My thesis – Keratosis, part 2

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keratosis

Continuing on with my thesis, today I’m looking at some of the treatment I used.

My basic premise for my thesis was to soften and eliminate existing seborrheic keratosis patches.

From my thesis:

The first step was to mix an oil blend to help moisturize the skin. The oil blend is as follows:

45 ml Sesamum indicum oil (Sesame) 45 ml Helianthus annuus oil (Sunflower) 10 ml Triticum vulgare oil (Wheatgerm)
10 drops Daucus carota oil (Carrot Root)
30 drops Achillea millefolium essential oil (Yarrow)
20 drops Anthemis nobilis essential oil (Roman Chamomile)
10 drops Helichrysm italicum essential oil in a 10% dilution with Jojoba Oil (Helichrysm)

Sesame oil was chosen as it is good for inflammed skin conditions and with the light sunscreen factor it helps protect the skin at least a little bit from exposure to the sun.

Sunflower oil is also good for dry and mature skin. Rich in vitamin E and fatty acids, this makes it useful for skin conditions and moisturizing.

Wheatgerm is another oil that is rich in vitamin E and fatty acids, useful for dry skin, and helpful in repairing skin damage from sun exposure.

Carrot Root Oil helps the skin with the rejuvenation process as some of the seborrheic keratosis patches come off.

Yarrow was chosen as it is good for inflamed skin conditions, helps tone the skin, and helpful in healing wounds.

Roman Chamomile is good for treating skin conditions, has cell regenerative properties and is good for sensitive skin.

Helichrysm is great for skin conditions, helping with cellular regeneration and wound healing.

 

My client was to use the mix twice daily on her skin. Within about 2 weeks, there was a noticeable softening of the patches and some smaller patches were starting to come off.

This was definitely an encouraging sign! More to come next week!

My thesis – Keratosis, part 1

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keratosis

Part of my aromatherapy training involved doing a thesis. I chose to work on keratosis.

Keratosis is a skin condition that often develops in females (though not limited to females) as we age. While I have started to develop a few patches and I have a few friends who have as well, I do have one friend who has quite an extreme case of keratosis and she agreed to be my case study! What follows is an except from my thesis about what seborrheic keratosis is and how it is traditionally treated.

The Condition

Seborrheic keratosis is a skin growth. While it can often be confused with skin cancer by looking at it, it is a benign growth. The growths are generally round or oval and are slightly elevated on the skin. They can sometimes appear as if they have been stuck on top of the skin. This is partly because only the top layers of the epidermis are connected to this condition as the growth starts in the keratinocyte cells.

It generally appears in older people, sometimes starting in middle age. While it does effect both genders, it is more prevalent in female. Young people can be effected but it is much less common. Often they are found near areas that sweat – behind the knees for example.

There are several theories as to what causes seborrheic keratosis. It does seem to have a genetic component as it will often occur in family members. Exposure to the sun also seems to be a potential factor that increases your risk of developing seborrheic keratosis. Though it can appear to be a wart, it is not and it is not contagious. When a growth is removed, often it does not return. However new growths can still form on another place on your body.

Traditional treatments

Once a doctor has determined that it is seborrheic keratosis and not skin cancer, generally no further treatment is required. If desired for cosmetic reasons or because the growth is irritated by clothing, they can be removed by several methods:

– electrocautery – burning the growth with an electrical current
– cryotherapy – freezing the growth with liquid nitrogen and then removing it
– curettage – scraping away most of the growth. It is sometimes also followed by electrocautery to remove the final bit of the growth.
– ablation – using lasers to remove the growth

All of the above treatment options will remove the keratosis growth and generally they do not return in the same place. It does not mean that another one won’t appear else where requiring another round of treatment.

Next week I’ll go into more details on how we chose to treat keratosis for my thesis!

Aromatherapy, part two

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aromatherapy, essential oils

With aromatherapy one of the first uses that often comes to mind for me is skin care. Probably because that is one of the first ways I used essential oils. And who doesn’t love a great feeling and smelling body lotion or a relaxing aromatherapy facial!

Yet there are many other uses for aromatherapy and essential oils.

Aromatherapy can help stimulate your circulation and the healing process for various areas of your body. Helping to release tension and aid with relaxation is a great way to use essential oils.

There are several ways that essential oils can be used so that they enter your body to help the healing process. Inhalation is a very easy way to work with essential oils. You can smell them straight from the bottle, make up a small inhaler to carry with you, or use a diffuser in your home or car. Another way to get essentials oils into your body is through your skin. Massaging in oils or lotions that have EOs added to them is not only an effective delivery system, it also feels good!

Remember to always consult a qualified aromatherapist before using any essential oil. They are powerful substances and should be treated as such. Keep them away from children and pets.

Aromatherapy, part one

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aromatherapy, essential oil

There are so many uses for aromatherapy and so many ways to use essential oils! Over the next few weeks, I’ll talk about some of my experiences with essential oils.

Aromatherapy is often referred to as an art and a science. It takes the essence of a plant and uses it to promote healing in the body, mind, and spirit of a being. It can be used for preventative measures or for active treatment.

Herbal remedies in many forms have been around for a very long time. Both Egypt and China have written documentation in the use of herbs from the time written documents started to be made. Herbs and oils have been used for perfumes, in religious ceremonies, and for healing in many cultures over many millennium. As with many things, it has drifted in and out of popularity. And not everything has worked.

There are, however, many documented things that have worked. French chemist Rene-Maurice Gattefosse is the person who started the term aromatherapy. He investigated the antiseptic properties of essential oils and, because of his work, a lot of interest in and study of essential oils started in France in the 1920s.

Dr. Jean Valnet is another person who helped validate the field of aromatherapy. He used essential oils on the battle field during WWII and documented many of his results. I highly recommend his book, The Practice of Aromatherapy, if you are interested in learning more about essential oils and aromatherapy in general.

One of my first experiences with essential oils was in the cosmetic classes I took a few years ago. I had heard of them but hadn’t used them much. Getting into the cosmetic making classes opened up a whole new world for me! The cosmetic uses for essential oils are many. They offer great benefits for your skin. You can find many posts from me on skin care here https://lazycatoils.wordpress.com/category/skin-care-2/ Or ask me a question directly if you are curious about something specific!

Tubiflorae

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essential oil, Labiatae, plants, Tubiflorae

Tubiflorae is the order for today! It signifies plants with numerous tubular flowers. I use plants from the Labiatae family of this order. Here the tubular flowers look a bit like lips. This family is very large and includes many aromatic herbs and shrubs like mint, thyme, sage, and rosemary.

In general, members of the Labiatae family are warming, good for helping with the respiratory system and with common muscle aches and pains. I use peppermint EO frequently at home in the winter to help get rid of my chest congestion. Oregano, thyme, marjoram, basil, and rosemary herbs go into many of my sauces when I’m cooking in the fall and I use the EOs in various treatments. This is a very versatile and useful family of plants and I use something from this family everyday either as an EO or in the form of the physical plant itself.

Hyaluronic Acid

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Hyaluronic acid, skin care

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is one of those things that make me go “hmmm?”. Just saying it sounds like I’m saying something that is harsh and bad for you, though it is quite the opposite. It is not something I had ever heard of until I started taking my courses and it is something I am only just getting into using.

So what is it? Hyaluronic acid is a water holding molecule that occurs naturally in mammals. This molecule can bind up to 1000 times it weight in water in a cell. There is approximately 15 grams of it occurring naturally in our bodies and about 5 grams of that is used up and reproduced each day. While HA is found throughout our entire body, about half of our HA is found in the collagen in the skin.

And what does it do? Depending on the area where you difind it, the function seems to differ. For the skin it helps with the production of collagen and can help hydrate. It acts as a cushioning agent and lubricant for joint and nerve tissue. And it helps maintain the liquid in our eyes.

Like many functions in the body, as we age it becomes harder for the body to produce HA. However, the body continues to use up HA on a daily basis. There are several studies out there that document great success in using HA both as injections (for joints) or topically (for skin). I’m looking forward to trying it out in a few more products!

Benzoin Essential Oil

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benzoin, essential oil

I have been doing some bulk ordering this week. There are several of us working at various stages of aromatherapy who have met through classes over the past couple of years. We have become a great support network for each other and a great source of resources as we each bring our own different expertise to the group. While gathering info for what everyone needed for this order, I was reminded of another EO that I don’t personally use much but which has intrigued me in the past. So Benzoin has become my topic for this week!

Benzoin (Stryrax benzoin) is a tree native to Southeast Asia. It belongs to the Styraceae botanical family. The EO is a resin that comes from tapping the bark. It is a thick, dark (brownish-red) liquid that has a vanilla-like smell.

Commonly used as a fixative in perfumes and as incense, benzoin EO has many other great uses. It is often used to help relieve coughs and cold, having antibacterial and expectorant properties. I look forward to exploring that more next fall! It is also said to be helpful in treating arthritis so I need to do some further investigation into that over the coming months and see what I discover.

For skin care, it is used sparingly and is not something I use in my facials. It can help with chapped, irritate, red skin. But it should be used in small quantities. It can be useful in treating more wound-type skin conditions like psoriasis. Not something to keep in the cupboard to use everyday but useful when treating something more severe on a short term basis.

Evening Primrose Oil

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carrier oil, evening primrose oil, skin care

Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis) Oil is a wonderful oil that kind of fell off my radar in the past few months! I had started to use it a bit last fall but some how got away from it. I was reminded of it in the past few weeks with the class that I took.

There are lots of studies happening with evening primrose at present and I’m looking forward to seeing some of the long term study results. Many consider it a great plant with many preventative disease possibilities!

From a food point of view, evening primrose oil is considered a good source of essential fatty acids. Evening primrose contains the essential fatty acid called linoleic acid. The body uses this to produce prostaglandins, which in turn are involved in helping many different types of body tissue to remain healthy. There have been some studies that suggest essential fatty acids help reduce inflammation associated with arthritis and joint pain.

For skin care, helping both to calm the inflammation and to dilute the excess sebum, which can clog pores and cause a break out, it is often used for treating acne and rosacea. Evening primrose oil is nourishing for your nails helping to prevent them from cracking – a bonus for me if I’m using it to treat someone else!

Looking forward to adding this oil back into my life!

More classes!

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facials

Last week and this week I had the pleasure of taking a course on botanical facials. Fate intervened and we had to move the last day of the class to a few weeks from now. So I shall have to wait a little longer to experience the full treatment and figure out what I which elements to incorporate into my own practice.

I always find classes interesting. Seeing a different perspective and teaching style is always fascinating. Meeting new people is also great! This particular class is mostly full with several of us who took the skin care class last fall. The one other student is someone who works with acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine.

Much of the beginning was review from what I’ve been studying over the past couple of years. It was a great way for me to reinforce with myself how much I have actually achieved in the past few years. A great reminder for those days when you feel like you are just spinning your wheels! Another portion of the class has been about learning how different areas of the face correspond to different parts of the body and analyzing how you can support areas of the body by treating the face. It has been very interesting and having someone in the class with a background in traditional Chinese medicine has given us additional information and food for thought. I’m looking forward to finishing off the class in a couple of weeks!

Honey!

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honey

I love honey! Both to eat and to use as part of a skin care routine.

For general use, honey has both antiseptic and antibacterial properties. It has been used for wound healing for centuries. Honey has a fairly acidic pH level which inhibits the growth of many bacteria. In addition, honey contains an enzyme called glucose oxidase. When applied to a surface skin wound, the enzyme reacts with your body fluids and the oxygen present to form a slow releasing hydrogen peroxide which has antiseptic properties.

For skin care, I enjoy using honey for facials. We were taught a honey facial technique last fall which I use during my thirty minute mini facials. I will also add a bit of honey into a clay mask mix depending in the needs of my clients for my relaxation facials. It helps moisturize and leaves the skin feeling soft. It can also help reduce redness on your cheeks.

For more information on booking a facial with me, check out this link on my website http://www.lazycatoils.com/facial.html