27 benefits of Eucalyptus and rosemary for natural skin care.

If you've explored my Etsy shop recently, you may have noticed that I added a new version of organic sugar scrub. This came from an inspiration to create a sugar scrub that even the most masculine of men would enjoy using. The woodsy, minty, pine scent of the rosemary and eucalyptus is a great combination. Organic Eucalyptus Rosemary Cane Sugar Scrub

You may be thinking...well I've used rosemary in my cooking but on my skin? How is rosemary good for my skin? And Eucalyptus? I remember when I was a kid, my mom had these dried Eucalyptus stalks that gave the living room a distinct smell of Eucalyptus. But on my skin? yep. Here's why.

I choose particular plants because of the benefits to the skin. Each plant is researched for the benefits that can be derived from being added to a carrier oil and sugar.

My Eucalyptus Rosemary Citrus Sugar Scrub is sure to be a hit. Even with the guys. Eucalyptus gives a fresh, minty, pine scent with a touch of honey while the Rosemary has a unique pine-like fragrant flavor that is balanced by a rich pungency, a combination that evokes both the forest and the sea. While the Rosemary is Invigorating, refreshing and stimulating and has an excellent reputation for oily skin/acne. Add the light citrus aroma of the lemon and you've got yourself an uplifting winner!

Materials: Organic Cane Sugar, Eucalyptus Essential Oil, Orange Essential Oil, Fresh Lemon juice, Organic Grape seed Oil, Dried Rosemary

From my previous post,(and more than likely your own knowledge, of course), you already know that sugar has AH-MAY-ZING benefits. After dead skin has been exfoliated, your body’s largest organ works more efficiently to expel toxins and take in nourishment. Skin becomes more uniform in appearance, is softer to touch, and has a radiant glow. Sugar scrubs are also gentler, less dehydrating than salt scrubs and be used by all skin types.

Photo credit: https://www.organicfacts.net Eucalyptus essential oil is obtained from fresh leaves of the tall, evergreen eucalyptus tree. The tree, scientifically classified as Eucalyptus Globulus is also known as fever tree, blue gum tree or stringy bark tree, depending on where it is located in the world.	1. Anti-inflammatory: Loosens stiff muscles and relieves aches in the body. Has been proven to relieve muscle pain. 2. Its pleasant aroma makes it effective as a deodorant 3. Antibacterial 4. Antiseptic and antimicrobial agent.

The Rosemary leaf...typically a culinary herb, but did you know that the herb has skin benefits as well?	This crisp and clean-smelling oil is rich in healthy properties like benefiting phytonutrients, antioxidants and essential acids.

It has been used since ancient times as a medicinal and culinary herb by the Greeks and Romans due to its therapeutic properties. The astringent properties of rosemary makes it beneficial for skin care. It contains a wide array of nutrients such as iron, calcium, vitamins and antioxidants. Thus, rosemary is effective for all skin types and is used as an ingredient in skin care cleansers, soaps, face masks, toners and creams.

Primarily beneficial for those with oily, acne-prone skin, rosemary oil and extract both have powerful astringent, anti-fungal, and disinfecting properties. The plant is also rich in biologically active compounds and antioxidants such as calcium, vitamin B6, iron, cineole, and verbenon that effectively tone and tighten loose, sagging skin.

1. Rejuvenates Skin: Rosemary rehydrates and tones your skin. It removes wrinkles and bags on the skin, thus keeping it taut and healthy. Its cell regeneration properties are effective in treating visible skin conditions and replacing damaged tissue, thus reducing the appearance of scars and spots. 2. Treatment of Acne: Rosemary has powerful disinfectant and antiseptic properties. These help to treat acne and oily skin conditions. Massaging your face with this oil (or scrub infused with the leaves of the medicinal plant) improves skin complexion by lightening dark spots and blemishes on the skin. 3. Anti-ageing Property: Being rich in powerful antioxidants, rosemary slows down the effect of ageing on the skin. It helps in tightening sagging and loose skin, thus making it firmer and more elastic. Moreover, it stimulates biological activity and cell grow 4. Prevents Skin Infection:The medicinal qualities of rosemary make it beneficial for treating chronic skin conditions such as dermatitis, eczema and psoriasis. Its anti-inflammatory properties are useful in reducing swelling and puffiness of the skin as well as healing burns.

Pure Orange Essential Oil:

1. Anti-inflammatory:It provides relief from external inflammation caused by infections. It is helpful in treating swollen tissue by stimulating blood circulation. 2. Anti-septic: It inhibits microbial growth	3. Skin Treatment: Orange essential oil is shown to promote the production of collagen as well as increase the blood flow to the skin. It is helpful at soothing dry, irritated skin as well as acne-prone skin. It is excellent for rubbing on calluses on the feet.

Fresh Lemon Juice - A Natural Skin Tonic

Photo Credit? Flicker dvarimbalma Wonderful Lemons with their tart acidic nature and essential nutrients like Vitamins B, C, and antioxidant properties.	Lemon juice a natural antiseptic, comes in handy as an excellent beauty aid for rejuvenating and replenishing skin both from within and without.

1. Skin lightening, alleviating freckles, dark spots and age spots: The potent antioxidant and vitamin C elements in lemon play a remarkable role in skin lightening, alleviating freckles, dark spots and age spots. Applying lemon juice on the age spots help decrease the dark areas making them lighter. This is due to the presence of citric acid in lemon, along with its ability to neutralize the pH balance, which clears and lightens the skin.

2. Blackhead Remover: With natural antiseptic properties lemon juice helps balance the skin oiliness clearing the dirt and grime eliminating bacteria that damage skin leading to blackhead outbreaks. Freshly squeezed lemon removes blackheads without leaving behind any traces of their presence. This is because of the potent citric acid, which combats the oils causing blackhead eruptions.

3. Natural Exfoliate: Loaded with citric acid, lemon juice acts as an excellent natural exfoliant and is effective especially when combined with sugar, for removing the dead skin cells revealing a glowing brand new skin beneath the surface.

4. Rejuvenating Skin Cells: Rich in salicylic acid, Lemon juice helps eliminate the rough dead cells from the surface, rejuvenating skin and imparting a naturally younger look, preventing wrinkles and fine lines.

The following are the ingredients I use to combine all of these great benefits with those found in:

Glorious Grape seed oil:

Photo Credit: http://www.seedguides.info/ 1. Wrinkle and Scar Reduction: has an ideal viscosity, the oil is extremely rich in beta-carotene and vitamins D, C, E. It also happens to have a concentration of essential fatty acids like palmitic, stearic, and linoleic acid. These fatty acids have performed well in clinical anti-wrinkle trials. They have also proven to be effective at minimizing the prominence and size of scars.

2. Prevention of Acne and Aging: Nutrient-rich grape seed oil has found its way into myriad cosmetic products, especially products meant for the face and hair. Lip balms, face creams, conditioners, moisturizers and other products that contain grape seed oil are all rich in polyphenols. These polyphenols are anti-inflammatory antioxidants known to retard the aging process and prevent acne outbreaks.

3. Skin Balancing: Grape seed oil is light to the touch and never leaves skin feeling heavy with oil. Instead, it effectively moisturizes the skin, balancing both dry and oily patches. When used as a toner, grape seed oil can penetrate blocked pores and cleanse breakouts.

The end result? Skin so healthy and supple you'll wonder why you hadn't tried it before.

Follow my blog for my ongoing series: Skin Benefits of Herbal and botanical sugar scrubs Why I use the ingredients I do for my organic Sugar scrubs available on Etsy?

Sources and Further Reading: List of Essential Oils with their Health Benefits

Botanical.com

Bastyr Center for Natural Health

academia.edu

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

rutgers.edu

organicfacts.net

naturalnews.com

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5 remarkable herbal remedies for your sugar scrubs.

In my last post, we discussed the ingredients available for creating your own custom sugar scrub based on your skin care needs. If you’re just tuning in, be sure to take a moment to check the Skin Care Wish List here:
Not sure what your needs are or what to look for? Do you know what your skin needs are but don’t know what ingredients match with your needs?
I ask you to do this so that:

1. You can get a good grasp of what your needs and wants for your skin are and match them with the herbaceous or floral plant that treats or aids those needs.
2. THEN, visit the previous post: How to create your custom scrub given the ingredients I have chosen for your choices. I’ll meet you back here when you’re done.

For instance: If you have an area of skin that has a tendency for, let’s say…acne. Yes, the dreaded acne.
At one point in time, I bet every single one of us has had to deal with acne in one form or another in our lifetime at one point, so we can all relate. (Unlike psoriasis, eczema, and similar skin conditions that we cannot all relate to.) Let’s say you've got a son who is in his teens, puberty, football team, great kid, but embarrassed in the locker room because of the acne on his back. Or a daughter who is struggling to accept that she really is beautiful… under the acne on her cheeks, chin, and forehead. We can consider a lady in her twenties, thirties, even forties who is on birth control. The testosterone in the birth control gives her a hormonal imbalance which is causing acne. There are many reasons/causes/embarrassing stories! So, go to the Skin Care Wish List and find the items that match your needs. Let’s do this together.
*tip: I even made a printable Wish List available on the top of the Wish List post if you so choose. I’ll meet you back here when you are done with the Skin Care Wish List and the Custom Scrub post (if it feels like I’m giving you homework, I apologize. I sincerely hope that you do not feel that way, with me giving you an “assignment” if you will. I truly hope that you take your natural skincare needs seriously and I am trying to help you in that venture in any way that I can. Should you have ANY questions at all, feel free to comment at the end of the posts)
Are you back? Here’s what I got for Acne Natural Skin Care Needs:

• Tea Tree Oil
• Grape Seed Oil
• Sunflower Oil
• Ground by hand Rolled Whole Oatmeal
• St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)
• Dried Nettles
• Dried Lavender
• Thyme
• Lemon Balm
• Aloe

I make natural herbal and flower infusions as a choice for an additional specialized ingredient in my custom scrubs.

Infusion is the process of extracting chemical compounds or flavors from plant material in a solvent such as water, oil or alcohol, by allowing the material to remain suspended in the solvent over time (a process often called steeping). An infusion is also the name for the resultant liquid. Source

Here is a highlight on those infusions in my apothecary cabinet:

Rose and Chamomile Infused with Grape Seed Oil

What does this concoction do?
Rose Petals contain tons of Vitamin C. They are known to help in healing sunspots and are also a natural anti-inflammatory agent. Chamomile helps to relieve symptoms of eczema and is known to calm dry and irritated skin. Also, they are an antioxidant, natural antiseptic and even have antimicrobial properties.
Grapeseed oil is known to help restore collagen in the skin and aids in skin balancing, helps to prevent acne, aging, wrinkle and scar reduction.

Thyme infused with Pure Witch Hazel

What does this concoction do?
Thyme is more effective for treating acne caused by an acne bacterium than standard creams containing benzoyl peroxide – without the irritating side effects. Has an antiseptic and antifungal property that cleanses, heals and soothes inflamed skin. Thyme is often used for deep cleansing. Pure Witch Hazel is a natural astringent and helps deep clean oily skin. It can soothe red, irritated skin while helping to prevent acne.

Nettles infused with Grape Seed Oil

What does this concoction do?
Nettles have the natural ability to calm and sooth inflammation, which makes it the perfect choice for helping problematic skin. This plant has shown to have a number of protective antioxidants that help reduce free radical damage to the skin, providing anti-aging benefits. It’s effective against microorganisms, helping to kill off bacteria and fungi. This makes it effective against acne and as a natural preservative in skin care products. Grape Seed Oil is a restorative of collagen, skin balancing, and prevention of acne and aging.

Calendula infused with Olive Oil

What does this concoction do?
Mild and soothing, great for dry or chapped skin, has antiseptic, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties. Calendula acts as a natural anti-inflammatory, has antibacterial and antiviral properties. Olive Oil is rich in antioxidants, prevents skin aging, the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Also, nourishes, rejuvenates and protects the skin. It is rich in vitamin E & A, helps prolong youth, hydrates the skin, maintains elasticity and softness and even helps skin cells regenerate.

Thyme infused with Sunflower Oil

What does this concoction do?
Anti-aging and Effective at treating blemishes caused by acne bacterium Thyme is more effective for treating acne caused by an acne bacterium than standard creams containing benzoyl peroxide – without the irritating side effects. Has an antiseptic and antifungal property that cleanses, heals and soothes inflamed skin. Thyme is often used for deep cleansing. Sunflower Oil Creates a protective layer that prevents bacteria from making direct contact with your skin thus it prevents acne. An antioxidant, sunflower oil has anti-inflammatory properties and omega-6 fatty acids as well.
Rose and Chamomile Infused with Grape Seed Oil
Thyme infused with Pure Witch Hazel
Nettles infused with Grape Seed Oil
Calendula infused with Olive Oil
Thyme infused with Sunflower Oil

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