How To Quick And Easy Natural Massage Melts

How To Quick And Easy Natural Massage Melts
How To Quick And Easy Natural Massage Melts

Massage melts are a unique body product because they stay solid at room temperatures, but when applied directly to your skin, start to soften and melt due to body temperature. Their main purpose is to moisturize dry skin, as well as, relax and soothe tight muscles.

Essentially, massage bars are composed of natural butters and oils. Most recipes for this type of product call for the use of cocoa butter. Even though it has great moisturizing properties, I feel this butter produces too hard a product. Therefore, I recommend using such butters as shea and mango, which create a silkier, luxurious feeling to your melts.

For oils, I highly recommend using sweet almond and jojoba. Sweet almond oil is light and penetrates easily making it well-suited for dry skin conditions. Plus, it is effective on all skin types. Jojoba oil, which is not actually an oil but is a liquid wax, is similar in composition to the oil your skin secretes, which is known as sebum. Jojoba is a quickly absorbed oil that soothes the skin, as well as, extends the shelf life of other oils.

Other “light” oils you can substitute, for the above, are apricot kernel, grapeseed, sunflower, safflower, or soybean. Rounding out the rest of the ingredients are beeswax, vitamin E, and essential and fragrance oils.

Beeswax helps formulations keep their shape, as well as, act as a humectant. Vitamin E oil protects your product from rancidity and is also a great natural antioxidant. Essential oils are natural ingredients that are the very essence of the plant itself. Extracted from the flowers, fruit, leaves, bark, and roots of the plant, the oils are used for scent and therapeutic purposes. A word of caution, due to their volatility, research any essential oil before use. Fragrance oils, though synthetic in nature, do provide an inexpensive and easy way to achieve a scent that might not be possible with essential oils.

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Aromatherapy While Traveling

Aromatherapy While Traveling
Aromatherapy While Traveling

Whether you are on business trip, a romantic holiday, a family trip or simply want to experience outdoor life, aromatherapy essential oils come useful along the way. Take along carrier oils for diluting the essential oils.

Are you going away on business trip? Whether you have to meet clients, give presentations, hold seminars, business meetings, etc, one can surely feel stressed out. Take along with you lavender, peppermint, marjoram and Neroli essential oils.

- Massage your body with 1 drop of marjoram and lavender oil each mixed with sweet almond or calendula oil after a warm bath to lessen the jet lag effect.

- Are you jittery before a big presentation or a meeting? Inhale few drops of Neroli oil to settle all the butterflies and ease all the nervousness.

- For headaches or migraines, concoct 1 drop of peppermint & lavender oil each with 1 tsp of sweet almond oil and massage it on your forehead, temples, sides and base of your neck. It will ease the headache away and let you stay alert. Few drops of lavender oil on your pillow will allow for peaceful night of sleep.

- Eating out and upset stomach go hand in hand. Massage 1 drop of peppermint & lavender oil each with 1 tsp of sweet almond oil on your stomach to help you with indigestion. Or you can try a peppermint tea.

Holidaying with your sweetheart or going for your honeymoon? Make sure you smell desirable all the time. Rose & jasmine oil are considered romantic oils.

- 1 drop of rose and jasmine oil each in 100 ml of jojoba oil makes a nice personal perfume for your holiday.

- A single drop of Ylang Ylang with its oriental scent is heady potent seduction perfume.

- For a romantic bath, add little of your personal perfume to the bath gel or water. You can use the perfume as massage oil on your partner.

Out with the kids. Calendula oil, lavender oil, chamomile essential oil and tea tree oil are some of children’s oil that comes handy.

- Inhale a drop of lavender or peppermint oil from kerchief or tissue to ease the nausea and travel sickness.

- Got a tired kid on hand. Get your child to relax and inhale lavender oil.

- For small babies, apply lavender oil on your neck and shoulders so when you carry your little one around, the fragrance stays with baby.

- Stomach upset or colic trouble – 1 drop of chamomile mixed with 1 tsp of sweet almond oil rubbed clockwise on tummy will ease the stomachache.

- Lavender oil rubbed on the body helps to keep insects away.

- Few drops of calendula, lavender & chamomile oil is good for cuts and bruises.

- Aloe Vera gel or lavender oil applied to sun burn will soothe the pain.

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Apricot Kernel Oil

Apricot Kernel Oil
Apricot Kernel Oil

World over people use massage therapy to help promote healthy skin, nourish and strengthen the body, relieve stress, reduce pain, and encourage balance and well being. Massage opens and increases the flow of energy, balancing the entire nervous system and helping to release physical and emotional disharmony. The many benefits of massage are enhanced by the use of high quality massage oil.

Apricot tree is the member of the rose family originating from Central and East Asia. The fruit, rich in vitamins is used to produce the pleasant smelling Apricot Kernel Oil. Apricot Kernel Oil is very mild natural oil, often used in baby products because of its fine gentle nature.

Apricot kernel oil is cold pressed and refined from the dried kernels of the apricot fruit. It is light in colour with pleasant nutty odor and used in manufacturer of creams, balms, lotions and cosmetics.

Sought out for its high vitamin E content and skin softening properties, apricot kernel oil is known for its ability to penetrate the skin without leaving an oily feel. Apricot kernel oil is also popular as massage oil and it used as carrier oil when used with essential oils for aromatherapy.

Rich in essential fatty acids like oleic and linoleic acid, apricot kernel oil is high in vitamin A. Since it easily penetrates the skin, it is good oil for prematurely aged, dry or irritated skin. The excellent softening and moisturizing properties is great for face, hands and hair. Vitamins A & C are good for mature dry or sensitive skin. The apricot kernel oil helps skin retain elasticity, clarity, and suppleness. Crushed Apricot Kernels are commonly used as a facial mask to soften the skin.

In addition, Apricot Kernel Oil is used as an antitussive, anti-asthmatic and to treat tumors in traditional Chinese medicine. It helps to calm the inflammation / irritation of eczema and dermatitis. When combined with an equal amount of St. John’s Wort Oil, it is acts as anti-inflammatory and has a cooling effect.

Due to its moisturizing, nourishing and revitalizing properties, apricot kernel oil is widely used for massage therapy.

Face Mask Formula – A soft paste made of 2 drops each of frankincense, rose and neroli oils, 6 tsp of apricot oil, 1 tsp clear melted honey and finely ground almond makes a good moisturizing face mask.

For nourished, soft and supple skin, rub apricot kernel oil on your body daily.

Acne Fusion – Pour 1 ounce of apricot kernel oil, 12 drops of lavender essential oil, 7 drops of tea tree essential oil and 1 drop of geranium essential oil in amber coloured clean bottle. Close it tightly and roll the bottle to mix the blend. Apply a small amount of this blend to the acne affected area.

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Can Flaxseed Cure Cancer

Can Flaxseed Cure Cancer

The flax plant, an ancient crop, yields the fibre from which linen is woven, as well as seeds (linseed or flaxseed) and oil. The oil, also called linseed oil, has many industrial uses – it is an important ingredient in paints, varnishes and linoleum for example.

Like olive, canola, and most other plant oils, flax seed oil is highly unsaturated and heart-healthy. Lignans and other flax seed components may also have antioxidant properties, which means they may reduce the activity of cell-damaging free radicals.

Recently small studies of cancer patients who consumed flaxseeds have produced some encouraging results.

In one study men with prostate cancer who ate an ounce of ground flaxseeds (almost three tablespoons) a day as part of a very-low-fat diet were able to slow the progress of their cancers between the time they were diagnosed and the time of surgery. A similar study of women awaiting surgery for breast cancer found that those who ate a flaxseed muffin daily (with about four tablespoons of ground flaxseeds per muffin) had a slower tumor growth rate. Studies of animals, too, suggest some anti-cancer benefit from flaxseed. But it’s always difficult to know whether it’s the lignans that help, or some other element in the flaxseeds. And not all studies have yielded positive results.

Besides lignans, flaxseeds and their oil are also the best food sources of an essential fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid. “Essential” means we must consume it, because our bodies cannot manufacture it. Essential fatty acids are important for cell membranes, blood pressure regulation, and other functions. Alpha-linolenic acid is an omega-3, similar to some of the fatty acids in fish oil. Like aspirin, omega-3s may reduce blood clotting, thus lessening the chance of a fatal heart attack.

Flaxseeds and their oil may also lower total blood cholesterol, as well as LDL (“bad”) cholesterol.

But that should come as no big surprise, since any highly unsaturated oil will do that, particularly if substituted for saturated fats. The fiber in flaxseeds may also help against cholesterol, since it is soluble (similar to that in oats).

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