Current blog update

New note about comments: Comments are moderated (so are only posted if I give them permission to be posted) and only open to registered users. Any post with links in it will be deleted (sorry I had to do this a while back but I was getting so much spam by companies who just want to advertise on my blog). Thanks for understanding :)

I am currently trying to answer comments as quickly as possible but if you need an answer immediately, it is better to email me. If you have a company or organization you'd like to tell me about (since I don't allow links to websites in the comments anymore), if you are not a registered user and have comments/questions, or if you have questions on environmental issues or crafting, please e-mail me at solarkatsecoblog@yahoo.com. Thank you :)

Also A LOT of the old entries are not in the links section yet. There are over 180 entries on this blog, so most links to old posts are not posted on the right side of this blog. If you can't find what you need either read the archives by month, do a search in the search engine box at the top of the blog, or you may ask me a question through the comments or email. :)

What's new:

March 6, 2009New post on my newest eco living article. I have not posted a 'real' post or answered questions on this blog for a month or two (busy finishing my thesis. I am so busy I even stopped working on my business for the last few weeks, and have been limiting my time on the Garden of Wisdom forum!). If all goes well I will be done with my thesis very soon and then can focus on my poor neglected blog and (in a few more weeks after that) finally open my online store :) I feel very craft-deprived right now since I have not been able to craft in several weeks :(

Feb 9, 09Newest Eco Living article is up :)

Jan 9, 2009
Answering old comments. Decided to start posting answers to comments in blog posts too, to make them easier to find. Comments on vegan soap and rose essential oil, and responding to nice comments people have posted. If you've posted a comment in the last couple months, I am going through them now so look for your answer, sorry for the late response (still going through many of them, so keep checking back).

Jan 8, 2009
Post about my newest Eco Living article. Enjoy!






Edited: Sept, 7, 2006. I just agreed a couple days ago to be a moderator for the Garden of Wisdom forum, which is one of the Delphi forums I post in. I will be posting on that forum the most (out of all the forums I visit), so if you have a question post there for me (I am Snowcat27), e-mail me through my Delphi profile, or leave a comment here on this blog. I will answer questions asap; though please give me a couple days to respond! Thanks to Markey (GOW owner), Jen/Camellia Rose, Whitney, and everyone else on the GOW forum!

Cheers!
Li

Eco Living: Aromatherapy Milk Baths

My newest Eco Living article is up on anb (all natural beauty) mall's website. This month it is on all natural aromatherapy milk baths (vegan suggestions are included too!). Milk baths are great for the skin, and super relaxing! :) Enjoy!

Eco Living: Aromatherapy body and massage oils

Just in time for valentines' day. My newest article Eco Living on anb mall's site is a super easy recipe for an aromatherapy body/massage oil. Perfect for relaxing, de-stressing, meditating, or to use as a sensual blend :) Includes many notes on essential oil safety too!
Hope you enjoy!

Comments FAQ: vegan melt and pour base, a nice comment, rose essential oil

I am bad at answering comments :( (I have been super busy with my thesis and starting my business, etc, and my health has been on the fritz, more so than usual, the last couple months). It is really better to email me; you'll get a faster response most of the time, though recently I have been slow on answering emails too. Honestly if you want an answer on the same or next day, it is best to post on one of the blogs I frequent, for eco questions or natural skin care lines and aromatherapy/herbal questions, crafting, etc, probably best to ask on all natural beauty's forum. I apologize for the long wait for answers.

So I've decided to start posting my answers to comments as blog entries (in addition to answering them in the comments) to make the answers easier to find, and also increase the chances of the person who asked about it, seeing their answer since some of them were posted a couple months old, and I am only now answering them :( Still have several to go through, will get them done soon.

Anne asked on the "How to make your own herbal soaps” post:
"Can anyone tell me if the glycerin base used for melt and pour soups is vegan (no animals products)?"

Hi

Sorry for the very late response (been super busy with my thesis, business, etc).

It depends on which company and which base, since some companies make soap with animal tallow (though most I've seen use vegetable/nut oils), while others may add honey or goats milk to their bases. Was there a particular base that you were interested in? (most companies should post the ingredients on their website, but if they don't I recommend contacting them for a complete ingredient list).


Small Footprints posted a very nice post on the current blog update about liking my blog.

Thank you! I feel very bad as you posted your very nice comment months ago (been super busy so have not been blogging much; very sorry to get back to you so late).
I will be sure to check out your blog soon too!


Genevieve asked about where to get organic rose essential oil (and about the differences in quality and prices).
Hi Genevieve

I apologize for the long wait in response (not much time to blog anymore; thesis and starting a business, etc, have been overwhelming me as of late).

People debate on whether Bulgarian or Turkey is the best damask rose with most people saying that Bulgarian damask rose is the best. A lot of factors goes into scent, especially how they are distilled (some distillers are better than others) and also weather/climate, etc (rose crops around the world in the last couple years haven't been doing well in some areas).

Personally I love both Bulgarian and Turkey damask rose; I don't think one is superior over the other but they are both lovely in their own right. Actually the best smelling rose I've ever tried (and I have sampled from several companies and several different species of roses) is an organic damask rose from Turkey from AV-AT. Butch claims his rose is the best on the market and I have to agree with him; all of his essential oils are superior quality. Both his rose essential oil and absolute are so rich and intense (that distiller in Turkey who he's been getting his rose from for many years, knows what they are doing). They are organic but not certified organic (many farmers in Turkey can't afford the organic process but Butch is originally from Turkey and I believe has seen the places where the crops are grown).

I also like the roses from Mountain Rose Herb (excellent quality). They have a sampler kit of Bulgarian, Turkey, and Chinese (the Chinese is a different species of rose, and not the damask rose but still lovely). I think only the Bulgarian is certified organic though but most of MRH's essential oils that are not organic are tested to be free of pesticides etc.

Be sure to dilute the essential oil well (to 1-2% concentration; a small bottle should last you a very long time :) )

Rose essential oil is very expensive (it costs $300-400 or more for 1 ounce, wholesale price; about $1-2 a drop) so most places will cost a lot (once business costs are factored into the retail price). It is also commonly adulterated (people add other essential oils or synthetics to it to stretch it as it is so expensive). Sometimes the different in price is due to quality of the product, though there are many who charge too much for an inferior product.

Eco Living: Li's New Years' Eco Tips (Eco Living article series)

My newest Eco Living article is up on anb (all natural beauty) Mall's website! It is filled with many of my favorite simple green living tips, perfect for implementing in your life during the New Year :) One reason I am writing this article series is to show that living more eco-conscious doesn't have to be time consuming, expensive, or difficult to do; I hope you find it helpful! Happy New Year! Xinnian kuai le!

Essential Oils: Packaging, Blending, Company recs (Essential Oil/Aromatherapy Information)

Going through old FAQ so I am posting them (edited with additional information of course) :)

How should I package products made with essential oils (plastic or glass)? Are carrier oils okay to store in plastic or should I use glass?

For undiluted, pure essential oils, absolutes, and co2 extracts, you need to store them in colored glass (they usually come in colored glass) since many of them will eat through plastic, and it is thought by some people that toxins from plastic can leech into them (and other products/ingredients). Also it is thought that light can degrade essential oils hence the colored glass, but I know of at least one prominent essential oil company that disputes this and says uncolored glass is fine too and protects the essential oils just as well. Personally I recommend that if you are storing it in a fridge or another dark and cool place, uncolored glass would probably be fine, but if you don't then use colored glass.

Carrier oils are fine to store and keep in plastic.

Most vendors package essential oils, absolutes, and co2 extracts in glass, if they don't, be dubious of their product, since if they are in plastic, they are probably not undiluted, but are diluted in a carrier of some sort or they are simply not the real thing. (Note: for large wholesale sizes some companies do use metal containers)

But with diluted essential oils in products, it is debated whether they should be stored in plastic or glass. Personally I don't package them in plastic since I've had essential oils eat through plastic before (during one of my first aromatherapy experiments over eight years ago I had made bath salts that contained essential oils, and I had put them in a hard, plastic travel container, and it cracked the plastic in under an hour. No idea what kind of plastic it was, but it was a container made for travel). But well diluted, and in certain plastics (like PET), for short term usage (maybe only a few months) storing in plastic shouldn't be a problem. A lot of companies that offer shampoos and lotions and such with essential oils keep them in plastic bottles, but when I buy from other companies I always make sure I use those products up within a month or two (since many of them are also all natural and have a very short shelf life anyways).


Will mixing essential oils together in a blend (i.e. using two or more in a product) reduce their potency or 'clash' with each other?

It is thought by many aromatherapists and herbalists that combining essential oils actually improves how they work. This theory is called synergy. But keep the total essential oil content for facial formulas to 1% of under, so don't use 1% of each essential oil, but use a total of 1% or less of all the essential oils. And that's just a general rule, some essential oils should be used at way less than 1%, especially on the delicate facial and eye area.

What are some of your favorite scented products (essential oils, hydrosols, and essences) from different companies?

From AV-AT, I love Butch's Organic Ylang Ylang Complete, Organic Cocoa Absolute, and Organic High Altitude French Lavender Essential Oil. Actually any of his essential oils are wonderful, all have been fantastic: I rank them as superior quality. Their rose essential oil and absolute is the best out of any company I've tried. They are my favorite essential oil company.

Sunrose Aromatics: Peach tree leaf absolute, Organic Chocolate Peppermint Essential Oil. Yum :)

Enfleurage: Organic Petitgrain sur Fleur Essential Oil (which is distilled branches and flowers of the bitter orange tree, so kind of like a combo of petitgrain and neroli, yum!). Carries many unusual essential oils, they also have a store in New York City.

A Little Ol' Factory: Organic Bulgarian Rose alba (white rose) hydrosol (from an award winning distillery)

Nature's Gift: another superior quality company. I especially like all of their jasmine absolute (they have three species). I've smelled jasmine from other (good to excellent) companies and while they are nice, they don't have all the notes and subtle yet complex over and under tones of the jasmines that Marge (or another superior essential oil company) carries. Offers some of the rarer essential oils.

Eden Botanicals: their crystallized amber essence. If you love amber, this is the place to buy them! Note their amber is vegetarian but not vegan.

Samara Botane I like their rose gallica, which is a species of rose not usually used in aromatherapy (which is on super onsale now). Very fragrant. A well known and respected company. They also carry some of the harder to find essential oils.

See also my few posts on reviews on essential oils companies.

Eco Living: Living green on a budget (Environmental Information)

A few days ago I finished the new Eco Living Article, which is a series of articles I write for for anb (all natural beauty) mall. This month's article is on living green on a budget. In it I've mentioned many great tips for food, clothes, and also cosmetics and soaps, as well as general green tips for how to be green (eco-friendly) while saving some green (money). Enjoy!

Premium Steap (Tea company in Philadlphia)

During a previous trip to Philly my sister, Ed, and I stopped at this little tea shop called Premium Steap. They had some unusual combinations so I got a couple packages of flavored rooibos (even though my tea stash is too large and I didn't really need anymore tea). I am so glad that I did because they are some of the most delicious tea blends I've ever had!

Rooibos is probably my favorite tea. My favorite plain (nothing added) red and green rooibos teas are from a popular organic herb vendor, (Mountain Rose Herbs), whose herbs are superior quality. But most flavored rooibos teas I've tried in the past were good but not as good as plain rooibos in my opinion (not even the flavored rooibos blends from Adagio teas which I think are good to very good but not extraordinary).

But the ones from Premium Steap I have to say are the best flavored rooibos teas I have tried (and I usually get some kind of rooibos when I visit all the little tea shops in Philly or restaurants and shops in New York City). I tried their 'heaven' rooibos which tastes minty and chocolately, and also their chai rooibos which I have to say is one of the best chai blends I've had (rooibos OR decaff black tea chai).

So if you live or plan to visit Philly, and love tea, be sure to stop by this tea shop. And if you don't, check out their website for some very fine tea :)