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Happy New Year - Jan 2013

Hope this finds you well and looking forward to an interesting 2013.

I'm making some changes to your monthly newsletter.  Each month there will be a brief article on a medical disorder, with corresponding Aromatherapy, Homeopathy and Nutritional advice.  I will also feature a raw material that is used with manufacturing your own skin care products.

Medical Disorder: Rosacea

With having a real summer for a week or so, I have noticed on forums that I interact with that ladies have been discussing rosacea and how it affects their lives, especially more so with having had Christmas, New Year and now a long hot summer to look forward to. 

Rosacea is a chronic skin disorder that affects the face (forehead, cheekbones, nose, chin) due to the dilation of groups of capillaries close to the skin, which results in small bumpy blotchy red areas, sometimes with pimples.

To start with, the redness comes and goes, but eventually it can become permanent if the blood vessels under the skin become dilated.  This is known as telangiectasia.  The skin tissue can swell and thicken, and in some cases may be sensitive to touch.

This inflammation is often mistaken for Acne or Perioral Dermatitis when it starts, although blackheads and whiteheads are rarely present.  It is a common disorder, about 1 in 20 people have it including men, but most don't realise what it is and at this time of year people tend to think it is sunburn.  It starts with frequent flushing of the face (nose and cheeks) and it can take years to develop into a permanent flush across the face.  Rosacea can also cause a feeling of grittiness and persistent burning in the eyes or inflamed and swollen eyelids - this can lead to impaired vision in severe cases.

The underlying causes have never been fully understood, but factors that aggravate the condition are well known.  These include the consumption of alcohol, hot liquids, spicy & citrus foods, exposure to sunlight, humidity, extremes of temperature, the use of makeup and skincare products containing alcohol, mineral oils and fragrance.  Contributing factors include stress, vitamin deficiencies, and infection. The aggravants are all individual.

Clinical studies have shown that the Lipase levels of Rosacea patients are 18% to 65% lower than those of normal subjects.  Lipases are responsible for the digestion of Fatty Acids - they split dietary Triglycerides into Monoglycerides and Diglycerides in the Gallbladder.

Underlying medical conditions that are considered to be triggers are Candida albicans over-proliferation, Helicobacter pylori (eradication of Helicobacter pylori microorganism may result in a significant reduction in Rosacea symptoms), Ulcerative Colitis, and Liver malfunction.  Amor stocks Home Test Kits for Candida and Helicobacter.

Treatment methods include keeping the skin cool.

Aromatherapy options:
Essential oil hydrosol mist sprays and floral waters can help soothe Rosacea.  There are several essential oils that have anti-inflammatory properties.  Essential oils like Cypress, Neroli and Rock Rose are natural astringents and because they are not alcohol based, they do not damage the skin whilst soothing and cooling.  

Tamanu oil is highly recommended for it's anti-inflammatory and skin cleansing properties (and is prescribed for Herpes viruses due to its effectiveness).

Homeopathy options:
Homeopathic remedies that help reduce the symptoms of redness and inflammation are Belladona 6c, Ferrum Phos 6c and Arsenicum 6c, however only Belladonna 6c is available retail so you would need to visit your local homeopath for the other 2 remedies.  

I stock the Heel Practitioner Range and the protocol for Acne Rosacea is Traumeel (1 tablet at 8 am), Cruroheel (1 tablet at 4 pm)and Graphites-Hommacord (8-10 drops at 12 noon & 8 pm).  Add Belladonna-Homaccord for acute inflammation (10 drops every 15 minutes in hot water to evaporate the alcohol, over a period lasting up to 2 hours) - this is the one to carry around in your handbag if you experience sudden flare ups. Click here to purchase Heel Homotoxicology remedies.

Nutritional options:
Eating a diet high in raw vegetables as they stimulate the release of digestive enzymes in the gut, which then helps optimal absorption of vitamins.  Avoiding saturated fats helps reduce inflammation, other antagonists are alcohol, caffeine, cheese, chocolate, cocoa, dairy products, eggs, fat, fish, salt, sugar and spicy foods. Drink hot beverages and food at room temperature. 
Investigate the possibility of food allergies.  Keep a food diary to discover your triggers.

Foods that can help include ginger (anti-inflammatory), cranberries and melon (alkalisers), alfa alfa and seaweed (detoxers)... so lots of sushi with pickled ginger! lol

Evening Primrose oil capsules - 500mg 3 times daily - heals and rejuvenates the skin from the inside as EPO contains linoleic acid which is needed by the skin for cell renewal and it's anti-inflammatory action.

Look for food sources that contain Biotin, EFAs, Vitamins A, B2, B3, B5 and zinc and if you can't get enough of those in your diet, consider supplementation.   Be aware that high doses of B3 (Niacin) can cause flushing as well, so choose a supplement that has B3 in the form of Niacinamide to prevent this.  Wanting to know which foods contain which nutrients? You'll find this info on Amor's FaceBook Page.

Dietary lipases include Miso and Lactobacillus acidophilus.  Lipase is also found in many digestive enzyme formulas.

Specials

Valentine Specials:
Yes, Valentines Day is just around the corner!  I know some of you enjoy celebrating this day with enthusiasm, others like to keep it subtle.  Our Pure Indulgence Pamper Packs are sweet little sets designed for 2 and include Bath Salts, Soap, Massage Bars and Soy Melts all designed to set the mood with 4 perfume options available.  I love creating perfumes from essential oils and have designed these to suit the guys as well as the gals.

Floriental 
an inspirational perfume blend with top notes of Bergamot and Lime, middle notes of Jasmine and Ylang Ylang, with sweet and spicy depths of Clove Bud and Himalayan Cedarwood to add body.

Rose Floral
a delightful blend of Roses with beautiful perfume of the Damascena Rose, Rose Geranium, the lemon-rose-grassy scent of Palmarosa, and the lightness yet depth of Frankincense oil to entice your senses.

Spicy Oriental
a blend of Sweet Orange and Bergamot top notes, Cinnamon Leaf for spice, Patchouli and Himalayan Cedarwood for depth and NZ Lavender.

Warm & Woody
a blend of Sandalwood and Benzoin, uplifted with the citrus notes of Mandarin and Grapefruit, with a refreshing touch of Palmarosa to hold it together.

 

If you like a little fun on your hot night, our Play Packs can help increase your desire...

2

Triple Fun 
3 bottles of fun for the daring!

Musky Fun
take yourself to another dimension.

Warming Fun
add a tingle to spice up your life!

Sultry 24Karat
add a bit of sparkle to your fun!

If you haven't discovered our range of personal lubricants yet, they work by complimenting your body's natural lubrication, and prolonging the effectiveness of the body's own secretions. Our gel is slippy, and stays that way! Amor Personal Lubricants are femininely reassuring, naturally deodorising, and with the added bonus of Bergamot and Cypress essential oils that are known healers of thrush and other women's troubles. It contains no sugars or artificial sweeteners and has a pleasant taste and discreet feminine fragrance.

Pig Tits & Parsley Sauce
To celebrate the launch of Lyn Websters book next week (30th January), Amor will hold a 5 day sale on products that are under the heading Lyn Webster's MAKE ingredients (maybe I should be renaming this to PT&PS?) from the 30th.  Ah heck, let's take it through to Waitangi Day!  So up until Midnight on the 6th February.

Raw Material for the Month: Cocobetaine

I've chosen cocobetaine to feature as I know it's a popular ingredient in Lyn's recipes.

Cocobetaine is one of several surfactants available for creating your own liquid soaps - whether for body or cleaning. It is a zwitterion or amphoteric surfactant which means it has anionic and cationic properties. Anionic surfactants help lift dirt from the skin or fibres of cloth, carpet, etc. It also means it is sudsy, because it lifts the dirt into bubbles. However, they are not so good cleaning oily marks (that's what nonionic surfactants, aka "foamers" are for). Cationic surfactants are used for disinfecting and cleaners. Normally one would combine 2 or more surfactants to create a cleaning product, however using Cocobetaine minimises your cost and improves your effectiveness.

Cocobetaine is coconut derived and has a pH of 5.0 - 6.0.  The great part about working with cocobetaine is you can easily adjust your recipe as the ratio is between 15-50% of your recipe.  Your other key ingredient will be water, with a total of 1-5% essential oil (5% for cleaning products), and for body care add moisturisers like honey, cocoa butter, shea butter, etc for a creamy soft wash.

New Products/Product Changes:

Due to not being able to source pure unadulterated Aloe Vera Gel, I have reformulated Amor Too Much Sun Cooling Spray. I've been lucky enough not to have been burnt, however a few friends have caught a bit more sun than they intended and have been trialling it for me. They reckon it's great, very effective and 1 person who started using it the same day said they didn't peel at all so they were very pleased with it.

New products this month are more colourful micas, the Home Test Kits as mentioned above, and I've stocked up on more cosmetic ingredients and containers.

What's Coming Up?

Valentines Day, closely followed by Easter! Eek!
Next month's Medical Disorder will be HypoThyroidism and it's effect on the body in many levels.

Shipping and Payment of Orders:
I have made some changes to Shipping Options - all orders are now sent out via Fastway Couriers including rural deliveries. So no matter where you are in NZ or the weight of your package, there is a Rural Delivery Option.

Due to the slow processing time of manual credit card payments (it went from 2 days to 5 days at the Bank's end), I have converted over to PayPal. This seems to be working well and I try to get invoices processed within 2 hours (even in the evenings as I'm usually still on here tweaking the website or updating my FaceBook pages).

There are 2 buttons for Payment Options

  1. Credit Card Invoice - I will send you an invoice via PayPal (accepts all International Credit Cards) within 24 hrs ~ usually within 2 hrs, so keep an eye on your inbox for a notification from PayPal.
  2. Direct Bank Deposit - NZ

If you have any questions or special requests, please ask them on my FaceBook page https://www.facebook.com/AmorAromatherapy?ref=hl.

Enjoy
Tania J


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