Self-Care

As I’m feeling sorry for these poor kids who have markered up or smeared lipstick across their entire face, I’m wondering why their adult doesn’t know about using oil to take all sorts of things off human skin.

Have you ever heard of oil cleansing? It works on the simple concept that like dissolves like. So anything that is lipid-based or oil-based should take off most skin-safe products that are on the skin or in the hair. There’s a lot of information online about oil cleansing along with what products to use as a skincare routine, this is not what I’m talking about here.

I’m talking about using oil to clean up the occasional skin-based messes. Makeup, stage makeup, Aunt Myrna’s lip prints on your forehead, grease smears from fixing the kid’s bicycle chain that keeps falling off, adhesives, tree sap…anything that has oil in it should respond. And because our skin has a layer of oil on it, even messes that don’t have a lot of oil content might come off (at least partially) as the cleaning oil combines with the oil on the skin. Depending on what you’re working with will depend on the time and number of applications required to remove it.

What Kind of Oil Should You Use?

For skin-based use, I usually opt for a food grade oil. I think using an oil you can eat is going to ensure safety overall and it reduces the chances that you may have a reaction. If you can eat it with no problem, you should be able to tolerate it on your skin for a short period of time.

Coconut oil is probably going to be the most economical option. You just need to let it warm in your hand to use if it’s still solid. The downside of coconut oil is that it’s a drying oil. Sounds counterintuitive, but it’s best to try one of the others if you already have dry skin.

Olive oil is also a great option. The molecules are large, and they float across the skin making this a better choice if you’ve got a big mess on your hands (or face). Olive oil will stay active long enough to dissolve the mess and give you the opportunity to wipe and then wash your skin clean. I once used olive oil to remove adhesive from a wood floor. It worked perfectly leaving the floor pristine.

Avocado oil is a good option. It’s a little on the expensive end of the spectrum, but it’s really nice for the skin. The molecules are smaller than olive oil and depending on your skin may absorb rather quickly not staying open long enough to clean up without having to reapply.

Non Food-Based Products

Jojoba oil (ho-ho-bah) is an excellent option for skin but is a specialty oil that is harder to obtain in many areas and much more expensive ounce for ounce. Also, it’s not really an oil, but a wax and it’s best to not to eat it as it is non-digestible to humans. That being said, I’d probably opt for one of the above oils for cleaning and reserve the jojoba for an after-cleansing moisturizer. You would choose jojoba if you’re sensitive or allergic to the others. Jojoba is one of the very least sensitizing products we have available for skin-based use.

You could also use a made-for-skin mineral oil or oil-based cream if you prefer. These are definitely not safe to use as food though.

How to Use Oil to Clean Your Skin

Gather all your supplies:

• oil of your choice
• cotton balls
• paper towels
• facecloth
• your everyday facial cleanser or soap

Set up your cleaning station near a sink or tub. When you’re ready, start by brushing off the big chunks. Next, use as many cotton balls as necessary to dab a liberal amount of oil onto the soiled areas or for large areas just pour some oil in your hand and rub it on. Depending on where and what you’ve got going on you can gently rub the oils around to lift and dissolve the grime. Once the gunk starts to move around, use a paper towel to gently wipe it away. When you’ve got most of it off you can wash with soap and water. Rinse and repeat the oil application and the washing until you’re as clean as you want to be. Don’t forget to follow up with your favorite moisturizer or rub a few drops of oil onto your skin.

Caution!!!

You may be tempted to just get in the shower and do this, but oil on a shower floor is extra slippery so I don’t recommend it. Do all your oil-based cleaning first, then get in the shower. And there’s always the risk of clogging up pipes with an oil that solidifies when not warm. It’s best to throw as much oil in the trash can before rinsing it down the drain.

If you’ve never used oil to clean your skin before and it sounds like something you’d like to try, take a minute to consider any allergens or skin sensitivities you might have. The last thing you want is to irritate the skin further than it might already be. Select an oil that you know you’re not allergic to. I mentioned earlier how I like edible oils for this job. That’s because I know my chance of reaction is low if I already eat the oil.

Also, consider what kind of product you’re trying to remove from your skin. Makeups with glitter or reflective particles may be sharp and a dab, wait, dab technique might work better than rubbing. I once bought a specialty lipstick for a Mardi Gras party that finished with a glitter application. That stuff was like glass and was not only unwearable, but ruined my lips trying to get it off. Tree saps and adhesives can also be difficult to remove. No matter what method you try to remove stuff from your skin use your best judgement to not damage yourself.

I’ve not tried this method on fabric, only skin, glass, and finished wood. Fabrics will definitely absorb the oil and you may never get it out. Other surfaces may also not react well to this method. Take care not to damage your treasures.

A Word About Essential Oils

Essential oils are a different beast, and though we have all seen how they can be used to clean everything under the sun, I never recommend using an undiluted essential oil on the skin. This can cause skin-based reactions on many people. Always ensure the essential oil you’re going to use is safe for skin-based use, then dilute your essential oils before putting them on your skin for any reason.

Okay, I hope this has been helpful. Mostly just remember that like dissolves like and if you’re looking for a safe and gentle cleaner for your skin, oil may be just what you’re looking for.

♥

Technology Changes Were Shocking

When I started shopping, I was surprised to find the dramatic changes in cookstove technologies. It took way longer to research and decide on a new appliance. I thought the job was done when I finally ordered the unit, sight unseen, because no one was carrying the one that would best fit our needs.

That’s when we got slapped with delivery a month out from the order date. I panicked a little, but immediately started planning on how we could do this without a fully functional kitchen for a month. It would be a learning experience, I reasoned, and possibly fun in a stressful sort of way. Being fortunate, we have access to a microwave, hot pot, coffee pot, electric griddle, a grill, an Instant Pot, Crockpot, a steamer, a toaster, and a toaster oven. Surely, we could make this work.

The decision fatigue was the first thing that hit. How to boil an egg with all of these small electric appliances? The answer, not very easily. And so it went for every meal, decision after decision after creative problem solving session. After a couple of days, the depression started to set in. I don’t do well with constant change. I need a stable, repeatable environment for certain things. Food seems to be one of them.

Then while we’re still struggling, trying to establish some repeatable processes that will help us put food on the table in a reasonable time frame, I receive another email stating that not only would we not be receiving our new stove as promised, they were estimating a new delivery date six more weeks out from the original delivery date. Some tears were shed over that one.

What I’m Learning

• We are eating out way too much from sheer fatigue
• The quality of foods we are eating at home has decreased and are by far much more processed than our normal diet because they are no-cook or don’t require an in-depth cooking process
• We are generating much more garbage
• We are generating next to nothing for the compost bin
• Our food budget has increased dramatically while nutritional value has tanked
• You can use a steamer to “boil” a lot of things. Rice, eggs, veggies, etc.
• Safety issues with small electrics increase the chance of accidents and injuries
• I have a perpetual stomachache, brain fog, low motivation, and am overall more emotional than normal

How Do You Deal With the Stress?

So, as you may have guessed by now, this not having a stove thing is turning into quite the catastrophe. The effects of not being able to feed myself and my family in the manner we’re accustomed is turning into a larger discussion in my household about food insecurity and the lack of access to the equipment needed to prepare healthy foods. How do people do it? I literally threatened to build a fire in the backyard at one point just so I could boil a pot of water.

I’ve learned how to use a toaster oven and am happy to say I have a better idea of my strengths when it comes to cooking. I did finally break down and purchase a hot plate because I am primarily a stovetop cook for satisfying the day-to-day nutritional needs of the family. The hot plate eliminated a lot of stress because I could finally cook in a way that made more sense to me than trying to press a bunch of small electrics into a job they really weren’t designed for. It also gives everyone a tool that is familiar enough that I’m not having to do all the cooking.

Through this exercise, I have also learned that I have way too many tools in my kitchen arsenal that I won’t use, even in this semi-emergency situation. I’ll be doing a cleanout of those soon though I will probably wait until the new stove eventually arrives. Just in case…meanwhile I’m trying to manage the stress of a sub-functioning kitchen while dealing with sub-optimal nutrition. It’s a lot.

Have you ever dealt with a lengthy repair process? What kind of stress did you experience and what helped? Drop a comment and let’s talk about this.

♥

Why Are My Sinuses So Dry?

The mucous membranes in your nose are designed to trap environmental dust, debris, and pollens and keep them from reaching the lower respiratory tract and lungs. When you have dry sinuses, the potential for those molecules to reach the lungs increases. Not to mention, dry sinuses can crack and tear making another entry point for infection into your body.

As I’ve gotten older and learned a bit more about taking care of myself, I’ve figured out a thing or two about how to keep the sinuses moisturized until my mucous membranes adjust to the new environment. Read on for five tips on how to help your sinuses feel better naturally!

Check Your Beverages

The first tip I have for you is to check your drink. Are you drinking enough to keep yourself hydrated? And, please don’t hate me, are you drinking a lot of caffeine? Caffeine is a diuretic (it’s dehydrating) so it can be difficult to adequately hydrate if you’re having more than a token cup in the morning. I love black tea in the morning so I know how hard it can be to give up your morning ritual. Try to cut back until your body adjusts to the lower humidity caused by the heat.

Go Warm and Hydrating

Since we’re already talking about nutrition, my second tip is to add in herbal teas, soups, stews, and any other juicy, comforting foods that you like. I just read a really interesting article about pleasure and nutrition and how studies are showing if you enjoy the food you’re eating, it’s nourishing you more than if you’re receiving the same nutrient profile from something you don’t enjoy. Super interesting! Anyway, as you’re enjoying your nice, hydrating foods and beverages take a moment to inhale the steam they are offering.

As far as tasty herbals that might be helpful, I find red rooibos comforting as well as energetically moistening to the system. It’s also naturally decaffeinated and hosts more health benefits than I have time to list here.

Add Steam to Your Environment

A lot of people use vaporizers. I’m not a fan. A hot shower can be helpful, but at 3 gallons of water per minute, plus a water heater that takes money to run and probably won’t keep up well after a while it can get expensive.

I prefer simmer pots. Have you ever done a simmer pot? Do you know what a simmer pot is? A simmer pot is a big pot of water you put on your stove. If you’re old enough and lucky enough to have known your grandparents, you may have seen a large pot sitting on their wood stove. That was a simmer pot.

At a minimum, it’s just a pot with water on low heat that is sending moisture into your environment. You know I can’t leave anything alone, so I like to add herbs, spices, and sometimes fruit to make the house smell yummy while raising the humidity levels. What you add (or don’t) to the pot can be strategic. Maybe you just want the house to smell good, maybe you’re also suffering with some congestion.

I recently read about someone starting a simmer pot that ended up being an immune boosting, scratchy throat relieving tea. The whole house was sick with a respiratory bug and instead of mom-ing everyone individually she told them to hit the simmer pot for a cup of wellness. I thought that was brilliant! Unfortunately, I can’t find the article anymore…

Enjoy! And remember to turn the stove off before you go to bed. Safety is important!

Steaming Your Sinuses

I’ve already mentioned taking a big inhale of the steam coming off your soup or tea, and who could resist a good sniff over a simmer pot, but we can be a lot more intentional by creating a steam inhalation station for a specific treatment for your dry sinuses. It’s a pretty simple setup that you can do with things you already have around the house. Find a heat friendly bowl (think a big soup bowl), boil some water, and grab a bath towel. Place your bowl on a heat safe surface, pour in some boiling water, bend over the bowl with your face close enough to feel the steam (but not burn), drape your head and the bowl with a towel and breathe in through your nose. You could add moistening or demulcent herbs appropriate for helping ease the nasal dryness.

Herbal Neti Rinse

Do you use a neti pot to rinse your sinuses? It’s a pretty polarizing piece of equipment. Most people love it or hate it. For nasal dryness I find the neti pot to be an essential tool. Especially since I started integrating herbs into my neti rinse. Mullein tincture + saline water = almost immediate relief from dryness (for me) in a sinus rinse. Check the Helpful Articles section for more information on selecting herbs for nasal dryness to use in a neti rinse.

What if you don’t have herbal tinctures? I’ve brewed teas and used those diluted in my sinus rinse for different things. I don’t recommend getting wild and crazy with what you’re pouring up your nose without further study and some experience actually using a neti pot. If you do want to use a neti pot just getting the saline solution into your sinuses can help and the herbs aren’t required.

Fun fact about saline

Saline is a salty water designed for use internally or on/with mucous membranes. The salt used in saline water can be very drying to the skin. But used in a neti rinse it can actually help moisturize the mucous membranes in the nose. If you wear contacts, you probably have a bottle of saline contact solution in your bathroom cabinet that you use to maintain your contacts and moisturize your eyes when they get dry. And if you’ve ever had surgery or spent any time in the hospital it’s likely you’ve been given an IV drip of saline to combat dehydration. Also, those hydration powders everyone seems to be dumping in their water bottles right now are full of salt. So, salt is good for hydrating internally, but is drying externally.

Helpful Articles

It’s Allergy Season in the South!
Can eating pleasure be a lever for healthy eating? A systematic scoping review of eating pleasure and its links with dietary behaviors and health
Get Your Vitamin P: Why Pleasure Matters When It Comes to What You Eat
Using Herbs With Your Neti Pot

Dry sinuses can be aggravating and painful and I hope this gives article gives you some simple techniques to add to your arsenal of self-care tricks. Drop a comment if you have other suggestions for simple, at-home techniques to relieve dry sinuses.

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