 What is it?Aromatherapy also referred to as “essential oil therapy”. Can be defined as the art and science of utilizing naturally extracted aromatic essences from plants to balance, harmonize, and promote the health of body, mind and spirit. The science and art of aromatherapy is based on the various treatments by which essential oils can be used effectively and safely.  History The art of aromatherapy has been practiced for thousands of years. Some of the first evidence comes from an ancient Chinese emperor who wrote a book describing the aromatic and healing properties of plants. The ancient Egyptians were the first to use essential oils. They invented a distilling process to extract the essential oils. Several kinds, such as frankincense, were used in the process that preserved the bodies of the ancient kings and queens before they were embalmed and mummified. Ways to use Aromatherapy  1. Apply to the skin Never directly, of course. Very few essential oils can be used directly on your skin. When using essential oils topically you definitely want to make sure that you dilute your essential oils in a carrier oil before applying to your skin. Essential oils are fat soluble, meaning they are immediately absorbed into the skin. Our whipped shea butters contain certified organic essential oils and are already blended with carrier oils. So there’s no need to dilute. You can find them here. Some other carrier oils that are good to mix and dilute with are sweet almond oil, grapeseed oil, coconut oil, and jojoba oil just to name a few. Popular areas of applying essential oils to your skin are on your wrists, your temples, your feet, or behind your ears.  2. Inhale Open up a bottle of essential oil and bring it near your nose and simply breathe in deeply then out through your mouth or you can place 2-3 drops of essential oil on a tissue or a pillow while sleeping, this can be helpful to reduce coughing at night and to encourage sleep. Steam inhalations can also be helpful for coughs, colds, chest infections, and even skin cleansing.  3. Use in a bath After the hustle and bustle of the workday, don’t you just want to relax and unwind? Well, taking a quick 20-minute Epsom salt bath with your favorite blend of essential oils will definitely calm your senses. Simply mix a few drops to Epsom salt or a light carrier oil , then add to your warm bath water, and enjoy! These are just a few ideas on how to utilize aromatherapy on a daily basis. ConclusionWe often take our sense of smell for granted, but studies show that scents are closely linked to memory and can even affect moods and emotions. Depending on the season and your location there are ways in which you can enjoy some “smell therapy”. Visiting a botanical garden, floral shop, farmers market, perfume shop, or even enjoying essential oils, which are derived from the oils of many of your favorite flowers. What are some of your favorite floral scents? Here’s to the nose! Share your comments below. References https://www.alliance-aromatherapists.org/history-basics https://naha.org/explore-aromatherapy/about-aromatherapy/what-is-aromatherapy Disclaimer
I (Nailah’s Shea) am not a doctor, and I am not here to give you direct medical advice. I may explain health and well-being benefits in blog post topics or individual email inquiries on occasion. None of these health benefits have been evaluated or approved by the FDA. They should not be used in place of personal judgment or medical treatment, nor is it intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Only your doctor can diagnose and treat disease.
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 Have you noticed that your skin changes according to the season? From hot sticky summer days to extremely cold winter days and the in between weather conditions, it’s not just our wardrobe that changes. Here in North Carolina we are in the midst of winter, so I thought what better time to share a few Winter skincare tips with you.  1. Hydrate from the inside – Dry skin can cause all sorts of discomfort, including peeling, flaking, cracking, redness and itching. Yes, lathering on emollient rich body butter will help soothe your skin temporarily, but, did you know that when you are consistent with drinking water multiple times a day you are hydrating yourself from the inside out. If you don’t care for plain water try adding some lemon or lime slices to your water or even warming your water up and adding some other fruits or herbs to your cup.  2. Eating Clean – I’m sure you’ve heard of the phrase, “you are what you eat”. Well, this statement is so true. One key to having healthy nourished glowing skin is to eat healthy. Eat more fruits and veggies daily as often as you can. Some fruits that are typically in season during the winter months that have high amounts of antioxidants and vitamin C are: apples, oranges, cranberries, pomegranates and kiwis.  3. Wear breathable clothing – Growing up, my mother would always tell us to make sure we wear clothes that are 100 % cotton as often as possible. I had no idea how important this was until I had children of my own. They suffered from eczema and extremely dry skin so I did a little research of my own. According to the National Eczema Society, cotton clothing and bedding keeps the skin cool and allows it to breathe, whereas synthetic fabrics and wool can irritate.  4. Don’t Use Harsh Soap - Use natural soap as much as possible. Without any deodorants or synthetic fragrances – these ingredients tend to be very harsh and drying to your skin. You can find our all natural and organic moisture rich Shea Butter soap here.  5. Moisturize Immediately - Moisturize your skin immediately after showering or bathing, this is crucial. Pat your skin dry with a towel and then apply your moisturizer directly afterwards while your skin is still damp. The dampness of your body will help seal in the moisture from the moisturizer you choose to use. Oil-based rather than water-based retains moisture in the winter. I hope this information was helpful. Do you have any winter skincare tips you would like to share with our readers? We'd love to hear from you. Leave a comment below and make sure to share this blog with friends! Sources
Cade, Matteson. “How to Moisturize From the Inside Out.” (Accessed 1/17/19) https://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/moisturizing/basics/moisturize-from-the-inside-out3.htm National Eczema Society. “Itching and Scratching.” (Accessed 1/17/19) http://www.eczema.org/itching-scratching  I want healthy glowing skin! Many of you have said this. Well one easy step to take is to exfoliate. What is exfoliation you ask? We will get into more details about exfoliation later but real quick, exfoliation refers to the removal of the dead skin cells on the skin’s surface. Exfoliation can be performed mechanically, by using slightly abrasive scrubs on the skin or chemically, by using scrubs that contain special kinds of acids that dissolve and remove the dead skin cells without scrubbing. Now that we know what exfoliation is, let’s discuss the differences and benefits of using sugar or salt to exfoliate, why should you exfoliate, how to exfoliate using a scrub, and how often should you exfoliate. The main difference is the size of the exfoliating granules. Sugar: Sugar granules tend to be smaller and finer, making sugar scrubs less abrasive than salt scrubs and excellent for sensitive skin and delicate areas of the body. Sugar has naturally occurring Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) or glycolic acid. According to research from Naturopathica, AHAs were found to promote softer, smoother skin, faded wrinkles, lightened age spots, and decreased blemishes. Generally, sugar scrubs can be used all over your body, literally from head to toe. Salt: Salt, has antiseptic properties and is more "detoxifying" to the skin, making it a great option for foot and body soaks. Salt granules can be a little larger and coarse, excellent for extremely thick calluses, feet, elbow, and knees. Some salt scrubs that are made of Himalayan or Dead Sea salt are full of naturally occurring beneficial minerals. Why should you exfoliate? Cell regeneration slows down as we age and our body is slow to shed new skin cells and generate new ones. Our old skin cells then start to pile up, and can often leave our skin looking dull, rough, and dry. In turn, the build-up of dead skin cells can result in excess oil and clogged pores, leading to blemishes and acne. Exfoliation removes the barrier of dead skin cells clogging the skin and uncovers fresh new cells below. This opens the way for moisturizing products to penetrate more deeply into the skin, which makes them more effective. How do you exfoliate using a scrub? When using Nailah’s Shea’s Exfoliating Sugar Scrubs, we recommend to first wash and rinse with our organic handcrafted Shea Butter soap. After cleansing; take a small scoop of the scrub and gently rub in a circular motion on damp skin. Rinse off when done. Then pat yourself dry. To seal in the moisture from the oils in the sugar scrub choose your favorite moisturizer like our organic whipped Shea Body Butter. How often should you exfoliate? Yes, exfoliating your skin is one key to achieving that healthy natural glow but you don’t want to over exfoliate your skin. Over exfoliating your skin can leave your skin dry, irritated, and damaged. Exfoliate at least 1-2 times a week. I hope you found this blog helpful. Now let’s continue our journey to healthy, naturally glowing skin! Please share this blog on your social media pages or email it to a friend.   Welcome back! Let’s recap, in Part 1 of Combating Winter Skin – “Show your skin some love”, we discussed 4 tips. First we discussed how it was important not to turn your heat up in your home to more than 71 degrees Fahrenheit because it will dry your skin out. Next, we suggested using a humidifier for added moisture in your home. We advised taking short lukewarm showers and finally, not using harsh soaps which can be drying because of the synthetic chemical make up.  5. Moisturize Immediately Moisturize your skin immediately after showering or bathing, this is crucial. Pat your skin dry with a towel and then apply your moisturizer directly afterwards while your skin is still damp. The dampness of your body will help seal in the moisture from the moisturizer you choose to use. Oil-based rather than water-based is more likely to retain moisture in the winter.  6. Drink plenty of water Even I have been prone to want to drink more warm beverages like teas and coffee during the colder winter months. But don’t forget, glowing skin comes from being hydrated from the inside out. Because I don’t like to drink cold drinks, I sometimes drink warm water with a bit of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar when I feel like grabbing more than one cup of coffee a day.  7. Do eat plenty of fruits and veggies Eat more fruits and veggies daily as often as you can. Some fruits that are typically in season during the winter months that have high amounts of antioxidants and vitamin C are: apples, oranges, cranberries, pomegranates and kiwis. I hope this blog was helpful. If so, please share it with your friends or on your social media pages. I would love to hear your feedback and learn more about your winter skincare routine.
2018 is here! Have you found yourself year after year making resolutions that are half fulfilled? I know I have. My goal this year is to enjoy being ME and embracing all of me. Starting with Self-Care The Oxford Dictionary’s definition of self-care is “the purpose of taking action to preserve or improve one’s own health”. We can dig a little deeper and break self-care into the 4 key elements – physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual, and how to incorporate them into our daily lives for overall wellness for you and your family. 1. Physical Self-care involves taking care of you physical health and incorporating a healthy lifestyle. From walks in the park, going to the gym, eating healthy and drinking lots of water. Also, unplug from time to time. Step away from the computer, phone, television, etc. 2. Emotional Emotional self-care may include surrounding yourself with positive people. People you care about and people who care about you. Setting clear boundaries for yourself when it comes to your time and energy. Try not to harbor any ill feelings or emotions inside but take time to express how you feel in a positive and receiving way. 3. Psychological Psychological self-care may include giving attention to things that are in your control. Doing things to stimulate your creativity, professionally or just for fun. This may include reading, journaling, meditating, perfecting your craft, or even turning what you are passionate about into a business. Take time for self-awareness, to learn, to think, and grow. 4. Spiritual Spiritual self-care may include prayer or meditation. You may want to take time to reflect and practice mindfulness and gratitude. There it is guys, the 4 key elements of self-care. You may be saying that you are already incorporating these elements in your daily lives. If so, sit back and reflect on how to improve them and make sure to involve your family in them as well. If you feel it’s too much for you to incorporate in one day then choose a one day out of the week to practice self-care. I would love to hear how you plan to incorporate self-care in to your life this coming year. Feel free to leave a comment below. Wishing you all the best! Can you believe it’s been a little over a month since the National Folk Festival (NFF) was here in Greensboro? It’s amazing how time flies. Well, as promised I wanted to share with you the experience I had meeting with all of you at the NFF and I also wanted to share an experience of meeting little ones fascinated by the art of soap making. From the process, to the herbs and then the smells, oh what fun we had. At the NFF I saw some familiar faces from around Greensboro as well as many new faces. Among these faces were families that were traveling from all across the US to spend the weekend in town enjoying the festivities that the NFF had to offer. Greensboro, being home to several colleges and universities, meant many college students visited our booth at the NFF. One young lady in particular that stopped by was a student originally from New Zealand. She was very interested in working in rural Uganda with needy children and families and I’ll always remember her determination and selflessness. Wishing her all the best! Check out the picture below of a familiar face you may have seen around town too.  This is off topic a bit but I just have to tell you. Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to share the art of soap making with some elementary school kids (500 of them). The school celebrated their own "State Fair" and I was asked to be an exhibitor. Of course I couldn't make soap for all of them. However, I shared the process of soap making with them. The children were ecstatic! They enjoyed hearing about the process and smelling the herbs that I brought with me (rosemary, mint leaves, lemongrass, and lavender). They learned about Shea Butter and where the Shea nut comes from. The children had the opportunity to touch and use the Shea Butter. They held a real coconut! They also left with a piece of soap from a soap maker. LOL :-) I couldn't stop smiling after I was given “Thank You” cards from the students. Just reading them made me feel so happy that I had the opportunity to spend the day with them and share with them my passion. Scroll down to see the cards that they created for me.  What's your passion? Share your thoughts below.
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Camilia Z. Majette, MHSACamilia, Founder and CEO of Nailah's Shea, LLC is a mom, wife, global traveler, humanitarian, and entrepreneur. She loves to share her knowledge and passion about natural living and wellness with everyone she meets. Archives
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