Category Archives: Going Green

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Aloe Vera, The “First Aid” Plant

All About Aloe Vera

 

Aloe Vera Properties

Aloe Vera Is:

·       Anti-inflammatory
·       Antibacterial
·       Antifungal
·       Antiviral
·       Antioxidant

Aloe Vera plants produce a variety of substances with antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and antioxidant properties; Aloe Vera made the list of superfoods and super herbs!

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For thousands of years, people have used the gel from aloe vera leaves for healing and softening the skin. Aloe Vera is the “First Aid” plant.  The gel inside the Aloe Vera leaves is soothing & has incredible, natural, skin care properties!

Aloe Vera plants provide high amounts of vitamins and minerals; its leaf is filled with a gel containing at least 75 nutrients, 20 minerals, 12 vitamins, & 18 amino acids.

Aloe Vera produces at least six natural antiseptics, which are able to kill mold, bacteria, funguses, and viruses.  Learn about  ways to put your magical Aloe Vera plant to use after splitting the leaves lengthwise down the middle.

Aloe Vera Recipes

Exfoliate dry skin by mixing two tbsp. each Aloe Vera gel and organic brown sugar with two tsp. lemon juice

Mix equal parts of Aloe Vera gel with lemon juice to decrease dark spots and brighten skin. Aloe Vera can decrease pigmentation

Make a homemade burn healer by mixing 1/4 cup each Aloe vera gel and liquid Calendula with a few drops of vitamin E oil & Lavender Essential oil. Store in a little, airtight jar. Give Aloe Vera as gifts, share Aloe Vera with friends & family!

Soft feet! Get rid of Eczema!  Exfoliate feet, knees and elbows with a mixture of 1/2 c. each oatmeal, four tbsp. Aloe Vera gel, and 1/2 c. coconut oil

White flakes? Reduce hair dandruff by mixing Aloe Vera juice with coconut milk and wheat germ oil. Massage into scalp and rinse.

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Uses for Aloe Vera

Shaving – Replace shaving cream and use Aloe Vera gel; soothe razor burn and save money & your skin!

Dandruff – White flakes? Reduce hair dandruff by mixing aloe vera juice with coconut milk and wheat germ oil. Massage into scalp and rinse.

Exfoliator – coconut oil mixed with sugar or sea salt is a very nourishing and effective exfoliator and safe to use all over the body.

Athlete’s Foot – Relieve athlete’s foot by mixing Aloe Vera Gel with a drop or two of Tea Tree essential oil; it works!!

Frizz – helps smooth away those pesky static-frizzed hairs. Simply rub a bit of coconut oil in your hand and swipe over your hair

Burns, poison ivy, and blisters – Aloe Vera contains cooling properties similar to menthol. Combine with Lavender or Peppermint essential oils for a dual benefit!

Healing – apply to cuts, sores, and other skin infections;  Aloe Vera has excellent antibacterial properties

Make up remover – save your money while healing your skin!

Beauty – Apply straight Aloe vera gel to skin to reduce age lines, remove scars and stretch marks; Cleopatra did!

Shower – Rub the inner sides of a cut Aloe Vera leaf on skin to use as a shower scrub (slice the aloe leaves lengthwise and use the inner sides)

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Hair – Stimulate hair growth & say goodbye to frizzy hair by massaging aloe into the scalp and hair; leave on for as long as possible, at least half an hour.
Aloe Vera restores for silky smooth and promotes growth.  Aloe Vera keeps hair well moisturized, combating the heat from styling appliances.
Moisturizer – simply scoop some out and apply; Aloe Vera absorbs quickly

Allergies, rashes – Relieve itching due to allergies and rashes or take the sting & itch out of insect bites (fight back! grow Citronella & Lemongrass plants in pots where you gather outside to keep those bugs away!)

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Aloe Vera Sugar Lemon Scrub Recipe

Mixing Aloe Vera gel, lemon juice or essential oil and organic brown sugar makes for an energizing exfoliation experience! Want a healthy glow?

Stir Aloe Vera gel, organic brown sugar and Lemon Essential Oil or juice together and ta-da!

aloe brown scrub

Homemade Burn Healer Recipe

Make a homemade burn healer by mixing 1/4 cup each Aloe vera gel and liquid Calendula with a few drops of vitamin E oil & Lavender Essential oil. Store in an airtight jar.

DIY Homemade Burn Healer
Jar
1/4 cup Aloe Vera gel
1/4 cup Calendula liquid
Few drops of Vitamin E oil
Few drips of Lavender Essential Oil

Give as gifts, share with friends & family!

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Oatmeal Coconut Aloe Scrub

Soft feet! Get rid of Eczema!

Exfoliate feet, knees and elbows with a mixture of  1/2 c. Oatmeal
4 tbsp. Aloe Vera gel
1/2 c. Coconut Oil

Aloe Vera’s healing properties repair skin problems such as eczema, psoriasis, acne, and rosacea, as well

Relieve athlete’s foot by mixing Aloe Vera Gel with a drop or two of Tea Tree essential oil; it works!!

I hope you enjoyed this post!!!  Have a sparkling day!
Vanessa
vmbsrm@mindbodysoulessentials.com
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How you can use Flower Waters (Hydrosols)

Create a relaxed state of mind...

How you can use Flower Waters (Hydrosols)

 

Spritz yourself with Flower Waters to cool off, soothe a hot flash, relieve sunburn pain or itching, bolster concentration and wakefulness, or brighten a dull mood,

Add a few cups of Flower Waters to bathwater,

Spritz Flower Waters on face over makeup, on hair for set and scent, and fingernails to maintain health and growth,

Add a few drops of Flower Waters to your creams and lotions to benefit from the plant’s healing and soothing properties,

Many hydrosols are natural airborne disinfectants. Use Flower Waters to disinfect your hands, clean the air, or make homemade wet wipes,

Air Fresheners: Use Flower Waters to add both natural fragrance and healthy, botanical substances to your indoor air,

Flower Waters are free of the cancerous or toxic synthetic chemicals found in most air fresheners,

Spray Flower Waters in dryer before putting in clothes,

Spray Flower Waters on clothes during ironing,

Use Flower Waters as a linen sprays on sheets

Aromatherapy Flower Waters

Jasmine Flower Water

Lavender Flower Water

Orange Blossom Flower Water

Roman Chamomile Flower Water

Rose Flower Water

Ylang Ylang Flower Water

 

“Look in the perfume of flowers and of nature for peace of mind and joy of life.”
-Wang Wei

Create a relaxed state of mind…

Aromatherapy waters have been used as a natural healing alternative for centuries to harness the combined power hidden in essential oils extracted from flowers, herbs, fruits, plants and trees.

Aromatherapy Products and Aromatherapy Supplies

Flower Waters are lovely fragrances ~pleasantly aromatic and not overbearing~
Naturally made with 100% Pure Essential Oils and distilled water
Enjoyed for their wonderful aroma, flower waters also provide hydrating and refreshing benefits to the skin. Mist your body, pour into a bath, or use as a natural room freshener. The most popular flower waters, Sweet Rose and fragrant Orange Blossom, are also suitable for food use as delightful additions to desserts, beverages and candies. The other flower waters include relaxing Lavender, calming Chamomile, sensual Jasmine, and alluring Ylang Ylang, each one packaged in a blue cobalt bottle with accompanying mist sprayer.

Ingredients: Distilled water and 100% pure essential oils.

Come check them out! 🙂

Flower Waters Here!

 

 Pinterest!

 

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Easy, Fun and Healthy Green Tips for Around Your Home!

Going Green with Mind Body Soul Essentials

Today’s Going Green tips and recipes are all about the inside of your home

We can control what goes into the air we breathe inside our home.  Let’s get started!

Do you enjoy the smell of Bleach or Synthetic Air Fresheners?  I don’t!  And it’s not FUN to clean and deodorize with that stuff!  You spray it into the air and POOF!…it’s gone in a flash.  Just the opposite, that bleach smell has eyes watering, noses burning and that smell lingers forever! Eww!

So what are we doing?!  We don’t sit there and say “Hey! I’ve got an idea! Let’s spray some toxic chemicals into the air today!”

No.  We are busy.  There is not enough time in the day.  We are always on the move.  We are multitasking machines!!  We have to go grocery shopping or no one eats and while we are at the store, cruising around, we grab & go; taking a bottle of air freshener for our fabric couches and rugs and air for $5.  We throw it in the cart and off we go to the milk section!

Do you love yourself?  Do you love your children? Your pets? Your family?

Of course you do.  I do, too.  Ever wonder why we are tired of being tired and sick of being sick?

Take the time to read that label before you put those cleansers, disinfectants, air fresheners into your cart.  There’s a LOT of really bad ingredients in what you are buying for $5.  Cheap toxic items…come and get it!  Sale on bad for you cleaners and 50% off chemical filled products for your family!

Essential Oils.  Maybe you don’t know what they are.  That’s ok!  Think about it this way…you know what plants are.  What trees, leaves and flowers are.

Essential oils are distilled from the leaves, bark, roots and other aromatic portions of a botanical plant.

Nature at it’s best!

It is the essential oils within plants that gives each oil their characteristic smell and flavor. When we smell the delightful fragrance of roses, open a cedarwood box and inhale its woody smell, or add the zest of orange or lemon to a drink, it is the essential oil that we are enjoying!

Essential Oils are medicines from the earth! A whole world of possibility is awaiting you!  Nature – in one of its most powerful forms – aromatic liquid extracted from certain flowers, grasses, fruits, trees, leaves, roots and herbs.

Any part of a plant may contain its essential oil! Each single oil is used for many purposes. They are indispensable to medicine, food and cosmetic industries. In food and drink, they are used to give natural flavor and aroma, and as preservatives.

Want to learn more? Read What Are Essential Oils? or How Do Essential Oils Work? or come to my website and search for the answers to what you are looking to learn. If it’s not on there, send me an email and I’ll answer you!  I’m a real person, not a commercial giant!

Why should you be Going Green in your Home?  Better question: why haven’t you?

Cleaning!

We make messes.  We do! We’re human! Then we clean it up (usually the same day)…

Essential oils, vinegar and baking soda can be used to create many effective non-toxic (and wonderfully fragrant) cleansers and disinfectants.  Clean, disinfect and shine for pennies!  A straight 5% solution of vinegar kills 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent of mold, and 80 percent of viruses.  Clean the dishwasher, coffeepot, windows,  Deodorize your sink drains.  Remove pet urine stains, grease from kitchen walls and mineral deposits around faucets.

You can easily click Natural Cleaning With Essential Oils for more ideas and recipes 🙂

Oils excellent for cleaning:

· Cinnamon Essential Oil
· Clove Essential Oil
· Eucalyptus Essential Oil
· Thyme Essential Oil
· Spruce Essential Oil
· Lemon Essential Oil
· Lemongrass Essential Oil
· Grapefruit Essential Oil
· Orange Essential Oil

Orange and Lemon are my personal favorites.  The smell, the antibacterial, antidepressant, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiseptic and astringent power these oils have!

When I clean, I put Orange and/or Lemon Essential oil to work!  Put on some music, smell those delicious smells and get my clean on!

Ever wonder why there are so many orange cleaners today? Make your own orange cleaner to DISINFECT, SAVE MONEY and ENERGIZE.

These oils are UPLIFTING to the spirit but CALMING to your body!

Essential Oils are disinfectants!  Add to a spray bottle of water and spray into the air to deodorize, neutralize, and sterilize the air.

The majority of Essential Oils are inexpensive.  There are a handful that are not, simply because of the large number of flowers required to produce a small amount of it.

Floor Cleaner:
Add 1/4 cup white vinegar to a bucket of water. Add 10 drops of lemon oil and 4 drops of oregano essential oil. Oregano oil has powerful antiseptic properties!

Carpet freshener:
Add 16-20 drops of essential oils to a cup of baking soda. Mix well and place in a covered container overnight so that the oil can be absorbed. Sprinkle over your carpet the next day and then vacuum the powder up!

Painting:
Adding essential oil to paint will counteract the unpleasant smell. And because essential oils are not fatty oils, they will leave no oil spots on the walls. Add a 5 ml. bottle of your favorite essential oil, such as White Angelica, Abundance, or Sacred Mountain, to 1 gallon of paint. Mix well.

Recipes for you below and so many more at Mind Body Soul Essentials – click here for more recipes or here for a ton of ways to use essential oils and go green the easy way!

Aromatherapy Air Fresheners

ROOM AIR FRESHENING RECIPES
It’s been proven that with the effects of aromatherapy, just the way things smell can altar your mood.

Ingredients
1 cup distilled water
8 -10 drops Essential Oils, of your choice

Antiseptic, Antibacterial and Antiviral
3 drops Lemon Essential Oil

Deodorizing
6 drops Bergamot Essential Oil
1 drop Eucalyptus Essential Oil
2 drops Lemon Essential Oil

Pet Deodorizing
6 drops Cedarwood Essential Oil
3 drops tea Tree Essential Oil

Apple Pie Spice
6 drops Cinnamon Essential Oil
3 drops Clove Essential Oil

Orange Spice
5 drops Orange Essential Oil
2 drops Cinnamon Essential Oil

Mood Lifter
4 drops Chamomile Essential Oil
3 drops Orange Essential Oil
2 drops Ylang Ylang Essential Oil

Stress Reliever
4 drops Lavender Essential Oil
3 drops Rose Essential Oil
2 drops Clary Sage Essential Oil (optional)

Sleepy-Hour Relaxation
4 drops Lavender Essential Oil
3 drops Chamomile Essential Oil

Uplifting
8 drops Orange Essential Oil

Vitality & Freshness
3 drops Lemon Essential Oil
1 drop Grapefruit Essential Oil

Amazing Dryer Sheets

Aromatherapy Candle Magic

or easily buy a candle made with Essential Oils!  Come see all of the beautiful, affordable candles here!

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I need to do this more often…as I consume FAR too much coffee… 🙂

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So many more recipes & tips – click Natural Cleaning With Essential Oils for more free ideas!

Love, love, love that you are here reading this!  Spread the knowledge! Share with your loved ones!

I am now on Pinterest!
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Best Tips and Recipes for Going Green Series

jBr1tv1355309168  It’s simple! Just follow this blog! 🙂 From now until the end of December, daily tips for going green in our life! Going green is cost effective, easy and fun! Why should you be Going Green in your Home? Do you enjoy the smell of Bleach or Synthetic Air Fresheners? Are you cleaning your body on one end (detoxing) by eating right and then bombarding it with toxins on another end by using toxic products in our home? About 98% of store bought products are made with synthetically made chemicals. And we wonder why we are tired of being tired and sick of being sick! Commercial products you are using in your home are not good for our planet and the environment The home products you are using are toxic to your our dogs, cats and…children! Who is Really Winning? The companies who manufacture drugs, cleaning products, paints, insecticides are slowing killing us with toxicity. They care about their bottom line; not our health. I hope you become committed to going green in your home. Do it as a gift to yourself, your children, your animals and your planet! I wish you the best in your life and your home! —

I am now on Pinterest!