If you’re interested in aromatherapy, you likely already know that long before the days of mass-marketed pharmaceuticals, essential oils played a vital role not only in the fragrance industry, but also in healing – as they were used as natural, herbal remedies for many common ailments. A fact of which you may not yet be aware, however, is that almost all of the folk traditions surrounding the use of essential oils for healing purposes have scientific evidence to support their herbal claims.
In fact, many essential oils serve as the active ingredient (under a different name) in many over-the-counter and prescription medications. For example, the essential oil of peppermint is used in the prescription digestive aid Colperin, and many other drugs intended to treat indigestion (ever wonder why Peptol Bismol tastes minty?)
Though industry regulation prohibits anyone from claiming that essential oils can cure, prevent, or treat any injury or illness completely, there are many oils in addition to peppermint oil that have been shown to have beneficial effects on the human mind and body when applied topically or through steam inhalation. If you are interested in experimenting with essential oils for folk remedies, this chart of common essential oils for folk medicine should help you decide which ones you may wish to try.
One of the many reasons so many essential oils have been shown to be beneficial to health is that nearly all of them have disinfectant properties. So the next time you want to eliminate a foul-smelling odor from your home, instead of reaching for that aerosol can of chemical-based air freshener, you may wish to try making your own natural spray with one or more of these disinfecting essential oils.
Essential oils also make great natural skin care solutions. When used topically, they can help normalize troubled skin, help reduce the appearance of cellulite or wrinkles, and give your skin a golden glow unmatched by any synthetic body moisturizer. Additionally, essential oils will not linger in your skin’s deep layers and/or clog your pores as synthetic cosmetics so often do (and if they do remain in your system to some degree after accomplishing their aromatherapy purpose, there’s no harm to you, as they are infusing your body with natural vitamins and moisture – not chemicals.)
If you are interested in learning more about the healing powers of essential oils, consider scheduling an aromatherapy massage with a local aromatherapist. Not only will it feel great, but it will give you the opportunity to discuss your aromatherapy goals with a professional and discover which oils you should try using at home. Who knows? He or she may even recommend you purchase your essential oils from Castle Baths!
Sending a friend or loved one a get well spa gift basket is a wonderful way to show someone who has been hospitalized that you care. But, if that person has been hospitalized for cancer, and is undergoing or has undergone chemotherapy, you will need to think carefully about what types of spa products your gift basket includes.
If you’re a spa aficionado or you’ve been following our previous blog posts, you may know that there are five different skin types: normal, oily, dry/dehydrated, combination, and sensitive. The fact you must remember when selecting spa products for a chemo patient is that all post-chemo skin is sensitive skin, regardless of what type the patient had before undergoing treatment. A chemo patient’s normal skin type will reassert itself in time, but for several days, and sometimes even weeks after treatment, his or her skin will react like that of someone with very sensitive skin.
As such, spa products containing synthetic chemicals should be avoided whenever possible, as these may do more harm than good where the patient’s skin is concerned. Synthetic fragrances should also be avoided as these will cause the chemo patient to become nauseous and possibly develop headaches.
This does not mean, however, that every product you include in your spa gift basket must be unscented. Products that are scented with pure essential oils, rather than artificial fragrance oils, should be perfectly fine. They may even help speed your friend or loved one’s recovery along through aromatherapy.
Make sure your gift basket includes at least one type of body moisturizer, as post-chemo skin, in addition to being extremely sensitive, will be extremely dehydrated. If left untreated, post-chemo skin can even show symptoms of eczema such as peeling and cracking.
You or your recovering friend or loved one may also notice an unpleasant metallic smell emanating from within his or her skin. This is caused by the use of heavy metals in chemotherapy to kill cancer cells. So make sure your gift basket includes something to help deep-cleanse skin, detoxifying pores while masking odor. Bath salts are a great natural way to accomplish this.
Castle Baths is here to help you, your friends, and your loved ones stay beautiful, inside and out. If you have any questions regarding aromatherapy and chemo or are uncertain what you should and should not include in your gift basket, please ask us. We hope all of your friends and loved ones who are ill or injured feel better. Be sure to check back with us next week for more skin care education and tips.
If you’ve explored the Castle Baths website, you know that almost all of our products contain essential oils. But if you’re new to aromatherapy, you might be wondering, “What exactly are essential oils, and why are they so essential?”
Essential oils are the molecules responsible for giving plants their scent. The reason a lavender plant smells like lavender is because of its essential oils. These oils flow through the leaves, bark, flower petals, or fruit of plants. They function as the plant’s immune system, circulatory system, and endocrine system, allowing the plant to fight off insects and disease, heal wounds, and attract animals to pollinate and fertilize it for reproduction. Centuries ago, these oils were considered to be the “essence” or “inner nature” of plants, similar to what we would call the soul in humans, hence the term “essential oils.”
Some essential oils can only be derived from the flower petals of a plant, and thus, require more plants to produce a usable amount of oil. These types of essential oils are called absolutes, and are typically more expensive than oils that can be derived from bark, leaves, stems, or fruit.
Essential oils are essential in the literal sense as well, as they are necessary for the plant to survive and propagate. As stated, they are responsible for healing and protecting the plant, among other functions. These healing properties can be passed on to humans via inhalation of the aroma of these oils, a process termed “aromatherapy” in modern days. Depending on which aromas you inhale, essential oils can help you feel relaxed, energized, or even sexual. Essential oils are not synonymous with carrier oils such as jojoba oil or coconut oil. Carrier oils, while containing numerous skin care benefits such as moisturizing, are unscented and have no aromatherapy benefits.
Essential oils are extracted from their respective plants in laboratories via a process known as steam distillation. The process begins with the intact plant being suspended over boiling water while being housed in a closed container to prevent steam from escaping. The steam causes the essential oils to evaporate from the plant and travel upwards with the steam to the top of the container, where it enters a tube surrounded by cold water. The cold water forces the evaporated oil to return to its liquid state, as pure oil. It typically takes dozens if not hundreds of plants to produce even one ounce of pure essential oil.
The resulting oil is extremely potent, and a little goes a long way. Just one drop of peppermint essential oil is equivalent to the concentration of 20 peppermint tea bags. Often, the resulting oils will be blended with other essential oils to create unique, proprietary scents such as Castle Baths Classic line of aromatherapy products, which include the following scents:
Bathsheba – aromatherapy benefits include inspiring confidence and a romantic mood
Passion – aromatherapy benefits include arousal, stimulating of sexuality, and inspiring confidence
Jubilee – aromatherapy benefits include energizing of the mind and mody
Prayer – aromatherapy benefits include relaxation and helping people reach a spiritual, meditative state of mind
Restoration – aromatherapy benefits include helping to soothe feminine woes of midlife and relaxation
Sweet Communion – aromatherapy benefits include relaxation and helping to restore emotional balance
Sweet Dreams – aromatherapy benefits include relaxation and helping people reach a restful state of mind so they can drift off to sleep naturally
More information on specific essential oils and their uses can be found on Castle Baths’ essential oil page. Information on specific carrier oils we use in the making of our products can be found on Castle Baths ingredients page. Happy reading, and be sure to check our blog again next week too, as we will have new aromatherapy and skin care insights to share.
Our kids are growing up faster and have longer working years ahead of them than ever before – show your teenager how to naturally take care of their skin as well as relieve stress. After all, they will need this skill and this is advice that will be used on a daily basis (unlike some of your other advice)!
Sometimes, as adults, we forget how very stressful being a teenager can be. Hormones are all over the place, large decisions about where their life will head are coming up quickly and self-confidence is almost always an issue. Help your teen to be self assured, confident, and ready to face the changes and challenges that God has in store for them by teaching them how to relieve stress and protect their skin in a natural, healthy way.
Relieving Stress
It is imperative in the stressful, busy world we have brought our children into, that they learn how to relax and let stressful emotions go on a daily basis. Our Sweet Dreams scent can be found in several different product types (body wash, bath tea, aromatherapy oils, etc.) and will help your teen to relax, sleep well, and be ready for another day in their busy life.
Natural Skin Care
Nothing seems more important when you are a teenager than your appearance. If your teen suffers from lack of confidence in their skin appearance, it may be the kind of body wash or face wash that is being applied. See this video on the difference that a natural body wash makes versus a leading competitor’s body wash.
If you have a specific situation, and would like to discuss how our natural products could be used or applied to help, please contact us at (757) 788-8157 or by email.
Are you having a difficult time finding that ‘just right’ gift – we have the perfect choice!
For the woman who has everything – give the gift of beauty and pampering – a Castle Baths Spa Gift Basket. There are several options for which scent and mood your Mom may like best. We have our classic Jubilee scent for an energizing and revitalizing spa experience, our Sweet Dreams with lavender and vanilla will have her worries washing away down the drain.
Husbands, we have the perfect gift from you to your wife and the mother of your children – the Love and Passion gift basket may start you on making her a mother once more. After a Happy Mother’s Day dinner, this basket can become an entire night of romance; a warm, relaxing bath soak in Passion Bath Tea, then after the kids are in bed, by silver candle light, you can use the Passion Massage Oil to get her in the mood.
Make this Mother’s Day Memorable with a Gift Basket from Castle Baths.
I have had several clients tell me about their disappointing experiences with aromatherapy. There is nothing as bad as thinking you are going to be relaxed or rejuvenated and ending up with a headache, a rash, getting nauseous, or feeling like you can’t breathe through the experience.
The reason most people have this reaction to their Aromatherapy experience is due to the kinds of oil that are being used to create the aroma. This can be rectified and there is hope that you can have a relaxing and enjoyable aromatherapy experience.
What makes Castle Baths Aromatherapy Better?
Our oils! Our scents are created specially for the mood you desire and nothing is added that is not a natural ingredient.
How are Essential Oils different than Fragrance Oils?
We use only all natural ingredients and we do NOT use fragrance oils – we use Pure Essential Oils which reduce the risks that you will have a bad reaction.
What Aromas can I choose from?
We have several different scents you can choose from:
Maybe it was a long week, or maybe a long night last night – or maybe you just know that today is going to be a long one and you would like to make it through without tapping out all of your reserve energy?
Life can be exhausting, these days, Americans work more hours and take fewer vacations than any other country! We work hard and we play hard – so when do you get to relax? How do you keep that energy reserve full?
Well, we were wondering that ourselves. So we researched and found the specific aromas that make us feel more energized and are proven to boost mental focus as well as revitalize, renew, and reinvigorate! This led us to create our Energy Blend line of ingredients. These are specifically formulated lotions, oils, bath teas and salts, soaks, and soaps that can replenish your dwindling supply of energy on any given day.
It is said that our eyes are the window to our souls; I beg to differ. I believe that privilege falls to the nose. There are many things we still don’t fully understand about the human brain, but it is obvious that a smell can take you back in time. Perhaps a specific smell reminds you of your mother, or your father, a past lover or friend. The aroma of several flowers and fruits often provide other benefits, such as feeling more awake and full of energy, or helping you to relax and sleep through the night. It is this idea that has led us to customize several aromatherapy blends, called our CB-Classics, just for you.
Our Sweet Communion blend is about relaxation and balance; with calming lavender, and the sweet scent of woodsy balsam to help you unwind.
Our Sweet Dreams blend is specially blended for the deep, relaxing sleep that you need; with calming lavender and vanilla to sweep you off into slumber land.
Our Passion blend is formulated for indulgence, with lavender, sandalwood and a hint of rose to get your romance started off right.
Our Bathsheba blend is meant to highlight your allure with the aroma of rosewood and rose to bring him back to your arms.
Our Jubilee blend is for rejuvenation, with the aroma of bergamot and sweet grapefruit, you will be ready for whatever the day has to offer.
Our Restoration blend is made to restore your creative and womanly pursuits, with a rosy herbaceous blend of aromas to get you back to your usual self.
Our Prayer blend is about regaining your connection with God through lavender, bergamot, grapefruit, orange, and sunflower scents.
No matter your mood, we have a natural, aromatic option to help you be more yourself. Don’t hesitate – order your CB Classic Aromatherapy today!
Are you tense? Over worked? Stressed out? Don’t worry! We have just the thing for you! Our Castle Baths Classic Sweet Communion Gift Bag. This wonderful array of products is scented with a perfect blend of therapeutic grade Lavender and Ylang Ylang Essential Oils,which is sure to help you melt all of your stresses away and balance your mind, body, and spirit.
This Gift Bag includes:
Sweet Communion Body Wash
Sweet Communion Hand & Body Lotion
Sweet Communion Massage Oil
Gift Bag
This Sweet Communion Gift contains natural ingredients and natural nutrients that will feed your body, besides the aromatherapy benefits that will soothe, relax, and calm.
Our Sweet Communion Moisturizing Natural Body Wash is the perfect solution after a long hard working day, after the gym, or even when you are at play. It will cleanse your skin without harsh chemicals, it is detergent free, and is great for all skin types: oily, dry, or sensitive.
All natural, handmade Sweet Communion Hand and Body Lotion with Certified Organic Shea Butter contains Lavender, Ylang Ylang, Organic Rose Hydrosol, Sweet Certified Organic Almond Oil, Certified Organic Jojoba Oil, and Organic and Wild Crafted Essential Oils. This amazing lotion has been created to help conquer dry skin, unsightly age spots, stretch marks, and body wrinkles, while creating a protective balm for your skin.
Our Sweet Communion Massage Oil and its aromatherapy element, encourages relaxation and relief from daily stresses, and relief from charlie horses. You can use it for massage, or just to rub on elbows, feet, sore muscles or dry patches of skin.
Relaxing has never felt this good! Do yourself a favor, and don’t wait any longer to experience complete and total relaxation! Order yours today! You will be glad you did!
Pamper your feet today with our Castle Baths Natural Foot Bath Salts Gift Set. This array of products will definitely please your feet, while awakening your mind, body, and soul.
Our Bathsheba all natural Foot Bath Salts have a foot-drenching infusion that will cool and relieve your swollen, weary feet, while helping to reduce pain and inflammation, and melt away tension.
Sweet Communion Mineral Foot Bath Salts are ideal for soaking tired, sore feet. Restful feet are happy feet! This wonderful product has similar properties to the Bathsheba, but also moisturizes and detoxifies your feet.
Jubilee Mineral Foot Bath Salts will help to energize your feet and put the bounce back in your step! This product is ideal for itchy, dry feet, and even Athletes Foot. They will reduce redness and irritation of the bridge, heel, and toe joint areas, reduce soreness, and feed your skin with nutrients and minerals.
Sweet as candy, leaving your feet even sweeter…yet adding no calories to your diet! Our Castle Baths Spearmint Foot Scrub Candy is perfect for scrubbing, exfoliating, and moisturizing all in one. These little candies are very helpful for softening your heels, and are deliciously scented with Spearmint Essential Oil for a little aromatherapy while you soak.
Our feet do so much for us…so do something nice for them. Treat your feet like royalty, and order your Natural Foot Bath Salts Gift Set today!! Your feet will thank you.
In fact, many essential oils serve as the active ingredient (under a different name) in many over-the-counter and prescription medications. For example, the essential oil of peppermint is used in the prescription digestive aid Colperin, and many other drugs intended to treat indigestion (ever wonder why Peptol Bismol tastes minty?)
If you are interested in learning more about the healing powers of essential oils, consider scheduling an aromatherapy massage with a local aromatherapist. Not only will it feel great, but it will give you the opportunity to discuss your aromatherapy goals with a professional and discover which oils you should try using at home. Who knows? He or she may even recommend you purchase your essential oils from Castle Baths!
