Our Anti Anxiety Essential Oil Inhaler includes essential oils, which have been added to a convenient personal inhaler, for self-treatment. This blend contains oils known for their anxiolytic and sedative effects, which lower stress levels; reduce anxiety and aid with panic attacks. It is great for those with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), those facing surgery and anyone needing to unwind. Its compact size makes it perfect to carry in your pocket or purse.

Our Lavender Baby Organic Body Wash can be used as a body wash, shampoo and/or hand soap. It has been created to be moisturizing, gentle and safe for the entire family. No fragrance oils, colours or artificial surfactants have been added. It has been made with natural ingredients and calming lavender essential oil to soothe and relax, especially before bedtime.

Our organic Rose Facial Toner is a refreshing, alcohol free toner for everyday use, to cleanse and hydrate your skin. Rose is known for its antioxidant, antibacterial and anti-aging properties. It also helps with skin irritation and redness. Witch Hazel is a known astringent and anti-inflammatory. It controls oiliness, tones and tightens your pores.

Aromatic Health is participating in the Handmade To Give giveaway.

Aromatic Health is gifting a Cold & Sinus Essential Oil Blend.

Enter to win! Please visit my Facebook page, Like it, and then leave a comment. The giveaway runs from January 2nd to 8th.

Handmade To Give, hosted by Melissa Cahoon, is bringing handmade artists together for a common purpose; to showcase our creations, share with everyone our endless amounts of talent and to give back to those who encourage us, support us and remind us each and everyday what is to be an artist in our own creation.

Please visit the link above, to visit her blog and learn more about this giveaway.

Artisans who are taking part include: iBakery, Elanne & Ivy, Kimberely’s Kitchen, Shelby Styles, Paula’s Crocheted Creations, Purple Lily Studio and Serafina and Stella.

This holiday season, relax, unwind and enjoy your time with friends and family, along with essential oils.

Thank you for your patronage this year. As a thank you, I would like to offer 20% off your online order. Please enter coupon code HH2011. Happy Holidays!

Offer valid until December 20, 2011 at 11:00pm.

Take a look at our shop for new products including an organic body wash, Lavender Baby, which is safe for the entire family, an Anti Anxiety Essential Oil Inhaler and Rose Facial Toner.

All the best for the holiday season!

SHOP NOW

Who: Everyone is welcome.

What: A weekly chat on aromatherapy and essential oils

When: Monday evenings at 9pm EST (North America)

Where: Twitter

Why: To discuss and explore the benefits of aromatherapy

How: Follow the hashtag #EOTherapy

Each week, we’ll be discussing a different essential oil or hydrosol, or discussing a specific ailment. If you are interested in learning more about essential oil therapy, please join us.

It is easier to follow a Twitter chat, if using a third party application, such as TweetChat.com. This way, only tweets with that specific hashtag are seen and the hashtag you are following is automatically added to the end of your tweet. There is no need to worry about remembering to add the hashtag. The number of characters available is shortened by the hashtag.

The term aromatherapy is misleading, as it implies that healing occurs by scent alone. This is only a small part of what aromatherapy includes. The word ‘aromatherapy’ has become a buzz word and has been used for any product which contains natural or synthetic essential oils, even in minute amounts. Aromatherapy, simply described, is the use of essential oils to aid in the healing of the body, mind and spirit. I now prefer to call it essential oil therapy.

However, medical, or clinical, aromatherapy uses pure, therapeutic grade essential oils, which are derived from plant material such as herbs, flowers, roots, trees and fruits. Essential oils are concentrated, volatile substances, which display various properties. These plant properties include, but are not limited to, anti-viral agents, anti-inflammatories, decongestants or sedatives.

Clinical aromatherapy treats an individual on a physiological, topical and psychological level. Aromatherapy is holistic; in that the whole person is treated and not just the symptom of a disease. The aim is not a quick fix or cure, but true healing and a strengthened immune system. As essential oils are in two forms; liquid and vapour, it is difficult to treat on one level.

Essential oils are used as a preventative of disease/ailments and as a treatment for diseases when they arise. It has been stated that the overuse of antibiotics have led to immune deficiency disorders, underdeveloped immune systems and resistant bacteria (Schmidt, Smith, Sehnert. Beyond Antibiotics). Essential oils have shown to be effective against bacteria, viruses and fungi. In the case of the common cold, the use of immune stimulating essential oils can prevent the cold, alleviate the symptoms, shorten the duration and protect against secondary infections.

There has been an increase in the number of studies being completed on the effectiveness of essential oils. These studies include the antiseptic, fungicide and bactericide effects of tea tree oil against oral bacteria (PMID: 14567294), the induction of apoptosis by citrus essential oils in human leukemic (HL-60) cells (PMID: 14758720) and the antifungal activity of thyme essential oil (PMID: 14750199).

Most of what we see in the media, regarding aromatherapy, centres on scent alone. It’s no wonder that there is a misunderstanding of what aromatherapy really is. Please review our other articles to learn more about clinical aromatherapy and its benefits. You’ll find that it’s a lot more than just scent alone.

A number of our products were prominently featured on display at The Artisan Group’s exhibit, and all attending celebrities received a HeadBalm or Mental Clarity Essential Oil Inhaler in their swag bags.

Mayim Bialik and Russell Hornsby posed for a photograph holding one of our display pieces.

Mayim Bialik is best known for her lead role in the 1990’s NBC sitcom ‘Blossom’ and she currently stars as Amy Farrah Fowler on CBS’s ‘The Big Bang Theory’. She is the mother of two young boys, holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and is a spokesperson for the Holistic Moms Network. She is a Certified Lactation Educator Counselor and is devoted to a lifestyle of attachment parenting, homeschooling, natural family living and vegan cooking.

“Love this!” — Mayim Bialik

Russell Hornsby is best know for portraying police officer Eddie Sutton on the ABC drama ‘Lincoln Heights’ and Luke on the HBO series ‘In Treatment’. He is a successful stage actor, who has moved on to film and television and currently stars in NBC’s ‘Grimm’. He has a love for theatre as well as travel. He encourages opening your perspective by traveling, ‘I love the insight that it gives you on life and the world’.

The exposure has been great and I look forward to what the future may bring.

“We are thrilled to be included in such a prestigious event,” Michelle Reynolds, certified aromatherapist and owner of Aromatic Health told us. “We’re a small company and have only been in business for about 10 years so to be included in an event of this size and caliber is great recognition for our products.”

The Artisan Group is a collective of talented artisans who provide a sampling of the “best of the best” products to celebrities and members of the press. “Exposure generated by being included in this type of event has launched many a business to the next level so we’re very optimistic about our future,” Michelle added.

Aromatic Health will have several of their products prominently displayed at The Artisan Group’s exhibit – HeadBalm, Mental Clarity Inhaler, Muscle Ointment, Hemp Bum Butter, Postpartum Perineum Spray and Peppermint Lip Balm. In addition, all celebrity recipients will receive a complimentary HeadBalm or Mental Clarity Essential Oil Inhaler.

You may recall the results of a study stating that lavender and tea tree oils caused the development of breast tissue (prepubertal gynecomastia) in three young boys (aged four, seven and ten). This singular study was first published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007.¹ All three boys had used skin care products containing lavender and tea tree oils, and were all diagnosed by the same doctor.

If you take a close look at the study, some issues are raised. The solvent used to dilute the oils was dimethyl sulfoxide, which is an estrogen mimicker.² The full list of ingredients in these products were not mentioned, nor the possible chemicals included in the packaging of the products. Parabens were likely included in the ingredients and phthalates in the packaging. In a recent study, diethyl phthalate was found in 103 out of 252 products, which included fragrances, hair care products, deodorants, nail polishes, lotions, skin cleansers and baby products.³ Both phthalates and parabens have been shown to have an estrogenicity presence.^4&5

A number of researchers and doctors have raised some questions regarding the validity of this study. There were three doctors, who made the following comments:

“The study by Henley et al. (Feb. 1 issue)¹ raises many questions. Product names were not provided. Did the authors contact manufacturers to report concerns or ask about constituents? The variability, adulteration, and contamination of herbal products have been widely reported,^2,3 as have discrepancies between labels and contents.⁴ Plastic containers may contain phthalates, known endocrine disrupters.⁵ What was actually in the products cited in this report?

None of the hormonal testing showed abnormal results, except in Patient 2, who had elevated levels of testosterone (not estrogen). There was no report on ultrasound examination or needle biopsy, nor were subsequent weight changes reported. Might the patients’ gynecomastia have reflected another pathophysiological process that resolved spontaneously?

Traditional use and clinical trials have not suggested estrogenic effects of tea tree or lavender oil, though estrogenic effects have been reported for other essential oils and plants. Are occupational exposures to lavender and tea tree associated with estrogenic symptoms? In vitro testing alone is not adequate grounds for indicting traditionally used products and may raise public fear.”

Kathi J. Kemper, M.D., M.P.H.
Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157
Aviva J. Romm
Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510
Paula Gardiner, M.D., M.P.H.
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215
1. Henley DV, Lipson N, Korach KS, Bloch CA. Prepubertal gynecomastia linked to lavender and tea tree oils. N Engl J Med 2007;356:479-485
2. Homer LE, Leach DN, Lea D, Slade Lee L, Henry RJ, Baverstock PR. Natural variation in the essential oil content of Melaleuca alternifolia Cheel (Myrtaceae). Biochem Syst Ecol 2000;28:367-382
3. Keane FM, Munn SE, du Vivier AW, Taylor NF, Higgins EM. Analysis of Chinese herbal creams prescribed for dermatological conditions. BMJ 1999;318:563-564
4. Garrard J, Harms S, Eberly LE, Matiak A. Variations in product choices of frequently purchased herbs: caveat emptor. Arch Intern Med 2003;163:2290-229
5. Schettler T. Human exposure to phthalates via consumer products. Int J Androl 2006;29:134-139

A Canadian doctor also had made some comments regarding the study:

“Henley et al. do a commendable job of sleuthing out the likely cause of prepubertal gynecomastia in the young boys exposed to either lavender or tea tree oil. However, given that estrogenic compounds have yet to be detected in either oil, it is important that we carefully interpret these important findings. A growing number of endocrine disrupters in our environment have been shown to accumulate in adipose tissue.^1,2 A number of such industrial by-products have also been implicated in early thelarche.³ Since these molecules with hormone-modulating activity are fat soluble, topically applied oils may serve as very efficient delivery agents for environmental endocrine disrupters by concentrating them and delivering them into cells. Although Henley et al. attempt to show that these oils have estrogenic activity, the results of their reported assays indicate a very weak effect. It would be bewildering if such relatively low hormonal activity alone could instigate prepubertal gynecomastia.”

Shirin Kalyan, Ph.D.
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada
1. Paris F, Jeandel C, Servant N, Sultan C. Increased serum estrogenic bioactivity in three male newborns with ambiguous genitalia: a potential consequence of prenatal exposure to environmental endocrine disruptors. Environ Res 2006;100:39-43
2. Brevini TA, Zanetto SB, Cillo F. Effects of endocrine disruptors on developmental and reproductive functions. Curr Drug Targets Immune Endocr Metabol Disord 2005;5:1-10
3. Colon I, Caro D, Bourdony CJ, Rosario O. Identification of phthalate esters in the serum of young Puerto Rican girls with premature breast development. Environ Health Perspect 2000;108:895-900

A later study, completed in Denmark, showed that none of the bioavailable tea tree oil constituents demonstrated estrogenicity.⁶ Bioavailability is the rate, or degree, at which a drug or other substance is absorbed.

Based on the above commentaries and personal experience, I feel that both tea tree and lavender essential oils are safe to use. Many baby care products contain lavender, for its sedative, calming properties. It’s great that essential oils and natural ingredients are being researched, but we shouldn’t be jumping to conclusions after the results of only one study.

Michelle Reynolds, CAHP
___________________________________________________________________

1. Prepubertal gynecomastia linked to lavender and tea tree oils. Henley DV, Lipson N, Korach KS, Bloch CA. N Engl J Med. 2007 Feb 1;356(5):479-85. PMID: 17267908
2. Dimethyl sulfoxide is a potent modulator of estrogen receptor isoforms and xenoestrogen biomarker responses in primary culture of salmon hepatocytes. Mortensen AS, Arukwe A. Aquat Toxicol. 2006 Aug 12;79(1):99-103. Epub 2006 Jun 3. PMID: 16828892
3. Phthalates in cosmetic and personal care products: concentrations and possible dermal exposure. Koniecki D, Wang R, Moody RP, Zhu J. Environ Res. 2011 Apr;111(3):329-36. PMID: 21315328
4. Toxic effects of the easily avoidable phthalates and parabens. Crinnion WJ. Altern Med Rev. 2010 Sep;15(3):190-6. PMID: 21155623
5.  Exposure to phthalates: reproductive outcome and children health. A review of epidemiological studies. Jurewicz J, Hanke W. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2011 Jun;24(2):115-41. PMID: 21594692
6.  What you see may not always be what you get–bioavailability and extrapolation from in vitro tests. Nielsen JB. Toxicol In Vitro. 2008 Jun;22(4):1038-42. PMID: 18255254

Summer is a season of fruition and beauty and many herbs, flowers and trees are at their peak. As we spend more time outdoors, the effects heat and humidity, insects and the sun are affecting us. Essential oils and hydrosols can bring relief to common ailments such as burns, sunstroke, bites, stings, sore muscles, poison ivy/oak contact and allergies.

Sunburn
Most citrus essential oils are photosensitive, so direct sunlight should be avoided, after their use. As some essential oils decrease the amount of time the skin takes to burn, others protect our skin. Many vegetable based carrier oils, and rose essential oil, have a natural sun protection factor of SPF 6 – SPF 8. These oils include coconut, sweet almond, olive, safflower and sesame. If a burn does occur, recommended essential oils and hydrosols include lavender, chamomile (German or Roman), helichrysum (immortelle), geranium and witch hazel. Hydrosols can be sprayed directly on the area. Note that these plants can help with other skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, cuts and bruises.

Hydrosols can bring quick relief, as there is not always the need to dilute as with essential oils. Use liberally on the face, arms and legs for relief from a specific ailment, from the heat or to refresh. A small bottle can be kept on you, in a purse, a bag or the car. Hydrosols can be taken internally, with 30ml diluted in 1L of distilled or spring water, and enjoyed throughout the day. A three-week course, with one week off, is recommended.

Natural Insect Repellent
Natural insect repellents such as cedar, citronella, eucalyptus, fleabane, geranium, lemongrass, peppermint, rosemary and sweet gale essential oils and hydrosols can be used, as oppose to the controversial chemical known as DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide). A combination of the above can be used in a water, lotion or oil based repellent. Some, including children, find the oil based repellent sticky and do not like the feel of the oil on their skin, but it has longer lasting effects. Essentials oils generally do not deter stinging insects such as bees and wasps. After being bitten, the essential oils of tea tree, lavender, geranium, lemon and peppermint, lemon juice and witch hazel can be applied to sooth and take away the itch.

Poison Ivy/Oak
If you are unfortunate and come into contact with poison ivy, it is important to wash the sap (urushiol) from the area as soon as possible. Be sure not to take a bath, which will spread the urushiol to other areas of the body. Tea tree essential oil can be applied neat on the rash and taken internally in hydrosol form. Sweet fern and yarrow are other hydrosols, which can be applied topically. These plants, as well as geranium, will relieve the itching and irritation.

Allergies
Allergies can affect sufferers in late summer and into the autumn. There are essential oils and hydrosols that have anti-histamine, anti-inflammatory and expectorant properties.  Essential oils, combined with the internal use of hydrosols, can bring relief. These include chamomile, green myrtle, elecampane, eucalyptus, niaouli and peppermint.

First Aid Kit
A basic first aid kit, for the summer, can be made easily and should include the following:

Gauze
Bandages
Tea tree essential oil
Lavender essential oil
Witch hazel hydrosol

Tea tree is anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-viral, and can be applied to cuts, insect bites, scrapes, warts and cold sores. Lavender is anti-septic, soothing and sedating, and can be used for burns, sunburns, insect bites and headaches/migraines. Witch hazel is anti-inflammatory, anti-septic and astringent, and can be used for burns, sunburns, bruises and insect bites.

As you enjoy the summer, keep essentials oils and hydrosols in mind. A pampering peppermint foot lotion may even be in order, for those dry, overworked feet!

Michelle Reynolds, CAHP

__________________________________________________________________

1. An in vitro evaluation of various Rosa damascena flower extracts as a natural antisolar agent. Tabrizi H, Mortazavi SA, Kamalinejad M. Int J Cosmet Sci. 2003 Dec;25(6):259-65. PMID: 18494908
2. An experimental study of the effects of Matricaria chamomilla extract on cutaneous burn wound healing. Jarrahi M. Nat Prod Res. 2008 Mar 20;22(5):422-7. PMID: 18404562
3. Anti-inflammatory efficacy of topical preparations with 10% hamamelis distillate in a UV erythema test. Hughes-Formella BJ, Filbry A, Gassmueller J, Rippke F. Skin Pharmacol Appl Skin Physiol. 2002 Mar-Apr;15(2):125-32. PMID: 11867970
4. Repellency of essential oils to mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae). Barnard DR. J Med Entomol. 1999 Sep;36(5):625-9. PMID: 10534958
5. Bioactivity against Tribolium castaneum Herbst (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) of Cymbopogon citratus and Eucalyptus citriodora essential oils grown in Colombia. Olivero-Verbel J, Nerio LS, Stashenko EE. Pest Manag Sci. 2010 Jun;66(6):664-8. PMID: 20205230
6. Efficacy of the botanical repellents geraniol, linalool, and citronella against mosquitoes. Müller GC, Junnila A, Butler J, Kravchenko VD, Revay EE, Weiss RW, Schlein Y. J Vector Ecol. 2009 Jun;34(1):2-8. PMID: 20836800
7. Biological activities of yarrow species (Achillea spp.). Nemeth E, Bernath J. Curr Pharm Des. 2008;14(29):3151-67. PMID: 19075697
8. Hydrosols: The Next Aromatherapy. Suzanne Catty. Healing Arts Press, 2001.

Please visit www.theartisangroup.org for more information. Don’t be shy, apply while you’re there! You can also follow on Twitter, Facebook and their blog!

★ A N N O U N C I N G The Artisan Group’s first of three Emmy Award Twitter Parties!

The 63rd Primetime Emmys are taking place on September 18, 2011, and we’re kicking off Emmy season with three super fun Twitter Parties! Our first party takes place on May 11th, and if you follow along you could win some of the swag the celebrities will receive!
Here’s how:

• Follow @theartisangroup, @sweetstellas, @atutudes, @ajsweetsoap
• Follow #artisangroup
• Answer trivia questions about your favorite Primetime shows, actors, moments, what YOU think should be nominated for an Emmy this year (be sure to respond directly to @sweetstellas, @atutudes, or @ajsweetsoap)
• Win prizes, drawn at random! Winners will be announced on Twitter, and reposted here on May 12th!