Indian Earthy Naturals : Relaxing Lavender Bath Salts

After a long day, a nice long soak in a hot bath is just the ticket. Adding bath salts can enhance the experience greatly. Whether you have sore, tired feet from standing all day, or a stiff back from working at your desk, these salts can help improve the way you feel and ease away the tension. 

Adding a little salt to your water can actually help improve your circulation and also reduce tenderness. They are recommended for people with back pain, arthritis, muscle tension or spasms, and minor work and sports injuries. They're great for easing stiff, sore, muscles and aching feet and legs.

Bath salts open the pores to purify the skin, cleansing away dirt, sweat, and toxins. They aid in the healing of dry skin, making skin softer and more supple. Salts can help improve common irritations such as insect bites, minor rashes, and calluses on feet, as well as more serious skin conditions like athlete's foot, eczema, and psoriasis. High quality salts may also help improve the appearance of scars.

ABOUT THE BRAND

Learn more about IEN HERE!

KEY INGREDIENTS & THEIR BENEFITS

• Dead Sea Salts: Dead Sea Salts contain 21 minerals including magnesium, calcium, sulfur, bromide, iodine, sodium, zinc and potassium (1). These minerals are known to treat, detoxify, and cleanse our bodies.

• Magnesium: Promotes quick healing of skin tissue and provides the skin’s surface with anti-allergic elements. Also essential for cell metabolism (1).
• Bromide: Soothes skin, relaxes body muscles, and calms nerves (1).
• Iodine: Important for the correct functioning of the thyroid gland and is aids in the body's metabolic exchanges (1).
• Sulfur: A natural disinfectant (constituent of certain vitamins), sulpur is known as a powerful detoxifying agent and a powerful cleanser that has been proven to treat acne effectively (1).
• Potassium: Helps balance moisture in the skin and body, aiding in the reduction of water retention and in the nourishment of cells (1).
• Calcium: Strengthens cell membranes and cleanses pores (1).
• Sodium: Relieves stiffness and muscle cramps. Sodium is also a powerful detoxifying agent, helping cells retain nourishment and expel waste (1).
• Zinc: When applied topically, it is known to protect the skin against sunburn and windburn (1).

• Himalayan Pink Salt: The Himalayan crystal salts are also cleansing and detoxifying to the body and can help revitalise and re-energise a tired body, soothing aching muscles and joints (2). They are hydrating to skin leaving it soft and supple and are also fantastic for skin conditions such as dermatitis and psoriasis.

• Dried Lavender Buds: Lavender is well regarded for its skin healing properties. It’s beautiful scent and is thought to be very calming to the nerves. Lavender is credited with being anti-allergenic, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antibacterial, antispasmodic, balancing, energising, soothing, healing, toning and stimulating (3). It works well on all skin types and is effective in treating oily skin as well as acne, dermatitis, eczema and psoriasis and is thought to stimulate cellular growth and regeneration in the skin by helping the upper layer of skin rejuvenate itself (3).

• Sweet Almond Oil: Great moisturizer for skin, almond oil has a natural ability to plump and firm the skin (4). Helps in repairing, rejuvenating, as well as revitalizing damaged skin ensuring it is left feeling relaxed and looking great (5). (Learn more about the benefits of sweet almond oil HERE!).

• Lavender Essential Oil: An anti-inflammatory and circulatory stimulant. It reduces inflammation thereby causing less skin redness and blotchiness making skin appear evenly colored (6). Enhances circulatory system by causing an increase in blood flow and subsequently an increase in nutrients to the skin along with much needed oxygen to the cells (6). This is essential to healthier cells, and benefits more frequent cell turnover.

The lavender bath salt comes in a 100 gm Ziploc packaged in an attractive, reusable, earthy jute bag. I transferred the contents to a air tight container to avoid the salt reacting with the moisture trapped in the Ziploc.

The bath salts are off-whitish in color, coarse in texture with dried lavender buds dispersed throughout. Due to the dried lavender buds and lavender essential oil, the salts impart a sweet & floral aroma of lavender with herbal notes and balsamic undertones.

To use, take a handful of bath salts and pour them into the bath by holding your hand under the faucet, allowing the bath salts to fall with the water into the tub. While pouring the bath salts into the bath, their fragrance will be released into the steam, allowing for a very fragrant bath. If used as a foot soak, I follow with a foot scrub and moisturizer. 

A skin-smoothing mix of dead sea salts and organic flowers  richly infused with calming lavender essential oil, IEN's bath salts, soothes the skin while relieving minor aches. Lavender, in the meantime, is astringent and cleanses the skin.

I haven't had the chance to use these salts in my bath yet but I have used them as a foot soak with spectacular results.

For the past month, I have been on my feet more than I would have liked. My feet were in dire need of some TLC. A good 15 min soak in skin-conditioning waters scented with the relaxing botanical blend of  bath salts, rejuvenated the sore muscles while calming my senses!

My mother who is often inflicted with swollen feet tried it as a foot soak too and totally loved it. Her swelling seemed to have reduced and she enjoyed the calm and serenity the lavender fragrance brought her.

Luxurious and aromatic, these therapeutic soaks genuinely help you to calm down, de-stress, and relax those tired sore muscles. This immensely calming bath treatment works to restore balance to an overworked mind and body. A must try, in my opinion!

Burst Of Happyness: Divine Facial Serum

If there’s one thing worse than blemishes, it’s the hyper pigmentation that ensues soon after.  But how about a product that works on both the acne, the scars it leaves behind and additionally helps moisturize the skin!

ABOUT THE BRAND

Learn more about BOH HERE!

 
KEY INGREDIENTS & THEIR BENEFITS

• Jojoba Oil: The proteins and minerals in this oil mimic collagen and are closest to our natural skin oil. As an anti-inflammatory reducing the painful swelling and redness that often accompanies a skin injury. Its anti-inflammatory properties also make it an effective treatment for acne (1).  As a moisturizer it’s non greasy and easily absorbed and leaves the skin feeling soft and supple and is particularly effective for treating dry skin (1). As an acne treatment jojoba oil is a natural antiseptic and is effective treatment for acne (1). Jojoba oil both cleanses and moisturizes the skin at the same time.

• Hazelnut Oil: Also dubbed the “pore-reducing” oil and “acne-fighting” oil because of its unique properties, hazelnut oil has high content of catechins and tannins (healthy flavonoids) making this oil a “dry” or “astringent” oil that feels smooth and toning on the skin (2). The astringent properties help absorb oils and shrink pores, while the antibacterial components go to work battling skin bacteria to help reduce blackheads and pimples (2).

Other benefits include:

• Hydration: Even though the oil helps absorb and balance sebum (skin oil), it also has a lot of natural fats that help moisturize and condition skin, leaving it soft and plump, while helping to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles without the greasy feel (2).

• Gentle: Hazelnut is perfect for sensitive skin, as it is a gentle oil that is unlikely to irritate (2).

• Rejuvenator: Because of all the nutrients, flavonoids, and antioxidants, hazelnut has a rejuvenating effect on skin cells. Over time, regular use will have an anti-aging effect, helping skin to appear more youthful and vibrant (2).

• Evening Primrose Oil: Abundant in gamma linoleic acid (GLA), evening primrose oil enhances the epidermal barrier (3). Because of its ability to dilute sebum production, evening primrose oil is good at calming acne flare-ups, while at the same time hydrating skin (3). The astringent properties of the plant's juice can soothe skin irritations and inflammations (3).

• Tamanu Oil: A “cicatrisant,” it can speed up the disappearance of scars, dark spots, and other marks on the skin, helping to create a more even skin tone (4). Tamanu oil is a significant healing agent, not only because of its ability to produce new skin tissue, but also due to its anti-inflammatory, anti-neuralgic, antibiotic and antioxidant properties (5). Additionally, this oil is an excellent and powerful moisturizer (6).

• Turmeric Oil: Turmeric oil usually are 60-65% alpha-curcumene (a sesquiterpene hydrocarbon), the key component in turmeric root which provides turmeric its anti-inflammatory qualities (7). An anti-microbial oil rich in antioxidants and potent anti-inflammatory properties, helps treat acne and acne scars (7).

• Cedarwood Essential Oil: Protects skin pores from letting in dust or any harmful microbes into the body, which lead to acne and skin infections (8). Cedarwood oil is also effective for tightening the facial skin and giving it a youthful appearance (8).

• Lemongrass Essential Oil: One major lemongrass essential oil benefit is its skin healing properties. Lemongrass oil is an effective cleanser for all skin types; its antiseptic and astringent properties make lemongrass oil perfect for getting even and glowing skin. It can sterilize your pores, serve as a natural toner, and strengthen your skin tissues (9).

Divine serum, comes in a 7 gm roll on format. Fluid in consistency, light golden in color, the serum had woody notes of cedarwood and undertones of turmeric oil.  

For reference: my skin has a tendency to dry/dehydrate and breaks out occasionally. Though this facial serum is for oily skin, due to the beneficial ingredient list, I use it as a spot on treatment for acne and acne marks. 

To use, I prefer to apply the oil on humid skin to facilitate its penetration or mix it with some aloe gel which is also very helpful & beneficial in acne issues.

The plant-based, nontoxic oils in the serum, glides on clear and gets instantaneously absorbed when massaged. I have tried using this serum alone but it does not sufficiently hydrate my skin but is moderately effective on acne and acne scars. Whenever new acne threatens to pop, I promptly rub this the night before and there is a definite reduction in the size, but the oil isn't always consistent in it's efficacy. I have even noticed it to minimize acne-scars over time and doesn’t strip moisture from the skin. I have also been using this concoction as a carrier oil in my oil cleansing method (OCN) and am loving it's effects.

I am however not a fan of the packaging. When I received the bottle, there was a leak and upon Shreya's instructions, I removed the roller and fixed it back in which solved the issue. I would have much rather the product came with a dropper which also makes it hygienic. 

The divine serum from the house of BOH, is a great ally for those with oily skin.