Women Want Lavender!

Do you know what women want? Tricia and I may not be experts, but we are women, and we have discovered that one of the things women want most in their lives is balance. And as our readers know, a little lavender goes a long way in providing stress relief and balance.

We're excited to share all the wonderful benefits of Young Living's lavender essential oil with thousands of women this weekend at the Utah Valley Women's Expo. This local expo is all about what women want--from beauty tips to health and wellness.

What do I love most about expos? Watching people follow the scent of lavender to our booth and then seeing the delight in their faces as they experience our fantastic lavender products! Tomorrow I'll share some of my favorite conversations about lavender essential oil and our lavender farm with you from the expo.

The Best Bar Soap- Lavender Rosewood!

Did You Know

...that throughout history lavender has symbolized cleanliness? During the First World War when modern antiseptics were depleted, the public was asked to gather up garden lavender so the oil could be used to dress war wounds.

Benefits of Natural Lavender Soap

Lavender essential oil is a base in many soaps because of its natural antiseptic properties and pleasant fragrance. Natural is the way to go, but you'll only get the benefits and potency of pure, therapeutic-grade lavender essential oil with Young Living's Lavender Rosewood Bar Soap. It's oh so perfect!

Synthetic Chemicals in Bar Soaps can Cause Health Problems

My latest copy of UC Davis Magazine (Spring 2008) reports on a new UC Davis study that shows that a "common antibacterial chemical added to bath soaps can alter hormonal activity in rats and in human cells in the laboratory." (Click here for the full article.) Good reason to go natural!

Lavender Rosewood Bar Soap Contest

To celebrate the season of spring and all things clean, we're offering a bar soap contest. Simply send us a comment about the importance of handwashing or a question about our Lavender Rosewood Bar Soap before noon on Saturday, April 26th to be entered, and you may be one of three lucky winners to receive our luxurious Lavender Rosewood Bar Soap!

The Latest Research on Lavender

We have some fabulous classes and workshops lined up for Lavender Days, so be sure to mark June 27-28 on your calendars to learn, learn, learn! Interested in finding out about the latest research on the benefits of lavender essential oil? Then you'll definitely want to attend Karen Boren's class! Here's a sneak preview from Karen:

"As of today, there are 149 lavender essential oil studies on PubMed.gov, the website of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health. All peer-reviewed medical and scientific journals...exciting discoverings!"

We are thrilled to be bringing together the top instructors in their fields, from herbs and gardening, to cooking and bread baking, for a great educational experience at Lavender Days. If you're a gardening enthusiast, you'll be pleased to know that Joy Bossi of "Joy in the Garden" --the Salt Lake City based radio program--will also be teaching classes at our event.

Health is the New Status Symbol for Americans

Did you know that three out of four Americans view health as their personal symbol of success? Here are some more facts from a fascinating survey, which was released in January and conducted by Opinion Research Corporation:

• 80 percent of Americans say that being emotionally healthy is a "major" symbol of success.


• 58 percent of respondents prefer not to socialize with people who lead unhealthy lifestyles.


• Two-thirds of Americans say they would prefer to be talked about as someone with inner peace and emotional well-being than as someone who is outgoing and well liked (31 percent).

Lavender essential oil has long been known to offer the following emotional benefits that are so sought after in today's world:

• balancing


• calming


• uplifting

Here's a quick tip for including lavender essential oil in your daily personal care routine:

Keep a bottle in the shower and add a drop or two to your scalp while shampooing your hair. Take a few deep breaths while massaging the scalp, then rinse. It's a great way to start your day!

Lavender Farm Restaurant and Lavender Lemonade

The restaurant at the Young Living Lavender Farm is now open for the season! We are so excited to have Lisa, our lovely restaurant manager, back this year. She is always cooking up something yummy and fresh. Today I had a bowl of amazing, straight from the farm chili and our popular Lavender Lemonade. It was fabulous!

We just got a great question about our lavender lemonade from Whitney in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. She says,

"I was at the Lavender Festival last summer and had a chance to have some of that amazing Lavender Lemonade you guys sell. If you can, I would love to have the recipe."

Well Whitney, I am happy to give you the recipe. We just served the Lavender Lemonade at our Easter event and it was a huge hit! I heard that some people were nervous to try it, but once they did they couldn't get enough. It is a great way to add something unique to the usual summer thirst quencher. And because the recipe calls for Blue Agave, an all-natural sweetener, it is healthy, too! If you want to try some before you make it, come on into the farm's restaurant; it is always on the menu.

Lavender Lemonade
7 lemons, peeled and juiced
2 limes, peeled and juiced
14 c. water
1 ½ c. Blue Agave
1 drop lavender essential oil

Mix all ingredients together and chill. Add more water or Blue Agave, depending on the size and tartness of the fruit.

Blue Agave Giveaway!
We are so happy about the restaurant opening that we want to do a giveaway. Anyone who comments on this post by Saturday, April 5, will be entered to win an 8 oz. bottle of Blue Agave. We'll pick two winners randomly. To comment just click on the comment link at the bottom of this post and enter your Google user name, but if you don't have one click on name/url and just enter in your name and comment. You can enter your url, but if you don't have one just leave it blank.

The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Click here for a map to the farm or call 1-800-371-0819 for more information.

Studio 5 Features Young Living Lavender Farm

We were thrilled to be invited to appear on Studio 5, a KSL television program that focuses on improving the lives of others. We were treated so kindly by everyone on their crew--thank you for making us feel so welcome! We had a great time visiting their set and sharing with viewers the wonderful benefits of lavender. The show's hosts, Brooke and Darin, are fun and energetic, and share lots of great tips on each of their shows, which air Monday-Friday at 11:0o a.m. on channel 5.



As Brooke Walker, the show's host, mentioned, there are more and more "lavender" products appearing on store shelves. But an important point that consumers need to be aware of is that although the label says "lavender", most of those products contain very little lavender and are oftentimes full of harmful chemicals. There is a big difference between perfume-grade lavender and Young Living's therapeutic-grade lavender. Perfume-grade lavender can be diluted, adulterated, and synthetically made in a chemical laboratory. Young Living's therapeutic-grade lavender is all natural--it is the purest and most potent form of lavender essential oil available. To learn about the care and testing involved in our distillation and production process, please visit our website and click on the tab titled "Seed to Seal".

And as always, we invite you to visit us at the farm to see firsthand how the process works. When you see the rich soil, touch the plants, and smell the fragrance, you'll better understand how Young Living's therapeutic-grade lavender essential oil is the best choice for receiving all the benefits of lavender!

Here are the fun beauty tips we shared on the show using Young Living's lavender essential oil:

1. Get your beauty sleep with the help of lavender linen spray. Pour a few drops of Young Living lavender essential oil (4-8 drops per 4 oz. container) into a spray bottle and fill with distilled water. Mist your pillows and bed linens before going to sleep.
2. Skin soothing at-home spa treatment--lavender bath fizzers. Mix 2 TBSP. baking soda, 2 tsp. citric acid, and 8-10 drops Young Living lavender essential oil in a small bowl. Spray 1-2 sprays of water into mixture. Stir and repeat sprays of water until mixture sticks together when compacted. Press small amounts into candy molds or into small balls. Allow to sit for 2 minutes, turn molds over and release fizzers onto wax paper. Let dry until hardened all the way through. Drop into warm water and enjoy a soothing soak in the tub!
3. Pretty pedicure time with our exfoliating lavender foot scrub. Stir together 1/4 c. Dead sea salt or epsom salt, 1/4 c. Young Living V-6 Oil or unscented massage oil, and 3-6 drops Young Living lavender essential oil. Mix well; pour into container. Place a small amount in hand and scrub over feet that have soaked in warm water. Rinse off and apply lavender lotion. (Painting toenails a pretty pink is optional, but highly recommended!)

A Love of Languages and Lavender

As an undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, I fell in love with the history of the modern English language. The migration of tribes and conquering of peoples led to the borrowing and changing of words. The English language is filled with borrowed words from other languages.

I am still fascinated by our ever evolving language and the origin of words. For example, did you know that lavender comes from the Latin word "lavare", meaning "to wash"? This is because lavender was used as a ritual bathing herb in ancient Rome. Lavender was recognized for its healing qualities and for washing. It was added to baths to scent the water and was thought to restore the skin. Baths were very important for the Romans--they stayed at the bath houses for several hours and went there daily.

A bottle of Young Living's therapeutic-grade lavender essential oil.

In our super-stressed "jump-in and out-of-the-shower society", a warm soak in the bath tub with the added benefits of lavender essential oil (both relaxing and conditioning to the skin) is the perfect way to unwind and renew! Lavender's rich fragrance is soothing and balancing to the mind. So go ahead and take a few minutes to unwind and restore your body and mind with a warm lavender bath tonight!

Health & Wellness Winners

We had so many wonderful comments on the Here's to Health and Wellness post below! As promised we have the winners of the lavender bath salts from the farm. We had 18 comments, so I went to random.org to generate three random winners. And the winners are:

Lynn who said: Lavender applied neat quickly cleared up infected sores on my scalp that no other prescription cream or product helped at all. Only a few days of Lavender and my scalp was healed and healthy.

I also use lavender in my fabric storage area to gently scent the fabrics used for doll/toy making and bandannas.

www.AlaskaYoungLiving.com

Karla who said: Many of you may know that the Thieves Spray will take off permanent marker instantly, however, did you know that Lavender oil applied neat does just as good of a job?!!! We were delightfully surprised!

Brenda who said: From feet to sheets and everything in between! Reading the comments on Lavender and its infinite abilities bring memories rushing back in!

As a Practitioner that works out of home, my clients are greeted by Zoe the dog and O the cat. Those with severe allergic reactions to animals have yet to react in my care - as Lavender is applied to their feet soon upon their arrival. Their need of medication is quickly forgotten - what a testimony! Lovely Lavender how we enjoy thee!

So Lynn, Karla, and Brenda, please send your shipping information to webinfo@youngliving.com so we can send you your prizes!

Congratulations!

Creating a Home Spa

Someone enjoying a foot scrub at last year's Lavender Days Festival at the Young Living Lavender Farm.

I was just introduced to some small books that I think are just beautiful. It is a home spa series and the gal who loaned them to me (thanks Ellise!) bought them at Pier 1. There are quite a few books in the series, but the three I have looked over are called Home Spa: Relaxing, Home Spa: Refreshing, and Home Spa: Rebalancing. They have quite a few tips on how to use essential oils in your home to create a spa-like feeling.

On page 50 of Home Spa: Relaxing, by Jo Glanville-Blackburn, it gives 10 ideas for relaxing rituals. These are some of my favorites:

*Spritz a little lavender water (six drops of lavender essential oil in two ounces water) over your skin and shoulders--anytime. Breathe in the mist.

*Soak aching feet in a hot foot bath with four drops of peppermint essential oil and a handful of Epsom salts. (As you can tell from the picture above, we love this idea at the lavender farm!)

*Place a lavender bag under your pillow for a restful night's sleep.

*Whenever you feel overwhelmed, detach yourself from stress and escape to the sanctuary of a warm bath.

Pamper Yourself This Holiday Season

The holiday season can easily become the busiest (and most stressful) time of the year, with presents to buy, school performances to attend, and goodies to bake for the neighbors. Stop the stress and start enjoying the season with this easy, simple solution: pamper yourself for a few minutes each day! You will feel renewed and have more energy to accomplish all the things you want to do for others during this busy time of year if you remember to take time for yourself.

Tip: Enjoy a relaxing bath at the end of the day, and your stress will melt away! Fill your bathtub with warm water and add several drops of lavender essential oil. Turn on some soft holiday music, soak in the tub, and inhale the soothing fragrance of lavender. With a good night's rest, you'll wake ready to start a new day's To Do list!