Did you know that washing your hair too often can leave hair prone to dryness and breakage? It’s easy to keep your locks looking lustrous and lifted and extend time between washes by applying a dry shampoo! Using ingredients you already have in your cupboards such as corn starch and baking soda, this DIY Dry Shampoo is free of harsh parabens, dyes, and perfumes that can damage hair and cause breakage. Cornstarch absorbs excess oil, while baking soda and Cedarwood, Rosemary, and Tea Tree essential oils make hair smell fresh and support the qualities of a healthy scalp.
You can experiment with your own blend of essential oils to find a scent that works best for you! We love Lavender, Royal Hawaiian Sandalwood, and Peppermint for their wonderful aromas and various skin-care benefits. If you decide to add cocoa for dark hair, try using oils that complement the scent of chocolate like Orange, Peppermint, or Cinnamon.
DIY Essential Oil-Infused Dry Shampoo
Ingredients
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 2 drops Cedarwood essential oil
- 2 drops Rosemary essential oil
- 1 drop Tea Tree essential oil
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, for dark hair only
Directions
- Combine all ingredients.
- Put in a container of your choice, such as an empty salt shaker or baby powder bottle.
- Sprinkle on roots of hair and massage into scalp.
- Leave for 2–3 minutes to absorb hair’s natural oils.
- Brush through hair.
Spring brings with it signs of renewal and hope. And for many - spring cleaning is top of their list!
And while many people regularly think about cleaning their cars and houses - what about your body? Like other things, your body collects sludge and grime and needs to be cleaned at least once a year.
And while many people regularly think about cleaning their cars and houses - what about your body? Like other things, your body collects sludge and grime and needs to be cleaned at least once a year.
I've read a lot over the years about detoxes and cleanses, and as with everything health related, there are a lot of theories and recommendations. Health is NEVER one size fits all, so you need to read up and see what is going to work best for you and your body and lifestyle. It has to be doable and sustainable or you won't get any benefits.
One particular book I've read talks about the need to clean your body along with certain seasons. It starts in the fall with a colon cleanse, which is actually a really important step. Before you do ANY sort of cleanse or detox, you have to make sure you are having regular bowel movements. You don't want to start pushing out toxins when they have nowhere to go! You'll just compound your problem. So whether you do a "full" colon cleanse first or not - at the very least make sure you are going to the bathroom regularly - several times daily.
So why is a healthy liver even important? The liver handles over 50,000 chemical functions. It's a workhorse and does everything from converting food to fuel, to filtering toxins and producing bile. It produces enzymes and helps regulate hormones and cholesterol and balances sugars and numerous other functions. Liver health is a good indicator of overall health.
Some hazards to liver health are eating a poor diet high in processed foods, excess alcohol consumption, high use of acetaminophen and other OTC medications, vaccinations, pesticides and use of other environmental toxins like chemical cleaners.
The good news is the the liver can actually regenerate itself up to a point. So even a "sick" liver can recover when given the proper tools, but you must give it a fair chance and proper time. You didn't get sick in a day and you also won't heal in a day either.
So when healing your liver, you need to reduce as much of the toxic load as possible. Ditch the processed, box foods. Look at what you are putting on your body as well - do you use highly-fragranced lotions and soaps and shampoo? Look for clean versions of those products. What are you using to clean your house? My personal favorite is Thieves Household Cleaner which is totally clean, safe and works wonders for every surface of your house. Look at my other blog articles for DIY tips with this amazing product!
Clearly, reducing or stopping alcohol is a must. Give your liver a rest - fasting is a great way to let your liver heal. Some people love intermittent fasting daily, for others, doing a simple 24 hour fast occasionally works well. And then feed it with nutritious foods! Carrot juice has long been known as an excellent liver cleanser. Beet juice is also great, and has a high mineral content and is great for the gallbladder and kidneys as well. A good rule of thumb is "bitter is good for the liver". So increase your intake of bitter herbs like cilantro, watercress, mint, parsley and dandelion. Foods rich in B and C vitamins like celery, spinach, cucumbers and cruciferous veggies along with citrus fruits are great for your liver. When it comes to proteins, stick to organic, pasture-raised animals and eggs. And drink that water!! Your liver needs adequate water to function, and generally you need to drink at least half of your body weight in ounces each day. Adding in fresh lemons will provide vitamin C and will also help the liver produce bile.
This is not meant to be a complete guide to doing a liver detox, but merely a starting point. Do more research. Find a plan that works for YOU! Along with the lifestyle and food changes, you may want to add in specific herbs and supplements that support liver health. Personally, my favorite company for supplements is Young Living because I trust their sources and ingredients. The addition of essential oils to their supplements makes them more absorbable, more bio-available to your body. If you'd like more information on their product line, I'd love to help you!
Thanks for stopping by to learn a little bit about liver health. I hope it's been informative, and I hope to keep writing more consistently to share with you. Be blessed!
Sarah Claburn, ND
Sarah Claburn, ND
It's that time of year! Here in Texas we are definitely coming out of the cold and the tree in my front yard is starting to bud out nicely - even after the historic ice and snow storm we endured last month.
That always puts me in the mood to clean up and clear out. And many people even take the 40 days of Lent to do a "40 days of cleanout" and get their houses back in order.
And while this all makes us feel better - using traditional, off the shelf cleaning products can actually be making you sick. A 10-country study of more than 3,500 individuals who were initially free of asthma found that nine years later, those who used spray cleaners at least once a week to clean their homes had a 30-to-50 percent increased risk of developing asthma during the study period (Zock 2007). Household cleaners can also increase your risk of cancers, hormone/reproductive toxicity and poisonings.
White vinegar makes a great natural cleaner, but let's be honest - it doesn't smell that great!
Thankfully, there's Thieves Household Cleaner from Young Living. It's a powerful, super-concentrated plant-based cleaner infused with essential oils. It doesn't contain harsh chemicals and is safe to use all around the house, it's even safe for your children and pets. And if you're a mom like me who wanted to teach their kids early on to do chores - that's super important to know they can grab a bottle and there's no concern about them getting it on their skin while they clean.
Thieves Household Cleaner is so concentrated, you can use it at ratios as little as 60:1, but you may prefer a stronger mix depending on the use. It's generally safe for most surfaces, even fabrics, but always do a spot test in an inconspicuous area before using. I personally generally use 2 capfuls to 2 cups distilled water in a spray bottle for most of my household cleaning.
And it's great for DIY cleaners like a baking soda based scrub for bathtubs and other areas that need scoured:
Mix the following in a small glass container:
- ½ cup baking soda
- 5 tablespoons liquid castile soap
- ½ capful Thieves Household Cleaner
- 3 drops Lemon essential oil
- Apply the mixture with a damp cloth or brush and scrub away.
Glass Cleaner
In a spray bottle, mix the following:
- 3 cups water
- 5 drops Citrus Fresh™ essential oil blend
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 capful Thieves Household Cleaner
- Spray onto glass and wipe away streaks with a soft cloth.
Wood Floor Cleaner
In a bucket, mix the following:
- 4 cups water
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons grape seed oil
- 1 capful Thieves Household Cleaner
- 5 drops Orange essential oil
- Mop your wood floors
These are just a few of the ways to use your Thieves Household cleaner. I hope you'll give it a try - your house will have a fresh, clean smell that won't harm your lungs.
If you aren't a Young Living member yet, I'd love to help you! It's easy to set up your shopping account, then you'll be able to simply log on and order what you need and have it delivered conveniently to your doorstep! Simply email me at sarah@escentiallivingtx.com or text me at 682-400-4555 and let me know you are ready to set up your shopping account!
Health and blessings!
Sarah
Sarah
The following information comes from a series taught by Dr. Doug Corrigan. Here is his bio and credentials:
Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, a Master’s in Engineering Physics (concentration: Solid State Physics), and a Bachelor’s in Engineering Physics (concentration: electrical engineering.)
As a NASA Graduate Fellow, I worked with NASA on a series of material science microgravity missions that were conducted aboard the Space Shuttle, and I conducted research with Oak Ridge National Lab on new materials in their Solid State Physics Division. I switched to life sciences and went into Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. I started a biotech company that developed new tools for discovering drugs to combat drug resistant forms of HIV.
As a NASA Graduate Fellow, I worked with NASA on a series of material science microgravity missions that were conducted aboard the Space Shuttle, and I conducted research with Oak Ridge National Lab on new materials in their Solid State Physics Division. I switched to life sciences and went into Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. I started a biotech company that developed new tools for discovering drugs to combat drug resistant forms of HIV.
**My notes have been fact checked by a Medical Laboratory Scientist to ensure everything is accurate.
With the rollout of the new experimental biotechnology shot being given, there is a LOT of information going around on what it is, what it does and how it works. I think the biggest and most important question is - is it safe and do you even need it?
Dr Doug Corrigan teaches a lot of subjects, and I was excited to see his 4 part series on the current virus. He has a great knack for taking complicated subjects and presenting them so laymen can understand. I’m going to do my best to give an overview of what I’ve learned about “the shot” from him.
You have not one, but actually two immune systems (Did you know that?). Your Innate immune system is your rapid response. You are born with it and it works whether you’ve ever been exposed to pathogens or not. It is not specific and generally can take care of most bacteria and viruses including the current one - this is your white blood cells and a few other types of cells. Your Adaptive immune system is slow response. This is the system that takes time to learn how to fight off the pathogen. It has memory and develops a strategy so the next time that pathogen shows up - it knows how to take care of it. This is where you get your memory cells - the first time your body takes awhile as it learns, but the next time it is able to ramp up much faster because that memory kicks in. This is where special kinds of white cells known as T and B cells, the cells that make your antibodies, come into the picture.
Your T-helper cells teach your B cells how to produce specific antibodies that recognize that one piece of the virus. Different antibodies are produced, each with a different piece of information. The more information on the virus that your body gets, the more varied types of antibodies it will produce.
One of the important differences between getting a natural infection and getting “the shot” is the type of immunity it produces.
When you get a natural infection, your body learns from the whole virus. It learns the viral lifecycle and everything about it. It’s exposed to every part, every feature of the virus and it takes that information to create a robust response. And specifically in respiratory viruses, it enters into the nasal passage where it rapidly multiplies, which signals the body to produce IgA antibodies.
When you are injected with “the shot”, you are bypassing this respiratory system and will for the most part only produce IgG antibodies which tend to work in your bloodstream. That’s why you can still become infected with the actual virus - it can still enter and replicate in the mucosa of your respiratory track. So you can still get the virus and you can still pass it on to others.
You also are only giving the body 1 tiny piece of the viral information, in the case of the 2 shots out currently, your body only learns what the spike protein is and so the only defense system that is builds is for that one little piece.
Dr Doug Corrigan teaches a lot of subjects, and I was excited to see his 4 part series on the current virus. He has a great knack for taking complicated subjects and presenting them so laymen can understand. I’m going to do my best to give an overview of what I’ve learned about “the shot” from him.
You have not one, but actually two immune systems (Did you know that?). Your Innate immune system is your rapid response. You are born with it and it works whether you’ve ever been exposed to pathogens or not. It is not specific and generally can take care of most bacteria and viruses including the current one - this is your white blood cells and a few other types of cells. Your Adaptive immune system is slow response. This is the system that takes time to learn how to fight off the pathogen. It has memory and develops a strategy so the next time that pathogen shows up - it knows how to take care of it. This is where you get your memory cells - the first time your body takes awhile as it learns, but the next time it is able to ramp up much faster because that memory kicks in. This is where special kinds of white cells known as T and B cells, the cells that make your antibodies, come into the picture.
Your T-helper cells teach your B cells how to produce specific antibodies that recognize that one piece of the virus. Different antibodies are produced, each with a different piece of information. The more information on the virus that your body gets, the more varied types of antibodies it will produce.
One of the important differences between getting a natural infection and getting “the shot” is the type of immunity it produces.
When you get a natural infection, your body learns from the whole virus. It learns the viral lifecycle and everything about it. It’s exposed to every part, every feature of the virus and it takes that information to create a robust response. And specifically in respiratory viruses, it enters into the nasal passage where it rapidly multiplies, which signals the body to produce IgA antibodies.
When you are injected with “the shot”, you are bypassing this respiratory system and will for the most part only produce IgG antibodies which tend to work in your bloodstream. That’s why you can still become infected with the actual virus - it can still enter and replicate in the mucosa of your respiratory track. So you can still get the virus and you can still pass it on to others.
You also are only giving the body 1 tiny piece of the viral information, in the case of the 2 shots out currently, your body only learns what the spike protein is and so the only defense system that is builds is for that one little piece.
When you get that natural Adaptive immune response, your body has the whole picture and can use that for future responses. In fact, because there are other classes of coronaviruses that you’ve been exposed to your whole life, your body likely already has memory B cell responses to the current virus. It’s been reported up to 80% of people have some natural immunity already, called cross-reactive immunity. And what I found really interesting is that when they look at people who were naturally infected with the first SARS virus, they are seeing that they are retaining B cells for as long as 17 years!
Ok so now that we know about the immune response, let’s look at the 2 current shots that are being given. They use mRNA technology. I’m not going to debate it here, but many doctors and scientists that I’ve watched say that this is not a vaccine because of the way it works - it’s biotechnology. Go search that out yourself.
So how exactly does this “shot” work? They take mRNA and encapsulate it in a lipid coating so it can enter the cells. In this case it’s encased in PEG which in of itself seems to be causing some of the severe reactions being reported. Once the mRNA gets into the cells, it uses it’s programming to trick the cell into forming the spike protein to make it look like a corona virus. This protein would normally be seen as foreign just floating in your bloodstream. However, it is possible that it could adhere to the surface of cells, making the body see the cell as foreign. Your body then sees that newly mutated cell as an antigen - something that is not supposed to be there - which it then mounts an immune response against.
Which leads us into other contraindications and precautions and tidbits of information.
These experimental shots do not have FDA approval. I’ve seen people outright argue about this - but they don’t. They do have Emergency Use Authorization. They have not been through final approval and therefore are still experimental and going through human trials.
In this class he notes that he was reading from the published data which was only 2 months worth of safety data. If you don’t know, “normal” vaccines take several years of studies in order to form a safety profile. Therefore, there is no long-term safety known about these shots. They just don't know future health problems that may arise.
A main contraindication listed is for PEG and polysorbate. As mentioned above, the mRNA is encapsulated in PEG so it can enter the cells and remain stable. PEG stands for Polyethylene Glycol and is widely used in items like medications, cosmetics and personal care items. With it’s wide use it’s estimated up to 70% of people may have a sensitivity to PEG and therefore have an adverse reaction to the shots that contain it, and 7% have levels high enough to predispose them to anaphylaxis. The reactions listed have ranged from mild to anaphylactic.
Another large concern is the risk of ADE, or antibody-dependent enhancement. ADE occurs when the presence of specific antibodies actually increases the virus’ ability to enter and infect your cells, resulting in a more severe disease than had you not taken the shot. ADE reactions can be fatal, and has been the reason that other coronavirus vaccines failed in animal trials. After encountering the “wild” virus, they became severely ill and died. Honestly, this is one of my main concerns and I'm seeing more and more information on this, including an article that was just published on people who have the natural virus then get the shot, then suffer a cardiovascular death.
According to the CDC, there is no data to establish safety in the following groups: immunocompromised, autoimmune or pregnant. Again, they just don't know because there hasn't been enough time for full safety data to be collected. Precaution should be used in anyone who has ever had an adverse reaction to any injectable therapy.
As mentioned, there are just my notes and the best sort of summary from what I learned from 2 of the 4 classes on this subject. If you are really interested I highly recommend you purchase access to the classes from Dr. Doug. Go to www.starfishscents.com to buy it or any of the other classes he offers.
The above is all facts to the best of my ability to present them. You should continue to research on your own - and I don’t mean ask your doctor. He/she most likely has the info from the pharmaceutical company and I find it best to use a variety of sources to get a rounded view of things.
In my opinion, I honestly am shocked that so many medical professionals are eager to push these experimental biotechnology shots onto the general population and shocked that so many people are so eager to be injected. The published safety studies cover a few months of data. That is merely a blip and in no way is long enough to see real effects down the road. People mistakenly say this is new - it’s not. They have tried to create shots for other coronaviruses for years and they have had some tragic consequences. Go research that, it's the ADE affect discussed above.
My overall view is pretty simple. First of all - we don’t need this because we have treatments. That’s a whole other blog article, but if you follow me on FB you’ve seen the research articles and papers I’ve shared that show again and again and again that a few different “repurposed” drugs are safe and highly effective in stopping transmission as well as promoting recovery. Why use an experimental biotechnology with no long-term safety record when you can use something known safe that absolutely works?
And from what I’ve learned about immunity, there’s no way, in my opinion, that a shot is going to produce a more robust or complete immune response. I do believe in God’s design for the human body, and if you just look at the simple view of: natural infection creates a whole viral response vs. the shot teaching a response to the spike protein only; natural immunity wins out easily.
This shot only has efficacy against the infection, not the virus. Watch closely what words are used when you are reading. SARS-COV2 is the virus you can catch and spread. Covid 19 is the infection, or the collection of symptoms you get from being infected. This shot, as we discussed, DOES NOT PREVENT SPREAD. It doesn’t “stop” anything, although it may help lessen symptoms in some cases. However, oddly enough, you will be told to expect to have some of the very same symptoms that the natural virus would give you…so…and because it does not stop transmission you still have to, according to what we are told to do, wear a mask and social distance so you don’t gain any amount of normalcy back. I saw a funny meme that read, “If there was a contraceptive vaccine, but after getting it you could still get pregnant, and you still had to wear a condom, would you get it?” Food for thought.
So, that’s pretty much it. My choice is not to take it. It’s not needed, and it doesn’t work as well as what we already have as far as drugs are concerned. And just the risk of ADE alone would be enough if I didn’t have any other information about it. And they honestly can NOT tell you that it’s safe long term. Sadly, I’ve read the VAERS reports over the last few days and there are quite a few reports of people dead within 48 hours of receiving it. So it’s not even safe short-term for some people. And because of The Act of 1986 as well as special indemnity given to these pharmaceutical companies, if you do have an adverse reaction or die - you can’t sue them directly. They are totally free from consequences. How much would you trust your car manufacturer to produce a safe product if they couldn’t be sued for producing a bad product?
I wrote this article because people asked me to. I hope it’s helpful for those who read it, and I’ve clearly stated what are facts and what my opinions are. Go do your own research. If you want sources I’m happy to provide videos and articles from some of the doctors and scientists that I read and watch. Above all - make sure you have full informed consent before you take something that can cause irreversible health effects.
Be well and be blessed!
Sarah
Ingredients
1 cup organic coconut oil
1 cup organic solid cocoa butter (do not use lotion)
15 drops of your favorite topical/aromatic essential oil (we love Cedarwood, Lavender, and Frankincense essential oils)
Directions
- Warm a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, then add coconut oil and cocoa butter. Melt until completely liquefied, about 4–5 minutes.
- Pour into a glass mixing bowl and place in refrigerator for 30–45 minutes to cool and just set but not harden.
- Stir in essential oils.
- Using an electric hand mixer, whip until firm peaks form, about 10 minutes.
- Gently transfer to a seal-able jar or container. Store at room temperature to avoid melting or solidifying.
- Massage into dry skin!
