Twenty Essential Oils and Their Uses

Essential oils are always applied externally, they are never, never swallowed! Taking them internally may be fatal. They are applied to the skin and used as an aroma to help certain physical conditions.

Purchase small bottles, since the oxygen in the bottle gradually deteriorates the oil. Make sure the label says “pure essential oil.” Some oils cannot be extracted (such as peach oil or apple blossom oil); some products so advertised are not genuine.

Cedarwood – Antiseptic, astringent and sedative. Good for bronchial problems.
Chamomile - Pain reliever; reduce spasms, good for headaches when applied in a compress to the head.
Clary Sage – Anti-inflammatory, antidepressant. Helps induce sleep. Do not use during pregnancy.
Cypress - Antiseptic, astringent, antispasmodic. Constricts blood vessels, reduces coughing.
Eucalyptus - Antiseptic, antiviral, decongestant (rubbed on chest), expectorant. Reduces fevers and aches.
Frankincense – Anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, sedative. Useful for bronchitis.
Geranium – Anti-diabetic, antidepressant, antiseptic. This mildly sedating oil is useful for nervous tension.
Grapefruit - Reduces appetite, water retention. Detoxifies the skin and helps weight reduction.
Hyssop – Detoxifies, cleanses, an antiseptic. Clears the lungs of congestion and aids breathing.
Juniper - Detoxifier, diuretic, antiseptic. Helps arthritic conditions and cellulites. Don’t use during pregnancy.

Lavender – Calms and normalizes, fights bacterial and fungal infections. Good for acne, burns, eczema.
Lemon - Excellent germ killer. Good for varicose veins and reducing swellings.
Peppermint – Useful for headaches, fatigue, congestion, fever, muscle soreness, sinus problems.
Rose - Tonic astringent, antiseptic, antidepressant. Good for nervousness and insomnia.
Rosemary - Among the best of the oils; good for pain infection, spasms, dandruff, cellulite, headaches.
Rosewood - Good for anxiety, depression, headaches, nausea, tension, and PMS. It is antiseptic and calming.
Sandalwood – Antiseptic, expectorant, antidepressant. Also good for bronchitis, nervousness, and as a skin moisturizer.
Tea tree - Antiviral, anti-infective, fungicide, antiseptic. Athletes foot, dandruff, bronchitis, ringworm.
Thyme – Antiseptic, expectorant, antispasmodic. Herpes, skin infections, calming effect.
Yarrow - Improves digestion; reduces blood pressure, fights infection and spasms.

Directions for use: Dilute a small amount of the essential oil in either water or another oil (a carrier oil). Either apply or inhale it. The best carrier oils include olive oil, almond oil, grape-seed oil or jojoba oil.

Facial Oil: Add 6 drops essential oil to 1 oz. jojoba oil
Massage Oil: Add 25 drops essential oil to 2 oz olive oil, almond oil, or apricot oil.
Baths: Add 8 drops essential oil to 1 cup water and put in bath.
Hair Rinse: Add 10 drops essential oil to 16 oz. water.
Hair Conditioner: Add 1 drop essential oil to 4-6 oz. unscented conditioner.
Antiseptic Cleaning: Add 25 drops essential oil to 2 gallons water.

Do Painkillers Really Work?

It’s been said that “many drugs are escapes from which there is no escape”.

Using drugs to manage the demands placed upon us is about as effective as trying to fill a punctured tire with air. It works for awhile, but the tire will soon be flat again. Until you repair the tire, the problems remain. Most likely they’ll get worse.

Pain should be viewed as a warning or a symptom of a problem – not as the problem itself, to be eradicated at all costs. Pain medications only block the symptom, allowing the real health threat to worsen by neglect.

In America, drugs like aspirin have become big business. Media images tell us that pain is negative, that we need not experience it, that intelligent people don’t tolerate it, you haven’t got time for it, and that we must get rid of it immediately. One ad says, “Life got tougher, so we got stronger.”

Ads not only promote a product, they tell us that life without pain and discomfort is possible. We are barraged with “scientific” evidence, animated diagrams, and personal testimonials that tout the superiority of one painkiller over another. They tell us we don’t have to suffer the consequences of abusing our bodies and that health can be bought.

This is a lie. Never before has there been a society so subjected to such a consumption of poisonous substances. The effects could be catastrophic in the decades ahead.

Read More: http://healthmad.com/medicine/no-escape/

What is Acne: Know the Skin Facts

Acne is not caused by dirt clogging the pores or by eating oily food. Even if you wash your face, your super clean face can still be prone to pimples.

Adults can get acne lesions for a number of reasons, such as using acne-causing or comedogenic cosmetics and products, an increase in oil production mediated by hormonal stimulation (from the menstrual period, emotions or stress), and the use of certain drugs.

The causes of acne are multi-factorial, or a combination of many factors. The sex hormones, especially during the teen years, cause an increase in sebum production by the sebaceous glands. You can also inherit oily skin and the tendency to have severe acne. There may be a hereditary tendency for the cells lining the passageway of the sebaceous glands to become sticky and to clump together. There are bacteria that are naturally found in pilosebaceous unity. Called the Propionibacterium acnes, these bacteria feed on the sebum. These bacteria break down the sebum into fatty acids that can cause irritation and inflammation of the skin.

Depending on severity, the lesions of acne can be non-inflamed, or inflamed. The comedones, which are non-inflamed lesions, are plugs formed by sebum, sticky skin cells and P. acnes bacteria. A blackhead (open comedone) has an opening to the skin surface. It is “black” because of pigment deposition, and not because of dirt.

A whitehead is also a plug but it differs from the blackhead because the opening to the skin surface is closed, so that the plug does not protrude out of it.

Inflamed lesions are small or large red pimples, pustules (filled with pus), cysts, and nodules. Squeezing non-inflamed whiteheads and blackheads can cause the plug to rupture into the skin, and can result in an inflammatory reaction. Inflamed lesions can cause scarring.

You will note that nowhere in this article have discussed that acne is caused by dirt clogging the pores. This concept, which has long been perpetuated in write-ups and ads, is simply a myth. Even if you wash and wash and wash your face, your super clean face can still be prone to pimples.

There are no specific studies that prove the relationship between food and acne. The secretion of the sebaceous glands is under the influence of the nervous system, which in turn is dictated by the hormones. Eating oily foods will not make the sebaceous glands produce more oil or sebum. Some people have flares of acne when eating specific foods such as chocolates, nuts or seafoods, or even drinking soft drinks. If you associate certain foods with your acne, it is best to avoid them.

To help you clear acne, you have to be on a regimen tuned in to the kind of lesions that you have. Treatment will depend on whether your acne is non-inflammatory or inflammatory. Bear in mind that acne is not a kind of skin disease that is cured in one topical application or one intake of an oral medication. Usually, it takes three to four months before control is obtained, and often there must be some kind of maintenance program. Also, with many topical medications, there is some worsening in the first two or three weeks as the medicines at this stage would be a mistake because this “worsening” is an expected part of the treatment.

Oral antibiotics are given, but acne is not an infection coming from bacteria in the environment. The P. acnes bacteria are already in the skin and act by breaking down the sebum to cause irritating fatty acids. Other than controlling P. acnes population, antibiotics can also decrease the sebum production. It is not uncommon to be prescribed antibiotics for several months when the lesions are very severe. When you stop your prescribed treatment, the lesion will recur.

Read More: http://healthmad.com/beauty/acne-myth-and-facts/

Skin Treatment: How to Treat Pimples

What should you do to stop pimples from ruining your face?

• Follow religiously the treatment prescribed by your dermatologist.

• Stop picking on your whiteheads or blackheads so that you don’t push the plug into the skin, causing inflammatory lesions that may heal with post-inflammatory darkening or worse, scarring.

• Gently wash your face with soap and water, no more than three times a day. Over-scrubbing or over-washing the face can be irritating and can possibly have the same effect as picking on the lesions.

• Eat a balanced diet and drink enough water daily to keep your skin healthy.

• Exposure to sunlight is good and can improve acne. However, don’t stay out in the sun too much that you end up sweating profusely, as the sweat can macerate the skin to be soft and soggy, and thus cause the pores to be clogged. Then, the sebum and skin cells are further trapped.

• Get enough rest and sleep. If you are dead tired, it can lower your general resistance and cause an outbreak of lesions.

• Avoid stressful situations.

• Use non-comedogenic cosmetics and products.

• Pimples may erupt when the monthly period is due. Be prepared to apply your topical medicines more fastidiously at this time.

Read More: http://healthmad.com/beauty/stop-pimples/