Baby Steps for the New Year
Happy New Year! The start of a new year always brings along the feeling that I need to make resolutions or at least make a fresh start on things that are important to me, likely you are the same. So how do you go about doing this? Many years ago, I followed a blog to help put order back into my home, the most important thing I learned through that following was that taking baby steps was the best way to accomplish things that needed to be done. So, as you reflect on things that are important, things that you want to change, create a list of "baby steps" to move you along that road to your end goal.
Here are some ideas for the most common New Starts!
1) Detox - Detox your skin naturally to renew that youthful glow. Why is it important to detox? Over the course of a year, your skin comes into contact with many chemicals, chemicals in your laundry detergent, your lotions, your sunscreens, all of these chemicals are absorbed by your skin. Take a few days to give your body a break from all of these toxins, a rest, so to speak. Nourish it with a light fast and detox with a few natural products great at renewing your mind, body and spirit.
- Charcoal soap - a naturally detoxing bar that aids in clearing the skin, this bar gets rave reviews, if you haven't tried it, now is the time. Also available in unscented for those with sensitive skin.
- Detox soap - a great detox bar with dead sea mud and a blend of essential oils known for their ability to detox the skin. You can also lather up with these soaps and leave it on for a few minutes to let the dead sea mud or charcoal work at adsorbing the toxins.
- Detox Bath Bomb - relax and soak for 20-30 minutes with my detox bath bomb. I like to break my bath bomb in half and use it for two baths.
2) Lose weight - Watch what you eat and try to exercise a few times a week, in addition, there are many essential oils that can aid you on your journey, grapefruit essential oil for instance is excellent in this respect.
Grapefruit Bath Bombs - bathe in grapefruit, the best way for it to absorb into your skin.
Grapefruit Scrub - Prefer to take a shower? A scrub is the perfect way to use grapefruit in the shower, it provides exfoliation and aromatherapy benefits of grapefruit.
3) Natural Beauty - Now is the time to take a fresh start with your beauty care routine. Minimize what you use and pay attention to the ingredient list. You can have amazing skin with natural ingredients. Make it a point to change 1 or 2 products to more natural products for your skin this month!
4) Less Stress - It's not easy to have less stress, but you can change the way you handle stress. Take time for yourself, and make it a point to bring more essential oils into your routine. Pure therapeutic essential oils can provide a calming affect. Try lavender, peaceful or lavender dream, all of these oils and oil blends will relax the body and mind. Place a drop or two on the back of your neck or on the bottoms of your feet, you can also put a drop on your pulse points. Another good way to use essential oils is via wax melts or an essential oil diffuser, both allow the essential oils to be diffused into the air, thereby benefiting everyone in your home.
Activated Charcoal
Activated Charcoal - What is it?
We started using activated charcoal many years ago and have since used it for countless issues. Originally, we had found we had allergies and the doctor that did our testing recommended 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda mixed with a bit of water to relieve food allergy symptoms. This worked quite well, but of course, the taste was not to our liking. At some later point in time, we were exposed to activated charcoal which is known to absorb gases, heavy metals, poisons, and other chemicals, thus making them ineffective and harmless. Doctors still use it today as a healing agent, an antidote for poisons, and an effective treatment for indigestion and gas. So, I started thinking, why wouldn't it absorb the offending food or chemical I was reacting to? Well, it does and it works wonderfully. I admit that at first, I might have abused it just to be able to eat something I normally couldn't, but then of course things leveled out.
I know that most people don't consider reactions to food - allergies, but that's how I look at it. So call it what you want - sensitivity or allergy, to me they are the same when it comes to foods. I once had a nurse tell me I wasn't having an allergic reaction to a medication in the hospital as I didn't have a rash! So the fact that I was vomiting and had the chills didn't mean anything to her!
We have also used charcoal for skin conditions, bee stings, etc.. One of my sons starts swelling immediately after a bee sting, so I started putting activated charcoal powder on a wet paper towel and apply it to the sting right away. It still swelled some and I did repeat applications, but it kept it at bay so that we didn't need to pursue further help.
We use chewable tablets for the younger children when necessary, for food type problems, and have also used powdered activated charcoal mixed in applesauce. Charcoal doesn't really have a taste, it's just black! I use the activated charcoal capsules. For the most part, one dose of 2 capsules works for me, but occasionally I take 2 doses. I have also used a bit of powdered charcoal mixed with water in a baby bottle because when we found we had allergies, it was common for the rest of our children to have sensitivities to things I ate while nursing them.
I just ran across a black salve quite by accident while browsing the internet and couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it before now. So, I immediately created some of my own and have been using it successfully for many things that I used to use a charcoal compress for. It is much easier to use and does the job just as well without the mess charcoal powder.
Find my Black salve(coming soon) and charcoal soap in my shops. Please visit my shops here - www.elegantroseboutique.etsy.com or http://store.elegantroseboutique.com/
CAUTION - Activated Charcoal will absorb medications, so if you are taking a medication please research more on how to use charcoal or if you should use it.
