WHAT IS DANDRUFF (i.e. DRY SCALP?)
Dandruff is a very common condition that can be cause for some embarrassment. By the age of 20, about 50 percent of Americans have suffered an outbreak. A small amount of flaking is normal as skin cells do die and flake off your scalp, but some people experience an unusually large amount of flaking, either chronically or as a result of certain triggers. Dandruff may also be accompanied by redness and irritation. 

Dandruff is believed to be caused by a fungal infection, specifically a species called pityriasis capitis. Another yeast-like fungus, malassezia globosa, has also been implicated. The fungi live on your scalp, feeding on skin oils. 

The malassezia globosa fungus uses enzymes called lipases to metabolize the oils, creating a by-product called oleic acid. The acid penetrates your skin and triggers skin cell shedding.

Grossed out yet? Me too. 

TREATMENT
The most commonly used treatments for dandruff and dry scalp are Selsun Blue or Head & Shoulders. In its basic formulation, these shampoos contain selenium sulfide as the active ingredient. Selenium sulfide is an anti-fungal agent which may be helpful in treating the skin yeast infection tinea versicolor, scalp ringworm (tinea capitis) and athlete's foot (tinea pedis).

Why would you look for a treatment besides Selsun Blue? While they can be affective at stopping dandruff, some of the harsh chemicals can cause more sensitive scalps to burn, itch more, and possibly result in chemical burn (some blog recommend overnight use of these shampoos which can definitely trigger an unwanted reaction).

​AN EFFECTIVE, NATURAL SOLUTION
Here is a testimony where essential oils (Tea Tree & Lavender) were used to not only combat the symptoms of dandruff (dry itchy scalp and flakes), but attack the underlying issue as well. Results were immediate plus lasted longer in between shampoos than over the counter dandruff shampoos. 

A citrusy delight, lemon is a summer season favorite that typifies what it means to be a child — think neighborhood lemonade stands and warm, balmy days at the pool. But more than just a refreshing treat, lemon also contains a rich oil that science suggests could protect against certain types of cancer.
Native to the Middle East, lemon (or at least it’s modern variation), has gained considerable attention in scientific literature. It’s been used to make everything from simple lemonade beverages and lemon liquors to vinegar and fermented healing elixirs. But perhaps its greatest potential is in essential oil form, which is where lemon really shines.
Can Lemon Halt Cervical Cancer?
Long recognized as a remedy for cold symptoms and other respiratory ailments due to its high vitamin C and antioxidant content, lemon has more recently been identified as possessing a wealth of other nutrients that work together to target cancer cells. A 2010 review published in the Journal of Medicinal Plants Researchidentified essential oil of lemon as possessing the capacity to stop human cervical cancer cells in their tracks.
Using hydrodistillation, Chinese scientists extracted lemon essential oil and tested it on a series of human cervical adenocarcinoma cell lines. They found that the oil not only blocked the cancer cell lines from spreading, but also inhibited oxidizing free radicals from harming healthy cells.
Lemon Essential Oil Offers Multimodal Benefits Against Cancer
A larger review of plant extracts and the various roles they play in preventing and treating disease revealed that essential oils, including that of the lemon, acts in multiple ways to target cancer. Lemon and other essential oils, a research team found, utilize multiple pathways and mechanisms to thwart cancer, including through cell cycle arrest, apoptosis (cell suicide), increased levels of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, and anti-metastasis and anti-angiogenic (stopping tumors from growing blood vessels) activities.
A mixture of lemon essential oil combined with eucalyptus, melaleuca, lemongrass, clove leaf, and thyme, in a 40 percent ethanol base, demonstrated anti-tumorigenic effects when administered to patients with metastatic tumorigenic ulcers. Cancer patients have also found relief from pain, anxiety, nausea, and vomiting by using lemon and other essential oils.
How Your Nose Can Help Stop the Spread of Cancer
Another study published earlier this year in the journal Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics reveals that citronella terpenes in lemon essential oil stop the growth of cancers, including those of the liver, through olfactory activation. In other words, citronella terpenes activate certain smell receptors located throughout the body in order to prevent the spread of cancer.
“Terpenes can trigger signaling processes in cells by activating olfactory receptors,” wrote the authors of this study in a January press release. “Those receptors are mainly located in the nose, but they have been proved [sic] to occur in all types of human tissue, including skin, prostate and spermatozoa. Carcinogenesis and cancer growth are likewise significantly affected by terpenes.”

​Sleep is probably the #1 topic parents of babies & toddlers, right? We wonder how to get them to do it, do it more often, do it longer. They usually figure it out and child rearing trundles along. But every now and then something really throws a curveball to the sleep arena that stumps even seasoned parents.


About five months ago our now 15mo old, previously a good sleeper, became a troubled, seemingly frightened, restless, and infrequent sleeper. He would fight going to sleep, cry at the slightest motion, resist napping not in a car, and worst of all - jerk himself awake with a scream. And the screaming would continue, eyes closed. Cosleeping, white noise, change in room & crib, temperature adjustments, nothing seemed to have lasting impact. When he would cry he wouldn’t reach out, which finally (after many fitful nights) led us to think maybe it was night terrors. 

My brilliant hubby of course said “Is there an oil for that?” And after doing some research came up with a protocol to try. #ThereIsAnOilForThat And to say it worked like a magic bullet would be almost and understatement. 12 straight hours of uninterrupted sleep our little restless one had that night, 12 solid hours. That was a month ago. I wanted to wait until a decent amount of experiment time had passed to know if it was effective or a fluke. Two nights when we ran out waiting for our next order, we had the confirmation we needed. He quickly slipped back to troubled sleeping. Overnight FedEx charge was totally worth it. We will never be without his magic sleep oils ever again.

It is hard as a parent when you don’t know what to do to help your child. Pretty awful actually. Nothing our pediatrician could do (except drug him, no bueno); no book or “tactics” left to try. This was a humbling experience wrapped up in big gratitude. I am so overwhelmingly thankful to have strong, effective, & safe natural medicine for my boys in these YOUNG LIVING ESSENTIAL OILS. In so many ways these oils and amazing company have changed our life, I should stop being surprised when they come to the rescue over and over and over again xx

#ApothecaryMama #TheWholeEssentialLife #NightTerrors #babiesandsleep #EssentialOilsForTheWin

THE PROTOCOL: Surrender (a blend of Lavender, Roman chamomile, German chamomile, angelica, mountain savory, lemon, and spruce) was the main oil, rolled on the bottom of the feet, neat and heavily. Layered a minute later with frankincense (or sacred frankincense when we ran out), finished with lavender behind the ears and on the brain stem xx