Beach Bag Essentials - Oils that is!

Ahhh, Summer - its officially here!

Despite the debate as to whether the Summer Solstice (the unofficial mark of Summer's start) is the 20th or 21st of June, I know its here because the kids are finally done with school and my thoughts are turning to lazy days and fun times.

If you live in the proximity of the beach then another unofficial mark to the start of summer is the packing of the beach bag.

My beach bag has expanded to more than one bag over these last few years, heck, just needing 6 beach towels will do that! But for the most part my beach bag still includes the basics with a few extras for the little ones. Gotta keep 'em happy!

Here are some suggestions for a well packed beach bag. Some are no-brainers but there are a few "essential" additions that just might make that trip to the shore a bit more enjoyable:

• Beach Bag - of course, can't pack a beach bag without a bag



• Sunscreen - I know you don't need to be reminded of this however, I did want to point you to a report of the best and worst sunscreens with regard to the amount of chemicals they possess and their effectivness. Take a look at the Enviornmental Working Group's Report they released last year and choose wisely. I think you'll be surprised, like me, to find that 85% of 1,074 sunscreen products they tested had inadequate protection from the sun, or contain ingredients with significant safety concerns.



• Water - goes without saying. Try spiking your water with a couple of drops of Lemon Essential Oil or Peppermint Essential Oil. Both are very refreshing and envigorating. Read how great Lemon water is for you here.



• Snacks - Add some non-perishable high energy snacks in your beach bag and even when the cooler is empty there will be snacks available. I like to keep pouches of NingXia Red, trail mix, or granola bars. I'm going to order the new Manna Bars and add them to my bag. They'd be a good addition as they are loaded with great whole food nutrition and they sound super yummy!



• A Good Read - The beach is a great time to catch up on your reading, so grab something new from the Bestseller List or that book that you've been meaning to read for years. I'm starting my summer reading with Quantum Wellness by Kathy Freston.



• Disposable Camera - capture those precious moments without the worry of having your good camera getting ruined.



• Peppermint Essential Oil - great for helping you cool down! Add a couple of drops to your water, rub on your feet, or you can put a few drops on a bandana to wear around the head for summer cooling. Mixing Peppermint and Lavender oil with water makes a very simple and pleasant Cooling Spritz (see recipe below).



• Lavender Essential Oil - Make a Cooling Spritz and Sunburn soother in portable spray bottles and add to your bag (see recipes below). Feeling a little stinky? Apply a couple of drops of Lavender under your arms to use as a portable deodorant. Lavender will not only cover any unpleasant odor, it also prevents the occurrence of odor-causing bacteria.



• Lavaderm Cooling Mist - if you don't want to make your own Sunburn Soother than you can purchase this pre-made skin soother. It includes Lavender Essential Oil and Aloe Vera. Its great as a first aid spray and for soothing bug bites!




If you purchase an Essential 7 Kit you'd have 3 essential oils mentioned in this post.....




• Horsefly Repellent - to me, nothing can ruin my day at the beach more then when those pesky, biting, flies arrive to nibble on our toes, and legs, and arms and well, you get the picture. You can repell them by making a floral water with Idaho Tansy essential oil (see the recipe below). Bathing on the dock of the bay? Then mosquitos may be your problem. Check out my Mosquitoes Bugging You? post for an insect repelling recipe.



• Cornstarch - easliy removes sand from your feet. If you'd like to make it more refreshing add some essential oils (see the recipe below). Please don't use babypowder. Inhaling baby powder has been linked with respiratory illnesses.



• Garbage Bag - please bring an extra bag with you to stash your trash! While you're at it, do what my family does and get each one in your beach party to pick up their trash and one extra piece of trash. The beach critters and us loyal beach goers would greatly appreciate it!

Order Young Living Essential Oils here.......

Recipes:

Lavender and Peppermint Cooling Spritz

Add 5 drops Lavender and 1 drop Peppermint to 1 cup distilled water. Spritz on arms and legs to help you cool down. Do not spray near face; if you wish to use this mixture near the face, dampen a cloth and lightly apply to the face.

Sunburn Soother

Add 20 drops Lavender to 1 ounce water and 1 ounce Aloe vera. Spray on affected areas as needed.

Horsefly Repellent

Add 10-20 drops of Idaho Tansy Essential Oil to a spray bottle filled with distilled water. Spray generously on exposed skin being careful to avoid the eyes.

Foot Powder
Measure the cornstarch and pour it into a widemouthed glass jar or a spice powder container. Then add the essential oils. Tighten the cap, and let the foot powder sit for a day. Shake before using.

Chamomile: 20 drops
Clove: 5 drops
Cinnamon: 5 drops
Cornstarch: 2 Tbsp

Foot Powder Recipe from 500 Formulas for Aromatherapy: Mixing Essential Oils for Every Use by Carol & David Schiller, ©1994.

Happy Summer! I hope you enjoy it and that you create many special memories with your family and friends!

If you have any questions or need help placing an order please contact me. I'd be more than happy to assist!

Yours in Scentsible Wellness,
Elizabeth

Natural Insect-Repelling String Ties

WOW!! How timely is this? I was researching information for another post when I ran across this really cool project to make Natural Insect Repelling String Ties. This is from one of my favorite sites Abundant Health and their project is a perfect follow up for this morning's Mosquito post.

Looks like another great way to rid the house of those skeeters!

Natural Insect-Repelling String Ties

These insect-repelling string ties are really easy to make, and are great for keeping insects away from camping areas, picnic tables, and other outdoor events! The compact case/dispenser this string is stored in is small enough that it can easily be taken backpacking, hiking, biking, or on any other outdoor excursion.

Ingredients Needed:

1. Cotton yarn or thick string: This can be found at most any fabric or craft store. Yarn or string made from other absorbent materials may work as well, but cotton seems to work really well for this project.


2. 1 oz. plastic salve container: This is used as a container/dispenser for the yarn or string.


3. 15 ml amber glass spray bottle: This is used to mix the essential oil blend and jojoba together in. Other small glass bottles or containers can be used as well, but the 15 ml spray bottle has the added benefit that when you are done using it, you can add some distilled water to the bottle to create your own insect-repelling spray!


4. Jojoba oil: This can be found in many health or soap-making supply stores. Other unscented vegetable oils can also be used as carrier oils for this project, but they may go rancid if unused for a long time. Jojoba oil, which is technically a liquid wax rather than a true oil, tends to be more stable than regular vegetable oils.


5. Essential oils: This recipe calls for lavender, lemongrass, peppermint, and thyme essential oils. If desired, however, you can substitute other insect-repelling essential oils (like citronella) or other oil blends.

Get Young Living Essential Oils here...

Instructions:

Wind cotton yarn into a ball or coil until it is approximately 1.5" in diameter (if you coil the yarn, it may be easiest to wind it around a small 1" long wood dowel).

1. Place the ball/coil into the 1 oz. plastic salve container.


2. In the 15 ml glass bottle, blend 50 drops lavender, 50 drops lemongrass, 30 drops peppermint, and 10 drops thyme essential oils (or you can substitute 100-150 drops of your own desired essential oil or blend).


3. Add jojoba oil to the essential oils until the 15 ml glass bottle is nearly full. Cap or cover the bottle opening and shake the bottle for a few seconds to help mix the oils. Allow the oil mixture to sit for a few minutes to allow it to meld together.


4. Slowly pour about 1/2 of the oil mixture onto the yarn ball/coil inside the plastic container, allowing the oil to soak into the yarn before pouring more. Turn the ball/coil over, and pour the remaining 1/2 of the oil mixture onto the other side of the ball/coil. (If you want to make an insect-repelling spray in the 15 ml bottle, leave a small amount of the oil mixture remaining in the glass bottle, then add distilled water to the oil mixture until the bottle is nearly full. Screw the spray top on the bottle. To use the spray, shake the bottle vigorously for a few seconds to mix the oil and water, then spray in the desired location as needed).


5. Screw the lid onto the 1 oz. plastic salve container, and let the container sit for 2-3 hours to allow the oil mixture to soak thoroughly into the yarn.

To use the insect-repelling string ties, remove the desired length of string from the container and tie it onto tree branches, fences, tents, poles, or other objects around the desired area (if you tie them onto tree branches, be sure to remove them when finished, or the string may end up causing damage as the branch tries to grow wider).

Extra Ideas:

Convert the 1 oz. salve container into a great dispenser for your string with a few easy steps. Drill a small hole (approximately the same diameter as the yarn or string you used) through the lid of the container. Thread a small amount of the yarn/string through the bottom of the hole in the lid. Screw the lid back onto the container, being certain to hold onto the yarn/string that has been threaded through the hole so it doesn't slip back down through the hole. Apply a small label or sticker over the top of the hole and yarn to help seal the container until needed. To dispense from this container, simply pull the desired length of yarn/string through the hole, then carefully cut the yarn/string approximately 1" above the hole.

For a more formal event, create insect-repelling strings from two or more complimentary colors. Hang the different colors in attractive patterns, braid the colors together, or twist the colors together to create a decorative element with the strings.

Please contact me if you have any questions or need help ordering any of the oils.

Yours in Scentsible Wellness,
Elizabeth

Mosquitoes Bugging You?

It's that time of year when the mosquitoes come calling. For my family it means we have to be ready to fight one of our biggest outdoor challenges so we can enjoy some outdoor fun.

We live in a highly wooded yard and the mosquitoes can get so bad my children will actually fore go outdoor activities rather than be bitten by these loathsome critters. I can't very well blame them especially when I see the welts these pests leave on their delicate skin. More worrisome then the welts are the chance of contracting West Nile virus or the other diseases that mosquitoes carry. Yet we have to get outside!

Aggressive action is needed at our house to win the battle of Us vs. The Mosquitoes; and that is exactly what we do! We use a variety of methods to manage the mosquitoes. We use a propane powered Mosquito Trap, we hang pheromone Mosquito Traps, we use candles with drops of essential oils in them when we dine outside and we have my children's favorite mosquito warfare tactic - shooting them down with water guns. But the one action I won't take is spraying bug spray that contains DEET on my children.

Yes, DEET is the most powerful insect repellent made but I can't bring myself to apply this chemical onto my children and here's why. DEET is known to cause neurological damage, and once it enters the bloodstream, it makes its way to the nervous system, where it is known to cause seizures and even deaths.

DEET can be especially harmful to children, which is why The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than one application of DEET per day for children. Okay, great, so one application a day won't cause any damage? But what happens over time when my children's bodies have absorbed years of DEET use? No Thanks, I don't want to know! I'll stick to my homemade bug sprays made with essential oils!!

Essential oils work wonderfully to repel mosquitoes without any neurological damage ;-) and when you use Soybean oil as the base for the lotion you will have a very effective mosquito repellent. An efficacy test at the University of Florida on various types of repellents indicated that a soybean oil-based repellent is as effective as repellents with low concentrations of DEET and when USDA researchers tested the success of a soybean oil repellent, they found that it provided protection from bites between 5 and 8 hours, depending on the species of mosquito they studied.

Essential Oils to Use for Natural Mosquito Repellent:

Single Oils - Peppermint, Eucalyptus Radiata, Lemon, Lime, Lavender, Tea Tree, Cedarwood, Geranium, Idaho Tansy, Rosemary, Patchouli, Citronella, Lemongrass, Thyme

Young Living Blends - Purification, Thieves, Melrose

The following Blend is found in the Essential Oils Desk Reference (3rd Edition)

Insect Repellent Blend
6 drops Peppermint
6 drops Tea Tree
9 drops Eucalyptus Radiata

Get Young Living Essential Oils here...

How To Use Essential Oils as Mosquito Repellent:

1. Make a lotion using 10 drops of essential oil to 2 Tablespoons Soybean Oil.


2. Make a spray by mixing the essential oils with water in a spray bottle. Shake the mix before using and take care not to spray the eyes.


3. Having a party? Cut some festive fabric into strips and dip into the insect repellent blend or one of the insect-repelling essential oils mixed with water and hang or tie to trees around your yard to make a natural barrier for the mosquitoes.


4. Add a few drops of your choice of insect-repelling essential oils to your shampoo, conditioner, or liquid soap to help counteract the perfumes in these products that attract the mosquitoes.


5. Wear a Terra-Cotta Pendant Simply put a few drops of the insect-repelling essential oils onto the pendant and wear it around your neck. These pendants will diffuse the oils in your space and keep the mosquitoes away.


6. Add a few drops of Cinnamon Oil to standing water such as bird baths and rain barrels. According to a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Cinnamon Oil has been found to be more effective in killing mosquito larvae than DEET.

Please take caution and don't spray or apply any insect repellents over cuts, scratches, rashes, or other open spots in the skin. And note that while these repellents do work, they are certainly not as effective as DEET. You will need to reapply these homemade insect-repellents more often than you do commercial brands but I think you will find the benefits of not absorbing the toxic chemicals far outweighs the reapplication.

Let me know if you try these solutions and how they work for you.

Please contact me if you have any questions or need help ordering any of the oils.

Yours in Scentsible Wellness,
Elizabeth