How to Dye Hair Red Naturally with Henna Powder

Dying hair with henna is easy to do. I will explain the steps to dye your hair with henna in this blog post. We like using henna as a hair dye because it conditioning to the hair. Regular chemical hair dyes damage the hair cuticle. Henna is also is very compatible with our shampoo bars and diluted vinegar rinses. As hair dye, henna works best on lighter colored hair. Aquarian Bath is now offering powdered red Henna for hair dying, which is what I used to dye Tessa's hair (above).

How to Dye Hair with Henna

Preliminary precautions: Some people are allergic to henna. If you have never used henna before, then it is best to do a patch test on your skin. Make a patch test on the inside of your wrist with a little bit of henna mixed with water. Wait 24 hours to see if your skin has a reaction. If there is no reaction then you can begin the process below for dying your hair.  

Hair Prep: For best results, start out with clean dry hair that has been brushed and divided into smaller sections with clips. It is a messy job, so try to get help from a friend if you can. Wear your old work clothes, or black to avoid staining good fabrics.

8 oz of red henna powder now available at Aquarian Bath

Ingredients: The first step is to put your henna powder in a bowl with the juice of one half of a lemon and 1 tablespoon of oil such as Extra Virgin olive oil or grape seed oil. If you do not have lemon juice you could use vinegar instead. The lemon juice or vinegar helps the henna color stay in the hair for a long time. For short or thin hair you may only need a couple ounces of henna. For longer or thicker hair you will need more henna. Eight ounces works for my shoulder length thick hair. You can start out with a moderate amount of henna add more to the bowl if it looks like there is not enough. 

Form a Paste: Mix the henna, lemon juice and 1 T of oil with enough hot or boiling water to form a paste with the consistency of a creamy soup. At this point you need to decide if you have enough henna paste in your bowl to completely saturate your dry hair. If you think there may not be enough henna paste to completely cover your dry hair, then add more henna powder and water. Let the paste sit for around 30 minutes to allow the lemon juice to react with the henna powder.

Coat the hair evenly and wait: Next apply the henna paste to your hair completely covering each strand down to the roots. Avoid applying the paste to the forehead and around the ears and neck, because the henna paste will also stain the skin temporarily.  Leave the henna paste on your hair for 30 minutes to 2 hours. The longer you leave the paste on your hair the stronger the final hair color will be. You can freeze any leftover paste in a jar for future use.

 Rinse clean: Here is Tessa's hair after approximately 30 minutes of dying.

Wash as usual: Here is her hair after a couple of washes.  You can see that the bright orange fades out to a more natural looking color.  

Herbal Giveaway: Signed Copy of Matthew Wood's Book of Herbal Wisdom

Last month I picked up a new copy of one of my favorite herbals which is herbalist Matthew Wood's The Book of Herbal Wisdom.  Within three days of receiving the new book, I found my other copy, which I had put away safely on one of my hard to reach book shelves.  I think this copy must be meant for someone else, so I am giving it away on our blog.  It was signed by the author, and was only used once by me to review the chapter on Teasel, the medicinal plant which is pictured below.  The root of Teasel, Dipsacus fullonum, syn. D. sylvestris, has been used successfully by Matthew Wood and other herbalists to resolve cases of Lyme Disease.  I will share a DIY Lyme extract recipe that I made in a later blog post. 

Some of the other medicinal plants discussed in this book include some of my favorites: Calendula, Yarrow, Chamomile, Burdock, Goldenrod.  Over 40 plants are discussed in detail.  I enjoy this book so much because Matthew discusses examples of using these herbs successfully with different clients.  I have used his suggested allergy formula from this book with much success.  

If you are a US resident over age 18, and yo would like to win this book, you may enter below using the rafflecopter widget. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Chicken Head Cold Remedy for Chicken with Croaking Noises

Two days ago our sweet Barred Rock hen May had a bad head cold.  Her beak was crusty, and she was making strange croaking noises.  I think she picked up a cold from a wild game bird who was carrying something that May hadn't previously been exposed to.

Moira with our Barred Rock May with the late Arucana Teri (RIP)

I found this youtube video of a sick croaking chicken.  May sounded exactly like this:



She also wasn't eating and just wanted to stand or sit still.  She felt very hot and feverish to the touch.

I checked in Juliette de Bairacli Levy's book The Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable for a natural remedy for May.  This is the second time I have used her book for a chicken health issue.

I used 2 recipes from her book.  The first was a beak wash.  I used 2 teaspoons of water, 2 drops of Eucalyptus globulus essential oil, and a pinch of fine sea salt.  We cleaned her beak outside with q-tips, and then inside with fresh q-tips.  (The type of Eucalyptus oil was not specified, so probably other species of Eucalyptus would be just fine also, for example Eucalyptus smithii).

photo by Marja Flick-Buijs

The second recipe was for a garlic vinegar paste.  This was made up easily with 2 teaspoons of ground fresh garlic with 1 teaspoon of vinegar.  I used Juliette's recommended dosage which was 1/2 teaspoon, 2 times per day. We checked on May the morning after 1 day of this treatment.  She was more active, her croaking sounds were not as loud, she still felt warm, but not terribly hot or feverish.  We fed her one more dose of garlic and washed the outside of her beak, but she was strong enough that she would not allow us to wash the inside of her beak.  So she only received the one dose on the second day.  Today is day 3 and we are very happy that  she is back to her normal self.

Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Mother's Day is coming right up and we have a few special offerings in limited quantity.  These "I Heart MOM" soaps are scented with  Bulgarian Rose wax, and essential oils of Rose Geranium,  Lavender , and Blood cedarwood.  

 Purchase these soaps singly or in a boxed gift set together with a cedar soap deck to extend the life of your soap and a 4 oz after bath Lavender Massage oil.  

Our hot or cold therapy neck pillows are available year round but we have many new fabrics in stock for Mother's day as these are popular gift items.  This blue and white floral flaxseed pillow reminds me of my grandmother and mother's Blue Willow China.  Find more pillows to choose from in the Neck pillow section.

We also have many new Facial Pillows in stock.  These pillows are designed to cover the eyes, forehead, and TMJ area.  They can be used hot out of the microwave or cold out of the freezer and come with a matching washable pillow cover.  The gold leaves fabric used in the pillow pictured above was designed by Daytona Beach area illustrator BJ Lantz.  Shop for more facial pillows here.

Mugwort remedy for Sprained or Strained Ankles

Do you have Mugwort in your garden that you would like to do something productive with? Mugwort or Artemesia vulgaris or A. argyi is an easily grown herb which has many uses in Traditional Western and Chinese Herbal Medicine. The Chinese name for dried Artemesia vulgaris is Ai Ye.   

This herb can be dried and stored for emergency use with strained or sprained elbows or ankles. It keeps very well. In fact this herb is aged for 2-3 years after being processed into moxa for it's primary use which is the moxibustion.  Moxa is used in warming external moxabustion treatments by Acupuncturists  for various injuries to move blood stagnation and speed healing. I prefer to dry my Mugwort and keep some stashed to use in case of ankle sprains or strains.  I will share with you how I do that, but first you need to know when to harvest it.

I collect my Mugwort in March in Central Florida, but the time of year will vary from region to region. You should harvest Mugwort when it is in full flower. On a dry late morning or afternoon cut back the stalk and hang it to dry in a well ventilated dry place on. The Mugwort I use is a variagated variety that I got a start of from one of my favorite gardens, the Bastyr University medicinal herb garden in Seattle, Washington. Here it is up close under our digital microscope.

When your Mugwort dried to a crisp you can store it in a glass jar away from the sunlight.  You can add a clay desiccant pack to the jar for good measure.

If you need it later for yourself or a friend, you can simply take up a few large handfuls and add it to a big stock pot with lots of boiling water.  Let the water boil and then simmer for about 30-45 minutes. 

The next step is to let the water cool just to the point that the hot water will not burn the skin. Then dip a towel into the hot water. Wring out the towel and wrap it around the sprained ankle. Let the towel sit on the ankle until it starts to cool, then dip it again in the hot brew and wrap again one or more times. When the brew cools it can be stored in the refrigerator and used again the following day by reheating on the stove top. 

Don't have mugwort? You can also try this with Comfrey root or Comfrey leaf.   

New Lavender and Flaxseed Microwavable Heat Packs

Cupcakes seem to be all the rage lately so I couldn't resist this fun print.
These pillows are available in Lavender and Flax

I have lots of new Flaxseed Microwave Heat Packs in my shop this week. I've been gearing up for the holidays, as these have been popular gifts for the last few years.  It's about time to order more Organic herbs from Mountain Rose for these pillows, so I can start a (hopefully) final round of sewing for 2012.  It is always such a pleasure to receive a shipment of such powerfully fragrant herbs in the mail.

I think the high quality herbs that I use is why people love them so much.  Here is September's feedback from my Etsy buyers of my pillows:

~ Love, love, love it! 

~ I am SO pleased with the neck wraps and super fast shipping!! I will be ordering again!!!

~ Perfect! Thank you. 

 ~So nice. A very nice gift to my husband with chronic neck pains. Thank you! 

I loved the vintage feel of this golden floral fabric.
 I also made up this fabric in Lavender and Flax.


 I hope you like the new fabrics I chose. Which is your favorite?

This fabric reminded me of Florida and fun tropical concoctions.  I made this fabric up in Lavender and Flax.

The Medicine Crow Live Training Retreat in Nevada City May 3-8

The Medicine Crow Live Training Retreat in Nevada City, California is coming May 3rd-8th 2011.

Preregistration at the discounted rate is now underway. Learn from the professionals at Medicine Crow. This event will feature the best teachers in Ayurveda, Naturopathy and grassroots healthcare, including David Crow, David Frawley, Richo Cech, John Douillard and many more!

You Will Learn:

> Profound and sophisticated applications of herbal medicine that are unknown to most of the world and rarely taught.

> Visionary approaches to grassroots healthcare that you can apply in your life and pioneer in your communities.

> Herbal approaches from the Ayurvedic and Chinese medical systems.

> Powerful and inspiring presentations on some of the most important projects happening around the world

Check out the event page and register today with the discounted rate.

There is no such thing as a bad mom.....

"There is no such thing as a bad mom." This is something that my friend and a mother of five boys told me after my baby was born a few months ago. It's something that I find myself contemplating on on a bad day or when I read someone ridiculing or judging various parenting choices. It is starting to become chiche to say so, but there is really no one right way to be a mom. I envy the free time of those who are able to spend time arguing otherwise. Here is a collection that I put together for many different types of moms: home birthing, hospital birthing, breast and bottle feeding, moms who want to teach their baby Spanish and mom's who have experienced loss or trauma. This treasury even features babies with and with out pacifiers! I really love the baby sign language shirt and the toy baby letters. Baby signing and early reading preparation is something that I didn't do with my first baby, but I'm trying with my new baby. My herbal Zi Cao "purple herb" Diaper rash salve is also included. Hope you enjoy it......

'There is no such thing as a bad mom.' by AquarianBath

So many ways to be a good mom........

wonderfulplace $100.00	moonovermaize $45.00	BeautifulPhoto... $35.00
mindseyecards $4.95	BeautifulPhoto... $17.00	FyrestormCreat... $7.00
SweetSaraDesig... $5.00	TheMidnightOra... $48.00	CelticTideCrea... $12.50
SnuggyBaby $95.00	CoozyCo $13.50	innerwolfbatik $23.00
AquarianBath $10.95	bibitty $58.00	evgie $56.00

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

Baby Cakes!

I guess I am a typical mom with baby on the brain.  Now instead of hallucinating that some one is calling "mom, mom" sometimes I think I am hearing crying.  I have already gotten up once from this quicky blog post to check out the crying that I am hearing (only in my mind)...I think...or maybe not.  Anyway, I love this cry baby necklace from CobwebCorner.  It makes me chuckle.  Cry babies are cute.

I swear I can still have an adult conversation about something other than baby, but please indulge me as I share my newly created baby cakes treasury with selections from my Unique Women in Business group members.  Visit the treasury on Etsy to click through the individual items.  

Three of the items in this treasury are from Kim of BeautifulBridget in her beautiful photo props shop you can find more items such as these.  All her items are her own original designs or patterns.  She is a true handmade artisan.  This is my current favorite from her shop.  Be sure also to check out Kim's daughter's shop: Miss Indie.  Quite a talented family:

Here is the newest picture of my little baby cake in a basket.  She's actually a very happy baby, not too much crying.

I also included in this treasury my Zi Cao Herbal Salve which is very great for baby diaper rash. Luckily I haven't had to use it for Tessa yet. It comes in very handy though if a baby ever has a rash or hurting bottom from diarrhea.  I have blogged about this specialty herbal salve previously and you can read all about it's many uses including to relieve burns, vaginitis pain, and insect bite itch here here.

Souper Tonic Recipe for Stock & Miso Soup

This is a special soup stock recipe that contains immune boosting and general tonic herbs to keep you strong or give you an added boost if your body needs strengthening. Tonics such as those included in this recipe are great to take especially during two particular changes of season when colds are common. These two periods are the Summer to Autumn transition and the Winter to Summer transition. Another great time to prepare a soup like this is during periods of athletic training and conditioning. Tonics are also beneficial for those with chronic illnesses or those who are recovering from an acute illness (but not during acute infection).

As for me, I made this soup recently to build my strength and energy for my upcoming home birth and delivery. I especially added Red Raspberry leaf for this purpose. You are free to leave that ingredient out if you are not pregnant, post partum, or trying to conceive (Red Raspberry leaf is also beneficial for both men and women with fertility issues). If you wish to substitute Red Raspberry leaf for something else, then you could substitute double the amount of celery or other fresh garden greens. A second alternative would be to substitute the Red Raspberry leaf for additional dried Nettle.

Soup Stock Ingredients with a Few Attributes of Main Tonics:

3 carrots
1 large onion
2 oz dry shitake mushrooms: immune enhancer, anti-cancer, anti-oxidant.
1 cup dried Red Rasperry Leaf: uterine tonic, promotes efficient labor and delivery, fertility tonic for women and men
1 cup dried Oatstraw: nourishes the nervous system, calming, relaxing, especially for those with mild anxiety and insomnia
3/4 cup dried Dulce Seaweed: benefits the Thyroid for underactive Thyroid function, mineral rich, anti-stress, and soothes or lubricates irritated tissues.
1/2 cup dried Nettle: high in vitamins, minerals and protein, benefits the immune system and kidneys, blood building for Iron-deficient anaemics
1/3 cup dried Lemongrass: a flavorful immune system booster, benefits digestive system
1/4 cup dried Astragalus Root powder: #1 energy and immune system tonic used in Traditional Chinese medicine
5 garlic cloves lowers blood sugar, benefits the circulatory system, anti-microbial
1 tsp fresh Thyme (or 1/2 tsp dry)
1/2 tsp Black pepper

Directions:

Add all the ingredients into a large non-metallic pot and cover with water. Make sure all the dry herbs are soaked well. Cover the vegetables and herbs such that there is about 4-6 inches of water over the level of the ingredients (for this recipe around 5 quarts or more of water). Bring the water to a boil and simmer for 2 hours. Stir occasionally.

Allow stock to cool somewhat. Line a colander with multi-layers of cheese cloth or a natural cotton, hemp or linen cloth. Strain and press out the soup stock into a new pot.

Reserve 3 cups to make miso soup if you would like to make soup right away. The rest can be stored in quart containers or freezer bags in the refrigerator or the freezer. Soup stock stored in the refrigerator should be used within 3 days. Soup stock stored in the freezer can be used within 6 months.

Now here is the easy part:

Miso Soup Recipe

3 cups soup stock from above
3 Tablespoons Miso paste
sliced green onions to garnish

Persons with high blood pressure should reduce the amount of Miso paste by half or more.

Enjoy!