19/10/2007 by Joanna.

Essential Oils are mainly associated with aromatherapy and natural skincare, however, people are becoming more and more aware of their uses around the home.  There are many very toxic chemical cleaners on the market to help with your household cleaning, but if there was a safer, cheaper, more eco-friendly alternative would you use it ?  Of course you would and that’s why essential oils are fast becoming the new ‘green’ way of cleaning around the house. 

 Many essential oils have antibacterial properties and are natural disinfectants so they don’t just have a wonderful aroma, they actually kill the germs as well !

Lavender, Lemon, Lemongrass, Pine and Tea Tree essential oils are excellent oils which will get you ready for an environmentally friendly, spring clean !

Here’s a few recipes and tips to get you going :-

Anti-bacterial Surface cleaner

Water

Squirt of liquid castile soap

5 drops each of Lavender, Lemon and Lemongrass essential oils

Put in a spray bottle and shake well before each use.  

 You can also just add a few drops of essential oil to a damp cloth and wipe down surfaces.  2-3 drops of Lavender, Lemon or Pine are good essential oils to use for this.

Please note: pure essential oils can damage plastic, so ensure they are diluted well before use.  

Floor Wash 

Bucket full of water

1/4 cup of white vinegar

10 drops lemon essential oil

4 drops of thyme essential oil 

Mix well and mop !

Window Cleaner 

Spray bottle half full of water 

1 cup of white vinegar

16 drops of Lemon essential oil

Mix together and shake well before each use.

Other tips

Add a few drops of your favourire essential oil to a spray bottle. Shake well and spray onto your clothes whilst ironing.  Your clothes will then be freshly scented with your favourite aroma !

Put a few drops of essential oils into your hoover filter.  This will scent the house while you’re hoovering and can even lift your spirits if you use a ‘happy’ oil such as May Chang / Litsea Cubeba !  

Well that’s given you a few ideas for a chemical free clean.  If you have any other ideas we’d love to hear from you.  Happy cleaning !

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17/10/2007 by Joanna.

It seems that the use of synthetic chemicals in natural beauty is becoming more controversial.  People are becoming aware that there may be adverse reactions or side effects and the sales of natural and organic ingredients are increasing all the time.  Essential oils and natural ingredients have been used for thousands of years with many benefits and the new users are often amazed at the results. 

 I was very pleased to find an article in the Daily Mail (Femail) this week called   “The secret of natural beauty: Essential oils that will keep you looking younger for longer” .  If you click on this link the article gives 10 recipes for head to toe beauty to help with a more youthful look.  These recipes just have natural ingredients and are very straight forward to follow.  Most of the ingredients are ones that we sell and we are pleased to see that they include lovely oils like Argan, which are little known and difficult to find here in the UK.

 There are wonderful oils readily available which can be beneficial on wrinkles and aging skin.  The most popular carrier oils which are often used for wrinkles are Organic Rosehip oil, Organic Argan, Carrot Tissue, Camellia, Evening Primrose and Wheatgerm oils.  The most popular essential oils to help with aging skin are often Rose Otto, Frankincense, Palma Rosa, Carrot Seed, Sandalwood, Myrrh, Neroli, Geranium and Lavender essential oils.  

There are endless recipes available on the internet for free a quick search on Google should bring up many results.

 If you have any recipes or hints and tips on natural beauty please leave a comment.  In the mean time, we’ll keep searching for the miracle ’natural’ recipe to help us keep our youthful looks !

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12/10/2007 by Joanna.

So did you see the programme last night on Channel 4 ?   Sarah Beeny presented a documentary called How Toxic Are You ?.  It looked at our lifestyles and how we are subjected to hundreds of man-made chemicals every day.  The program mainly focussed on our cosmetics, toiletries and cleaning products and was really quite alarming.  Many chemicals were mentioned and the main ones were:-

Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulphate (SLS), a foaming and degreasing agent, in most shampoos, toothpastes, shower gels and bath foams.   

Triclosan, an anti-bacterial chemical used in most toothpastes and handwashes.  

Phthlates, a chemical which makes plastics flexible.  This is found in many day to day objects like credit cards and shower curtains, however, it is also used in many shampoos, nail polishes, hair sprays and moisturisers.  A common one to look out for is DEHP (di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate).

and Parabens, a synthetic preservative which can come in many forms and again is in most shampoos, shower gels, creams and lotions. 

I’ve been looking at ingredients on items I’ve personally purchased for a couple of years now and it’s hard to find products without these chemicals in from the large manufacturers.  Even products which imply they are natural, often show a long list of chemicals on the back. 

At Essential Oils Online, we’ve managed to successfully remove all the SLS’s from our base product range and I’m also pleased to say that this week all of our products are now Paraben free as well.  None of the base products have ever included Phthalates or Triclosan so this has not been as issue.  

 Our soaps are hand made with natural ingredients and our pure floral waters can make excellent toners and cleansers.  We also sell Organic base products to which you can add essential oils, to create your own unique blends.

All of our raw materials are 100% pure, which means you can make your own chemical free cosmetics and toiletries straight away.  There are many recipes available on the internet for home made products, many of these are quite easy to do and they are all very rewarding. 

 So if you feel like a change, even a small step can make a difference.  Good luck with it and we’d love to hear what ideas and tips you may have in the battle to reduce your chemical intake.

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12/10/2007 by Joanna.

Well hello everyone, we’re finally up and running on the blog after a very busy summer.  Since I set up this blog, we’ve moved into new premises and also got our first employee !   Rachel has joined our team and helps us deal with all the orders which keep coming in.  Thanks for your patience everyone with waiting for the blog,  I will now try and keep it updated regularly and if you’d like any particular subject covered please let us know.  We can cover everything from essential oils to lifestyle subjects.  Anyway must get on, I’ve got my first subject to write about - How Toxic Are You ?

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