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Newsletter - January 2008

Hello and a Happy New Year to everyone!

We hope that you had a great time during the Christmas holiday break, and trust that you have survived the celebrations reasonably intact!

What with all the Xmas shopping, cooking for hordes of relatives, doing mountains of washing up and then the bargain-hunting in the January Sales - it can really take its toll on you. The chances are you need to wind down now, and a soothing yet energising boost for both mind and body would be just the thing.

So to kick off the new year we begin with some tips on the easiest and laziest way ever to enjoy an aromatherapy treatment - a relaxing soak in the bath! In Home Spa Heaven! Sue reveals the wisdom of the ancient Romans and shows you the easiest way to get maximum benefits from an aromatic bath.

New to our range for 2008 are some great eBooks, a new ceramic burner and a personal aromatherapy-steam inhaler - just the thing whilst all those nasty flu bugs are going around!

Instead of profiling an essential oil, this month in our Oil Profile we report on a vegetable oil that is largely ignored in the west despite its use for over 2,500 years in the Middle East. We are talking about Black Seed, and Geoff discusses this remarkable oil which boasts a distinguished and celebrated list of advocates and therapeutic qualities.

This month it has been announced that complementary therapies are to be regulated in the United Kingdom, and this of course will include aromatherapy. The new organisation to regulate this will be the Natural Healthcare Council which will be launched in Spring.

In reality, our industry has been working towards this position for many years now, and it would appear that as far as aromatherapy is concerned, much of the groundwork for this had already been put in by previous organisations such as the Aromatherapy Organisation Council (AOC) and the Aromatherapy Council (OC). Read the full story here.

Bath-time Bliss Collection Special Offer!

Soak away the stresses and strains of the Christmas celebrations or the New Year bargain-hunting with our Bath Time Bliss Collection Set which contains everything you need to get a great start to 2008.

This fantastic collection of relaxing and de-stressing products would normally cost £59.20, but throughout January you can buy it online for only only £49.99 - bringing you a fantastic saving of over 15%!

And that's not all - you will also receive a Botanical Candle worth £7.99 absolutely FREE! This very special offer includes:-

Relax Bath Soak 200ml
Soak away your stresses and strains with this heavenly combination of soothing and comforting Geranium, Sandalwood and Rose essential oils.

Muscles & Joints Bath Soak 200ml
After a strenuous days bargain hunting, this soothing blend of Marjoram Sweet, Chamomile Roman and Cardamon oils will ease your tired, aching muscles and leave you feeling relaxed and rejuvenated.

Stress Synergy 10ml
Geranium, Basil and Juniper Berry and Geranium oils are skillfully blended to soothe, balance and strengthen both the mind and body.

'Angels' Relaxing Music CD
A compilation of atmospheric and evocative music from renowned musicians to bring you you peace, calm and tranquility. Pure listening pleasure.

Bath & Shower Set
Included in this great Personal Care Set is a net complexion sponge to gently lather up soaps and gels, mini loofah, invigorating body brush and a natural bristle nailbrush.

Vanilla & Oatmeal Soap
Oatmeal is one of natures mildest exfoliators, gently lifting dirt, oil and dead skin cells away leaving your skin feeling smooth, soft and fresh. The luscious aroma of vanilla is soothing and comforting to the senses, and absolutely irresistible!

Scanda Ceramic Burner
This attractive ceramic burner features a one-piece design that means goodbye to the problem of broken lids caused by dropping! The stylish curved lines of this timeless design will complement any type of décor.

FREE Botanical Candle
Gift wrapped and tied with a white silk bow, this hand-made stylish cube candle is decorated with delicate botanicals on all four faces.

And there's more - when you order your Bath-time Bliss Collection online - the price even includes delivery to your door!

But don't delay - we only have 50 Botanical Candles to give away this month - when they run out the offer will close. Place your order now and claim your Free Botanical Candle before they are all gone!

 

Home Spa Heaven!

If you have successfully survived yet another hectic Christmas, you may need a little TLC to help put back what the seasonal celebrations have taken out of you!

But where do you start - if you're totally exhausted you certainly won't feel much like rushing off to a beauty salon, let alone embarking on any form of exercise. Perish the thought. So when you're feeling totally pooped and in need of a little pampering, where do you turn for help?

As always, aromatherapy provides us with the perfect solution in the form of a long, lazy, soak in a bath-tub containing restorative essential oils. What could be easier - or more therapeutic?

The relaxing and soothing effect of the essential oils helps to ease aching tired muscles whilst refreshing a weary mind. Pure and simple luxury, and a much cheaper treatment than a trip to the beauty salon!

The art of bathing

The ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans all understood and employed the powerful, therapeutic healing properties of water. In fact the Romans developed the art of bathing into a national pastime by building highly sophisticated public baths known as Thermae.

In each building would be three pools; hot, lukewarm and cold which were respectively known as the caldarium, tepidarium and frigidarium. Sometimes there would also be a steam bath, which was called the sudatorium.

Water was also a symbol of religion, and the rivers Nile, Jordan, Euphrates and Ganges were all considered sacred. Even today, Hindus still believe that to die in or on the banks of the Ganges ensures forgiveness of all earthly sins. In many sacred traditions, water was infused with prayer, chants, or songs to wash away physical and emotional ailments.

This unique healing art is now being revived thanks to the availability of therapeutic essential oils and other beauty spa products. And you can easily turn your bathroom into a healing sanctuary just using your aromatherapy products plus a few simple accessories.

Sound and light

Relaxing music and the flicker of candlelight creates a lovely relaxing atmosphere and forms the very heart of your health spa, so choose some music according to your mood before running your bath. To create a truly relaxing effect, light a few candles or small votives around the bath, and you will feel more relaxed right away.

Choose the essential oils you want according to your requirements and add them to your bath after running the water. Adding your oils too early can be wasteful since a large proportion will evaporate before you even get into the bath. So put your drops of oil in the bath just before stepping in, and use a dispersant to ensure your oils distribute nice and evenly on the surface of the water.

Bath blends

Try adding two drops each of Ylang Ylang, Lavender and Bergamot to soothe away the stresses, strains and hangovers of the New Year parties! You only need to use a total of 6 or 8 drops of essential oil, since generally speaking, more is not necessarily better for achieving the desired result in aromatherapy.

An equal blend of Geranium, Lavender and Sandalwood is absolutely heavenly, as is Roman Chamomile, Lavender and Bergamot. Any blend containing either Rose, Neroli or Jasmine is bound to be deliciously relaxing, but if you do not have any of these oils there are plenty of other relaxing ones to choose from.

Take a load off

If your legs and tootsies are still tired from all that New Year's bargain hunting try a blend of Sweet Marjoram, Black Pepper and Rosemary to quickly ease them back to normal. These oils are great in a bath, but they will work equally well in a simple foot-soak too.

Carrying large bags of shopping can play havoc with your shoulders and back, so if they are aching try a blend of Roman Chamomile, Ginger and Lavender to help lift the load. If you just need an uplifting boost of energy, try a mix of Grapefruit, Lavender and Melissa for a quick and easy pick-me-up.

Of course, you can exchange any of these essential oils for your particular favourites, and this is one of the true joys of aromatherapy. Just be sure to take note of how many drops of each oil you used, so that if you really like it you can reproduce your blend again.

You should never underestimate the therapeutic power of an aromatherapy bath, it is one of the finest (and easiest) ways to enjoy all the healing benefits essential oils can bring. In fact I'm off to have one now . . . . .

I hope to see you next time. Take good care until then.

 

New products for 2008

The latest additions to our range this month is a choice selection of great eBooks, a new Ceramic Vaporiser and personal Inhaler to help keep all those nasty flu bugs away!

Over the coming months we will be adding more categories to our collection of eBooks to bring you a wider range of choice within the areas of health, well-being and self-development.

Why eBooks? Well, there are several reasons. Convenience is a major benefit. An eBook is supplied in electronic format and downloaded straight onto your computer, which means no trudging round the shops or waiting for days or weeks for the delivery to arrive.

You simply pay for your order and within minutes you can download your eBook and start reading immediately. Absolutely perfect when you need information really quickly to solve a problem or start a project over the weekend.

Another advantage with eBooks is that they take up no space at all in your home, so you don’t need a library or a wall full of bookshelves that groan under all the weight! You can store thousands of eBooks on your computer and find exactly the one you want much more quickly than hunting round your house for it.

You can even search an eBook to find exactly the piece of information that you want - within seconds, instead of having to laboriously flick through all the pages of a conventional book to find the part that you are looking for. Best of all, put your eBooks on a laptop computer and you can read them anytime, anywhere. How cool is that!

Conservation is the final major benefit. Because eBooks are published in electronic form they save the earths precious resources. Every time traditional books are printed we deplete the planet of trees plus the oil for fuel to transport raw materials for their production. Then there is further fuel required for the delivery of the finished book. In comparison, eBooks are a truly green alternative.

Scanda Ceramic Burner

Our latest ceramic burner features a one-piece design that means goodbye to the problem of broken lids that are caused by dropping! The stylish curved lines of this timeless design with a nice, deep lid, will complement every type of décor.

Simply add your favourite Essential Oil, Mood Enhancer or Synergy , light the tealight, make yourself comfortable and prepare to relax in waves of beautiful aroma.

Aroma-Clear Inhaler

Keep the bugs at bay this winter with a steam-inhaler designed to efficiently vaporize your essential oils for easy inhalation.

This lightweight and portable two piece unit can be taken anywhere to provide a safe and effective way to use steam and essential oils to help relieve respiratory or congestion symptoms that cause so much discomfort.

Doctors recommend vapour therapy for the symptomatic relief of colds, flu, bronchitis, catarrh, sinusitis and laryngitis. Combined with antiviral and clearing essential oils, this non-powered inhaler is absolutely ideal for bringing relief throughout the winter.

Simply fill the container base with very hot water, add 3 to 4 drops of essential oil, twist the top unit into place and gently inhale the vapours for instant relief. The vapours are directed straight to the nasal passages and throat without the hassle of the old, inefficient method of placing a towel over your head!

The Aroma-Steam Inhaler is easy to clean, lightweight and takes apart for easy storage or transportation. Simple, but effective relief.

To see all of the new additions to our range, plus many other recently introduced items, just go to our New Products page where you can view them all.

 

Oil Profile - Black Seed (Nigella sativa)

Black Seed is a cold pressed vegetable oil derived from the seeds of the bushy, flowering plant Nigella sativa. The plant is known by a wide range of pseudonyms including fennel flower, nutmeg flower, Roman coriander, onion seed, and in the USA it is known as charnushka, which is derived from Russian.

Even more confusingly, both the seeds of the plant and the derived oil are sometimes referred to as black cumin or black caraway.

Black seed is an annual plant with stiff, thin branching stems, lacy grey-green leaves and attractive terminal whitish or blue flowers. The flowers are followed by a fruit capsule, which when mature opens to reveal small, triangular seeds that turn black upon exposure to the air.

These seeds have very little odour, but when ground or chewed they produce a spicy aromatic, oregano-like fragrance or flavour, hence its popular use as a spice throughout history. The plant may have either an upright or sprawling habit that can reach a height of 30-60 centimetres (12-24 inches).

Originally native to Syria, Nigella sativa is cultivated today in many Mediterranean countries, North Africa, Asia Minor, India and the Near East for its tasty seeds which are used in cooking.

The seed of blessing

This herb has an astonishing history, having been used for over 3,000 years for both culinary and medicinal purposes. The holy prophet Mohammad famously stated in his Hadith (teachings) "Hold on to the use of the black seed for it has a remedy for every illness except death." Quite a recommendation, don't you think?

Nigella seeds were found in the tomb of Tutankhamun, and black seed oil (amongst other botanicals) was reported to have been used by Cleopatra to retain her beauty.

Dioscorides, a Greek physician of the 1st century, recorded that black seeds were taken to treat intestinal worms, digestive disorders, headaches, nasal congestion and toothache. Avicenna (Ibn Sina), who wrote the great medical treatise 'The Canon of Medicine' referred to it as ‘the seed that stimulates the body's energy and helps recovery from fatigue’.

In Middle Eastern countries black seed was so revered it was given the Arabic approbation ‘habbat ul barakah’, which means ‘the seed of blessing’ or ‘the blessed seed’, due to its amazing wealth of health-giving benefits.

Aromatherapy uses

In aromatherapy, black seed proves to be an extremely versatile oil that can be used in a multitude of ways to improve the condition of the skin and hair, as well as being put to use as a carrier oil in the traditional way for massaging. It is a rich oil, yet has a light, silky texture which feels wonderfully luxurious on the skin and is quickly absorbed when used on the face. Despite its deep moisturising qualities, it does not leave the skin feeling greasy at all.

As you know, the vegetable oils used in aromatherapy do not usually have much of a perceptible odour, but along with unrefined avocado and wheatgerm, black seed is an exception. It has a slightly medicinal and spicy fragrance that is noticeable, but certainly not unpleasant, - and its wealth of benefits far outweighs this! Of course, once any essential oils are added to the oil its unique fragrance is instantly masked.

Black seed oil is particularly rich in unsaturated and essential fatty acids which makes it perfect as a skin food – it nourishes, soothes and softens dry skin and improves eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis and acne type conditions. This oil makes the perfect overnight facial treatment, and when used regularly it greatly improves the general condition of the skin, enhancing its texture and softness. Some research suggests it may have a wrinkle-softening effect – and wouldn’t that be a nice bonus!

As a carrier

Because of its unique and wide-ranging properties, black seed is the perfect carrier for treating muscular aches and pains, arthritis, rheumatism, strains and sprains – even without any essential oils. Naturally, adding essential oils will greatly improve the efficacy of this method of treatment; black pepper, chamomile Roman and German, clove bud, eucalyptus, ginger, lavender, juniper berry and marjoram sweet are all highly effective essential oils you can utilise.

For a full body massage you may find black seed slightly too rich, so mix it with a lighter oil such as almond or peach kernal - much the same way as is done with rosehip, calendula or St Johns Wort.

As more practitioners of aromatherapy become aware of its many benefits, I feel sure it is destined to become more popular. Along with Aloe vera, Black Seed is a giant amongst healing herbs, and its use throughout history plus the vast amount of research conducted into it surely supports its reputation.

Take care, and I hope you will visit us next month.

Complementary therapies to be regulated in UK

Complementary therapies such as aromatherapy, homeopathy and massage are to be regulated for the first time under a single new body, it has recently emerged.

The Prince of Wales's Foundation for Integrated Health (FIH) has backed the formation of the regulator, provisionally known as the Natural Healthcare Council. The voluntary body, due to be launched on April 1, will set national standards for practitioners. It will also have the power to strike off practitioners who are errant or incompetent.

Over the past year 12 such therapies - including aromatherapy, the Alexander technique, Bowen therapy, cranial therapy, homeopathy, massage, naturopathy, nutrition, reflexology, reiki, shiatsu and yoga - have been involved in developing the body's regulatory structure.

To opt into the body, each of these groups must develop the necessary criteria for regulation, based on national occupational standards. About five of the groups are expected to opt into the scheme in the spring, with more to follow.

Ian Cambray-Smith, FIH health profession manager, said: 'Regulation is about supporting the public and providing safeguards, rather than looking after the interests of the practitioner. The public will know that if they go to a registered practitioner that practitioner is safe and competent and have met a national training standard.'

He added. 'If they have a complaint then it's a one stop shop - a single regulatory body with a single phone number to deal with it. It also allows practitioners to say to their clients or potential clients that they have a kite mark.'

Practitioners would also have to show they are properly insured and have signed up to codes of conduct.

 

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