I'm learning already...

Ready... Set... Go! Tackle that acne

So, I warned you all you were going on a LEARNING journey with me. I had high aspirations of how many posts a week I was going to do. Then, life happened :). My new goal would be to blog about twice a week. Let's see how that goes! I've also learned how much I don't know about technology - a little overwhelming, but I have a teenage son who promises to help me out. Here's to hoping he can teach this "old" mama some new tricks. I've decided to share first about one of my successes...

Acne wipes! 

I know, not that exciting. But OH SO necessary in a house full of teens and... *Ahem*... a middle aged (read somewhere in menopause) woman. I have 5 boys, 4 of them are still at home ages 13-19. This is, unfortunately, the height of acne prone skin. They all haven't jumped on the clean, whole food, healthy eating kick I have either. This combination of hormones and toxins can make for some breakouts... okay, a lot. Even some cystic acne. 

I have used them as my guinea pigs with several natural acne recipes I had read on different essential oil blogs. Some things worked a little, some not at all. Some were spot treatments, some daily washes. But the biggest problem with all of them was that they weren't EASY. Like, teenage, lazy, finicky about self care, don't want too many steps, don't want to listen to mom, boy, easy. I knew that no amount of spot treatments were going to work if they didn't wash their face morning and night. Hence my lightbulb moment! Ready made wipes! Like baby wipes. You can't get any easier than premoistened, in a tub on the counter, wipes. I remembered that Jill at One Good Thing by Jillee had a recipe for Homemade Nose Wipes so I looked it up. That was my starting point. I wanted them to be easy, but reusable. Remember, 4 teens and me. That is like 10 wipes a day (if they really do what I told them would work). I wanted the wipes to include the ingredients I had been testing for the other acne products. This would mean aloe, witch hazel, melaleuca, vitamin E, etc. This recipe seemed like a good start. I then added several essential oils to fight the acne and heal the skin. Cutting up and hemming receiving blankets seemed like more work than I had time for so I just bought 2 packages of baby wash clothes at Ross - 24 pack for $5.99/ea. The colors weren't exactly boy, but I told them to deal with it. They never complained. I was making this whole face washing thing too easy. 

Recipe

1 Cup very warm (to melt the salt) water
2 teaspoons SN alcohol free witch hazel
1 Tablespoon aloe
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
10 Drops SN Lemon Essential Oil
10 Drops SN Melaleuca Essential Oil
10 Drops SN Lavender Essential Oil
5 Drops SN Frankincense Essential Oil

Mix well and pour over as many washcloths as it will dampen. You don't need them dripping wet. With the baby ones I use this recipe will cover about 22. It will depend on the size and thickness of the clothes you use. 

Hmmm, I wonder if I added a few drops of Jeddy's blend too for a calmer more focused day?

Some things I have learned in doing this over the past 4 months. 

• IT WORKS!!! My boys have all said that when they are consistent they can tell. If they use them twice daily they can notice a difference in a few days. Others have commented to them about the improvement. 
• They will mold if you make too many at a time and don't use them quickly enough. I know the salt and melaleuca are both preventative against this, but I have to remember that we live in a warm climate (AZ) and the wipes are moist and dark in the container. Also, I'm pretty sure that my boys hands are NOT sterile when they reach in the box :). 
• If you make them and put them in the fridge to cool down before you put them in the bathroom, this buys you almost double the time before they will mold. 
• They are quick to make so I just make up enough for 5-6 days at a time (that is all that fits in the box for this large family anyway). 
• I have had to tell my boys to let the used cloth dry over the faucet or edge of the laundry basket before they throw it in the wash. Wet washcloth wadded in a ball at the bottom of a basket is never good. 
• They hardly ask me for the spot treatment since using these daily.
• I folded them all neatly the first time so they would pop out of the container and look pretty... soooo not necessary. 
• I have avoided the dermatologist!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and toxic medications!!!!!!!
• They are not as cheap as soap and water. But I took one kiddo to the dermatologist for cystic acne a few years ago (pre-essential oil mom). It cost me $50 copay/mo for visit. $12 copay/mo for acne medication. $25 copay/mo for blood test (yikes, freaked me out it was necessary). Then the acne came back 6 months after treatment. That was $87/mo to put chemicals in my son, and the side effects were miserable. I could buy a bottle of Frankincense monthly for that!!! Money way better spent. 

If you try these out let me know how they work for you and if you adjusted the recipe at all. Remember each of our body's chemistry is different. Sometimes you will need to make adjustments to what I post to fit you personally. That is all part of the EO journey!. 

** As always you can use coupon code benderboymom for 10% off at checkout when you order supplies from www.sparknaturals.com