Why you can't you use Essential oil in the water

If only I had a fiver for every time I've been asked "Can I use Essential oil in the water"  No.You can't. And if you are reluctant to spend more hard-earned moolah on a bath oil, then I'll ask one in return. . . Have you ever made salad dressing?  When you make salad dressing, you add oil and a water based liquid like vinegar or lemon juice. Or Bergamot juice if you're feeling flush and adventurous. You add a few other things and then you shake it, shake it baby. (Twisting and shouting is optional, unless you have Gordon Ramsay there?)  You shake it, then leave it for a bit and come back and it has separated. Because Oil and water don't mix. And, as you might have guessed from the name, Essential oils are oily They are also incredibly intense and concentrated medicinal products. Some of them can even burn you. Dropping essential oil on top of water, even if you use a portable liquidisery thingy will not mix the oil in the water; it will remain distinctly separate. An 'oil in water' emulsion will not spontaneously and magically occur. Chemistry and physics don't work like that. Shame, and annoying, but so much is, I find. To mix oil and water you need an emulsifier of some sort This is because water molecules are polar. This means that one end has a negative charge, and the other has a positive one. Just like a battery. Except without the helpful little markings. Those charges let the molecules form hydrogen bonds and attach to any other molecules that are polar, like other water molecules. So you get H2O. Two lots of hydrogen to one lot of Oxygen. Easy peasy. Who said chemistry was hard? But, oil molecules are not polar, so they can't form hydrogen bonds. Even if they wanted to. Which they don't seem to. When you put oil and water together, the water molecules stick together like glue, and the oil molecules all squish up together in a distinctly separate clump. Like teenagers of opposite sexes at a disco. What you see is two distinct layers. Floating oil on water To get them to mix, or to make an emulsion, you need an emulsifier. That's alcohol, in the case of the shy teenagers, but to go back to our now-separated salad dressing, you can use something like mustard, mayonnaise or egg yolk. These will bind the two disparate substances together. If you are absolutely insistent that you want to use your essential oil for your compresses, then you can try mixing it with full-fat milk. Too much faffing about for my liking, so I use a bath essence, which contains Sulphated castor oil (Organic, natch) which is an oil treated to mix with water. This is also known as Red Turkey oil, and is the only oil which will mix with water. Using this means that your water is softened, scented and medicinally useful, as you can tailor the oil you choose for your compress to the time of day, your mood, and your current skin condition. Sage is great for oilier skin, for calming down those pesky female hormones Moor Lavender is fab at night, having soporific properties, is generally calming on both mood and skin redness and softening the water for sensitive skin Lemon is good for summer time, as it's cooling, but also lovely and awakening of a dull dreary morning, when you'd really rather not bother Rose is the queen of Flowers, smells divine, and is suitable at all and any times. A bit like champagne. . . But don't put champagne in your compress water. That would be wasteful. So the short answer to "can I use essential oils instead, because I've got those and it's cheaper?"  It's still no. Not because essential oils aren't wonderful - they are - but because it's wasteful.

What's your 20/20 vision?

Happy 2020

Do you have a 20/20 vision? 

Does it include a New You?

If so why?

What's wrong with the current 'you'? 

Is it really something that entails an entirely changed person? 

Or is all the novelty just a jolly good way to sell newspapers and their ilk?

The latter, probably.

There's nothing wrong with

• dry January
• Starting to exercise
• cleaning up your diet
• stopping smoking
• Juicing celery
• drinking lemon water. . . 

...and all the rest of the changes we feel we should make. 

If needed. 

But is January really a good time to do that?

February, once the days are visibly longer, is probably better, as it might be slightly more tempting to leave a warm (or tepid in our case) house to walk/run/jog/hop in the fresh air. The air in January can be a little too fresh, which might put you off for good.

The problem is that most New Year Resolutions are broken. Usually before February.

They probably should be renamed "New Month's Resolutions".

Which is why joining a gym in January is generally a waste of money for 11/12ths of the year.

Do it in February instead, and try it for one month.
If you think you'll continue, then go for it. If not, you can thank me later. (And spend the money saved on a nice, relaxing facial?)

The last resolution I made, about 15 years ago, was not to resolve ever again. That one was dead easy to keep.

Our brains are funny things, especially the primitive part. They like to take things literally and they are not programmed well for negativity.

So, saying things like "I'm giving up alcohol" or "I'm going on a diet" upset it and you'll sabotage yourself. Or your brain will.

(I won't go on for ages about this, although it's fascinating stuff, because Google can tell you more than I.)

Maddening, isn't it? But, to succeed, you have to put a positive spin on things. Be your own Spin Doctor!

Instead of "going on a diet", which is a depressing thought, try telling yourself that you're going to eat a delicious salad for lunch every day. That you're going to enjoy drinking more water as your skin will look so great. That sort of thing.

There are some handy hints in my book, if you need motivation.

If you haven't a copy, go HERE to get one, or message me and I'll post one, with some goodies.

Obviously, I'm not resolving anything, but I am doing Dry January, despite my birthday being bang in the middle of it - I'll drink Purdey's rather than champagne, I suppose.

Also, I'm going to do Facial Gym exercises EVERY day.

That'll be made a little easier by that fact that I won't be alone. If you want to join in, the "Chin & Necks" course will be starting in Mid January. There are still two spaces left...

Have a radiant YEAR!