Friday 29 April 2011

The Royal Wedding in Photos

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-13231282

This is the day when christian and non christian alike send their best wishes for the future to the Royal Couple William and Catherine.  Good luck from all at Sp. May God bless and sustain you both in the years ahead of you.

Essentia

Saturday 16 April 2011

Business - Managing Intellectual Property

Whats in a name?

With Shirley Price products in use around the world it is necessary to take reasonable precautions over the intellectual property.  We make it difficult to fake our products in various ways, changing the labels regularly, excellent packaging, good communications as to who authorised distributors are.  Sometimes however one must deal with unreasonable people and seek the protection of the law in the public interest.

We have excellent legal advisers in the USA, UK and China.  So good our Hong Kong advisors have been named IP Legal Firm of the year.  We can thoroughly recommend their services to others dealing in the China market which offers great oportunities but also pitfalls for the inexperienced.

http://www.deacons.com.hk/eng/knowledge/knowledge_419.htm#1

Essentia


Popular essential oils and mixes


BergamotCitrus bergamia
Eukalyptus smithiiEucalyptus smithii
GeraniumPelargonium graveolens
Kamille RomerskChamaemelum nobile
Kanel blad Cinnamomum zeylanicum
LavendelLavandula angustifolia
MandarinCitrus reticulata
Pepper sortPiper nigrum
Peppermynte Mentha x piperita
RosmarinRosmarinus officinalis
SitronCitrus limon
Afterflight  E.O. miksjet lag, plager v/lange flyturer
Airways E.O. miksbihuleplager
Cellulite E.O. miksappelsinhud,væskeopphopninger
Circulation E.O. miksdårlig blodsirkulasjon, kalde hender/føtter
Clear Head E.O. mikshodepine/migreneplager
Easy Breathe E.O. miksnese- og halsplager, sår hals 
Fatigue E.O. miksoppkvikkende, motvirker tretthet
Joints E.O. miksledd-/skjelettplager
Muscle E.O. miksmuskelplager og spenninger
Muscle ferdigblandet oljemuskelplager og spenninger
Respiratory E.O. mikslunge- og luftveisplager, høysnue
Rest E.O. miksinnsovning og søvnplager, avslappning
Stresses and Strains E.O. miksstress, angst, spenninger
Stretch Marks E.O. miksstrekkmerker/arr-forebyggende/avhjelpende
Visible Veins E.O. mikssynlige årer, åreknuter
Women E.O. miksfemininplager; PMS
Baseoljemix(druekjerne m/avocado & hvetekim)
DruekjerneoljeVitis vinifera
DruekjerneoljeVitis vinifera
Mandelolje, søtPrunus dulcis
White Lotion(vegetabilsk lotion base)
White Lotion(vegetabilsk lotion base



Essentia

and so to Edinburgh........see you on Stand D70



Essentia

Saturday 9 April 2011

Student Case study - fighting lice and midge skin infestations and reactions in animals

In hygienic and well fed human populations parasitic skin infestations occur rarely.  Head lice outbreaks occur in schools where children are likely to make head to head contact.  Wet combing with a lice comb is effective in removing the adult lice and breaking the 7 day life cycle.  Treatment with essential oils in a scalp massage, shampoo or conditioner is effective but it is important to remember to leave the essential oils on for 30 minutes before rinsing for example covering the head with clingfilm. Lice are brown in colour and the size of a pinhead when they hatch and 3mm long (the size of a sesame seed) when fully grown.  A female head louse lays white eggs by cementing them to hairs (often close to the root) where they will be kept warm by the scalp. The eggs are pinhead size and difficult to see. 

Student Case studies of the use of natural products for control of lice infestations can be found in animals.  These sometimes manifest themselves in older animals in April each year.  Holistic treatments should be discussed with the Vet treating the animals and can be effective in minimising the symptoms.  Insects are affected by essential oils which confuse the chemical messages insects use to communicate.

 Lice outbreaks are common and need treatment or the horse will become bald.  Generally the lice will disappear of their own accord in about 4 weeks but the severity of the attack will vary from horse to horse.  Part of the pre summer season preparation is shampoo treatment with effective anti-lice ingredients.

Among horses sweet itch is a medical condition with signs of hairloss, dry skin and itching caused by an allergic response to the bites of Culicoides midges. The horse's immune system reacts against the saliva.  Unfortunately once prone to sweet itch the horse will be affected from April to October though the skin will heal in the winter. Sweet itch is not infectious so it can affect one horse without affecting the herd.  These Culicoides midges do not fly more than 100m so considerable relief can be obtained by moving horses away from pasture which is boggy or contains stagnant ponds where the midge breeds. Natural treatments.  Aloe vera can be rubbed onto the skin to prevent the animal from itching the dry skin patches. Citronella oil is an effective and non toxic insect repellant which will deter the midges but it must be repeatedly applied.  The ideal time is morning and dusk when the midges are active. 

Mange.  Wild Fox populations are severely affected by mange caused by parasites living in the skin. Foxes can be treated by leaving food for them containing remedies.  If mange is left untreated the infestation can spread all over the animals body and cause death by exhaustion.  The parasites life cycle must be broken. Any animal shelters should be disinfected.  Infestation can spread to domestic animals and also humans.  A whole herd of horses so an affected animal must be isolated and actively treated at the first possible sign of hair loss and skin infection.  As the parasites which cause mange can be transmitted to humans any direct treatment should be applied with disposable gloves.  Natural treatments.  A natural treatment with neem oil can be used in conjuction with the synthetic treatments but mange is a serious condition and veterinary advice should be immediately sought.

Always consult your veterinary surgeon.

Essentia

Tuesday 5 April 2011

hydrolsols packaging

Sp supply a list of organic hydrolats from steam distillation of the essential oils.  The water soluable elements remain after distillation and these have been found to have useful properties.  Today I am thinking about our packaging of the hydrosols.  There are many options.  Amber glass is not particularly attractive.    

Theres a nice discussion of packaging p164-166 in Suzanne catty's book, Hydrosols the next aromatherapy.

look inside

This book has an excellent section on the properties and uses of hydrolats entitled 'now what do I do with them' which we recommend to students including useful research.  See also Len Price's carrier oils.

As water based products hydrolats have a limited shelf life of 12 months so of course fresh production should be used.  Faked floral waters made with essential oils added in tiny quantity to water are not hydrolats and do not have the properties ascribed to hydrolats in the textbooks.  These products make some aromatherapists like Suzanne very cross when they are marketed by some companies as having therapeutic properties so take care not to be seen with one near her!

To my mind Miron glass while increasing shelf life by 15% cannot be justified on cost grounds. Hydrolats are cheap and should be enjoyed without the packaging adding unnecessarily to the cost (or be used to justify a large price!). Fresh season production is needed anyway.  This is not a product which will keep well even in a fridge for too long.  Glass though beautiful is heavy to ship and in larger sizes impractical.

Once beauty therapists and home users get into the uses of hydrosols they typically require large containers making plastic the packaging of choice.  It costs as much to package the hydrosols in attractive packaging as dull ones! The hydrosols should look beautiful and benefit from coloured plastic, usually blue.  So here we are Shirley Price hydrosols in beautiful 200ml blue glass and in stylish blue plastic 250ml containers with silver caps.  We also ship in natural plastic for those wanting a spray top.


Essentia

Saturday 2 April 2011

Welcome



We welcome Wisteria Chang who works for Sp's Korea Distributor Marinoel who will be working with Sp for 6 months in the UK.  


Wisteria will also be training as an aromatherapist with Jan for IFPA membership.  


Module one of the Aromatherapy Diploma is April 13-17


Essentia

Friday 1 April 2011

hand made natural cosmetics

Jan Benham is back in the factory. She is teaching the aromatherapy diploma module one April 13-17.  Coming up are the handmade cosmetics and holistic facials courses. she has many years experience of formulation experience and her books can be bought online.  Last month Jan and her team prepared 11,000 items by hand for a lavender farm.

This month she is working with the Tuscan Lavender to formulate and make a face-body range for the Shirley Price natural and organic cosmetics catalog.

Watch out for the new packaging.  Blue (Natural) and Green (Organic) tall bostons and Frosted glass.

Essentia