Posts Tagged ‘essential oil’

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!

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

• Citrus
• Rose
• Spice
• Eucalyptus

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!

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!

vetiver is distilled from the roots of the vetiver plant

I love vetiver.  It’s soft, smoky, resinous scent is so calming and grounding that I will often just open up my bottle of essential oil in the midst of the busyness of moon haven and take a slow, deep breath.

The effect is almost instantaneous – a deep sense of calm and groundedness overtakes me.  My heartbeat starts to slow and I am reminded of the cool, damp earth and my connectedness with it.

I use vetiver for all of these reasons and more.  It helps to dispel negativity, anger and irritability.  It is also helpful for releasing grief and calming panic. It truly is the oil of tranquility.

For skin it is fantastic for helping with stretch marks and wound healing. It promotes hormonal balance and skin moisturisation.

The oil is steam distilled from the dried roots of the vetiver plant which is grown in Indonesia and India. Over the two year growing season the roots of this grass-like perennial can grow to 2.5 metres in length!

The base note of vetiver can be overpowering so I tend to only use it in relatively small proportions.

for example a lovely calming blend for the home is:

1 drop vetiver
4 drops sweet orange
2 drops clary sage
2 drops lavender

The soft smokiness of the vetiver will ground this blend and carry it throughout the day …allowing the scent to linger longer in the air.

At Moon Haven we use vetiver in our Grapefruit & Green Tea designer soap... yummy!