Natural Body Guru

Essential oils can be used in your bath four different ways. First, you can just add them neat to your bath water and swish it around. You will have a luscious aroma plus the therapeutic properties of whichever oil you use. The oils can also be used  to make homemade bubble baths, bath oils, and bath crystals.

If you like bath crystals, you will love the fact that you can make your own and not pay a lot of money for fancy packaging like you do when you buy them in the stores. To make your own you will need some attractive glass jars. You can save them over the year for next holiday season or for any occasion when gifts are given. If you don’t have any for this season, you can put the crystals in a small gift bag from a party store or simply put them in a plastic sandwich bag.

All you need to make your bath crystals is washing soda crystals, a little food coloring, and the essential oils of your choice. Just crush the washing soda crystals, add a little food coloring (your choice of color) and the essential oil you want for that color. Use a corresponding color for the essential oil you choose like yellow for lemon or red for peppermint. To each 9 ounces of colored crystals add 20 drops of essential oils. Tie a ribbon around the jar or bag and voila, you’ve got your holiday gift.

If you want to start using natural essential oils in your home medicine cabinet, the ones I suggest for your basic care kit are lavender, tea tree, peppermint, chamomile, eucalyptus, geranium, rosemary, thyme, lemon, and clove. These essential oils are chosen for their medical properties first and second for their ability to take care of a broad range of health problems. I’m going to talk about each of these oils eventually but today, let’s talk about peppermint essential oil.

Peppermint has been used by many cultures (Egyptians, Chinese, and American Indians) for thousands of years because of its healthful properties. It is a superb digestive aid, it helps the respiratory system and promotes circulation, it is an anti-inflammatory and it is an antiseptic. These qualities make peppermint oil excellent to use in the treatment of indigestion, flatulence, bad breath, headaches and migraines, skin irritations, toothache, and fatigue.

It can also help to keep pests like mice, fleas, and ants away! The best property of peppermint essential oil for me is that it is a natural stimulant. I use it in the shower to help get me going in the mornings and also sniff it when I get sleepy at work, it helps me stay awake so I don’t have to drink a gallon of coffee.

In the U.S., personal care ingredients are not required to go through FDA approval, health studies, or market testing. The result is that there are some of the not so friendly ones ending up in your skincare products. We have listed  some of the more common harmful chemicals that you may find in your products:

If you are as concerned as I am about your family’s health, then you should carefully read the label on your make up, toothpaste, shampoo, body lotion and bath and shower products. Only purchase bath and shower gels, shampoos and body lotions, that are free of sodium lauryl sulfate and dangerous paraben preservatives.