The truth about a Essential Oils in Skincare Products

I use essential oils in my Organic Sugar Scrubs, as most Sugar Scrub manufacturers do.

I am small time compared to most of them, of course. Each batch is mixed by me and my wooden spoon or blender depending on which scrub I'm making. I get all my essential oils and organic ingredients from the Amish Country in Scottsville, KY unless I'm using herbs or flowers I've grown in our organic gardens. From Organic Whole Oatmeal, sugar, and essential oils to mint, lavender, and rose plants. Particularly, when it comes to essential oils, I use Peppermint, Lavender, Rosemary, Orange, Rose, Eucalyptus, Spearmint, and Lemon (or Fresh Lemon Juice depending on the scrub).
I have recipes in the works than include using Ylang Ylang and Geranium, as well. I use Clove in my Diabetic Pain Relief Salve. Essentials are an integral ingredient in many skincare recipes found online and from big name brands.
Leave me a comment and let me know what you'd like to see me make!
All righty y'all. On to the essentials (oils, that is)!

Pin this post!

The destiny of a simple homesteader who met amazing sugaring

Having a fresh strawberry, banana and blueberry smoothie for breakfast beats my son going to school and having their carb/fat filled poor choices at school.

Using vegetables for our dinner out of our own garden beats going to the grocery store and buying produce that was grown...exactly where? How can I trust it? Is GMO or non-GMO? Organic or pesticides?
  I'd rather grow my own and know what I'm putting in mine and children's (yes and hubby's too) mouths. I'm not the only cook in this family who depends on our fresh veggies and herbs.

My hubby is an avid bar-b-que'r. His "cooker" as he calls it. It’s as big as a 4x4 pickup truck.

    We live a holistic, organic lifestyle, but that doesn't mean we are vegan or vegetarians. We like our meat. Hubby hunts, processes our meat, has fur made, mounts antlers, we can our veggies, make tomato sauce, salsa, spaghetti sauce, we chop our own wood for fire, the list goes on. We also like our modern day conveniences. TV, internet (frickin' outrageous how much internet costs up here in the boonies!) 4 football fields off the road our little farmhouse sits in the middle of a crop field. This past season we had corn to the east, west and north of our house and tobacco to the south across the running creek and up the hill. (Paints a pretty picture huh?) I love it up here.

Soybeans 2015	In the Fall after they get the corn
Most mornings, around dawn, we are able to see deer crossing the field	View from our front porch

  While we love our location and our off-road existence, we strive to save as much money as we can for our future homestead. In living holistically and organically, we are actually saving hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year. Think of it. All the meat my hubby brings home...deer, turkey, quail, rabbit, hog, pig...we process it all and freeze. All the vegetables we grow through the season last us all year. Corn, bell peppers, okra, purple hull peas, banana peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, green beans (snap)....we can and blanch/freeze it all. When I'm going to the grocery store I typically only spend about $50 a week (that’s on a bad week. A good week is about $40) for a household of 3 (one of which is a growing 14-year-old) and 2 dogs. So I'm saving money right?

Now take into account the money you spend on razors, shave cream, ingrown hair "helpers", depilatory creams like Nair, etc., OTC wax kits, going to a salon to get waxed (let me differentiate here...resin waxed), you spend bookoos of $. I was using a Mach 3 men's razor Lordy for the longest time...like 15 years or so.

I've tried waxing at a salon three times in my life and I've tried at home wax once. Never Ever - Ever again. Worst pain EVER. To me...my opinion here...worse than childbirth. Ah...I digress. So you see how much I was spending on shaving. Waxing at a salon costs in upwards of $100 a visit. Sugaring in a salon (if you can find a salon that specializes in REAL organic sugaring i.e. some salons market sugaring, however, what they are using is a resin wax with sugar added to it. ...hard to come by especially in our neck of the woods) is even higher! Organic Sugaring allows you to be butter smooth for about as long as a wax but without tearing off a layer of live skin, without the sensitivity for days afterward, without ingrown hairs, and without as much pain! I categorize Organic Sugaring under Holistic because, think of it... We are using NATURAL ORGANIC ingredients to beautify our skin, heal skin, exfoliate the skin and it even helps in removing impurities that cause acne resulting in clearer skin. Benefits? I think so. An 8 oz jar ($20) of my Organic Sugaring Paste lasted me a month on first use. Each jar thereafter you'll use less and less because hairs grow back finer and thinner and easier to glide out because in a sense you are training your hairs NOT to be shaven. Shaving leaves a blunt end and regrowth is thicker and darker. Sugaring results in hairs growing back in a fine point & thinner.

Pin this post!

Focus on understanding that all things natural are interconnected

What is "Holistic" exactly, you ask?

Focus on understanding that all things natural are interconnected
What is "Holistic" exactly, you ask?

Holistic medicine is a form of healing that considers the whole person -- body, mind, spirit, and emotions -- in the quest for optimal health and wellness. According to the holistic medicine philosophy, one can achieve optimal health -- the primary goal of holistic medicine practice -- by gaining proper balance in life.

Holistic Health is based on the law of nature that a whole is made up of interdependent parts. The earth is made up of systems, such as air, land, water, plants and animals. If life is to be sustained, they cannot be separated, for what is happening to one is also felt by all of the other systems. In the same way, an individual is a whole made up of interdependent parts, which are the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. When one part is not working at its best, it impacts all of the other parts of that person.

Suzan Walter, MBA is co-founder and current president of the American Holistic Health Association, and served as president of the American Holistic Medical Foundation from 1988 – 1990.

#Holistic medicine philosophy: Achieve optimal #health by gaining proper #balance in life. on @JBHomemadeSugar #blog

Understanding and respecting that all things are interconnected is at the heart of a holistic lifestyle. Holistic living is the art of living in harmony with nature. We take responsibility for our own well-being, both physical and mental. To be able to that we need useful information that can help us. This includes information on what we eat, how we eat, understanding herbs and their uses, ailments and natural cures, and various healing techniques (detoxification/cleansing/acupuncture/therapeutic massage, etc). A big part also includes holistic practices such as yoga and therapeutic massage, meditation, while promoting natural compassionate approaches like organic farming and green living. In our household, we strive for balance and harmony within ourselves, others and the environment.
Whether you are looking to live a cleaner, healthier lifestyle, provide better and healthier food for you and your family, improve your romantic relationships, or simply gain a sense of peace and connection to the universe, other people, and your immediate environment, holistic living can provide answers. Most people shy away from any mention of a holistic lifestyle, simply because they are unsure what exactly it means. Living holistically means that a person is living their life in a way that is both natural to them and the world in which they live. People who live holistically often eat organic foods, keep their mind and body active and practice forms of stress relief such as yoga. Most people shy away from any mention of a holistic lifestyle, simply because they are unsure what exactly it means.
Everyone understands that their body, mind, and soul are interconnected. What happens to one part of you will ultimately affect the other two parts as well. For example, depression is often felt in the body in the way of aches and pains but is more predominate in the mind. Therefore, living a holistic lifestyle means that all parts of the self are taken care of. This is a very simple concept that most people have forgotten about, partly because of the fast pace of living in today’s world. One of the best ways to live holistically is to eat holistically! This means avoid eating foods that are processed, full of grease, or are high fat, high sugar foods. These types of foods contain fewer nutrients than our body needs and more calories than we need as well.

In today's fast-paced world, people forget the simple concept of body, mind, and soul #holistic #jbhomemade

One of the best ways to live holistically is to eat holistically! This means avoiding eating foods that are processed, full of grease, or are high fat, high sugar foods. These types of foods contain fewer nutrients than our body needs and more calories than we need as well.

Instead, eating more vegetables for both their antioxidant and protein qualities is a much better dietary choice. Unprocessed grains, organic nuts, and fruits are other wonderful eating choices. Foods that contain a higher level of nutrients and vitamins cause our bodies to work hard in breaking down the food and absorbing the nutrients and vitamins. These then are passed into the cells of our bodies.
The last aspect of living a holistic lifestyle is to keep your soul as happy and healthy as can be. This sounds quirky, but it isn't. Practice random acts of kindness and you will quickly see how happy your soul can become. These acts can be as simple as smiling at someone on the subway or holding a door open for someone else. Volunteering at a nursing home, soup kitchen or child daycare can also be beneficial to your soul. Even donating your old clothes to your local homeless shelter can be considered as an act of kindness. The basic premise here is that whenever you do something nice for someone else, you will feel better about yourself as well.

Living a holistic lifestyle means that you are committed to living a meaningful life to the best of your abilities. This does not necessarily equate to having millions of dollars or a fancy car. But, rather living your life to make sure that your body, mind, and soul are happy and healthy.

Live your life to make sure that your body, mind, and soul, are happy and healthy ~ read more at @JBHomemadeSugar Blog

Living a holistic lifestyle means that you are committed to living a meaningful life to the best of your abilities. This does not necessarily equate to having millions of dollars or a fancy car. But, rather living your life to make sure that your body, mind, and soul, are happy and healthy.
REFERENCES: NaturalWellBeing Posted June 19, 2009, by Libbi Suzan Walter, MBA, American Holistic Health Association

Pin this post!