Happy Safe Baby

Here are 9 fast and easy tips to stop dry skin and eczema itch. Each tip uses only farm grown, natural things.

Canada, like other semi arid areas, can be both dry and cold and your skin can have the same reaction.

I recently developed really bad dry skin, eczema, and have been researching and trying different remedies that helped me, and wanted to pass them on to you.

Here are 9 easy home made tips that give fast relief…

Please forward this to someone that you know who suffers form this terrible itch!

1. Increase your water intake

Keep your water intake up so that the skin can retain its moisture.

Along with water, take essential fatty acids supplements: Some people with eczema are low in their omega 3s and 6s.

There are many supplements on the market to choose from. I find cod liver oil the least expensive and works just fine. (Our grandmothers knew the secret of this oil!)

2. Avoid harsh soaps

My personal belief is that most commercial soaps are drying for the skin. So for children (2 and up) 1 to 3 drops of essential oil of lavender in the bath will is a healthy, holistic alternative to harsh soaps.

An Alternative For Soap Is Oatmeal

Here is the recipe:

Place 1 to 2 cups of large flake oatmeal (not instant) in the blender, whip until it is a fine powder. Wrap this in a cotton handkerchief, place a rubber band around the top, dunk in water and use as you would a washcloth. It coats the skin to retain moisture.

3. Use a good base cream

Use as natural as possible, read labels. If I get lost after the first few ingredients, I don’t buy it. I use lavender massage butter, rose massage butter and boo boo goo. All their ingredients are natural.

Boo boo goo is a healing gel of Aloe Vera and pure essential oil, which helps slough off dead skin cells, and Tea Tree essential oil that helps the itching and speeds up the healing process.

4. Always keep your skin soft

Apply cream right after you get out of the bath or shower. Baths are still okay with dry skin, but not too hot of a temperature. Many people are happy with this, since their baths are one of their times to relax.

5. Spray on a herbal or floral water mist

I keep a lavender room spray in my purse for this reason. This helps replenish lost moisture throughout the day. Almost all skin types benefit from lavender. Place 10 to 20 drops of essential oil into a spray jar 2 oz minimum. Add purified water.

6. Do a salt scrub

It may sound painful, but it works! The redness and irritation went down considerably after I do this once a week. The salts improve circulation and encourage your natural skin oils to secrete.

There are many salt scrubs on the market, but it is very easy to make. Read on for the recipe.

Here is how to make a salt scrub:

2 cups of fine sea salt, one fourth cup of olive oil or jojoba oil, a few drops of your favorite essential oil (optional), mix together in a bowl.

Method

Stand in a tub of warm water about 2 inches, wet your legs, and in a circular motion rub the sea salt mixture into your skin. Continue this method for your torso and arms, stopping at your neck. Sit for a few minutes and you will feel a tingling sensation. Rinse with warm water then with cool.

You will be amazed at the results!

7. Cool the itch

When it’s more than you can bear (like a boo boo) milk is a great way to soothe that itch.

Put milk into a glass of ice for a few minutes, and pour into a gauze pad or thin cotton pad. Apply to irritated skin for 2 to 3 minutes, resoak the cloth and reapply continuing the process for about 10 minutes.

Or, you can get a *milk bath that contains powdered milk, sea salt and baking soda.

8. Wear natural clothes

Synthetic fabrics as well as tight fitting clothes can add to the irritation, cotton is best.

9. Lastly, eczema typically starts as an internal problem, so please consult your health professional and work towards better health.

To Your Good Health – Joanne

*Milk Bath can be found at HappySafeBaby

Source: Kelly-Sue booboobear.com.

Here is an easy facial steam to give yourself a home herbal spa for a fraction of the price!

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of water

• 1/4 cup dried Herbs*

• cooking pot/Bowl

1. Bring water to boil in pot

2. Add herbs, cover and turn off heat

3. After 2 minutes, uncover, give the herbs a stir, and remove from stove

To Use:

1. Place pot on counter or where you will be comfortable with your face about 6” above it. Drape a large towel over your head and allow it to hang down around the pot so that it catches the vapors and steam.

2. Keeping a comfortable distance, try and stay under the towel as long as you comfortably can.

3. Your skin will be baby soft!

Tips:

1. Dry Skin: Rose petals , lavender flowers, chamomile

2. Normal Skin: Mints, lemon balm

3. Oily: Sage, rosemary

4. You can use 3 – 5 drops of *essential oils in replace of herbs.

This is the same treatment that a salon would do for triple the price. You may feel itchy and a tingling sensation, this is normal. It is your skin reacting to increased circulation caused by the steam.

Continue this weekly, itchiness will decrease and the increase circulation will leave your face aglow.

Keep the herb solution and put it in a spray bottle: spray to refreshen your room, spray on your face as a toner, and spray on counters after they are wiped down.

Joanne

Submitted by Kelly-Sue Chobotiuk booboobears.com

It may surprise you to know that when you go to sleep or just sit down and rest, it helps balance what you do all day. Sleep and rest also feed your nervous system. We simply can not do anything very well without them.

For many hundred of years, human activities were told what to do and when to do it, by the rising of sun, and the as the sun went down at night. Also, whether it was summer, fall, winder or spring made a big difference in what people did.

Only lately, has technology given us the freedom to not depend on having daylight or the season of the year.

Much of our freedom happened when electricity was invented and used by the average person. With the invention of the light bulb we no longer needed to go to bed and wake up with the sun.

Here are some tips to help you sleep without pills:

Need For Sleep

Resolving nagging thoughts not only improves sleep quality, but also increases self-awareness, which is important for maintaining emotional well-being.

For the overactive mind, sleeping can be especially difficult. Resorting to sleeping pills is an extremely unhealthy habit because it removes the body’s coping mechanism and offers a crutch that can make sleeping naturally even more difficult in the future.

Yet, the need for the body and mind to replenish themselves during sleep has not changed with this technological revolution. The muscles and the mind need rest as well as exercise to maintain health.

Can Exercise and Hydrotherapy Help?

Both physical exercise and hydrotherapy can help sleeplessness by improving circulation. Deep-breathing techniques can be used to relieve tension, encouraging sleep.

Pick Opposite Activities

Remember what relaxes you. People who spend their time sitting indoors and thinking, might want to play a sport or pick up a hobby like gardening, tennis or hiking.

People who engage in hard physical labor may prefer to relax through reading a magazine or book, sitting out in the garden or starting a stamp or art collection.

Right Balance

Without really sitting down and resting, physical and mental work suffer. But, without sufficient exercise or physical activities, it is going to be hard to relax as well.

Finding and keeping a balance between doing work uses your mind and work that uses your body will naturally make you feel good and more healthy. Plus, it will help you sleep deeply with sweet dreams.

To Your Good Health,

Joanne

Source: Alive Encyclopedia

Melatonin is a chemical hiding in our brain, that helps us go to sleep. It comes from the pineal gland in the brain and controls many hormones our the body.

Melatonin does some very important things for us.  One thing, and maybe the most important, is that melatonin controls the body’s circadian rhythm, which is like a 24 hour clock inside of us. This 24 hour inside clock  does an important job deciding when we fall asleep and when we wake up.

Too Much Light?

Darkness stimulates the release of melatonin and light suppresses its activity. Normal melatonin cycles are disrupted when we are exposed to excessive light in the evening or too little light during the daytime.

For example, jet lag, shift work, and poor vision can disrupt melatonin cycles. In addition, some experts claim that exposure to low-frequency electromagnetic fields (as is common in household appliances) may disrupt normal cycles and production of melatonin.

Controls Timing Of Reproductive Hormones

Melatonin is also one of the hormones that controls the timing and release of female reproductive hormones. As a result, melatonin helps determine when menstruation begins, the frequency and duration of menstrual cycles, and when menstruation ends (menopause).

As We Grow Older

Many researchers also believe that levels of melatonin in the body are related to the aging process. For example, young children have the highest levels of nighttime melatonin and these levels are thought to diminish progressively with age.

This decline likely contributes to why many older adults suffer from disrupted sleep patterns and tend to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier in the morning than when they were younger.

However, emerging research is bringing the idea of diminished melatonin levels in the elderly into some question. Therefore, those considering use of this supplement should first talk to their healthcare provider about having blood levels of melatonin checked.

Strong Immune System With Antioxidants

In addition to its hormone actions, melatonin also has strong antioxidant properties and preliminary evidence suggests that it may help strengthen the immune system. Because melatonin is a potent hormone, it’s advisable to check with a healthcare provider before using it as an antioxidant supplement.

Save Big On Sleeping Aids

A popular and usually much less expensive sleeping aid is lavender aromatherapy. The lavender herb can be found in convenient essential oils that allow you to use it in concentrated amounts for a stronger affect using a only a few drops. Lavender has been used for thousands of years to disinfect, sedate the mind and reduce stress. Get some today to sleep better tonight!

Joanne

Source: Info on Melatonin, University of Maryland Medical Center

How can you stop drinking coffee and other caffeinated drinks? The following tips describe two herbs that not only taste delicious, but give you a similar energy boost as well.

Plus, they make you more healthy.

To kick the caffeine habit, replace your coffee or other caffeinated drink with peppermint or spearmint iced tea. You can have them fresh, everyday, since they can be easily grown in a small pot for plants.

Here are more ways that peppermint and spearmint help you to be more healthy and live better.

Peppermint

* Peppermint leaves are helpful for digestive upsets, pick a few leaves and steep in boiling water.

* If you’re trying to kick the caffeine in the morning this is a healthy alternative. Peppermint is a slight stimulate to get you going in the morning.

* Drink after meals to promote good digestion.

* Left over herbal teas can be stored in the fridge with lemon slices and stevia extract and drank as a natural iced tea! Stevia is a herb that is 70% sweeter than sugar, has no calories, no carbohydrates and won’t affect your blood sugars.

* Soak you tired hot feet in an infusion of peppermint tea, it cools them down and stimulates circulation. I use a Refreshing Mint Spray for this purpose all summer long. It’s a quick way to spray on the feet for the same cooling result.

Spearmint

* Used similar to peppermint, but is milder and has a gentle diaphoretic effect for children. Some prefer the taste.

* Useful for stomach problems and vomiting, very handy to have growing in a pot outside your door.

* Helpful for the vomiting with morning sickness.

* Mice detest spearmint, so plant it to keep them away from food sources and other plants.

Joanne

Submitted by Kelly-Sue Chobotiuk booboobears.com