WILDCRAFTED HERBAL PRODUCTSYour Natural Skin & Personal Care Solution![]() Natural Skin Care Newsletter: November 2006 Issue |
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Introduction
(You can click on the topics below which will take you to the article of choice on this page, or simply scroll down and read each one) Articles: Introduction Eczema - A Problem Wilth The Skin's Acid Mantel How To Use Essential Oils Part 1: What Do Different Essential Oils Do? Lemon - An Amazingly Powerful and Underestimated Fruit Going Nuts... Kitty's Corner - Obesity in Your Pet |
November 2006 Issue of the Natural Skin Care Newsletter |
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IntroductionSummer is well and truly on its way, here in Australia. We've already had our first Bushfires and Christmas is closing in, so we thought you might just want to have a look at some of the Great Christmas Gift Ideas we've put together for you. This month's Newsletter once again is packed full with information we hope will interest you. Kitty is talking about how out pets are increasingly getting a little on the too heavey side and give some helpful advice on how to overcome this. Happy reading and shopping! - - - Eczema - A Problem of the Acid MantelIt's official - Eczema is not an immune disease, but a problem of the integrity of the skin's Acid Mantel. According to media reports, a dermatologist finally figured out that the problem with eczema is not the body's immune system, but (as members of alternative medical profession have stated for many decades), it is due to a lack of integrity of the skin's Acid Mantel. So what is this Acid Mantel?The pores of our skin are made up of a combination of oil and sweat glands (sebaceous and sudoriferous glands) helping to keep our skin healthy and elastic. When in balance, the combined excretion of oil and sweat from the skin’s pores has a pH of about 5.5. This slightly acidic layer, is referred to as the “Acid Mantel”, and it is our body’s first defence mechanism against bacteria invading it. The Acid Mantel is not a favourable environment for bacterial growth to occur. This defence layer develops at puberty, which is why children are more susceptible to disease, viruses and fungal infections such are ringworm and Eczema. The pH of children’s skin is closer to neutral (pH 7). At puberty, however, we start to produce more hair on our bodies. Hair follicles have an associated sebaceous gland or glands which become active as hair growth increases, causing changes in the skin’s pH. The hormones that control sweat also become active, and the whole surface of a teenager’s skin is totally different to that of a young child. This is our body’s way to increase our defence system. If this process does not develop fully, or we keep removing the Acid Mantel through the use of soaps, the protection of the skin is compromised and the results are potential problems with the skin, such as developing eczema. Importance of the skin's pH: Do's & Don'tsOne of the major culprits that radically alter the pH of the skin, is soap. Ordinary, commercially available soaps are highly alkaline (pH range 9-11) and raise the skin’s pH to be much more alkaline. In addition, this destroyes the Acid Mantel leaving the skin vulnerable to microbial attack. Other factors influencing your skin's pHAnother factor that helps in regulating your skin’s pH is the presents of microflora on your skin. Staphylococcus epidermis is involved in the breakdown of fatty acids, and is therefore partly responsible for the acidic pH of skin. The use of ordinary soap, not only changes the pH of the skin to be more alkaline, effectively removing the protective acid mantle, but also kills the bacteria responsible for creating, at least in part, the acidic pH of your skin – a double whammy. How to Support Your Acid Mantel and Protect Your SkinTo protect your skin's defence machanisms, including the Acid Mantel, it is important to follow a daily skin care regime. This is not just for important for women, men too have to protect their skin. So here are the basic steps to follow:
Your skin is an asset worth protecting - your health depends on it.
How To Use Essential Oils Part 1: What Do Different Essential Oils Do?We hear and read much about the benefits of Aromatherapy and the use of essential oils, however, rarely do we find out how and what essential oils can be used, or for which purpose. What are their properties? How can they be used and what forms/medium should they be used in? This series of articles is designed to help answer some of these questions surrounding essential oils and give helpful information, hints and tips on how to use essential oils safely and effectively around the home. The first article in this series is devoted to the properties of essential oils. Unless we know what they are good for, how can we make use of them? Words of Caution.
Key Properties of Essential Oils(You can click on many of the essential oils to find out more about them. Each of the oils is only linked once, so click on the essential oils when it first appears.)
Now we have established a starting base. We now know what properties the different essential oils have and what they can be used for. As you read through the list of properties, you have probably noticed that several of the essential oils occur in more than one category. This will help in the selection process later on. For now, it is important just to recognise that the different oils have several properties for application. For example, lets look at Lavender oil, which has the following properties: Analgesic, anti-bacterial, anti-depressant, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, diuretic, expectorant, sedative and immuno-tonic. These properties, when viewed as a whole, provide insight into the type of situations in which Lavender may be useful. It is these properties that are the key indicators for its selection under different circumstances. For example, Lavender is well known for its ability to help in facilitating sleep. When we look its list of properties, which includes, carminative and sedative, we can see how this is possible. Similarly, Lavender is great to treat minor and moderate burns. Again looking at its properties we can see that it is analgesic (pain relieving), anti-bacterial (prevents secondary bacterial infection), anti-inflammatory (reduces inflammation), antiseptic (destroys or inhibits the growth of bacteria and other micro-organisms), carminative (has a calming effect on the person), diuretic (relieves excessive fluid build up), and sedative (helps the patient to relax). Clearly, these are the type of properties that are useful in a case of sunburn or similar burn to the skin. As is evident from the above example, knowing the properties of essential oils is the key to understanding how and when to use them. The next article in this series will deal with how to use essential oils in different media such as water, base-oils, air, etc. Before we can make a choice of which essential oils to use, we need to know and understand how the essential oil(s) will be applied. This is because some essential oils such as Lavender, for example, can be directly applied to the skin, however, Peppermint, Lemon and others are not ideal for direct application and will need to be applied via a medium such as a water bath, cream, or together with a base/carrier oil such as Apricot or Almond.
- - - Don't forget to have a look at our Great Christmas Gif Ideas - - -
Lemon - An Amazingly Powerful and Underestimated FruitWe use Lemons almost daily, either in the form of Lemon juice, Lemon essence in our cooking, Lemon bleech, or Lemon in our detergents, some of us may even use lemon in our salads. Yet very few people are aware of the powerful health effects Lemons contain. The essential oil from Lemons is a very powerful substance and applications range from being one of the most powerful Anti-septics to being an amazing Anti-depressent. However, this is by no means the end of its usefulness. Some of its other uses include:
Quite impressive, don't you think? Yet, we use Lemons far too infrequently to get the benefit from them. Maybe we should start thinking about how we could introduce more Lemon into our daily life and into our diet. For example, we could use Lemon juice in our salad dressing, use a slice or two when cooking a steak, add the juice of a Lemon to one liter of water. There are countless ways we can integrate Lemons into our daily foods and drinks and get much more of the many benefits Lemons have to offer. Here are some recipies to get you started:Lemon squash
Lemon marmalade
Lemon Ice
A-1 Zesty Lemon Steak
Artichokes with Egg and Lemon Sauce
Italian Vegetarian Pasta Dish
Lemon Butter
- - - Don't forget to have a look at our Great Christmas Gif Ideas - - -
Going Nuts?Nuts are nutrient-dense and most of their fat is unsaturated, which means it's good for you. They are also perhaps the best natural source of vitamin E and have relatively concentrated stores of dietary fiber, magnesium, potassium, and arginine, the dietary precursor of nitric oxide. Almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, chestnuts, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts are all nuts that are packed full of beneficial nutrients for good health. Enjoying nuts regularly as part of a healthy diet has been shown to protect the heart and may reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Eating nuts in moderation can have benefits for weight control and nuts naturally contain a broad range of important vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other phytochemicals. Of course we are talking about un-salted nuts here. We are already consuming far more salt in our diet than is good for us, so we don't need to make this any worse by eating salted nuts. And we are also not talking about roasted nuts either. Eat nuts regularlyHealth authorities around the world recommend eating more plant foods for good health. This is because plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds provide protection against many of the common lifestyle related issues seen today. The traditional Mediterranean way of eating, which includes plenty of plant foods, is considered to be one of the healthiest in the world! People of the Mediterranean, include nuts daily in the diet. Why should nuts be part of a healthy diet?
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Kitty's CornerHi I'm Kitty, I hope you enjoyed the last column and managed to dry your cat's eyes. This month we are going to look at your pet's weight. As we are hearing every day in the media, obesity is one of Australia's biggest health issues for our owners. Well, this is not just something that's affecting you pet owners, we pets are getting bigger all the time as well. In fact, 25-30% of us are overweight. I know, you just can't resist those eyes of ours, and you want us to live a life of luxury - and after all we do deserve those special treats. And of course, we love every yummy morsel you give us. The problem though is that if we don't get enough exercise, these treats and extra feeds will cause us to develop conditions such as arthritis, pancreatitis, heart disease and diabetes (especially in us cats). Now you don't want to do that to us, do you?! Well, here are some guidelines as to how you can determine if we are getting a little on the chubby side: * If your pooch or kitty-cat is within the ideal weight range, you should be able to feel each of the ribs as you run your fingers along the ribcage. * We should also have a waste! Just have a look while standing over your beloved pet and see if you can actually notice a well defined waistline. * Now some of us kitty-cats can actually develop a 'beer gut', boy, you don't want to do that to us sleek and slender mini-tigers, do you? - No, of course not. Just like humans, we too benefit from a regular exercise regime and depending on your cat, you can devise a variety of play-activities to make us loose those extra kilos. Throwing a bouncy ball, or a game involving a string and similar toys can get our heart rate jumping and make us want to catch these things. Dogs will be more easily exercised, hey just take them for a walk. They'll follow you anywhere, unlike us kitty-cats. We cats, however, are hunters after all and catching things is fun. Your dog's too love chasing things such as sticks and tennis balls and you can give them a heap of exercise in your backyard just by playing with them for a little while each day. After all we like the input you give us too and we'll love you even more for the time you spend with us. Until next moth, a hearty Miau from me
- - - Looking for Christmas Gifts? - - - Ginseng Hydrator & After Shave Balm - - - Why you should Choose Holistically Natural Skin Care Products made by Wildcrafted Herbal Products - - - Great Christmas Gifts & Christmas Gift Ideas - - - - - - Natural Skin Care Rose Day Cream Looking for Natural Skin Care? - - - Look Younger & Feel Younger with Wildcrafted's Age-Defying Essence
Why you should Choose Holistically Natural Skin Care Products made by Wildcrafted Herbal Products - - - Look Younger & Feel Younger with Wildcrafted's Age-Defying Essence - - - Have a look at these Luxurious Christmas Gift Ideas - - -
- - - - - - It's a Guy Thing? - - - Visit our Natural Skin Care Forum - It's fun, Informative and full of handy tips. - - - Natural Skin Care Blog A selection of interesting Articles on natural skin care. Looking for Christmas Gifts? - - - Ginseng Hydrator & After Shave Balm - - - Why you should Choose Holistically Natural Skin Care Products made by Wildcrafted Herbal Products - - - Great Christmas Gifts & Christmas Gift Ideas - - - - - - Natural Skin Care Rose Day Cream All our Moisturisers are also available in New Spray Dispenser Bottles
- - - Looking for Natural Skin Care? - - - - - - Look Younger & Feel Younger with Wildcrafted's Age-Defying Essence
Why you should Choose Holistically Natural Skin Care Products made by Wildcrafted Herbal Products - - - Look Younger & Feel Younger with Wildcrafted's Age-Defying Essence - - - Have a look at these Luxurious Christmas Gift Ideas - - -
- - - It's a Guy Thing? - - - Visit our Natural Skin Care Forum - It's fun, Informative and full of handy tips. - - - Natural Skin Care Blog A selection of interesting Articles on natural skin care. |
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