Saturday, May 02, 2015

Current blog update

A blog about all things green! :)  Solarkat's Eco Blog discusses many different topics from eco living, reviews of eco-friendly and natural products, aromatherapy, herbalism, all natural skin and hair care ingredients and DIY (Do It Yourself) recipes, all natural perfumery, conservation, environmental issues, nature, whole nutritious foods, and more! :)


What's new:

May 2, 2015 Dr Aviva Romm's herbal resources including a new course!

April 7, 2015: Aromatherapy books sale!

March 19, 2015: free herbal webinar tonight!

March 7, 2015: Two new posts! Free aromatherapy ebook.  And one of my favorite books is now available as a digital download.

March 5, 2015: 7song's herb first aid online course, last day to enroll!

March 3, 2015: Two posts! Essential oils for menstrual pain and the Tisserand Institute (Aromatherapy) newsletter.

February 26, 2015: free herbal webinar tonight!

February 22. 2015: two posts!  One post is on 7song's herb first aid online course.  And there is an excellent video that covers lemon essential oil ingestion in water.

February 21, 2015: The Sustainable Herb Project

August 5, 2014: a post on coconut cream, coconut milk, and coconut water in skin care, and where to buy these ingredients!

August 4, 2014: updated my sugar and salt scrub post, and reshared my vegan sugar scrub recipe too! See new post on the scrubs.




There are A LOT of the old entries are not in the links section. There are over 260 entries on this blog, so most links to old posts are not posted on the right side of this blog (I am still re-adding some of the links to the old posts to the right side of the blog.  All the links were removed when I switched the template). 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. :)

Cheers!
Li

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wooohooooo! *wink* Glad we have you too! You are a wealth of knowledge! :)
Camellia Rose/Jen

Solarkat said...

Hi Jen,

Thanks! GOW is definitely my favorite forum :)

Cheers,
Li

Anonymous said...

hey i contacted u in delphiforums but im not sure of how to recieve back msgs... its all too confusing!!
Anyways i had asked ya there about shea butter..wanted to know which company do u prefer..? Monave pure shea butter or anyother..? actually im planning to shop online and i m confused by all customer reviews..
so i thought i should contact since im a big fan of ur blog!!! :D :D :D


regards,
Water

Solarkat said...

Hi Water,

E-mailed you back :)

Cheers,
Li

Anonymous said...

hey, li
hope ur doin gr8..
wanted to ask is it ok to refrigerate shea butter ? or is it better off without it??

Solarkat said...

Hi Anon

Shea butter doesn't have to be refrigerated because it has a decent shelf life , but refrigerating it will extend shelf life greatly.

Cheers,
Li

Anonymous said...

Hi Li, Your blog is very informative. Thank you! Have you tried the "no-poo" method of using baking soda to clean your hair and rinse with apple cider vinegar as needed?

Solarkat said...

Hi Anon

Glad you like my blog :)

Thanks for the tips :)

I've tried acv rinses but my hair does better with herbal rinses; many people love acv rinses though :) (I prefer acv in the bath).

Haven't tried the baking soda but have tried other powders; they work pretty well but I just prefer my shampoo bars :)

Cheers,
Li

Anonymous said...

Heya Solarkat, long time me no comment, I've been going through some transformations in my life so I have not been able to. I had to stop in for some good reads and hope you are doing well.
Sincerely Rock On,
♥Piper♥

Anonymous said...

Hi Li,

I'm so glad that I found your site! Previous to finding your blog, I always thought that making my own cosmetics, body lotions, oils, etc. would be too complicated. I'm excited about making my own stuff with the particular scents I love!

Question: I've been looking for a natural lightly shimmer-y body oil. I'm very fair, always use sunscreen and avoid tanning, but would like something that adds a little bit of a warm shimmer for summer. This would be an alternative to those gradual tan products that are all the rage right now. Do you have any suggestions for me?

Thanks!!!!!

Solarkat said...

Hi Vetivee1

Sorry for the last response (thesis/grad work).

You can add a little mica to a lotion for a little shimmer, and some mineral makeup companies have powdered bronzers and body powders and mineral glows (powdered). For micas: TKB trading or Monave. For an already made product: Try Monave or Jlynne Cosmetics. I think Dreamworld cosmetics may also have some glows.

Cheers,
Li

Anonymous said...

Love your blog. I will come by again to check your new tips. Thanxs*

Solarkat said...

Hi Green Piñata!

Thanks :) I will check out your blog too :)

Cheers,
Li

Solarkat said...

Hi Piper

I read your very nice comments months ago and of course didn't have time to post them until now (very sorry about that). Good luck in the transformations in your life :)
Thanks and hope you are doing well too.

Cheers,
Li

Genevieve said...

I just found your blog and just love it! I never got much results from aromatherapy until I recently tried rose oil (Bulgarian) to help heal emotional trauma and a 6 month injury to my back - straight across my heart chakra. I knew it wasn't releasing because of a deep seated emotional heart wound. I decided to treat the emotion instead of the injury. I'm ordering helichrysum to follow up with the physical trauma.

I found a formula recommended by Jeanne Rose and in exploring her, I found you. What a wealth of information you have on your blog.

I had only purchased a small amount of the oil as I had no idea if it would make a profound difference but it most certainly did! I have been able to release many old emotions and my physical body let go of the "wooden plank" that had been created since my fall (accident).

I need to purchase more of the rose but feel so confused over the varying prices. I definitely want organic but the best price. Many sites are no longer carrying the bulgarian rose oil and switching to the one from Turkey. It is my understanding that the Bulgarian is best for emotional trauma. I saw a company that may be a bit cheaper, Aleya Organics but they also sell some (another site) that is just 100% pure and natural so it makes me leery. Can you give me suggestions? The reason I definitely want organic is because I have an autoimmune illness. The purer the better. I just found your blog and just love it! I never got much results from aromatherapy until I recently tried rose oil (Bulgarian) to help heal emotional trauma and a 6 month injury to my back - straight across my heart chakra. I knew it wasn't releasing because of a deep seated emotional heart wound. I decided to treat the emotion instead of the injury. I'm ordering helichrysum to follow up with the physical trauma.

I found a formula recommended by Jeanne Rose and in exploring her, I found you. What a wealth of information you have on your blog.

I had only purchased a small amount of the oil as I had no idea if it would make a profound difference but it most certainly did! I have been able to release many old emotions and my physical body let go of the "wooden plank" that had been created since my fall (accident).

I need to purchase more of the rose but feel so confused over the varying prices. I definitely want organic but the best price. Many sites are no longer carrying the bulgarian rose oil and switching to the one from Turkey. It is my understanding that the Bulgarian is best for emotional trauma. I saw a company that may be a bit cheaper, Aleya Organics but they also sell some (another site) that is just 100% pure and natural so it makes me leery. Can you give me suggestions? The reason I definitely want organic is because I have an autoimmune illness. The purer the better.

Unknown said...

Hello! Your blog was recommended to me by John at "I have dreams" ... and what a wonderful find. You have such great information here. I need to spend some time reading.

Thank you, so much, for the information you provide. I'm going to follow you as well as add you to my blog roll.

Small Footprints

Solarkat said...

Hi

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!

Cheers,
Li

Solarkat said...

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).

http://www.av-at.com/

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 organic though.

http://www.mountainroseherbs.com


HTH :)

Cheers,
Li

Solarkat said...

Hi Genevieve

I forgot to say that 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.

MRH's essential oils that are not organic are tested to be free of pesticides etc.

Cheers,
Li

p said...

Hi Li!

I've been a long-time reader of your blog, and I've gained so much from it, not least discovering AV-AT (and their amazing essential oils) and Monave - thank you for your wonderful blog!

Congratulations on starting up your business!! So exciting! I'm de-lurking because I'd love to know more about something you mentioned... in your post on the Earth Alchemie blog about Geogard, you wrote that you do your own simple bacteria and fungus tests at home - I'd love to know more about how to do this myself! Can you point me to a reference? I was wondering, do you just use the Chek-It tests from Snowdrift? I come from a science background too (though not a lab science), and I understand it's not as good as a challenge test in the lab - but I'd love to be able to collect a bit more data myself before forking out the $ to send a batch to a lab!

Cheers,
P

Solarkat said...

Hi P


Thanks for posting. I have posted an answer under a new entry

http://solarkateco.blogspot.com/2010/05/comments-on-brown-sugar-scrub-shelf.html

HTH

Cheers,
Li