The cold sore is no more! It’s official – Tea tree is wonderful. Haydn & I met up with clients and his lips were gorgeous! I would be lying if I said there was no trace of it what so ever but you would never have known that it was a cold sore – just a tiny red mark. None of the embarrassing ooziness that cold sores usually present. Aftercare is daily use of Tea Tree Lip Balm to keep it at bay and condition the skin but I can’t imagine him bothering as he’s a ‘bit of a bloke’ when the situation is not desperate.
Haydn’s got a cold sore threatening to blight his face and we’re meeting a client this week. Not a good look for people promoting organic skin care, so we really can’t let this cold sore develop. Undoubtedly it’s coming because he’s been working (and playing!) too hard but true to form we will now treat it with Tea Tree. Of course we are absolutely not allowed to make any claims about healing anything but I thought you might be interested in whether or not our chosen treatment works so I’ll just keep you posted!! So far I have been plying him with my concoction of fizzy Vitamin C & Echinacea and dabbing neat Tea Tree Essential Oil on his cold sore at hourly intervals. So far his lip is a bit pink but without looking really hard you wouldn’t notice it. He can of course feel it tingling but so far so good.
We use Tea Tree for everything in our family. Here’s our list of uses;
1. Cold Sores – dab it on neat.
2. Spots – dab it on neat.
3. Cuts – dab it on neat.
4. Stings – dab it on neat.
5. Thrush – 10 drops in bath.
6. Warts – dab it on neat.
7. Veruccas – dab it on neat.
8. Athletes foot – dab it on neat.
9. Nits – make a blend by adding 10 drops of Tea Tree to 20ml carrier oil such as Sweet Almond Oil and massage into scalp. Leave for 20 minutes if possible then wash & condition hair as normal using a nit comb to finish off.
10. Smelly Feet – 10 drops in a bowl of cool water – soak feet for 10 to 20 minutes.
We would like our ingredients labelling to be more ‘transparent’ and totally understandable to everyone but unfortunately there are strict guidelines which we have to follow, using all technical names for ingredients listing. This is often fine because a lot of the technical names are almost recognisable but some, like fractionated coconut oil or Coconut Fractions as they are sometimes called, have terrible, unfriendly technical names – in this case Caprylic/capric triglycerides – eeek! I had a question the other day from a customer asking why our 100% Organic Super Light Coconut Cleanser had Caprylic/capric triglycerides in it as she thought it must be something nasty. Coconut fractions or Caprylic/capric triglycerides, as it apears on the label is simply a ‘part’ of the coconut oil. The thick, fatty part has been removed which is why the Caprylic/capric triglycerides (the light part) can be removed so easily with water making it a great cleanser. These guide lines are designed to protect customers though so we shouldn’t complain especially as it often leads to dialogue with our customers.
If any of our ingredients listings are confusing you, please just ask and I’ll explain all.
Last week was a social whirl. I’m not sure what’s happening at the moment but we seem to be seeing people and going out far more than we usually do. It’s great fun living it up but we are feeling pretty weary so are going to take it easy this week and hopefully get a lot more work done!? One of our outings was to see some great friends of ours who have a company called Andrew Flint Design which produces ‘living, usable art’ that displays Andrews amazing work on beautiful homeware. It’s always reassuring to hear that it’s the same for all of us who are running our own businesses in that there are constant ups, downs, fears, tears & the odd eureka moment. A few years back I designed the fragrance for their first candle PAZ which means Peace in Spanish. They gave me one to take away and the smell is still glorious – though I say it myself!! – All incense & mystery – I love both the smell and the beautiful painting Andrew has done for the label. Take a look for yourself at AndrewFlint.com
Balm Balm wins Best Organic Lip Balm Award on Dare 2 Magazine www.dare2mag.com
See latest edition ‘Loitering Within Tent’. The image is just missing Jimi Hendrix’s head poking out from inside the tent.
We were just crawling through a list of sites that stock us and we came across these peeps at StyleWillSaveUs. It made us want to mention them and below is an interesting article that we like by Fiona Kerr.
“As every good eco-ista knows – vintage is the shortcut to style and a squeaky clean conscience in one green swoop. So save your carbon footprint this summer and take a Vintage Vacation a bit closer to home.
Like everything on the Isle of Wight, Vintage Vacations’ 1960s and ’70s airstream trailers walk the line between kitsch and cool. All are lovingly kitted out by former stylist Helen Cunningham and her husband Fraser with crocheted bedspreads, cupboards full of vintage crockery and old board games sourced from eBay. Think Mad Men’s Don Draper does a Californian road trip – except you’re in a field, in England (don’t worry, the isle has more hours of sunshine than anywhere else in the whole of the UK).
Camping still bring you out in a cold sweat? The vintage-loving couple also have a beach shack (with super-eco solar powered cred), cottage, bungalow and even a converted mission on the island if you require a bit more substance with your style.”
So wrote Alice Hart Davies in the Telegraph Newspaper.
“I went on holiday and couldn’t be bothered to keep up my routine. Each morning, after a long swim, my face received a cursory wash with descending suds of shampoo, followed by some high-factor sunscreen. In the evening, another swim, another shower, and after-sun as moisturiser – no fancy tricks, no wonder potions, no make-up. Bliss. If Tilda Swinton can radiate barefaced glamour at 48, I can try.
One morning while brushing my teeth, it struck me that after a week of this benign neglect, my skin looked great, and not just because of the golden glow lent it by regular doses of Estée Lauder’s Bronze Goddess Decadent Moisture After-Sun Tan-Enhancer. It was clearer, brighter and entirely spot-free.
Alica mentions a few Skincare products to try which included Rose Geranium Face Balm (£5.99 from www.balmbalm.com) Multi-purpose balm for face, lips, elbows, cuticles and flyaway strands of hair
Last week we had a beautiful holiday near Barcelona. The weather was beautiful, Barcelona stunning and the sea like a healing balm. I love the sea. We played a silly amount of cribbage, drank some very good cocktails and read lots. We were so relaxed by the end of it that we missed our plain by a whole day due to the fact that I had totally lost track of the date. Now that’s a good holiday!
Hmmm. I know – Haydn is mad, but that is what he has offered in June’s Balm Balm Newsletter.
There is a nice mix of offers and information in it too, with our Oil of the Month being Peppermint. Sign up here to see more about ways to use it and all the rest of the news too.
“Some times it is just better to K.I.S.S. – keep it simple, silly! That’s what Balm Balm does – from the name to the ridiculously short list of ingredients, it’s one of the best lip and body treatments around”.
So said Paige Padgett in her review of our Tea Tree Lip Balm in a tube on her Blog.
