Category: Ingredients

A woman called me for advice the other day; I’m glad she did. She was told to make a natural insect repellent for her 2 year old son from the following items; 4 tbsp. witch hazel, 30 drops citronella essential oil, 20 drops rosemary essential oil. I was almost speechless but then managed to blurt […]

This time of year, I get a lot of inquiries to make commercial natural sunscreens or to help others make their own for personal use. My official position and other thoughts on this are as follows: Yes I do make sunscreens for myself and fully accept the risk, but I don’t make them for commercial […]

Did you know that many essential oils and ingredients have cooling and heating properties? Right now in the throes of summer heat, I will assume you want to know about cooling stuff, correct? Well there are many essential oils that have cooling effects like eucalyptus, peppermint, rosemary, lime and  other fine ingredients that promote cooling […]

Hemp Seed Oil – Unrefined – Organic Cold-pressed hemp seed oil has emerged as a complete nutritious oil for skin, hair and body. Relaxed government regulations have allowed people to finally discover this wonder oil which is a renewable and sustainable crop. It’s also processed right here in Canada. The oil contains more naturally occurring […]

Documented distillation of plants dates back to the 10th century.  Hundreds of chemicals used in products from paint thinners to pain killers came from naturally occurring chemicals found in plants.  While there are many other methods and new technologies to extract the precious chemistry of plants, distillation is a reasonable simple process for plants which […]

Commercial fabric softeners have come under increasing scrutiny as potentially hazardous. So what is the problem with them? Why should consumers look to natural alternatives? And, how did the need for fabric softeners develop? Fabrics have evolved over the years from natural fibers such as wool, hemp and cotton, to synthetic materials like rayon, polyester […]

Although essential oils contain the word “oil”, they are not oily, and are not to be confused with vegetable or carrier oils. The origin of the term “essential oil” dates back to the middle ages, as Alchemists rabidly searched for what was thought to be a “5th element”; the other four being fire, water, earth […]

Eucalyptus is a member of the Melaleuca or Myrtacea botanical family; one of the most useful and medicinal group of plants in the world. There are literally over 600 species of eucalyptus plants, most of which were originally native to Australia. Crops were exported and planted in different parts of the world to facilitate demand […]

If you plan to travel by airplane and take some essential oils or other natural remedies, there are a few things you need to know. In the past few years I have noticed much more enforcement and closer to zero tolerance for opposition to the rules. I don’t see as much of a problem with […]

Alcohol in Cosmetics is so misunderstood.  People are always commenting that they don’t want it in their products with that panicked almost hysterical tone in their voice followed by the usual rambling that it is toxic and will strip natural oils, dry out the skin and lead to severe dryness and irritation. Heaven forbid that […]