Tips for making yourself beautiful

Lavender Rose Bath Recipe

1 c. rose petals
1 c. lavender (flowers, stems, leaves)
1 c. chamomile (flowers, stems, leaves)

Mix together 2 c. of blend (equal parts of rose petals, lavender and chamomile)

Place in a muslin bag or fine cheesecloth bag.
Steep in a tub of warm water
Enjoy the scented bath

Read Lavender Health article for more information or visit our Health books, Audio and Video department for other resources.

Go Natural

Botanical Tints

Bring out the highlights in you hair naturally with this at- home hair coloring recipe.
Makes 8 ounces.

Let nautre wash you hair with fresh new color. Although flowers, stems, leaves, bark, and seeds don't actually change the color of you hair, they impart a wonderful tint. Th help guarantee the final outcome, do a strand test before appling the dye to you whold head. Check the strand periodically to calculate the time required to achieve the desired result.

3 cups plant material (choose one from botanical below)
4 cups distilled water

Place the plant material in the bottom of a large saucepan or dutch oven (don not use aluminium). Cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil for one hour and then strain (Use cheesecloth). Return the liquid to the pan and boil for an additional hour. Cool before applying to the hair.
Wearing plastic gloves, pour the solution through the hair. Cover the hair with a plastic bag or wrap, and allow solution to work on hair for 15 minutes to an hour, depending on the desired results.
Rinse out throughly, followed by a pH 4.5 to 5.5 shampoo.
Dry and style as usual.

Hiding or Highlighting? Decide which botanical is best for you.

EFFECT DESIRED	BOTANICAL	PART OF PLANT USED
Blonde Hair	chamomile or dandelion flowers	onion skin
Red Hair	beets or cranberries	vegetable, fruit
Brown Hair	marigold, flowers, cinnamon, acorn, coffee	bark, nuts, beans

Source: Drop-Dead Gorgeous by Kim Erikson (McGraw-Hill, 2002)

Beautiful Hands

We can look after our faces and work out our bodies at the gym, but not looking after our hands reflects our age very well and gives the game away at an instant. Everyone's hands are exposed to pollutants everyday. Thankfully, essential oils can help to keep hands looking their best.
Don't be surprise if you will be supplying the whole family-essential oil hand creams tend to disappear very quickly!

Here is a recipe for basic hand cream

Basic Hand Cream

1/2 ounce Cocoa butter
2 Tbsp. Almond Oil
1/2 ounce Beeswax
5 drops Evening Primrose Oil
5 drops Carrot Oil

Melt cocoa butter and the beeswax in a bain-marie*, then add the almond, evening primrose, and carrot oils. You now have a basic hand cream that can be made thinner by adding more almond oil, or thicker by putting less almond oil in to begin with.

* bain-ma·rie ( băn ' ma-rē ' ) n. , pl. bains-ma·rie ( băn ' ma-rē ' ) . A large pan containing hot water in which smaller pans may be set to cook food.

Finally, add your chosen drops or measurements of essential oil.

LUXIOUS HAND OIL

10 drops Carrot oil
2 tsp. Avocado oil
10 drops Jojoba oil
10 drops Evening primrose oil
2* Vitamin E capsules (*1 capsule=250 IUs)

Blend well then add:

5 drops Rose
2 drops Lemon
1 drop Geranium
2 drops Sandalwood

You will only need a tiny amount of this oil each time. Massage it well into the hands.

Source: The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatheraphy by Valerie Ann Worwood

COMPLEXION

AGE SPOT REMOVER

1 tsp. Grated Horseradish Root (save time buy bottled, though maybe not as effective)
1/2 tsp. Lemon juice
1/2 tsp. Vinegar
3 drops rosemary essential oil

NOTE: If you grate the Horseradish root, make sure that you add the vinegar and the lemon juice right away, as the enzymes of the root will break down and oxidize. Keep your fingers away from your eyes, as the horseradish root components sting.

Combine ingredients.

Blemish Removes

1/4 c. Water
1 tsp. Epsom salts
4 drops Lavender essential oil (antiseptic and anti-inflammatory)
Small cloth (use soft, baby size terry cloth)

Bring the water to a boil and pour it over the epsom salts. When the salts have dissolved, add the essential oil. Soak the small absorbent cloth in the solution and press this compress on any blemishes. The cloth will cool, repeat the process

Natural Deodorant

2 ounces witchazel
5 drops each sage, coriander and lavender essential oils

Combine ingredients in a small, clean spray bottle. Shake well before every application, and allow to dry before getting dressed.

Treat Your Feet

Many herbs high in essential oils are used as anti-fungals, especially tea tree, oregano, lavender, eucalyptus, rose, geranium an myrrh. Herbal salves work well on these fungal infections, if they are not raw, however a herbal vinegar or bentonite clay preparation may even work better.

Anti-Fungal Vinegar

4 ounces vinegar (for extra strength use oregano vinegar)
2 Tbsp. tincture of pau d'arco
1/4 tsp. each tea tree and lavender essential oils
1/8 tsp. peppermint essential oil

Combine ingredients. Apply a few times daily, as a compress for large areas, cotton balls or swabs.

Nahanni River Herbs