2 Minutes for Wellness :: Lindsey Blackburn

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Cooking Matters

5 great reminders!

Valentine's Day is tomorrow! Whether you have a significant other or not, you can always use some love and care!

Here are some simple, effective ways to improve your health, which shows love to yourself and those around you. It does not have to be complicated and it is not selfish. Even simple tweaks to your diet or routine can make a significant impact.

Which area will you focus on? Or maybe its another area altogether. Your body will thank you for it! Happy Valentine's Day! ❤️

WHAT CAUSES FRIZZY HAIR?

Frizz is caused when your tresses are stressed out. Your hair’s cuticle becomes rough and allows the outer layer to absorb moisture from the air, causing strands to swell and frizz. The more damage, the more frizz.

🌀 Here are things that are stressing your hair:

• Hot tools like blow dryers, straighteners, and curling irons

• Hot water when washing and rinsing hair

• Over-processing caused by too much bleach, dye, and heat

• Harsh chemicals that lurk in most commercial hair products
Infrequent haircuts (Even when growing out your hair, trim it to avoid split ends and other damage.)

🌀 Ten solutions

1. Stay hands-free. Twisting, tucking, twirling—playing with your hair is a hard habit to break, but it’s high time you try. Touching hair throughout the day can cause breakage, fostering more of that troublesome frizz.

2. Keep your cool. Heat in all its forms—curling iron, flat iron, blow dryer—is bad for your hair. Even warm water can do damage, stripping the hair of its natural oils. When washing your hair, use the coldest water you can stand and occasionally set aside the styling tools.

3. Try a towel alternative. Your trusty towel is not as terrific a hair-drying option as you think. Instead, dry hair with a microfiber cloth or cotton T-shirt—smoother material won’t rough up hair, helping it stay sleek.

4. Air dry. Ditch the blow dryer and embrace the natural look! Apply your hair care products like Mirah or mousse to wet hair and leave alone until dry.

5. Skip the suds. Frequent shampooing can do a number on hair. Try to limit the number of times you wash your hair each week. You’ll become a dry shampoo master in no time!

6. Deep condition. A little TLC can go a long way when tackling frizzy hair. Treat hair to a hydrating mask at least once a week. Extra parched hair may need deep conditioning more often. Fine hair? Try this hot oil treatment. Thick and/or curly hair? Reach for this more intensive DIY hair mask.

7. Tame flyaways. Fend off those wispy wonders a couple different ways depending on hair type:
• Fine: Spray hair spray onto a mascara wand and lightly comb over flyaways.
• Thick and/or curly: Consider a pomade to define curls, smooth your part, and the hair framing your face.

8. Oil up. Use a nourishing hair oil like Young Living’s Mirah™ Lustrous Hair Oil. It is a combo of Argan, Abyssinian, and Monoi oils. Simply use your fingers to work a small amount into hair, working it through with your hands as you go.

9. Rehydrate regularly. Dive into deep hydration with this frizzy hair solution! This leave-in conditioner features hair-loving essential oils and a rich, hydrating conditioner. Combine all ingredients in a glass spray bottle and spritz onto wet hair:
• 2 tablespoons Copaiba Vanilla Conditioner
• 10 drops Mirah Lustrous Hair Oil
• 2 drops Cedarwood essential oil
• 2 drops Lavender essential oil
• 2 drops Peppermint essential oil
• 3 oz distilled water

10. Enjoy smooth sleeping. Swap out your cotton or sateen pillowcases for ones made from silk. The fabric’s gentle texture will reduce friction as you drift off to dreamland.

adapted from the YL Blog 'The Lavender Life', date 4.8.2

Order product here: lindseyblackburn.net

WHY USE ESSENTIAL OILS ON YOUR FEET?

1. Essential oils can be easily absorbed through your feet. Did you know that the pores on the bottoms of your feet are the largest on your body? This makes your feet a uniquely absorbent place to apply essential oils that can help support your self-care routine.

2. Applying oils to your feet will help you feel extra pampered. After a long day, the first thing you likely want to do is kick back and relax to your favorite TV show, snacks in hand. A simple foot massage on tired, worn-out feet is a great way to add an extra sign to your body that it’s time to relax and help instill your schedule with specific relaxation time.

3. The skin on your feet is less sensitive. From the time you first started walking, your feet have gotten their fair share of wear and tear. As a result, the skin on your feet is thicker and less sensitive than the skin on other parts of your body. This means that you are less likely to have a reaction when using essential oils on your feet. But, as always, make sure to spot test new oils on a small area of skin to make sure you do not have an allergic reaction.

4. Your feet are full of pressure points. According to the ancient Chinese medicinal practice of foot reflexology, specific areas on your feet correspond to different organs and parts of your body.

🌀 Best essential oils for feet

While this list could go on for days, here are some of our favorite foot care essential oils:
• Bergamot
• Clary Sage
• Cypress
• Eucalyptus Globulus
• Geranium Bourbon
• Lavender
• Lemon
• Lemongrass
• Marjoram
• Peppermint
• Roman Chamomile
• Rosemary
• Tea Tree
• Thyme
•. Ylang Ylang

🌀 How to give yourself an essential oil foot massage

These 6 steps only have to take a few minutes:

1. Wash your feet with your favorite body wash/soap for clean, refreshed skin. Towel dry your feet.

2. Grab your DIY massage oil and find a comfortable place to sit. Apply about a teaspoon of oil to your hands and rub together.

3. Massage the skin between each of your toes for around 5 seconds. (The skin here is thin, which allows the oils to absorb most easily).

4. Massage your way to the bottom of your foot, from your toes to your heel, in small, circular motions; then work your way back up from heel to toe. Pay extra attention to the areas that feel extra sensitive or sore. (Add more massage oil if needed to aid in a comfortable massaging glide).

5. Relax and deeply breathe in the oil blend’s aroma.

6. Put on a pair of comfortable socks to help the oils to soak into your skin and to prevent getting oil on your floor or bed sheets.

*Disclaimer: If you feel pain during your massage, lighten pressure or stop immediately if it is too uncomfortable.

🌀 Great combos for feet

Here are some different blends you can try for morning and evening.

☀️ Morning – exciting and rejuvenating
🌿 6 drops Eucalyptus Globulus + 3 drops Tea Tree + 3 drops Thyme
🌿 6 drops Tea Tree + 6 drops Peppermint
🌿 8 drops Lemon + 4 drops Rosemary
🌿 4 drops Lemongrass + 4 drops Cypress + 4 drops Geranium Bourbon

🌙 Evening – relaxing and meditative
🌿 6 drops Lavender + 6 drops Ylang Ylang
🌿 6 drops Roman Chamomile + 3 drops Clary Sage + 3 drops Bergamot
🌿 6 drops Marjoram + 6 drops Lavender

adapted from the YL Blog 'The Lavender Life', date 3.14.22

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Here’s a list of all the items:

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Ask me questions! 💞
Great gifts for Valentine’s, bridal shower, baby shower, Mother’s Day! Thinking ahead…👏👏

CAN ESSENTIAL OILS EXPIRE?

The short answer is 'not really', but read here to learn more about oxidation!

🌀 Do essential oils go bad?

Essential oils don’t expire in the same way you’d think of food or other items ”going bad,” but they do go through a process of oxidization that begins as soon as the bottle is opened and the oil is exposed to oxygen in the air. Light and heat also increase oxidation.

🌀 What is oxidization?

When an oil comes into contact with oxygen, ultraviolet light, and heat, its composition begins to change. The oxygen bonds between molecules are transformed into carbon bonds. Over time, the essential oil starts to lose its strength and effectiveness as its chemical composition is broken down by oxidation. This is why most essential oils are sold in amber-colored bottles; the darker glass provides better protection against ultraviolet light.

🌀 How does oxidization apply to essential oils?

While essential oils don’t “go bad” the way food does, they do change over time. Because of these changes, we can’t fully determine the exact composition of essential oils after oxidation and recommend using oils only aromatically after their recommended shelf life has passed. The good news is, there are a few simple things you can do to slow down the rate of oxidation and extend the life of your oil.

🌀 How do I extend the shelf life of essential oils?

Extending the shelf life of your oils is pretty easy! Just follow these tips:

• Keep them sealed
• Store them in dark amber bottles
• Keep them out of direct light and heat

🌀 What is the shelf life of common essential oils?

Many essential oils will last about 2–5 years if stored in closed, dark glass bottles kept out of direct light and heat. Some oils like Patchouli, Sandalwood, and Vetiver can last 6–8 years.

Here are some timelines for popular essential oils:
• 1­–2 years: Lemon, Lime, and Tangerine

• 2–3 years: Bergamot, Black Pepper, Copaiba, Cypress, Frankincense, Helichrysum, Lemongrass, Melissa, Rosemary, Spearmint, and Tea Tree

• 3–4 years: Cardamon, Cinnamon Bark, Clary Sage, Eucalyptus Globulus, Lavender, Myrrh, Thyme, and Vanilla oleoresin

• 4–5 years: Blue Tansy, Cedarwood, Peppermint, Wintergreen, and Ylang Ylang

🌀 What to do with “expired” essential oils

Here are a few ideas for what to do with essential oils once they’ve reached that point.

Diffusion: As long as you still enjoy the scent of the oil, diffusion is perfectly safe.

Laundry: Keep fibers smelling their freshest by using a drop or two in your laundry. Just be sure not to apply oils directly to fabric!

Cleaning: Use them in everything from fridge freshener and window spray to potpourri, cleaning fizzies, and more!

Upcycling: Empty essential oil bottles can be used in dozens of creative ways, from craft supplies to DIYs.

Empowered with this new information, we hope you’ll have more confidence in building and maintaining a collection of essential oils that you can use in every aspect of your life!

Source: adapted from the YL Blog 'The Lavender Life', date 11.3.22

CAN YOU ADD ESSENTIAL OILS TO A HUMIDIFIER?

The short answer is 'no', you should not add essential oils to your humidifier, but read here to find out why!

🌀 Humidifiers versus essential oil diffusers

First, the main difference between diffusers and humidifiers is that they were created for different purposes. Your humidifier is designed to add moisture to the air, usually to handle the effects of dry, cold weather such as sore throats, congestion, and dry skin. Diffusers were created specifically to add aromatic oils to the air, not humidity.

Humidifiers typically come in two different models. Cool-mist humidifiers, or ev***rative humidifiers, use a combination of nebulizers and a wet-wicking filter system. The wet-wicking system filters minerals and other extras from your water, so only the pure water turns into a cool mist that disperses into your room.

The other kind of humidifiers are warm-mist humidifiers. They often boil water to release the steam and its moisture into the air. Neither of these kinds of devices and their technologies really mix well with oils.

Next, diffusers come mostly in two different styles as well: ultrasonic and atomizing diffusers.

With ultrasonic diffusers, you combine water and essential oils in the diffuser. Switch it on and the diffuser uses electronic frequencies to vibrate a plate or disc at the bottom of its water reservoir. The vibration breaks the water into particles, transforming it into a mist that carries the oils with it as it floats out of the diffuser and fills the room.

🌀 Can an ultrasonic diffuser act as a humidifier?

Yes and no. While ultrasonic diffusers do add moisture to the air, their reservoir is usually smaller than a humidifier’s water tank, so they can’t introduce as much moisture to the air as a humidifier would.

The other kind of diffuser is an atomizing diffuser, also called a nebulizer. Atomizing diffusers move air rapidly through a trough of essential oil, which creates a vacuum that reduces the oil to a v***r that emerges from the diffuser. This v***r looks very similar to what you’d see coming out of an ultrasonic diffuser, except the atomizing diffuser produces undiluted oil rather than a mixture of oil and water.

🌀 Why you shouldn’t use essential oils in a humidifier

While adding essential oils to your humidifier may seem like a good idea at the time—why not get the best of both worlds?—essential oils can destroy a humidifier.

Humidifiers contain many plastic parts, including the water tank and some machinery. Adding concentrated essential oils to those parts can eat away the plastic and break it down. It won’t happen overnight; but over time, essential oils can lead to wear and tear that will ruin these parts of your humidifier.

In a cool-mist humidifier, the essential oils can also clog the filters in the wet-wicking system. This can cause the humidifier to stop working or even break down completely.

In a warm-mist humidifier, the trouble isn’t so much what the oil does to the device but how the device changes the oil. High heat can alter the makeup of the essential oil, changing the scent profile and the potential benefits.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. Humidifier technology has come a long way, providing several options to use one with essential oils. Some humidifiers now come with an essential oil tray, ring, or filter that passes the water mist or steam through a filter that adds essential oil to it. Always check the manufacturer’s directions on your humidifier to see if you can add essential oils to it or not.

Source: adapted from the YL Blog 'The Lavender Life', date 1.12.23

A must read! 👀 Some great visuals here…

Learn something new everyday. 🍏 Thanks to Dr. Timothy Oliver, my go-to resource at Confident Wellness, LLC!

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Ready for some comfort food! 🍲

Link in Comments.

Any essential oil lovers out there?!

Fall reminds us that 🍃 CHANGE 🍂 can be beautiful!

🌙 Sleep hours for each age group...

⚠️ Another day, another toxic product.
10/24/22

https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/24/business/unilever-shampoo-recall/index.html

I love to do a big sheet pan of roasted veggies. 🥕🧅🍠 Tried cabbage in there for the first time a few weeks ago - very tasty!! 👏