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An Introduction to Natural Skincare, by Helene Berton

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

My first contact with natural cosmetics was during a course on essential oils, more than ten years ago. Though it was about the therapeutic uses of essential oils, some words were said about some of oils that are beneficial for the skin.

I made my first trial with a mix of vegetable and essential oils as skin care oil for my face. I liked it very much; the effect on my skin, the price (compared to a conventional cosmetic product), and the fact that it is not only totally natural but also very simple to prepare and to use.

Then, questions arose: Which vegetable oils and essential oils can be used on skin? Which ones are useful for skincare? What are the specific properties of the various oils? Which proportion of each of them is the best? And the vegetable butters? And the hydrosols? And what else, still keeping things simple, can be used?

That is how I decided to write my book, The Essential Guide to Natural Skin Care. I wanted to collect and reassemble answers to these questions and others that arose during my research.

After more than a decade of experimenting, training, researching, and teaching and writing on the subject, my motto remains: efficient, natural, and simple.

I stay faithful to skin care oils (versus creams or lotions) because they are easy to prepare, with very few manipulations and few ingredients, and they are easy to store and to use. For me, the less transformation, the better!

People often ask me which vegetable and essential oils they should choose. It is not necessarily an easy question, as it depends on the person's skin type, age, and the effect sought. For a good start, here are some tips that use affordable, easy to find ingredients:

• For young, oily skin, jojoba vegetable oil and rosemary ct. verbenone essential oil can be a good choice, as they regulate the sebum production of the skin.
• For acne, I would choose jojoba oil with palmarosa and ylang ylang essential oils. Those two last oils can also be used, pure, right on pimples and blemishes. The antibacterial properties of palmarosa and the anti-inflammatory properties of ylang ylang one are helpful to that condition.
• For dry skin, avocado oil is very nourishing and well absorbed, and myrrh essential oil helps prevent dehydration of the skin.
• For mature skin, rosehip vegetable oil has good regenerating properties, as does helichrysum essential oil.
• For sensitive skin, macadamia vegetable oil is a good choice, as is with chamomile (German or Roman) essential oil (both have soothing properties).

Usually, a very small amount of essential oil is added to the vegetable oil (usually 0.5 % to 1%); that is about 5 to 10 drops of an essential oil for an ounce of vegetable oil.

Once you have chosen, prepared, and tried your first skin care oil, you can begin to experiment; you can choose a second vegetable or essential oil that you add to your preparation or use to replace another one you do not like that much. And so, small touch by small touch, you can customize the skin care oil that suits you the best. There is no need to have a preparation made of ten vegetable oils and the same number of essential oils; usually, up to four of each is more than enough, and fewer can be excellent as well.

In the same fashion, it is also possible to modulate the ingredients according to the season. For example, some more nourishing oils can be used during dry weather and lighter ones can be more suitable on hot or moist season.

You will likely buy the new ingredients you have not yet experimented with in small amounts; keep in mind that if you do not like them as skin care oils, you can still use them in other ways. For example, you can use the vegetable oils on your dry skin (legs, hands, etc.), as a makeup remover, or as hair treatment. For the essential oils, if you like the smell, they can perfume a room or a car. As they have therapeutic properties, you can also save them for that use, if needed.

As mentioned in The Essential Guide to Natural Skin Care, it is good to make you preparation in a small amount (for example, 1/3 or ½ fl. oz.). This way, it is easier to make adjustments if needed. Keep any unmixed vegetable and essential oils in the refrigerator; the cool, dark environment will help to preserve them longer.

These skin care oil mixtures are the simplest, natural way of taking care of your skin.

You can also experiment simple recipes made with hydrosols. Hydrosols come from the steam used to distillate plants; this steam condenses into water as it is cooled at the end of the distillation process. Hydrosols contain part of the aromatic molecules of the plants, and can have the aromatic composition of the essential oil extracted from the same plant, or they can have a more or less different one—it depends on the plant processed. They also contain some of the elements that are otherwise extracted by doing an infusion: minerals, oligo-elements, acids, etc. That explains why there are hydrosols, with cosmetics and therapeutic properties, produced from plants that are not aromatic.

For a long time, most hydrosols were seen as waste by-products of the production of essential oils and thrown away (with the exception of a few, like rose or orange blossom hydrosols). More and more, their therapeutic and cosmetic properties and values are being considered, and it is getting easier to find them.

Hydrosols are much cheaper, at equal volume, than essential oils. Unfortunately, being aqueous, they do not preserve as well and as long as essential oils (1 to 3 years), and need to be kept in the refrigerator. Their short shelf-life also makes them not as easy as to find as essential oils. They are usually used in bigger volumes and are sold as such, making the shipping weight and fees higher than for essential oils. All that also limits the affordability of hydrosols produced from plants only available in very far countries.

However, it is still possible to find true hydrosols, even if not as many as desired. They can be used as toner or hair rinse, or to make creams. They are also very good as mouthwash.

Below are some good hydrosols to be used if making mouthwash:

• Helichrysum is regenerating for the gums, healing, and anti-inflammatory (note: do not use right after a mouth surgery, as it is an anticoagulant.)
• Mountain savory, thyme (thymol type), cinnamon bark, oregano, or scarlet bee balm (also called Canadian bergamot—thymol type) all have anti-infectious properties Mountain savory, thyme (thymol type), cinnamon bark, oregano, or scarlet bee balm (also called Canadian bergamot—thymol type) all have anti-infectious properties (be careful, these hydrosols are irritating to the tissues when used pure. It is suggested to have a maximum of 30% of them if used in a mouthwash)
• Common sage is an astringent, regenerating for the gums, and anti-infectious
• Laurel is anti-infectious, anti-inflammatory, and an analgesic (very good on gums that are sensitive and that hurt)
• Peppermint is good to add for taste

You can use a single hydrosol (as long as it is not mountain savory, thyme, cinnamon, or Canadian bergamot), or you can mix more; two hydrosols are generally mixed fifty-fifty and three of them are usually mixed in thirds (or 40/40/20 if peppermint is your third choice), depending on the desired effect. (For example, gingivitis is the inflammation and degeneration of the gums caused by bacteria. Thyme plus common sage could be a good choice for that condition, and a little bit of peppermint would improve the taste.) Again, as with your other mixtures, experiment and adapt your recipe to your needs and taste. These mixtures provide a very efficient, alcohol-free mouthwash.

If you decide to prepare a mouthwash with several hydrosols, the best thing to do is to make a mix in a separate bottle that you leave on the bathroom counter for daily use. Keep the remaining unmixed hydrosols in their original containers in the refrigerator.

There are thousands of other uses for these wonderful ingredients, but a simple article could not begin to explain them all. While there are many other vegetable ingredients that can be used for cosmetic purposes, these are some that I know and love best. The above recipes and ingredients are intended to help you begin exploring natural ingredients and help you switch to simple, natural products for your daily cosmetic routine. Begin simply, one product at a time. Little by little, you will widen the range of products you can make and use.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2013. All rights reserved.

Three years ago, I caught my husband with his secretary in bed in my house. It was devastating for me because my husband generally looks down on people who flirt and have extra marital affairs. I was so shocked that I had no words to express my hurt and anger. Though the woman was married, I didn't inform her husband, as I didn't want to jeopardize her marriage. Both of them requested forgiveness, and I said, Since I love my God, I have to forgive, especially since both of you are feeling remorseful about it. The ordeal didn't end for me, however. I started having dreams that this woman is making fun of me and that I am slapping her. I thought I had forgotten the incident, but dreams keep recurring and making me sad. In my dreams I am hurting her, but at the same time I am crying. I want to forget it, but I've been unable to. I feel I am the one who is suffering, while my husband and this woman seem to be fine. How can I get rid of this pain?
Anita

Dreamchaser:

You write that you have forgiven because you love God and have to forgive, but you have NOT forgiven. Not only have you not forgiven, it continues to get worse. You do not trust your husband, and you pretty much hate this woman.

Christian forgiveness is NOT synonymous with meekness and mildness. I have no idea where that idea came from and why women in your position react this way so often. Nowhere is it written that you have to instantly say I forgive you and then forget it. That is just not practical. True forgiveness is often something that takes years to achieve. For example, it has taken me over four years of hard work to get to the place where I can forgive one particular person for something that he did to me. If I was in your situation, I would still be working on that whole forgiveness thing, as would MANY women.

Yes, we're wise to forgive people for wrongs they did to us, but that person must also be held accountable for their actions. In the world you live in, things get swept under the carpet and no one is made to assume responsibility for their actions. You did not want to jeopardize her marriage? She did that herself by sleeping with your husband in YOUR bed. You made her completely unaccountable for her actions by not informing her husband about what happened. It is because she skipped merrily on her way that you are plagued by dreams of hurting her.

Another essential part of this equation is self-protection. To incorporate this, you may have to say, I forgive you for what you did to me, but I will never allow you another chance to do the same thing EVER again. You have to consider how you can apply that in your situation.

You need counseling, and you need it asap. You need individual counseling and you also need marriage counseling. Your husband does not have sex with another woman in your bed if your marriage is solid. By using your method of forgiving, you put the affair behind you and moved forward in your lives without addressing the original problems that caused him to bring another woman into your bed in the first place. If the problems are not addressed and fixed, he will cheat again, and you will suffer again.

You must find a good therapist so that you can deal with the anger, frustration, fear, doubt, and loathing that you have for your husband, this woman, and your life now. You also have to work to get back to a place where you can once again trust him - or any man for that matter. The bottom line is that you have not truly forgiven either of them. Go get some therapy. Fix yourself so you can be happy. You deserve it. I wish you PEACE in your soul.

*****

Astrea:

I want to take this opportunity to explain that Scorpios have an undeserved reputation for being unfaithful. While the really bad ones may use that as an excuse to stray, in my experience, Scorpios are overall a very tender group. When a Scorpio really loves someone, there is no one who is a more dedicated and faithful partner. Sometimes they even carry that to obsession and possessiveness, which can make their partner feel smothered. As with every sign, there are a few bad apples, but overall, Scorpios are faithful and stable in relationships when they're happy.

Scorpios also have an awful time when they try to sneak around, and are most often caught at the WORST possible moments in their lives. You caught your husband in your own home; I see that as a cry for help. Scorpios take things to extremes sometimes. He must have wanted you to catch him so that he could get out of the affair or begin to fix whatever was missing in your marriage.

The dreams you're having are no mystery. Even though you would love to punish that woman for the pain she's caused you, it would hurt your Spirit to do that in real life. That's why you cry as you slap her in your dream. Your conscious mind knows that it wouldn't do any good to punish HER, because it's your HUSBAND who chose to cheat. Your subconscious has picked her for you to be slapping in your dream because you really don't want to confront your husband any more about this nasty situation. Even though you have forgiven him, somewhere deep inside you, it's natural to feel that both of these people should pay for what they did to you.

Whether those two are suffering or not, you sure are! Meditation can help with that, but a professional therapist would be much better for dealing with and working through this awful event. Because you're still with your husband, it will take you longer to be at peace with this situation. You were really and truly a victim here, and nothing is going to change that.

Many people could never forgive that kind of betrayal. Because of your close relationship with God, you were able to forgive your husband and keep your marriage together. I congratulate you from the bottom of my heart for minding your own business and not involving yourself with your husband's secretary's marriage. That would have hurt you even more.

She and her husband have problems of their own to work through - if they can. Staying out of that saved you much grief. That was a smart Virgo thing to do for sure! One of Virgo's best qualities is the ability to zero in on personal problems and leave everyone else alone to solve theirs in their own way. That focus is probably what saved your marriage.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.