Natural Vapor Rub
Cold season has arrived early at house this year. Anytime I get a cold it goes straight to my chest. In the past Vick's Vapor Rub has helped, but this morning I couldn't find any. I did however have on hand coconut oil, eucalyptus essential oil and peppermint essential oil. I had purchased the essential oils in hopes of diffusing them during one of my chest colds. I did diffuse them in a essential oil warmer in my room today, but I also whipped up my own batch of ointment for my chest, back and the bottom of my feet.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil
5 drops eucalyptus essential oil
5 drops peppermint oil
**Make sure your oil is 100% pure essential oil**
Please note**Eucalyptus and Peppermint can be dangerous to young children. Please do some research about these oil before using them on or with your children.**
Directions:
Place coconut oil in a small container and the place it in a warm water bath to melt it. Once it has completely melted I add my essential oil. I stir well and then place in the freezer to solidify.
It is solid once it is completely white again. This is a wonderful rub for chest, back and the bottoms of feet. It seemed to really help in calming my breathing and coughing. It worked every bit as well as traditional drug store vapor rubs, cost less, and is chemical free. I think this rub has found a permanent home in our natural medicine cabinet.
If you try making this vapor rub, I hope it will help you breathe easier too!
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Here are ten terrific uses of tea tree oil:
1. Antiseptic: use slightly diluted on a cotton ball with witch hazel to cleanse cuts and scrapes.
2. Treat acne: use a small drop on break outs to help clear skin up faster. Some people find it irritating so it can be diluted with witch hazel.
3. Treat dandruff: add 25 drops of tea tree oil to your average sized shampoo bottle and shake well. Tea tree oil will eliminate dandruff and dry scalp.
4. Deodorant: use tea tree oil in Homemade Deodorant because it is known to eliminate the bacteria that cause odor.
5. Relieve insect bites: put a small drop directly on bites for itch relief. Or mix with coconut oil for a double dose of itch relief.
6. Soothe sunburns: use in combination with witch hazel, vinegar or aloe vera gel to ease the sting of sunburn.
7. Hand Sanitizer: use in combination with a few other essential oil for an effective Hand Sanitizing Spray.
8. Heal toenail fungus: use 1-2 drops of undiluted tea tree oil on toenails twice per day to treat fungus.
9. Treat many skin conditions: use tea tree oil that has been slightly diluted with witch hazel or a carrier oil like olive oil to treat psoriasis, ringworm, athlete's foot, cold sores and more.
10. Control mold: use a solution of 1/4 cup water and 25 drops tea tree oil and spray on shower walls to prevent mold from growing. (This was extremely impressive to me as even bleach couldn't take care of the problem!)
I love and use several essential oils and tea tree oil is among my favorites. If you are thinking about trying essential oils, this is where I would suggest starting. Tea tree oil has so many fabulous uses!
_________________________________________________________________________
During our excessively long cold season, I like to keep a few things on hand to keep the family comfortable when a virus strikes. I prefer to start with rest and fluids, but when that doesn't prove to be enough I use a variety of products to help ease the symptoms.
We love to drink tea with raw, local honey. Our favorite teas right now are by Traditional Medicinals. They have a Seasonal Sampler which includes Gypsy Cold Care, Echinacea Plus, Throat Coat, and Breathe Easy. We have found each works wonders for it's specific purpose.
For sore throats we use Ricola Honey Lemon with Echinacea. They have many other flavors, but this tends to be our favorite. There is no stinging menthol and the drop leaves raw throats feeling soothed.
Finally, for our kids we like to use Hylands Cold n' Cough. They have a day time and a night time formula. Both are safe for children ages 2-12. We have found the night time formula really does work on those persistent bedtime coughs.
If we are suffering with a chest cold or stuffy noses, I like to use my homemade vapor rub...check it out here: Natural Vapor Rub
If we have fevers we use ibuprofen or acetaminophen. And I am certainly not against a trip to the doctor's office when we need it. However, we almost always start with these natural basics and are usually pleasantly surprised with the brevity and lack of severity in our colds!
***Disclaimer 1: I am not a doctor, please confer with a doctor before taking any and all medications, natural or otherwise***
***Disclaimer 2: I am not affiliated with these companies in any way. These are products that we use in our home and have found them to be helpful***
Essential Oil Hand Sanitizing Spray
I will admit I am some what of a germaphobe. I can only imagine where other people's hands have been and it makes me want to douse myself with hand sanitizer, especially in a place like Wal-mart or at the playground with my kids. I know that the alcohol and other ingredients like triclosan in hand sanitizer are drying at best and toxic at worst. The skin on my hands was painfully cracked around my nails, but I didn't want to give up my hand sanitizer because I was just so concerned about all the germs floating around. Even worse was that I was using it on my kids hands all of the time too. I decided it was time to search for a natural alternative.
I found a recipe for a spray hand sanitizer on mymerrymessylife.com. I liked the idea of using Witch Hazel as my base because it is an astringent. The brand I chose is Thayers. Their Witch Hazel has Aloe Vera, which is a great moisturizer too. The original recipe only called for Tea Tree, Eucalyptus, and Bergamot Essential Oils, but I added two more, Sweet Orange and Lavender. I removed the Eucalyptus because it can be dangerous for young children. Below in the recipe I have included the properties of each oil. All combined they make a great hand sanitizer. It smells nice too, which is always a bonus!
Ingredients
- 2 oz. (1/4 cup) Witch Hazel with Aloe Vera - astringent
- 6 drops of Tea Tree Oil - antibacterial, antiviral, astringent, disinfectant
- 6 drops of Wild Orange Oil - antibacterial, antiseptic
- 6 drops of Lavender Oil - antiseptic, disinfectant
- 3 drops of Bergamot Oil - antiseptic, anti-parasitic, astringent
(Tea Tree Oil contains all of the necessary properties so it would be possible to use 24 drops of only this oil. It would have a very strong smell though).
Instructions
- Combine the ingredients in a glass spray bottle and give it a good shake. The oils can break down a plastic bottle. I bought this 2 oz amber glass bottle at the local natural store for under $1.
Remember to shake well before each use. Spray on hands and rub it in. There you have a simple hand sanitizing spray.
As a side note, after using for several weeks, I noticed that all of the cracks around my fingernails had healed and that my hands were soft! That is when I decided sharing this recipe was a must! I hope it works well for you too!
Enjoy being Natural, Healthy and Germ Free!
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10 Terrific Uses for Tea Tree Oil
Tea tree oil or Melaleuca alternifolia is an essential oil derived from a plant native to Australia. Tea tree oil has some pretty amazing properties, such as: antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, astringent and disinfectant. Because of its many wonderful properties it is one of the most used essential oils in my medicine cabinet. Please click on the links in red for recipes using tea tree oil.
Here are ten terrific uses of tea tree oil:
1. Antiseptic: use slightly diluted on a cotton ball with witch hazel to cleanse cuts and scrapes.
2. Treat acne: use a small drop on break outs to help clear skin up faster. Some people find it irritating so it can be diluted with witch hazel.
3. Treat dandruff: add 25 drops of tea tree oil to your average sized shampoo bottle and shake well. Tea tree oil will eliminate dandruff and dry scalp.
4. Deodorant: use tea tree oil in Homemade Deodorant because it is known to eliminate the bacteria that cause odor.
5. Relieve insect bites: put a small drop directly on bites for itch relief. Or mix with coconut oil for a double dose of itch relief.
6. Soothe sunburns: use in combination with witch hazel, vinegar or aloe vera gel to ease the sting of sunburn.
7. Hand Sanitizer: use in combination with a few other essential oil for an effective Hand Sanitizing Spray.
8. Heal toenail fungus: use 1-2 drops of undiluted tea tree oil on toenails twice per day to treat fungus.
9. Treat many skin conditions: use tea tree oil that has been slightly diluted with witch hazel or a carrier oil like olive oil to treat psoriasis, ringworm, athlete's foot, cold sores and more.
10. Control mold: use a solution of 1/4 cup water and 25 drops tea tree oil and spray on shower walls to prevent mold from growing. (This was extremely impressive to me as even bleach couldn't take care of the problem!)
I love and use several essential oils and tea tree oil is among my favorites. If you are thinking about trying essential oils, this is where I would suggest starting. Tea tree oil has so many fabulous uses!
Natural, Healthy, Tea Tree Oil!
Natural Cold Care
During our excessively long cold season, I like to keep a few things on hand to keep the family comfortable when a virus strikes. I prefer to start with rest and fluids, but when that doesn't prove to be enough I use a variety of products to help ease the symptoms.
We love to drink tea with raw, local honey. Our favorite teas right now are by Traditional Medicinals. They have a Seasonal Sampler which includes Gypsy Cold Care, Echinacea Plus, Throat Coat, and Breathe Easy. We have found each works wonders for it's specific purpose.
For sore throats we use Ricola Honey Lemon with Echinacea. They have many other flavors, but this tends to be our favorite. There is no stinging menthol and the drop leaves raw throats feeling soothed.
Finally, for our kids we like to use Hylands Cold n' Cough. They have a day time and a night time formula. Both are safe for children ages 2-12. We have found the night time formula really does work on those persistent bedtime coughs.
If we are suffering with a chest cold or stuffy noses, I like to use my homemade vapor rub...check it out here: Natural Vapor Rub
If we have fevers we use ibuprofen or acetaminophen. And I am certainly not against a trip to the doctor's office when we need it. However, we almost always start with these natural basics and are usually pleasantly surprised with the brevity and lack of severity in our colds!
Here's to your (natural) health!
***Disclaimer 1: I am not a doctor, please confer with a doctor before taking any and all medications, natural or otherwise***
***Disclaimer 2: I am not affiliated with these companies in any way. These are products that we use in our home and have found them to be helpful***
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