Colorful Description

On my friend’s farm in central Colorado grows rows of lavender, and by mid-summer its flowers fragrantly scent nearby fields. While working on the farm, I find my spirits lifted and happy despite the intense heat and my tiring muscles. It is no wonder that for much of history, lavender has been used in sachets and oils alike to bring pleasure as well s reduce stress and anxiety. Other traditional therapeutic uses include as a sleep-aid, relief from pain and headaches, an anti-inflammatory, treatment for cough and respiratory infection, and as an insect repellent as well as a perfume. Greeks, Romans and Egyptians alike have all recorded using lavender in various remedies. Today, lavender is mostly used in the same way - widely used to dress wounds, induce sleep, ease depression and reduce stress. It can also be found in ingredients of teas and culinary dishes and of course the delightful scent in perfume. Current research is investigating the antimicrobial as well as anti-cancer properties of lavender essential oil.

Although generally known as lavender, there are actually thirty-nine species of the genus Lavendula, yet only a handful is used commercially. This fragrant plant is native to the Mediterranean region south to tropical Africa and to the southeast region of India. Today lavender is successfully cultivated in southern Europe, Australia and the United States. Aromatherapists distinguish lavender species according to their therapeutic uses and medicinal properties. True lavender (L. officinalis, L. angustifolia) when distilled at high elevations is known for its large percentage of ester content and regarded as the best in quality. Uses for true lavender include cases involving anxiety, stress, small burns, cuts and insect bites. Spike lavender (L. spica, L. latifolia) is known for its camphor content and thus used for respiratory infections, for muscular aches and pains and as a possible stimulant. Lavendin (L.fragrans, L. burnatti) is a hybrid of true lavender (L. angustifolia) and spike lavender (L. latifolia) and commonly used for large-scale commercial purposes. Stoechas lavender (L. stoechas) is used as an expectorant and known for its antimicrobial properties.

Reducing Anxiety

Lavender is well recognized as an agent able to support a reduction in anxiety, mainly due to its high linalool levels. The physiological process of reducing anxiety through the use of essential oils is quite phenomenal. Once the diffused molecules of essential oil enter the nasal cavity, they bind to receptor sites of the olfactory neurons which then trigger a cascade of events. In short, the olfactory neurons send messages to the olfactory nerve and then onto the olfactory bulb (located just three inches from the brain) where messages are initially processed. Within the olfactory bulb are input and output stations, the glomeruli and M/T (mitral and tufted) cells respectively. The olfactory output from the bulb to the brain has several targets, mainly the primary olfactory cortex and the higher olfactory associated areas where olfactory discrimination, perception and memories take place. The other is the limbic system, sometimes referred to the ‘nose’ brain comprising a complex system of 122 regions and associated areas which together is heavily responsible for the expression of emotion. Main structures of the limbic system (LS) are the amygdala, septum, hippocampus, anterior thalamus, and hypothalamus.

True lavender (L. angusifolia) is thought to have a sedative effect on the amygdala, which is considered to plays a role in processing emotion as well as governing emotional response and greatly responsible for the sensation of fear. Recent science studies looking at anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) propensities of lavender are numerous. A University of Central Lancashire, UK study (J Ethnopharmacol. 2007 May 22; 111(3): 517-25) investigated the effects of lavender odor inhalation on the behavior of gerbils (a type of rodent often used in laboratory research) and noted that exposure to lavender may have an anxiolytic effect in gerbils similar to that of the common anti-anxiety medication diazepam. A recent study published in Holistic Nursing Practice (2009 Mar-Apr; 23(2): 88-93) concluded that the use of lavender (as well as rosemary) essential oil sachets reduced stress-taking anxiety for graduate nursing students. Also in 2009, a study published in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology (Nov 23) found that dental patients who were exposed to lavender scent had a reduction in their forthcoming procedure.

Other Applications for Lavender

A rather haphazard discovery of lavender in the use of tissue regeneration was made by the late Dr. Rene-Maurice Gattefosse (a French cosmetic chemist) who after he severely burned his hands in a laboratory accident, submerged them in a container of lavender essential oil and noted the remarkable speed at which they healed. More recent research has newly discovered the possible antimutagenic (inhibits mutations) effect of lavender. In this study (Food and Chemical Toxicology 2005 Sept; 4319: 1381-7) scientists noted antimutagenic effects of lavender oil (L. angustifolia) on a strain of Salmonella bacteria, concluding that such uses of lavender may be promising for applications in modern human healthcare. Other uses, such as antimicrobial and antiviral have been recognized and supported on the University of Maryland Medical Center website (www.umm.edu).

Conclusion

The physiological pathway for molecules of lavender essential oil to reach the brain is remarkable. By following the molecular trail into the nasal cavity and its subsequent neurological reactions, one can better appreciate the recognized stress-reducing qualities found in lavender. Traditional uses of lavender are now being investigated and their diverse applications more fully understood. With science now uncovering the specialization of olfactory receptor sites for certain scent molecules, aromatherapy becomes an even more valuable remedy for maintaining wellness. We would all do well to familiarize ourselves and perhaps re-remember what our ancient brain (the limbic area) has stored for thousands, even millions of years- molecules of scent, and in this case lavender, are powerful and effective.

Read more about the use of natural botanicals for skin care.

The anti aging skin care products and cosmetics industries are huge businesses, turning over billions of dollars a year. There are lots of US women looking for solutions to looking younger and looking good, and plenty of big companies that take advantage of this.

But many mainstream anti aging skin care products just don’t work. The cosmetics and skin care industry is quite unregulated in the US, and so the big cosmetics and skin care companies can put any product on the market without first proving that it works, and even without showing that it is safe for the people who use it.

As a result there are many anti aging skin care treatments available that don’t work, and contain suspect, or known to be dangerous ingredients.

But even so there are massive numbers of skin care and anti aging products sold and advertised for their ability to make your skin look younger and you look great.

So how do you navigate through all the hype and choose a range of anti aging skin care treatments that actually work, and don’t contain dangerous ingredients?

Here’s how not to choose good anti aging products.

1. Don’t buy skin care and anti aging products with fragrances. Now we all like to smell good, and the big companies know that so use fragrances. Look younger and smell good at the same time.

Unfortunately there’s 2 problems here. First the skin care cream or other anti-aging cream that you’ve bought probably won’t do much to make you look younger.

And second, fragrances are just chemicals and not really all that good for you. It’s the same with perfumes, but you just dab a little perfume here and there, you don’t apply it to a wide area like you do with, say, a moisturizer.

2. Don’t buy anti aging skin care creams with collagen in them. Now we all know that as we age our skin loses collagen, so surely we need collagen replaced to combat the sagging and wrinkling and lines that come with skin aging?

Yes and no. Yes we need to replace that lost collagen, and no adding it to the bottles of anti-aging products like those moisturizers and day creams and night creams and so on doesn’t work. It doesn’t work because collagen molecules are too large to penetrate the skin, and so it just stays on the surface.

The only way to increase the levels of collagen in our skin is to stimulate the skin to make more collagen itself.

So why is that collagen in the bottle, and why is that big name celebrity on TV telling you how much younger they look? Because the anti aging companies know that people buy the products if they have collagen in them, so they sell lots of bottles.

Even if it’s got dangerous ingredients in it like fragrances and doesn’t do all that much it still sells fast.

That’s marketing.

Problem is, all this marketing is expensive. The good looking celebrity has to be paid, usually lots, the fancy bottles need to be purchased, and the advertising costs a bomb.

So even though that anti aging treatment doesn’t do much, other than make you smell better, it costs a bomb. And people assume if it costs that much it has to work.

And there’s lots more things to avoid when choosing a good anti-aging skin care treatment. That’s 2, for more visit my website.

So maybe you should just give up on anti-aging products because they don’t work? No. There are excellent anti-aging products that work fine, are moderately priced and use ingredients known to be safe.

But these products aren’t made by the mainstream companies you would know now. They are made by small niche skincare companies that don’t advertise on TV. Because they don’t spend megabucks on TV advertising their products are competitively priced, and that ’s also why you’ve probably never heard of these companies.

Don’t despair. I’ve shown you just some of the things to avoid when choosing anti aging skin care products, and told you there are excellent alternatives. Now it’s up to you. Find out more on my website.

Want to know more about Natural Skin Care products that work? Visit Peter’s Website Natural Health-Natural Skin Care and find out more about Organic Anti-aging Products.

Tanning bed bulbs are used in every tan bed or suntan lamp in the shops. When you are buying a new or especially a used suntan bed, make a careful examination of the bulbs. Make sure that they are proper tanning bulbs and meet the FDA regulations with regard to health and safety. You should also estimate how difficult it is to get at the bulbs. Make sure that the lamps are easy to change when the time comes. It is very important, and a lot cheaper, if you can perform such simple maintenance yourself, if you have a home tanning bed.

There are two very different, non-interchangeable types of lamps used in low pressure and high pressure beds. You need to make sure you buy the right sun bed lamps for your sun bed, because you cannot use just any bulb you like. If you are buying replacement bulbs on the Internet, check the make and model of your existing lamps very carefully, because you have to make sure that the bulbs you are ordering are made for your bed.

High Pressure Tanning Bulbs: high pressure beds have quartz-tube lamps in a multitude of sizes. The gases used in these bulbs are pressurized to slightly higher than atmospheric pressure. The bulbs in these beds are located in the top of the bed, so that you tan only from above. When you have tanned the skin on one side of your body for about 10-12 minutes, you turn over and tan the other side. The flat bed of these devices is a great deal more comfortable than a regular tanning bed.

One of the biggest benefit of these HP bulbs is the amount of time you have to spend on the tanning bed. Since you tan faster, you need to spend less time in the tanning salon, which means it works out cheaper. You can achieve the level of tan you want in about three weeks of three to five sessions a week. However, with a low pressure bed, it would take you at least a month to acquire the same level of colour. Maintaining your tan is much easier too. You only need two or three sessions a month to maintain the colour, as opposed to four times that many visits to a low pressure salon bed. Many of these bulbs produce UVA rays only, not UVB rays which cause sunburn.

Conventional Sun Bed Lamps: Conventional, or low pressure beds use long tube lamps that look like household fluorescent tubes. The lamps are located in the top and the bottom of the sun bed, which means that all the body parts are tanned at the together, without needing to roll over during the tanning session.

Low pressure beds use UVA and UVB rays in varying mixes. Some use both rays and others emit mostly UVA with some UVB rays. UVA rays are responsible for the (premature) ageing effects on the skin and UVB rays are the burning rays that produce skin burn when you are outside in the sun. It is very important to determine which kind of rays your sun bed’s bulbs emit. You must ensure you replace your existing bulbs with the same new lamps after about 1,000 hours of use.

Another factor when selecting the type of bed you use at home or in the salon, is the tanning bed lotion you will use. Different lotions are better for each type of bed. The staff at your tanning salon can help you choose a lotion that will work for the bed you are using and your skin type. No matter what bed you are using, you should definitely always use a lotion. Lotions help you tan more quickly and moisturise your skin at the same time.

Oh, how we loved finger-painting when we were children. Luckily for us women, we can still play with paints, only now we use lovely brushes and we call our paints cosmetics.

First, learn your skin type - normal, oily, dry or combination - and its characteristics. Skin is composed of a combination of proteins, collagen and elastins, so the first step in skin care is to eat a healthy diet and get plenty of exercise. If this seems a little like biology class, you’re right! Skin is the largest organ in our bodies, and the skin on our faces can be especially vulnerable. So we have to learn how to treat it right.

Speaking of intelligence, you can improve your cosmetics confidences by taking good care of your skin. It’s the largest organ of our bodies and serves important purposes to keep our internal workings inside us, and to protect us from outside hazards such as bacteria. So it deserves our best attention.

Start by learning your skin type - normal, dry, oily or combination. Then set up a daily routine of cleansing, toning and moisturizing your skin. It may seem like a lot of work, but it actually only takes five minutes twice a day. Do this routine faithfully twice a day and there will a healthy “canvas” for your cosmetic art.

Then comes the part that always makes women a little nervous: selecting the right shade of foundation to wear. Somehow those shades that can look so beautiful in the bottle in the store just don’t match well when we use them. Ever wonder why? Chalk it up to two things.

Selecting the right shade of foundation makes most women, even experienced cosmetics buyers, anxious. That’s because shades can vary from brand to brand, and skin tone changes, depending on how much sun you’ve hand lately and whether you’re in good health.

Many beauty consultants advise women to choose cosmetics that complement with your tone and hair color. Fair-skinned blondes look good in neutrals and pastels, while “California girls” with their sun-bleached hair and deep tans can go for deeper tones. Dark-haired women with fair skin can look terrific in dramatic cosmetics (think Catherine Zeta-Jones, for instance). Women with dark skin and hair are stunning when they use cosmetics to bring out highlights.

Remember what we said at the start about learning some medical facts for choosing cosmetics? Here’s a little more: Buy the best cosmetics you can afford. Why? Because in most cases, cheaper cosmetics can contain chemicals that are bad, bad, bad for your skin! Even higher price doesn’t necessarily mean good quality, so read the labels. Watch for such things as fragrance, chemical colorings and the like. Most good-to-best quality cosmetics don’t use such things, but always check to make sure.

Finally, when choosing cosmetics, it’s always a good idea to have a friend along. For one thing, selecting cosmetics or getting a quick makeover at the counter is fun! For another, it’s good to get a “second opinion” on whatever the beauty consultant may offer you, or something that may be enticing. After all, you want your cosmetics to enhance your natural beauty, not turn you into a nightmare.

Do you want to know what causes cold sores? The answers may surprise you. Read this excellent article to uncover what causes cold sores for you.

The herpes simplex virus is basically what causes cold sores in everyone.

Of all those infected, about a third will never get a cold sore. The virus will stay dormant deep in the root cells of the facial nerves. The other two-thirds of us will get repeated outbreaks.

If the herpes virus decides to replicate, it will move to the surface and enter your cells there. This destructive virus then forces the cells to create new virus particles.

Swelling of the area occurs as the cells bulge with the new virus. Once full, the cells are destroyed - releasing the virus hoards and creating your cold sore crater.

The herpes simplex virus is the root cause of all cold sores. But, to stop cold sores, you need to know what actually activates this virus.

Below you will discover the top three triggers responsible for herpes virus activation and replication.

1. YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM IS TOO WEAK.

High cold sore immunity depends on strong antibodies. These are the soldiers your body creates to protect your cells. Building effective antibodies requires specific nutrients.

The vigor of your antibodies is directly related to your vitamin and mineral intake - from food and supplements.

If you suffer frequent outbreaks, it is a sign of immune weakness. Eat more fresh, uncooked vegetables and fruits. These provide the best quality nutrients.

You also would be wise to start taking vitamin supplements every day. This may be all you need to do to heal and prevent cold sore misery. But avoid worthless bargain vitamins.

Buy the highest quality supplements you can afford. Look for high levels of B (50 - 100 mg.) and C (500 mg.) vitamins. These burn up fast and must be replaced daily.

2. HIGH ARGININE TO LYSINE RATIO.

These two essential amino acids, arginine and lysine, are important for your good health. They also play a big role in cold sore events.

For the cell to create new herpes simplex virus, it must use arginine. Without arginine, herpes virus cannot be created nor will a cold sore happen.

Herpes virus cannot be built using lysine. Your cells store both these amino acids in the same area. The more of one means less of the other.

Taking in high amounts of lysine crowds out arginine and helps stop cold sore formation. Eating fish and dairy works well. Most people, however, use lysine capsules for convenience - a powerful cold sore treatment.

3. YOUR pH BALANCE IS TOO ACID.

On the pH scale 7 is neutral. Above 7 is alkaline, below 7 is acid. For optimal health, you want to stay in the alkaline range.

Your body will usually range between 6.6 and 7.35 pH. Any drop below 7 into the acid zone reduces your resistance and could activate the herpes simplex virus.

Acid pH means lower oxygen levels and weak resistance to pathogens. Contributing factors that can cause your body to be acid include soda, sugar, white flour and tobacco.

Also, winter weather causes acid pH levels. Cold air, less outdoor exercise and lower availability and intake of fresh vegetables all contribute to an acid body.

Avoid acid creating food and stress situations. Eat more green vegetables - asparagus is excellent for this. Also, vitamin stores often carry kits for raising your pH to healthy levels.

There a few other more advanced causes of cold sores I would love to share with you, but I am out of space and time here.

These are the three basic causes, however, that will help you determine what causes cold sores in your life - and help to eliminate them completely.

Acne can really be a problem for a lot of people, it affects so many of us and can continuously fight back in repeat breakouts to the annoyance of the subject. Treating the acne is naturally a real concern for many people.

The use of just a few tips to improve your acne skin care routine can make all the difference. Very often you only have to make a few adjustments here and there to the way you care for your skin in order to get results you desire.

One very important thing to note is that you must be gentle with your skin, it is all too common for people when they have acne to start scrubbing their face and generally being hard on their skin.

More oil on your face is a problem because of the way acne or pimples are formed. You see pimples are created when oil, bacteria and dirt start to collect in the pores of your skin, so more oil is definitely not desired.

The thing is though just maintaining clean skin is not enough as we are always going to have some oil and dirt on our faces and what actually causes pimples to form ultimately is the layer of skin that forms over the dirty pores.

Removing the dead skin from your face every few days or at the very least twice a week is a very important step to ridding yourself of acne, since this prevents your dirty pores from getting covered up and forming pimples.

Like everything this can be overdone resulting in possibly dryer skin or leaving your skin raw and more exposed to the elements, so caution is necessary, nevertheless exfoliating is important and so should be done.

When you need to treat a breakout of acne, acne skin care products can do a good job as the majority of them will clean up your skin removing the dirt and bacteria and also dry up a lot of the oil on your face.

You must remember however that anti-acne skin care products normally are not for prevention and instead only work when treating the pimples already on your face. Also you should avoid using these products on areas of your face that are not covered in pimples as these products tend to be very strong.

Sensitive areas like your neck and cheats, if without pimples, would probably end up dry and or red and irritated if you were to apply such products on them.

You should be able to enjoy healthier skin by applying what you have learnt in this article as long as you do it on a continuous basis. Just remember that anti-acne skin care is only for treating acne and should not be used on other acne free areas of your skin.