Global Skincare Secrets: Egypt
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This series will chronicle my journey through different countries and cultures searching for the ancient natural secrets to skincare around the globe. My first destination is Egypt.
In August of 2007, I had the opportunity to travel to Egypt. Not only was this journey a chance to rest, it was a chance to learn about a fascinating country, its people, and their traditional practices of beauty and personal care.
The markets are filled with vendors of herbs, flowers, and oils that can be combined to create elixirs, flower baths and fragrant body oils. My biggest treat was being able to visit one of Egypt’s most famous “perfume” houses in the Aswan region. This establishment provides many of the coveted essential oils to prestigious perfume makers in Europe who still use pure essentials oils as the scent of their perfumes. The oils were of excellent quality and extracted naturally, using traditional steam methods. Not only did I learn about Egypt’s most famous oils, but I learned much about natural beauty remedies of ancient Egypt.
Rose:
In Egypt the rose in one of the most coveted flowers. It is used in the form of pure essential oil and fresh or dried petals. In either form, rose lends gentle yet powerful healing and purifying properties to baths, body oils, and facial remedies. In fact, who needs modern acid-filled beauty creams!? One of the best ways to preserve the quality of your skin through the years is to blend rose, sandalwood, and frankincense oils with a small amount of almond oil and apply it directly to clean skin. This concoction doesn’t make you break out or create extra oiliness, yet it leaves your skin feeling pleasantly moisturized and firm.
Sandalwood:
Considered the best oil for general healing in Egypt, pure sandalwood oil is used for massage, in facial masks, for arthritis pain, and to heal dry, cracked skin. The pure oil is the consistency and color of liquid honey and has a deliciously woodsy fragrance.
Frankincense:
Frankincense oil has a calming affect on the mind. It can also help balance skin irritations. In ancient Egypt it was used as an offering to the gods. It was also used as part of a rejuvenating facial mask: a blend of sandalwood, rose, and frankincense oils mixed with whole milk goat yogurt.
Fenugreek seeds:
In ancient Egypt, the oil from fenugreek seeds were used as a natural skin softener. A tea made from the seeds was believed to increase milk production and breast size. I can’t attest to that one, but I have used fenugreek blended with other oils to create an earthy-smelling bath oil. Fenugreek oil is very pungent and should not be used without dilution in the skin.
As the owner of a natural body care company, I wanted to create products that are just a bit different from the norm—and make them chemical-free to boot. What I realized is that many of the ancient civilizations had the art of personal care down pat. These ancient cultures used the gifts of Mother Nature to cleanse and purify their bodies with great success. So join me in the future for information about the natural beauty secrets of Ghana, Japan, and the Maya of Mexico!
Jane Large
Set Yourself Free!
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Setting yourself from from guilt, shame, and anger is easier than you think.
Step 1—Taking Responsibility for Yourself
The first and most challenging part of setting yourself free is actually taking responsibility for yourself and where you are. Blaming others, genetics (your mom’s fat thighs), your partner, or anybody else isn’t going to help you set yourself free. It’s your life and your choices that create your life! So take a deep breath and say gently to yourself, “I take responsibility for who and where I am now. My choices have got me here and that’s OK. I can always make different choices next time.”
Step 2—Forgiveness
What better time than now to wipe the slate clean and forgive yourself and others for past hurts! It’s not going to do your mental, emotional, spiritual, or physical health any good to hold onto it, so set it free.
Forgiveness 101—The Art of Allowing
Being able to forgive is all about allowing—allowing yourself to be you, to make mistakes, to have fun, to move on. It is also about allowing others to be who they are without constantly trying to control them or holding grudges for “silly” things they do. So next time you do something silly, think to yourself, “Oops, I guess I made a mistake, and that’s OK. Making mistakes does not change my worth. I am OK!” And next time you are faced with someone who annoys you, think to yourself, “They are who they are, and that’s OK. It is not my job to change this person. I’m different and that’s OK.”
Step 3—Gratitude and Appreciation
Having lived around the world, I find it funny what we take for granted and what we complain about. We are so lucky, despite what we see as huge faults in our lives, our government, our partner, our children, etc. Part of setting yourself free is to allow gratitude and appreciation to replace some (or all) of that perception of lack and negativity.
I propose that you begin and end each day by giving thanks for being alive and for all the goodness that will/did come into your day. Even if it feels like you are lying at first, eventually you will begin to feel the love. Positive thoughts are like magnets: the more you have, the more good stuff comes to you.
Step 4—Feeling Good
When you look in the mirror every day, give yourself a compliment instead of a criticism. Instead of remarking on how dry and lifeless your hair is, give thanks for your bright eyes and full lips (or whatever it is that pleases you!). And give a compliment to someone else too. You know how good it feels to get a compliment—it feels good to give them, too!
Feeling good is a choice! Hope you choose to make it!
Step 5—Imagination and Creation
Set yourself free to imagine what you would like to be, do, or have, and give yourself the flexibility and grace to take that journey in a healthy and fun way! Write down what you would like to be, do, or have, then let life bring you the ideas to help you achieve it! If necessary, do take action in joy to help yourself achieve your desires. After all, you can’t lose 10 pounds if you don’t get off the couch sometimes!
The Bottom Line
For years I lived caged in layer upon layer of expectations, rules, and goals that I made for myself because I couldn’t bear to be wrong, weak, or disappoint others. I now see that all along, my inner self just wanted to help set me free so I could really love life. And I do now. And you can, too!
I hope you set yourself free to love life, love yourself, and enjoy every day!
Jane Large
Joy of Scent
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Many institutions and businesses have banned perfume from their offices and buildings due to increasing allergies. What most people don’t know is that the allergy develops as sensitivity to the chemical and synthetic components of the perfume, not the scent itself.
Traditionally perfumes were made from pure essential oils from flowers and herbs as well as flower waters and alcohol as a medium to carry the scent. Most perfumes now, even very expensive ones, are not made from any form of natural ingredients; most contain large amounts of chemicals that can cause sensitivities.
A more natural choice exists as some companies have created more natural, chemical-free perfumes. Another option is the use of essential oils to scent the body; many can be mixed with light carrier oils such as sweet almond and apricot kernel. You can also find flower waters that are mixed with essential oils to create a natural body spray.
For more information on natural perfume options or customized natural perfumes, check my bio for my phone number and email address.
Jane Large
Listening to Your Body 101
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In my last blog, I talked about what happened when I didn’t listen to my body. Be sure to listen to yours!
• Take 5 minutes daily to sit or lie in a peaceful place and ask the question, “Body—what do you need today?” You might be really surprised by what comes to you then or later on in the day! A great time to do this is just before you get out of bed or as part of your regular meditation routine.
• Don’t procrastinate when you get a signal. When you look at your bath tub and think, “Wow, it would feel good to have a bath,” DO IT! When you feel a churning in your stomach about a tricky issue, deal with it now! Don’t wait until the signals get stronger!
• Generally aches and pains are a signal that we are not nurturing our bodies and selves. So next time you are feeling achy, don’t pop a pill—take a warm bath, curl up with a good book, make yourself a hot chocolate and watch a movie, or spend some time with loved ones. Do something for you, something that makes you feel good inside and out!
• If you are experiencing digestive upset, assess what you have been eating or what emotional issues you are having trouble “digesting.” Difficult emotions that go unexpressed can have the same affect on our digestion as eating less-than-nutritious foods. The same goes for constipation—our bodies can’t let go if we are stubbornly holding onto feelings of unworthiness, anger or hatred.
Our bodies are amazingly intelligent and know exactly what they need to feel good! If we practice listening to the signals our bodies give, they will feel better and be healthier over the long run.
Feel free to call or email me for more information about listening to your body and intuitive eating.
Jane Large
Your Body Is Trying to Tell You Something!
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I think we can all agree that our bodies are marvellous biological machines! It amazes me how incredibly my body works to allow me to eat, talk, feel, and move. However, our bodies are not only skin and bone; our bodies have this wonderful inner intelligence that can give us signals that what we are doing, thinking or feeling is not conducive to our overall health and well-being.
These signals can take many forms, and most of us tend to ignore them on a regular basis. Frequent aching of muscles and joints, neck and back pain, elevated heart rate, cracked skin, etc., can all be signals that we are not treating our bodies with respect and/or that we are not dealing with important emotional issues. Yet if we can learn to truly listen to our bodies, it is amazing what we can learn about how our activities, emotions, and thinking patterns are affecting our bodies, either positively or negatively.
One of the best examples I can give you about the consequences of ignoring our bodies’ signals is what happened when I did just that! I was a dedicated tri-athlete and runner for over 10 years, training dozens of hours each week with little rest. A few months after my first Half Ironman, I began to notice a tightness and weakness in my right hip. So I stretched more and got more physio. Soon I was having trouble running and biking as my hip tightened up even more and became weaker. The more frustrated and angry I got, the worse my body felt and performed.
My big lesson—I wasn’t listening for a long time and I paid for it! Looking back I see what was wrong: I was a raging perfectionist who was restricting my eating beyond healthy levels, over-exercising, and berating my body daily every time I looked in the mirror. I wasn’t giving my body the rest or respect it deserved, and I also wasn’t dealing with some emotional issues that I had let fester inside me over time!
Jane Large
