A perennial from the Asteraceae family that includes sunflowers, daisies and marigolds, arnica is a yellow-orange flower with an orange center. Native to the mountains of North America, Europe and Eurasia, arnica oil has been used for medicinal purposes since the 1500s.There are several species of arnica but the most well known is Arnica montana, also known as wolf's bane. The blossoms of this species are used to make arnica essential oil. When crushed, these flowers give off a distinctive pine/sage scent, making it useful in perfumery. The essential oil is very costly, however, so it is more common to infuse the dried arnica blossoms and leaves in a gentle carrier oil. Arnica oil is made up of about 50% fatty acids with the remaining 50% a mixture of mainly thymol and ethers of thymol. Does arnica relieve pain and bruising?...

Patchouli essential  oil is derived from a plant that is native to India and tropical regions of Asia and is related to lavender, mint and sage. It thrives at higher elevations and warm climates. This oil was used so heavily in the 60s and early 70s that it developed a stigma based on this "hippie" association. Today, however, patchouli is making a comeback as people have realized what a wonderful scent it has when used in moderation. In fact, it does have a very strong, earthy, musty scent when used alone, and people tend to either love it or hate it. When used correctly in a blend, it acts as a fixative and is the base note that adds depth to a scent blend. Used in our...

My journey to natural skin health began in August of 2010 after a revelatory visit to a new store in our local mall.......but more about that in a moment. Let's go back 7 to 10 years before this time when I was in my mid to late thirties. It seemed out of the blue that I began to develop headaches whenever I applied a perfume, scented lotion or even a scented soap - the stronger the scent, the stronger the headache. Eventually, this reaction intensified to varying degrees of migraines that I could not lessen with medication. If I made the mistake of applying a scented product and did not wash it off right away, odds were I was curled up on the couch for the rest of...