ramblings of an aromatherapist
Sam turns 30 on Monday
Samantha - Sam to everyone at Moon Haven- turns 30 on Monday. Sam, along with Kerryn, Marri and Becca, looks after the front of house in the Moon Haven cottage, and we would have to say that she is the ultra efficient one of our team - keeping the rest of us on our toes.
Well Sam is celebrating her birthday by taking the week off and going to Perth for a shopping and girly time. Have fun Sam… Happy Birthday and remember 30 is the new 20!
Colds, Flu and Sinus conditions can be easedwith Breathe Easy
Yesterday a young woman in her mid twenties came into the Moon Haven cottage. She had dark circles under her eyes and the tell tale nasally voice that indicates blocked sinuses.
When we got talking she told me that she suffered from a chronic sinus condition which was made even worse by the latest flu she had picked up - hence the dark circles under her eyes.
Needless to say her long expected holiday was turning into a battle of endurance and fortitude as she popped painkillers and anti-histamines. Unfortunately the pills only took the edge off her condition and did nothing to help with the cause of the problems.
Of course we directed her to our marvellous Breathe Easy Pulse Point Potion. We rolled a little onto each temple, under her jawline and at the base of her throat.
At first nothing much happened…then as the essential oils began to do their work.. she started to sniff…and then her sense of smell started to return and finally she was able to breathe freely - all in about 5 minutes.
10 minutes later she came back to the Moon Haven cottage… beaming.
Her headache was gone, sinuses were running clear and she felt significantly better- so she wanted another two bottles of Breathe Easy for her friends.
What is the difference between aroamtherapy essential and fragrance oils?
Do you know the difference?
This week at Moon Haven, I was asked to supply a peach essential oil for an Australian manufacturer to use in his products. Unfortunately there is no such thing.
Essential oils (aromatherapy oils) are the volatile oils that are extracted from a plant part. Most fruits comprise of water and no volatile oils in sufficient quantities suitable for extraction. Therefore there are no naturally occurring peach essential oils.
There are however Peach (and many other fruit) fragrance oils. These oils are formulated from synthetic and natural ingredients to emulate a particular fruit ’scent’. They are man made but do not carry any of the therapeutic properties associated with naturally occurring Essential Oils.
The only fruits which we do have an essential oil component are those from the citrus family. Most of these oils are not derived from the fruit but the rind and sometimes the leaves of the plant.
When you are next peeling and orange - take a closer look at the pores in the rind… these are the essential oil filled sacs…and when you peel the orange these burst and squirt amazing, fresh, essential oils into the air…hence the delicious aroma!
Aromatherapy at its most basic and scrumptious!
This article brings to light some of the questionable practices of the cosmetics industry with regards to claims and ‘new’ amazing compounds! I couldn’t agree more heartily with the message of this article.
Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent
This is not something I do very often but this piece of YouTube footage gave me an insight into my own reactions as well as leaving me feeling uplifted and amazed.
Do take the time to view this. You won’t regret it.
You can just see where Sophie's psoriasis was.... just
Sophie recently came into Moon Haven raving about our herbal salves and especially our Universal Herbal Ointment and Chickweed & Plantain Salve.
You see, Sophie had one of the worst cases of psoriasis in just one area that I have seen.
The one large lesion on her left leg took up half of her shin, was thick, weeping, inflamed and extremely uncomfortable as well as unsightly.
Sophie never wore skirts or bared her legs. It was something she lived with for many, many years.
Then along came a visit to Moon Haven and with one look we decided that she needed a combination of two of our salves. The Universal Herbal Ointment to treat the infection - applied sparingly and only for the very worst areas and a general application of our Chickweed & Plantain Salve used twice daily.
Well two months later this is the result! You can just see where the lesion was…just…in the photo there is a small patch of discolouration where the psoriasis was located. I would expect this to fade over time to the point where it will not be noticeable. (I wish I had take a ‘before’ photo so you could see the dramatic improvement)
Needless to say Sophie is delighted and shorts and skirts are back in her wardrobe.
Moon Haven's NEW Cupboard Keepers
Moon Haven’s NEW Cupboard Keepers were a hit at last weeks Sydney Home and Giving Fair.
We are delighted with how they turned out. The four varieties
are each filled with yummy petals, leaves and spices as well as the essential oils to match.
To our surprise the most popular has turned out to be the Citrus cupboard keeper with the Rose in a close second place.
Admittedly my favourite is the Spice cupboard keeper and the Eucalyptus is a favourite of our many overseas visitors. So it seems that these are here to stay!
Phew… that was fun!
Eric, Chris and I have just returned from a week away at the Sydney Home & Giving Fair.
We met so many great people and had a lot of fun.
Our new cupboard keepers were a hit at the fair as were our designer series soaps and new bath teas.
We got to welcome many new Moon Haven stockists to the family - so it soon will be even easier to find a Moon Haven retailer near you wherever you are throughout Australia.
Keep a look out in our stockist pages for the updates as we ship out all these orders!
Earlier this week Julie (known as Julie Patchouli to the Moon Haven crew and our clients) was killed in a horrific traffic accident between Cowaramup and Margaret River.
She leaves behind two small children, Jade and Jye, and a shocked and deeply saddened community.
Julie worked in Moon Haven’s front of house for an extended period leaving us just over 18 months ago to work at Brookland Valley. Her vibrant champagne bubbly personality and extremely dry sense of humour will be sorely missed. As you can imagine at Moon Haven we are very sad and there have been many tears shed.
Julie had with her in the car, young Samuel who she was babysitting at the time. Samuel, while badly injured is recovering well from all accounts. Our thoughts are with him and his family as he continues to recover.
Eric peeling off our newest cupboard keeper mould
Eric has been busy developing and making the moulds for our new range of Cupboard Keepers.
Moon Haven’s Cupboard Keepers are an essential oil based alternative to mothballs for use in wardrobes, drawers, linen closets…in fact anywhere you need the items inside to smell simply gorgeous and the bugs to stay away.
Eric first made a negative image of the finished mould out of wood. He then boxed this in with a rail around the outside.
The mould for the mould was then sealed, allowed to dry and then silicone was poured into the cavities and allowed to cure.
The picture above is Eric releasing the mould from the master mould. It turned out so well I now have a list of others I want Eric to make!
