I am Southern enough to know we have always had a special relationship with food that comes from the garden, the woods, the ditch, and occasionally somebody's cousin's backyard. We fry okra, we cook greens, we make something out of nothing and call it supper. ...
So, before we talk about lip scrubs and hair masks, let us take a moment to appreciate that we are working with something that has been in continuous use for longer than most written languages have existed....
If you live here long enough, you stop thinking of aloe as a plant and start thinking of it as a resource. A thick, reliable, always-there resource that asks for almost nothing and gives back more than you expect....
Each recipe has its own little personality, which is exactly the point. Some nights need comfort. Some need recovery. Some simply need a quiet pause in the middle of everything else....
The trick is simple. Put your coarse ingredients in the bowl first, then slowly add the oil until it looks and feels the way you want. Add your essential oils or food-based scents last, a little at a time, until it smells exactly the way you want to walk out of your shower smelling. ...
What do you want this oil to do? Soothe sore muscles? Stimulate hair growth? Calm irritated skin? That answer points you toward the next three decisions that follow: which plant to use, which oil to carry it, and whether a slow cold infusion or a faster warm one is the right method for what you are making....
As for which oils to reach for, lavender and chamomile are calming and gentle. Citrus oils feel fresh and uplifting. Every essential oil brings its own personality to a blend, and part of the real pleasure of making your own recipes is discovering which ones feel right for you. ...
Have you ever loved the way someone’s skin looked and wondered what made it so soft, so smooth, so radiant? Or caught the scent of something warm and beautiful on someone as they passed and thought, what are they using? Most people assume the answer is in the fragrance, the fancy ingredient, or the essential oil. But very often, the real difference begins with something much quieter....
This is where things either go right or very wrong. A carrier oil, no matter which one, will "carry" the essential oil onto the skin. Essential oils need carrier oils in order to be used safely on the skin. Used alone, they are too strong. ...
If the product is meant to absorb and nourish, shea butter is your ingredient. If the product is meant to protect, hold its shape, or create a firm texture, choose beeswax. ...
That oil is castor oil. And its story is one of the most quietly remarkable in the history of human health and beauty....
Throughout this book, "castor oil" as an ingredient always means organic, cold-pressed, hexane-free castor oil with third-party testing, and preferably sold and stored in amber glass bottles, which is the recommended type for all applications suggested in this book....
Unlock Nature's Secret to Radiant Skin, Thicker Hair, a Healthier Gut, and a Stronger Immune System to Feel Your Best Every Day. ...
I did what any stubborn, overworked nurse would do. I started researching. That determination sent me down a path I never expected: twenty years of learning, experimenting, and discovering what actually works. Castor oil found me somewhere along that journey, and it never left....