Personal Care

Learning about the different properties of essential oils open up a new world. It gives you the ability to adapt your personal care routine as the seasons' change and your needs change.

Here is some that we regularly use.

• Frankincense – You cannot be without
• Lavender – A basic have-to-have
• Tea Tree – From blemishes to underarm hygiene solutions
• Geranium - Found in most gardens in South Africa, and wonder with skin regeneration
• Eucalyptus - It's not just for using when you have a cold, it has an amazing refreshing smell and works wonders in a deodorant.
• And so many more...  in time we will share more

Because essential oils are concentrated you need a base to dilute and help spread the essential oil. These oils are called carrier oils. We will look at them in more detail later but here are the main ones.

• Jojoba - Moisturising and good for skin issues
• Avocado - Heavy oil, richly nourishing and penetrating
• Almond - Absorbs well - Nourishing and moisturizing
• Fractionated Coconut oil - All around useful carrier
• Grapeseed - Non-greasy and absorbs well
• V-6 vegetable oil - Nourishes the skin, doesn’t clog pores

Like with the carrier oil, cream bases and butters are used to dilute your essential oil. These bases and butter have properties in thems self to that need to be taken into consideration when choosing one. We will explore them more in due course in more detail to help you make an informed choice.

The main problem I experience with finding an aqua cream base was finding one that is not made out of petroleum. Thus far I have found 2. Oh-lief I use for my face products and Pure Cream I use for my body. Both can be found at selected Dischem Stores.

Castile soap is a natural soap traditionally made from olives, but nowadays an array of plants like coconut and hemp. From personal experience, I've only found one that is the kind of quality I feel comfortable with on my skin. Dr Bonners is an imported product, but for now, I use that. Like with all quality products it comes with a bit of a price tag. But again, if you use 2 tablespoons to make a bottle of body wash soap, you begin to understand how the economic and less waste comes into play.

Epsom salt, aka Magnesium Sulfate, is a very diverse product and no home should be without it. Some uses are:

• Bath Salt
• Shampoo
• Body and face scrub
• Spot treatment
• Used as an emulsifier

Witch Hazel is alcohol use in cosmetics.  Essential oils do not mix well directly with water so one use Witch hazel as an emulsifier. The alcohol also discourages the growth of microbes in your products. So it is important to use high-quality alcohol above 70%.

Just be aware Witch Hazel is sold sometimes with rosewater - so that means it is diluted and not do its job as intended. So make sure you buy a high-quality pure witch-hazel.