Has anyone used/thought about using flax oil? Considering it contains Omega-3s, you'd think it would be a smart option...

Thoughts?

Hi Kebod completely forgot to post the reciepe

This reciepe is one I have found to help with the dryness and redness I have on my face from rosecea. It was not an instant cure but over a few months of cutting out all products with chemicals and just using a mild natural body wash to wash my face morning and night and then put on this cream I have a much calmer complexion. Helped a little with KP on body but I have found the oil pulling and rubbing on pure oil much better than cream. I do add essential oils to my rubbing oil though, smells good.

6 tablespoons of strong Chamomile tea
4 teaspoons of Emulsifying wax
1 teaspoon of Apricot oil
2 teaspoons of Coconut oil
3 teaspoons of Almond oil
4 drops of Lavender Essential oil
4 drops of Chamomile Essential oil
2 drops of Rose Essential oil

Mix the apricot coconut and almond oils in a heat proof glass/ceramic bowl over a pan of boiling water. In another pot melt the wax into the tea (use a metal or pyrex pot you can scrub or have a special pot just for wax so not to taint your food). When the wax has melted add the tea and wax mixture to the bowl of oils and whisk or beat the mixture off the heat for a minute then allow to cool and firm up. Once the cream is cool add your choice of essential oils. Store in a dark glass jar if possible, I use an opaque plastic tub which is fine just does not last as long. Keeps in the fridge well for at least a month. After doing this a couple of times you may find you need to change oil / wax quantities slightly to get a firmer or looser consistance if you prefer. Takes just minutes to make!

* You do not have to use chamomile tea you could just use water or another herbal infusion, I just use chamomile as it is an anti-inflammitory and good for delicate/sensitive skin.
* You can use any combination of oil I have found almond coconut and apricot good for me but you could use just one if you like just so long as it is still 6 teaspoons altogether. Coconut oil is particulary moisturising as many of us are finding out after our showers now. Almond oil is quite fine and light feeling. Apricot oil is high in Vitamin A (I think?) and smells pretty, but is quite expensive so I use this more when making creams for my kids (they get the good stuff LOL). Aparently sesame oil has a slight UV protection but not enough for those of us with pale complexions. Have a go and see what suits you.
* You do not have to add essential oils. But as you get more confident with making your own cream you may like to use essential oils for their properties as well as their scent. I use Chamomile Lavender and Rose for their benefits to my dry and inflammed skin condition. But I have also used a mixture of Mandarine Neroli Rosemary and black pepper essential oils with this base cream to make a stretchmark cream. Just keep the quantites the same, 10 drops for this amount of cream. NOT ALL ESSETIAL OILS ARE SAFE TO PUT ON YOUR SKIN SO DO CHECK A REFERENCE BOOK BEFORE USING.
*Because the reciepe can be adapted easily to whatever oil, herbal infusion essential oils you want I think it should be reasonably easy for most people to do. Only thing may be difficult to get is the emulsifying wax. I buy this from Neals Yard shops in the UK but it is also sold over the internet just google it or try ebay. I get my almond and coconut oils from asian wholesale shops as they are much cheaper than anywhere else I have seen.

This is a reciepe I have adapted from several books on making your own cosmetics. A good all round book if you are interested is Neal's Yard Remedies Natural Health and Body Care ISBN 1-85410-705-4

Hope you try this and like it. Good to get kids involved with this, they love mixing up witches brews. Any questions just ask!

Thanks for the recipe, Eden. I have most of the ingredients, but I don't know what emulsifying wax is. Could I use beeswax? I already have rose-geranium, lavender and rosemary essesential oils. Rosemary oil is used for dry hair, so I think this would be good for a face cream. I have never heard of black pepper essential oil. What are its healing qualities?

I use this link for natural health products:
http://www.mothernature.com/Library/...Books/15/1.cfm
This is an entire book with over a 100 chapters and lots of recipes. I found it when I was looking for an insect bite recipe. Their recipe is better than any bite ointment I have ever bought.

Since I started oil pulling, I am very aware of checking ingredients of body products. It doesn't make sense to do oil pulling to remove toxins/pollutants, and then put them back with body products and food.

I am now using coconut oil as a body lotion, coconut oil as a deoderant (it works great), baking soda instead of toothpaste (works great, also), and I'm experimenting with shampoo recipes on the internet. I tried shampooing with a paste of baking soda and water. You rub in gently into your scalp and then do an apple cider vinegar rinse. My hair was very clean and I liked how it felt, but it took much longer than my usual hurry-up shower. I probably just need to slow down and enjoy a shampoo/massage. Your recipe gave me the idea that I could use chamomile tea with the baking soda, instead of water, for the shampoo.

I'll let you know how the face cream turns out.

Thank you,

kebod

Hello again - just a quick update but I just wanted to let everyone know that overnight my KP has gotten bout 50% better. I'm only on day 6 and my arms are smooth, still little bumps but much smoother, and the redness is really really fading! It's a miracle!
I was so excited with all of this that I wanted to order coconut oil online immediately...but I just can't decide which one to order. Kebod and Molly - you will probably know the answer but which should I shoot for? refined, unrefined, extra virgin, ??? I just dont know what to get that will be the best - I Want to apply it topically and maybe oil pull with it eventually - any suggestions? Thanks!

I'm so happy to hear your news, Gigglychick! This is wonderful. We will look forward to hearing from you again on your continued progress.
My coconut oil says "100% Organic" and "expeller pressed". The brand name is Omega nutrition.
As this is the only coconut oil I have, I don't know if it comes refined or unrefined.
Please keep us posted.
kebod

This website gives a pretty good description of what emulsifying wax does they also sell it so maybe you could get it from them. Also noticed some reciepes that could be worth trying. http://www.essential7.com/butterswaxes/emulsifying.html I have a reciepe that uses beeswax instead of emulsifying wax but it says that it makes a balm so sets quite hard depending on wax to oil ratio, not creamy. However it will last about 6 months.

2 teaspoons grated beeswax
4 tablespoons of oils (coconut, almond, wheatgerm, apricot etc...)
2 teaspoons of water or herbal infusion
5 drops of essential oils

Heat wax and 3 tablespoons of oil in a bowl of boiling water until beeswax melts. Add the other tablespoon of oil and herbal infusion and gently mix. Remove from heat and let cool a bit. Add essetial oils before mixture firms mix and pour into jar to allow to set. I have not made this one myself so let me know how you find it. Think it may be more oily feeling than the cream reciepe.

Rosemary oil is great for hair scalp and headaches as it stimulates circulation. Also why it is good for body lotions as it encourages lymphatic drainage. It is antiseptic stimulating warming and toning oil so may not suit being used on your face if you flush and have a problem with dry hot skin like me.
I find lavender great for my skin and so calming but even this can be too strong for some people with extremely sensitive skin. I mix some in with chamomile essential oil and almond oil and use it to massage my baby, he loves it and sleeps well afterwards.
I have used both rose and geranium essential oils as these are particularily good for womens skin during pregnancy and menopause when your skin can get dry because of hormonal changes.
The black pepper oil is good for colds/flu, circulation, aches and pains and cellulite. So again good for body lotion but probably too warming for a face cream.

When I found out I was pregnant with my first I decided to try and avoid as much contact with strong chemicals as possible. So I switched from cleaning with pints of bleach to using distilled vinegar 1:1 with water which is just as good if not better for some things. I add some essential oils as well like tea tree in the bathroom, orange in the kitchen and lavender in the bedroom. Vineger smell fades when dry and essetial oil scent stays. I use vinegar as a fabric softener. I also make baby wipes with strong chamomile tea and a couple of spoons of almond oil (and vinegar if baby has yeast infection), keep it in a spray bottle to use with tissues or as I do soak a pile of jay cloths in the mixture and keep in a wipes box ready to use. Then wash and you can use them over and over again, I even put them in the boil wash with baby's nappys. They are great for removing make-up too.
I have not been adventurus enough to try making soaps and shampoos just yet. Will probably have to wait til we have a bigger house to try my experiments.

Hope you enjoy the cream / balm. Let me know

I missed doing OP today, I was in a rush in the morning and forgot to swish the few minutes I had free before I was out the door. And yes, now that I'm on the computer I can "feel" just how tense and hard my shoulders/neck feel. It really isn't my imagination that OP is doing something great to help ease the pain! A few days ago when I was thinking is it just my imagination that my neck/shoulders feel good, I'd get a great feeling (totally a mental thing) of just how good I felt but today really just proves it, that OP helps. I don't how it works, but it does!


Just popped in this time to give a mini update – not as long as my last post ;-)


Something that I forgot to mention, but is anyone’s else’s elbows really incredibly smooth! I’m shocked but they really are. Also my legs which were severely dry and flaky has stopped. I don’t use any moisturizers on my legs (because I’m too lazy! It’s enough trouble doing my arms with Coconut oil each night) so I can only put this down to OP.

Flare ups – might be just one for the ladies. But I’m willing to bet that the newer red bumps appear during your cycle. You’ll also notice this is the time when you get pimples too. I’m sure it has something to do with our hormonal imbalance at this time. So this might be why there might be a few newer looking bumps hanging around.



Anyway, another thing is my shoulders are incredibly smooth also! Well actually I’m starting to see that as a common theme with the whole body. The skin feels so soft and smooth. And I’ve finally noticed that the KP bumps which weren’t as severe as the back of my arms are slowly starting to fade (albeit very slowly, but I am noticing a difference). Notice though the shoulders and back is the area that I’m only relying on the OP to get rid of the bumps.

Thanks for that report DeeDee! I'm actually looking forward to my next dentist appointment now! Hopefully I get a good report back!

That's fantastic news! And even better that you're starting to see such great results so soon!

Will keep everyone update. Have hope, and enjoy the swishing!

I wanted to answer the question about flax oil. I've known others to do it, but they said it tasted awful!! The most flavorful oil I've tried is Hemp, and that's pretty intense. I do think that the Omega 3's and 6's are so important. Recently I added Udo's Oil to my regiment. If this oiling from the inside is worthy of discussion, I decided that eating good oil, as well as pulling with oil would give me the best of all worlds. I wouldn't swish with Udo's oil though because it is so darn expensive.

Flax oil contains heavy Omega 3's. I did read that if you have an overabundance of Omega 3 without the proper balance of 6, then you can end up with more health problems. It's worth research, for sure.

I did want to turn you ladies onto a place I found that I love. You have to read the "about us" so you know where this person is coming from. Myself, and many of my girlfriends use these products, and they do work. Talk about making witches brew! I also use some herbs that I've made into tea, for my skin. My personal favorite was Linden (lime flowers) fennel and parsley, which I use in my French Green Clay masks. Love it!!

Here is the make-your-own face product site.

http://skinactives.com/

Be healthy, be well.

Molly

Hello everybody,im new to this forum but have been following it for about two months.I've had kp since i was thirteen and tryed like everything with no satisfying results(sorry about my english).So four weeks ago i decided to try with oilpulling since i saw no harm in it anyway.But I saw absolutely no improvement after 2 weeks of 20 min op evey morning.I decided to continue since i really believed in this method.After the third week I was amased-60% of my bumps were gone and the redness faded for like 40%.Those were the best results i have ever had with my kp.But wow,after my fourth week of oilpulling 80% of my bumps were history.I cant stop touching myself since my skin really feels and looks good .But then,even people with no kp dont have like a 100 % perfect skin.I will definetely continue with op (i use sesame oil) and see if can get even better results.Im really pleased that i have found you guys and even if this is as good as it gets im ok with it.I'll keep you posted

Thank you so much for your post. It validates what Kebod and I have believed with all our hearts. But we knew that even if the people on this forum did not respond with their KP, at least we were offering healthy teeth and gums.

It's sort of scary to offer this hope to people, and worry if the results are not the same as we had personally experienced.

And I think that OP needs to be done for long enough so that you can see if there are indeed results. We all want that magic bullet on everything that ails us. If anything, please keep swishing for your dental health. And if this does prove to be beneficial....then YAY good for us!!!

This forum is awesome. Thank you for having this faith.

Molly

"It's sort of scary to offer this hope to people, and worry if the results are not the same as we had personally experienced."

-Molly


I'm hoping that I'll have the same experience as optimistica. But I just wanted to say that you and Kebod and absolute sweethearts for staying in this forum even though you guys no longer need to.

Hi Molly

I take Flax and Hemp oils everyday as my omega oil suppliments for all round health benefits. I mix 2 teaspoons of Flax oil and 3 teaspoons of Hemp oil in a jar with pineapple juice then give it a really good shake. Have to drink it quickly before it separates. Personally I don't enjoy the taste of either but I find Hemp oil much stronger tasting, so if you can pull with this then you are a real hero and I would think you will find the Flax oil and piece of cake.

PS. About the jala neti apparently its not like getting swimming pool water in your nose. As the sea salt water is close to the natural balance of our body fluids, so it does not hurt or sting. Though still won't try it for another couple of months, giving oil pulling a good go first before introducing anything else.

Happy swishing scrubbing and rubbing x

I am so happy I found Kebod's post this morning, my sisters and I have grown up with Keratosis forever! as far back as I can remember. I have tried Elcinia cream (snail goo), but this can get expensive. I am definitely going to try to the oil pulling, where do I get it? I am sure it has to be 100% pure or organic?


Many thanks to all of you;

Sonya

Hi Sonya:

Yes it should be organic and either cold pressed or expeller pressed. But any nut or seed oil will do, but you want it to be as healthy as possible. Go to any health food store that sells oil. Most people use a brand "Hain" which sells a good variety. The most commonly used is either Sunflower or Sesame (Untoasted!!). But you can use apricot, walnut, safflower, olive, coconut, etc etc.....

Have fun and be well.

Molly

One night about a month ago I sat down with my tweezers in hand ready to pick at the 'bumpies' (as i've always called them) on the backs of my arms. It a very therapuetic thing although always makes it look worse attempting to pick out the straggly hair under the red bump. I never knew what they were but have had them for atleast 15 years now (i'm in my early 20's). When i'd bring it up at doctor's visits, i'd always get eczema as a diagnosis even though i insisted it never itched and was told to try different OTC creams. So as i sat down to pick, i thought, why not look it up and see if anyone else knows about this. I've seen others at work with similar bumps and redness on the backs on their arms but have been too embarrassed to ask them about it (i'd be pretty embarassed if someone said something to me about it!!!) With ex's, friends and coworkers, they always ask if i'm cold and am thrilled to explain it away as goosebumps!

So I was completely amazed when I found this site and read others' descriptions of what they felt/saw and how it is exactly what i feel (and i've put down the tweezers!). I'm now convinced that i have KP and have had it for a very long time. I just thought i'd give a description of what i see/feel in different areas.
Backs of Arms: very bumpy and rough, light piknk bumps unless i pick(which is often), lots of the white plugs
Fore Arms: not sure if its KP here, more ingrown hairs on the tops of my arms and smoother bumps on the undersides and no redness or hair - does anyone else have this and think its kp???
Thighs- moderately bumpy, clear to light pink bumps until i exercise when they turn dark red, plugs when i scratch the skin
Back/Butt- NONE

So now that i have read through this entire thread (and numerous others), i'm convinced that this is Oil Pulling is an option for me! Funny part, I talked to my roommate and told her i was thinking of trying this kooky thing (sorry for the description, it sounds crazy tho) and described this whole thing to her and made her feel my skin. She gets all excited and says feel the back of my thigh/butt, and she has the same thing!!!! (I never knew!) So we are going to try this together. I am completely stoked bc this is a nusiance i've lived with for a long time now and cant wait to touch the back of my smooth arms (heres hoping anyway).

We are going to take pictures and keep journals to document our progress (our science teachers would be proud) and will report back in a week...i do have one question for those who have done this, is this a lifetime committment? (i have committment issues but if it works i might be more dedicated)

so thanks for taking the time to read this and i cant wait to report any results!