To Tone or Not To Tone

Do you think that toner is just an astringent product that is to bring the skin back to its normal PH after cleansing. If you're using an alkaline wash or soap, this is definately true. 

The skin is slightly acid (4.5 - 5.5) so putting something alkaline on the face strips the skin's natural pH. A better way to go is to use a quality cleanser that is properly pH balanced. Then instead of a need to rebalance the skin a good toner can do better work.

A majority of toners from drug or department stores contain alcohol, fragrances, dyes and preservatives none of these ingredients provide benefits to the skin. These additives dehydrate, irritate and can cause many skin conditions to worsen.

Quality toners that are alcohol-free provide an infusion of nutritional actives to the skin. A toner can contain an astringent option that removes excess oil and debris while also providing the skin with essential vitamins, nutrients and antioxidants. The toners that I recommend also have a tad of alpha hydroxy acids and pumpkin wine to gently exfoliate without over-drying the skin.

The Benefits of Collagen

Here's the news - no matter what type of skin you have, its made up of 70% collagen protein which accounts for 90% of what connective tissue and the dermis are made of. As we age, we produce less collagen causing the skin to be less plump. 

You can increase the volume of collagen for stronger and healthier skin without injectables. Of course, some products are better than others. You need a gel that is pure extracted, non-hydrolyzed and acid soluble.

Skin treated with a good collagen gel can retain up to 8 times more water in the dermal layer increasing moisture retention and improving skin hydration. 

Using a good collagen gel can:

• Fortify the skin's foundation improving skin suppleness and density and delay the formation of fine lines and wrinkles.
• Accelerate skin recovery and healing from microdermabrasion, laser treatments and peels.

Collagen gel can really help getting you on the road to healthier skin.

It Isn't Easy Being The Last One Standing

My mother is from a generation where you "sit and visit". This means that 1. we sit for hours and 2. she has the opportunity to tell me, in detail, the events of her life. There are only 22-years difference in our ages, but in my generation we're lucky to sit with someone for 1-hour, let alone several and we rarely speak in detail.

For me, at times, this is a painful exercise. However, for my mother, it is the only gift she asks for - please sit with me and listen while I tell you my stories. This gift is very inexpensive; a few days, several hours, occasional acknowledgement or question and no corrections when the stories aren't quite as I remember.

Until this last visit (she lives a distance away), I never realized that if you live long enough there comes a time where the friends and acquaintances that you make are dying off at a rapid rate. Suddenly the witnesses to your history - spouses, childhood friends, work friends, those acquaintances that you pick up along the way all transition and leave you behind. You're left with looking at your own mortality, no one who really knows those little things about you, no one who has taken a lifetime to get to know you. Those who have stuck by you despite your quirks. Those who remember you when you were quite the deal. In my mother's case, I'm the only one left.

So when I go to see her, we sit and visit.

She talks about her history. She talks not as much about longtime friends as a waitress at a restaurant who takes the time to chat with her. The neighbors who stop by to visit when she's outside. The people at the pharmacy who remember her name and take a moment with her. The mail person who will bring her mail to the door sometimes and take a minute to talk. Her stylist who takes time with her. These people all make her feel that they are genuinely interested and care about her. They may touch her hand or brush her arm to give her the gift of touch.

If we live long enough, it is the kindness of our children and of strangers that will make our days interesting and fulfilling.

Essential Oil Blends for Your Pet

Young Living essential oils has created some oil blends that can be helpful in your pet's health.

Remember to dilute the oils - 1 - 3 drops per ounce of jojoba or grapeseed oil.

• Thieves is perfect for attending to minor skin and dental issues.
• Melrose when used in conjunction with R.C. and Raven, Melrose provides respiratory support. It can also be used on minor skin issues if Thieves cannot be tolerated.
• R.C. is ideal for respiratory and urinary tract support. R.C. is practical for cats that require bladder fortification, which does not respond to conventional therapy. Pair with Raven for added support.
• Raven is also utilized for respiratory and urinary tract support, Raven is more powerful than R.C. Combining these oils are highly effective.
• Di-Gize is wonderful for the gastrointestinal system. Add nutmeg and ginger essential oil for additional support.
• Peace & Calming for stress, fear or anxiety. Peace and Calming can be used to calm a pet. If the pet is injured, Peace & Calming can relax the animal enough to administer other treatments. This blend can also be used on cats who are resistant to other forms of treatment for urinary problems or excessive grooming resulting from stress.
• Purification is useful for external parasites such as fleas, ticks and mosquitos.
• M-Grain provides relief from head discomfort resulting from sinus pressure.
• PanAway is valuable relief for the discomfort and relaxing the muscles, ligaments, and tendons. It works particularly well for pets with osteoarthritis. Using a moist towel over the area increases the effectiveness of the oils.
• Relieve It is especially beneficial for relieving discomfort and can be alternated with PanAway.

Essential Oils in the Garden

I became interested in essential oils because of love of good fragrance. Soon I learned that there was more to essential oils than good clean smell. 

*There are the amazing health benefits of these oils. Essential oils can help with things like headache, burns, upset stomach.

*Are you aware that there are oils that you can use in cooking. Try adding a drop of an herbal oil to that recipe instead of the herb in a bottle.

*My newest discovery - essential oils in the garden. Essential oils can help rid the garden of pests and weeds as well as make a healthy compost. Spring is the time to rekindle our relationship with the garden. Whatever you're growing it's important, whenever possible, to keep harsh chemicals away from your plants. Harsh chemicals harm the environment and can be harmful to your family and pets. Here are some tips that can help you grow a beautiful garden with green essential oils. 1. For an effective bug repellent, fill a 24-oz spray bottle with water and add 2 - 3 drops of oregano, basil or thyme essential oil. To add zip to this green bug repellent, blend a clove of garlic and add to the solution with 2-tsp. insecticidal soap (add soap last). Spray this solution on or near infected plants. 2. Apply cinnamon essential oil as an herbicide to get rid of weeds. Take care to apply only to the weeds. 3. If you grow lavender, add the cuttings to the compost heap. Its a wonderful compost material and soil amendment.

There are a Series of Very Specific Touch Techniques for Reflexology

There are a series of very specific Reflexology touch techniques for feet, hands and ears. These techniques include a thumb walk, double inchworm. hook and pull, metatarsal roll, metacarpal roll etc. 

 

Each of these techniques is designed to help the person giving reflexology to effectively find and gently break down blockages found in different parts of the feet, hands, and ears. 

 

When using these techniques the area is being "reflexed".

 

Using the neck as an example, the areas of the feet, hands and ears directly related to the neck are called "neck reflexes." These areas are called reflexes because when properly reflexed, they automatically affect another part of the body. It is something like turning on or off a light switch. Although you turn a light switch on or off , the effect is a distance away at the light. Even though the feet, hands and ears are being reflexed, the effect is in the neck. Most people feel nearly immediate neck relief when the appropriate area of the feet, hands and ears are properly worked with specific reflexology techniques.

How Does Reflexology Work?

There are lots of theories - the primary being that reflexology works through the nervous system.

 

There are a large number of nerve endings in the feet, hands and ears which are where the 3 reflexology maps of the body are located.

 

When health imbalances occur, such as a stiff neck, blockages of various chemicals accumulate in the neck reflexes of the feet, hands and ears.

 

The longer there is neck tension, the thicker the blockage becomes. Because nerve impulses flow from the end of one nerve to the beginning of the next, blockage between nerves will reduce the amount of nerve energy going through the body. Without enough nerve energy supply in the body, its parts and functions, cannot perform in a healthy manner.

 

This concept is illustrated by corrosion that accumulates on the terminal of a car battery. The thicker the corrosion, less electrical current flows from the battery to the car. The car runs rough. For the car to run smoothly, the corrosion must be cleaned off the battery terminal, so that the electrical current can flow fully.

 

So you see, for the neck to feel better, blockage between nerve endings in the neck reflexes of the feet, hands and ears must be eliminated, so that the current through the nerves can flow fully to the body again. When full nerve flow is restored, the body can balance itself and is better able to heal itself.

 

Reflexology works for many reasons. Besides normalizing nerve supply, beneficial chemicals are released during reflexology.

 

One most commonly known group of chemicals is endorphins - the body's natural opiates. Endorphins induce a sense of well being and are natural pain reducers.

 

Stress causes organs and glands to become either overactive of interactive. Reflexology helps to normalize the body's functions, stabilizing under or over active activity.

 

So some of the reasons people get better by having reflexology sessions are that the nerve energy supply is improved, there is an increase of beneficial chemicals and the body is normalized.