unsafe products who claim to be Healthy

As Herban Chica followers may already know, I am an herbalist and have been playing around with making products for skin that are healthy alternatives to what is offered out there to the general public.

I have learned so much, I have learned how easy it is to make a good for you, good quality product that is fun... I have also learned what big manufactures put in there so called, "healthy products" are not healthy at all.

A company will put in preservatives that make a shelf life incredibly long, that is good for the manufacturer but not the consumer. Most of these preservatives are proven unhealthy.

A company can put a trade mark name on a product that says "ORGANIC" and legally NOTHING in the product is organic. That is because it didn't say.. "this is organic", it simply named it's UN ORGANIC product "organic".

One product in particular is called "the healing garden" it's trademark is "skin organics" and "re nourish" but when looking at the ingredients they only listed a few of the ingredients and those were proven bad, unhealthy and when promising to filter UV rays... it actually inhibited the protection from the sun and therefore enhancing the damage caused by UV rays. Nothing organic was listed.. wouldn't you list an ingredient if it were organic? I would and do.

This product " the healing garden" also carried a warning label that stated that if swallowed contact a poison control center right away....

My question is WHY would you want to put something that was this harmful on your skin, the Biggest organ of your body?

It is scary to think of how ignorant that I have been for years, and it isn't our fault. We are deceived and lied to. We want to believe but are learning that we cannot believe.

We must start being responsible for our own health, educate ourselves, fight back by not promoting these companies who are in it for pure profit and not interested in the long term effects that it has on our health and our children's health.

Product ingredients that you may want to further investigate, stay away from but please don't take my word for it, investigate it yourself... research it. Don't be fooled anymore.

Avobenzone
Oxybenzone
Octinoxate or octyl metghoxycinnamate
Octisalate

Even some of the ingredients in Burts Bees has been recently classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer to be "possibly carcinogen to humans" WHY... use something that is even POSSIBLY cancer causing? Why if you don't HAVE to use it? It just doesn't make sense to me and is very upsetting.

I would love to hear opinions on this subject, I would love to learn more if you have other information that would be of value to this topic.

And,.... to promote my products which are completely safe and healthy.. visit herbanchica.etsy.com, I also custom make products. If you have a need for something that I don't make, allow me to formulate something for you and if I haven't made it yet or don't have another product that will help then your first sample will be free, even the shipping and handling!

random post

The year is at an end and what a year it has been. If I had to share one thing that I learned it would be to let go of fear.

As soon as I let go of my fear, doors opened up for me. The universe is plentiful and always has been but only until I was ready, was I able to accept the wonderful gifts it had to offer.

I would have to say that in my journey to become an herbalist, that it was indeed the herbs that brought to me an array of opportunities. How does that make sense? I am not sure... it could have been the like minded people that I was surrounded by, or mother natures energy wrapping her arms around me while I wrapped my arms around mother nature. I won't sit and contemplate the whys too much. It is a waste of my energy, I just need to show my gratitude and share my soul and my knowledge with others.

If I could tell you one thing that would be of some importance in life then it would be to open up to taking chances as scary as it may be.

I have started a business, am still a student of Holistic Health (and life), am pursuing many adventures and feel the urge to retreat to blogging a bit more. I miss it, I must find the time to express myself in order to balance the emotions and the adventures that I have been on.

Life is good, Herban Chica
Silybum Herbal

End of Year

Well, its the end of the year and looking back ... I go over all of the things that I have learned, the struggles, the lessons, the ah ha moments. Everything that has gotten me here today, where I am... wherever that may be.

It is a constant directional change from day to day, this isn't a bad thing. This is life. I can think I am headed this way but find myself headed another. I can plan to go in this direction but heading in this direction I am drawn to another direction, which is a direction that I might not have known if I hadn't taken the first direction. Sounds as confusing as I am. haha.. and all I can do is laugh.

This road, or many roads that I have taken and will take...is life. What I have learned is that I must live one day at a time and the key word is "LIVE". What is living? For many years, living was merely getting by, working, playing and starting over again. I am not sure what it is to me today but I can assure you that it is much more than it has been in the past and I don't know if this can be chalked up to knowledge from age or experience but it doesn't really matter to me... not today anyway. What matters is how I live today and if I can ask myself, "Have I grown today". Well, I have... today I have grown, I can only hope and pray that tomorrow I will have grown and that in these experiences and growths that I can share with those around me the good things that I feel, see and love.
There are so many wonderful people out there and I want to know them all.. the only way to start that is by being one of those wonderful people that others want to know. Give, Give, and give. It will only cause good things to happen even when things don't look so good.

for today, that is all I have to say... inside there is so much more to share... but for another day.

blessings! Carrie
Herban Chica

Sedona Arizona

Breath taking views, beautiful weather, great company... priceless.

Winters Relief Salve

I was in the winter spirit and got a wild wintery hair to make some more salve. The weather has just started cooling and my skin was starting to show signs of dryness. Especially my hands as I work in the medical field and am constantly wearing latex gloves (yuck). I chose a few winter like herbs and pulled them out of my medicine cupboard and smelled each one. How wonderful the fragrance, my mood was even more enhanced with the clove and cinnamon aroma. I ground each herb and careful mixed them and writing down each ingredient, I added ginger because it is warming and cayenne for it's anti inflammatory properties, I pulled out the comfrey and and chapparel and beautiful arnica and calendula. I kept smelling the mixture with great pride and thought to myself that I was making something wonderful! I used the best oil that I had, jojoba and olive oil and vit E and bees wax at the end. This is the most glorious smelling salve, my whole house has this fragrance and I am enjoying every bit of it. I have my windows and door open and the scent is mixing with the cold air of outside. Glorious! It smells like (but better) then a scented candle, very strong and warming, I could almost eat it! The buttery smell of the calendula and the cinnamon remind me of baking and I am sure my neighbors are salivating too!

HELP bring Naturopathic medicine to Florida!!!

> Hi there,
>
> We would like your help in bringing Naturopathic Medicine to Florida. Naturopathic Doctors attend 4 year medical schools, have recently been classified as Physicians by the Department of Labor, and provide natural, individualized treatments that address the cause of illness and help to restore health. Blue Cross just completed a study that shows Naturopathic Medicine is at least 50% more cost effective then the current Florida health care model, and yet, Florida has not licensed NDs since 1959! What is up with that? Let's move Florida into the modern era, as Arizona, Washington, Oregon, New Hampshire, and so many other states have already done.
>
> How can YOU help?
>
> 1) Join our association as a supporting member, a Friend, for as little as $10.
> 2) Send this email to EVERYONE you know and encourage them to send it out to everyone they know.
> 3) If you have the desire and have some extra time, volunteer to help us spread the word.
>
> Make a statement - We all deserve to be healthy, to have choices in healthcare, to know the doctor treating us is properly trained and licensed. Take back your health choices today -
>
> Become a Member Today! We can make this happen, together, today.
>
> Newsletter sign-up - stay in loop and follow our progress.
>
> Watch us on PBS!
<
> FNPA.org

>
> Visit us on FaceBook
>
> Willing to Volunteer (no you do not have to call and ask people for money :-)
>
> We thank you for your help in the most profound way possible via email.
>
> --
> The Doctors and Members of the FNPA

quoting from dandelion revolutions dot com

Milk thistle seeds, Silybum marianum, are known as a supreme herbal tonic for the liver. It is traditionally used for supporting the liver and gallbladder as it increases the production of bile, and has hepatic, demulcent, choloagogue, antihepatoxic, and galactagogue actions. From David Winston, “It is indicated for cirrhosis of the liver as well as nephrotoxity, psoriasis and Hepatitis A, B, and C. It combines well with Burdock seed for dry, scaly skin conditions (87)”.

Silymarin was isolated by German researchers as the most important active ingredient of milk thistle seeds. Later on it was discovered that silymarin is actually a group of chemicals, flavanolignans, not just one single chemical constituent (Wikipedia). From Matthew Wood, “laboratory and clinical research has demonstrated that silymarin prevented the destruction of liver cells, increased the production of new liver cells, and increased the level of glutathione, an amino acid which helps to detoxify poisons and process hormones” (448).

Wood states that “milk thistle is an excellent liver and abdominal medicine in serious cases” (449), like death cap mushroom poising. It is not perhaps the first herb to reach for in everyday liver support like burdock, dandelion or yellow dock. But for those who are in need of more specific and stronger liver support in cases of liver complications or to conteract hepatotoxic pharmacueticals, David Hoffmann states that the theraputic dose from Commission E is 12 to 15 grams of the seeds or 200 to 400 miligrams per day of standardized silymarin.

Milk thistle condiment - This tasty and easy-to-make condiment is a wonderful way to get the liver rejuvenating effects of milk thistle in your daily diet. Sprinkle on eggs, rice dishes, soups and stews, practically any kinds of ethnic foods, and stir into mayo and mustard to eat on sandwiches and dips. I partically love it with seafood, like on Spanish paella.

• 1/2 cup milk thistle seeds

• 1 T ginger powder

• 1 T garlic powder

• 1 t paprika

• Grind seeds well in a coffee grinder. Mix with the other herbs, put in a shaker and use daily.

This article is not mine... I got it from a wonderful website called "dandelion revolution"


http://dandelionrevolution.com

hiking with friends in the superstition

It is October and we didn't have much of our monsoon weather this year. Seems to be dryer and dryer each season, however, the beauty in the Sonoran desert still welcomes me and the views are still breathtaking.
I can hardly wait for January, I will be giving several walk abouts to teach medicinal plants of our beautiful desert and I hope to see the blooms that the desert is lacking on this latest hike. I missed seeing the fairy dusters, brittlebush and desert marigolds.

Cavecreek Spur Cross 10-10-2009

a beautiful tea

I had some left over tea blend, dandelion leaf, gotu kola, cleavers, and mint. I added a handful of rosemary, nettles, handful of calendula flowers and pink rose buds. I then steeped it for about an hour. It was wonderful, I loved the rosemary and rose flavor together. I was drinking this superb tea while extracting the juice from the tunas of the prickly pears that we collected the day before and decided to add some of the juice to the tea and was pleasantly surprised. What a wonderful combination and a wonderful pink color. Earlier in the week I had made some rose bud infused honey and sweetened this tea, it was perfect. Delicious, nutritious and refreshing. There is one problem, I didn't write down the amounts, I know better than that! I hope that I can duplicate this tea again sometime, I know next time that no matter what.. measure and write down the ingredients!

Juicing Tuna

After the Gleaning Party... I decided to try my hand at juicing the tunas for some yummy treats at a later date. There were several different ways to juice them but I seem to find that a combination of them worked best for me. Freezing and thawing them into a bowl was one way, they kind of partially juiced themselves, then squeezing them through cheese cloth, but before that I took an old meat tenderizer.. and poked holes in them, put them in the cheese cloth and squeezed the rest of the juice out, straining them one last time into a bowl and then finally into freezer bags and putting them into the freezer to use at a later date. viola!

grateful

The more I learn about the plants and this earth, the more passionate I become. I am new at all this... I don't even know how to use some of the "green" terms correctly. But I am learning and loving it.
I find that I get emotional when talking about the plants.. I feel wierd about it but then again I feel blessed about it too.
We can learn so much from the desert.. from the earth in general. It isn't hard, it just takes a want to learn it and then the earth, the universe, will supply the opportunities. I feel so grateful. I love all that I am learning and want to share it with the world.
On a prickly pear gleaning party gathering, I overheard a woman who was walking her dog stop and ask one of the gleaning participants what we were doing. When he told her that we were collecting the prickly pear for juicing, making jam, margaritas or what not... she was suprised. She has lived here since .. well, forever and had no idea that this cactus bore fruit that was not only edible but DELICIOUS. How much more do I not know? How much more do you not know? And what might the our lives be like if we knew more?

skin cancer returning

So if you have been following you can see that the skin cancer that we have been treating with creosote oil aka chaparral; practically disappeared. It seemed to have come back with a vengeance though, We did continually put the medicated oil on the spot but did slow down that number of times and may have skipped a few days in total. So when it came back we applied the oil again and were diligent but it didn't seem to help, I switched to red clover tincture both topically and a little internally and it seemed to start looking better. We also added one of my salves as a topical that has calendula, creosote,olive oil and vitamin E. The skin cancer looks better but it is still there, actually there are two spots again rather than just one.
We think that the creosote worked. We think that it cured the skin cancer on the surface layer of the epidermis but the cancer that was deeper in the skin layer remained and therefore grew back to the surface. Mike and I have decided to have the skin cancer looked at by his dermatologist and determine how to take care of it after his consultation. This is a reminder to me that allopathic and natrapathic medicine should and can be integrated. When I decided to go natural I told myself that I wouldn't totally give up on modern day medical and this is why. I believe in herbs, I love herbs and natrapathic medicine and I will always try to do things the natural way first and foremost but we who chose the natural path may also want to remember that both types of medicine can go hand in hand and work together. I will remain to keep you posted on the skin cancer. =)

Lakshmi the Hindu Goddess of Beauty Inscense Oil

In a jar, combine equal measure of roughly crushed rose petals, ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, and lemon peel. Pour Sweet almond oil over the mixture, covering all the ingredients and cap. Infuse by the sun but wrapped in tin foil so that the UV rays do not damage the ingredients, infuse for at least 4 days. Strain the oil and decant into a dark glass container, store in a cool place.

This oil can be used in an essential oil burner or dabbed in your pulse points.

skin cancer week 4

Week three and week four of the skin cancer spot. We bumped up the dosage from 1-2 x a day to 3-6 times a day and there is another significant change. Mike the "cancer model" is also using creosote oil as a sun screen. Over all, we think his skin even looks better since he has been applying the infused creosote oil.

in the earlier photos (week 1 and 2) there were cancer spots lower on his face that we were showing you. One disappeared and the other ended up NOT being cancer after all.

crazy mad=?

You would think that at my ripe age of 40+, that I could learn how to breathe, be calm, and think before I act. I have worked at it for years and am still working at it, but when it matters most... I throw that technique out the window.

I have had some days to mull over the whole "flower essence" ordeal. And, yes... I had a right to be upset.. but they also have a right to be ignorant. I mean, I haven't always known what I know now about herbs and essences, about holistic healing, about raising a baby, or a pre teen and I definitely don't know how to raise the teen that I have now. I can assume that I do "know" when it comes to certain aspects but the truth is I am not all knowing.

My 15 year old told me something the other day and has told me a few other times over the last couple of years.... now, I will take some credit for her wise mind.. as it is I who did raise her. She told me that I wouldn't feel so persecuted if I didn't persecute others. She tells me that sometimes I am way too judgmental and that is why I am always feeling judged. Truth. and it hurts. and it's hard to admit. As much as I would like to give a lengthy explanation or defense.. the truth is none of us are as innocent as we think we are.

I am glad that my daughter told me this gently. Without being mean, it was easier to take, and harder to deny this truth. She told me that I am not always that way, but that it comes out periodically and I can see that, depending on how I feel about myself or what type of day that I had. None the less, it is true about me and I hate it.

After this flower essence ordeal and after my last blog on the emotions that I shared about the flower essence ordeal, I received a letter from Katie, (Lotus Wei) and she opened my eyes (again) she told me what I already knew, but she told it to me when I needed to hear it again and she told me in a way that was gentle and empowering and this inspired me to look again at my actions that day, more than my actions though, to look at my emotion, my feelings and if I had just taken a breath that day before I took everything so personally, before I let myself feel attacked or persecuted, then I would have handled it in a way that I would be proud of and in a way that my daughter would have been proud of and possibly not have been so emotional about it.

I am always learning, one is never to old to learn. Sometimes we have to look at ourselves deeper than ever before and ask ourselves questions that we have never asked ourselves before and in doing this.. we will grow and learn and be enlightened to ourselves in ways that we have never before.

Katie suggested that I take this experience and make it a good one, up 'til now... I shared this story just to share this story. Just to get others on my side. Just to validate myself, my feelings and my actions. That isn't good enough, I know better than that, I preach that but do I live it? Obviously not. Not that day anyway.

So what do I do then? I start again, taking what I learned with me into today and into other experiences. Sharing the learning experience with others so that it IS a positive that came out of an unfortunate situation. Actually, if I look at it again... the situation wasn't really unfortunate. It opened some eyes to flower essences and a holistic approach and it also opened my eyes to me.

flower essences illegal?

My 14 year old daughter got "busted" for taking 4 drops of Bach's White Chestnut Flower essence at her high school.

My daughter was diagnosed with A.D.D. and I choose not to put her on the prescribed narcotics. We went down that road before and it didn't work for us. My daughter couldn't eat, couldn't sleep and told me that she felt that it made her feel dull.

Flower essence seems to work for her, I gave her a bottle to take to school and keep in her purse. Even though I probably should have thought twice about it's contents .. I did not. Flower essences uses alcohol as a preservative. 4 drops of flower essence has less alcohol than 1/4 of a small ripe banana, a 5 year old can purchase flower essence, you can do flower essence and drive. It is safe to give flower essence to a 6th month old.

Yet, they pulled her from class, searched her purse and made the appropriate phone calls. I was told by an officer of the law that he guaranteed me that if he made her blow in a breathalyzer that it would show alcohol in her system. I challenged him, I asked him to please do give her one. He took offense by this and began to raise is voice, telling me that he is doing me a favor by NOT giving her one, do I want him to give her a ticket? she would have to go to court and would have a record. I told him that he should go ahead, give her a breathalyzer and if it came up positive for alcohol then he would be educating me. He changed the subject and wouldn't give her one.
The Vice principal told me over the phone that my daughter would be suspended for consumption of alcohol. But by the end of our conversation he told me that he would let her slide but that the principal could over rule that. The vice principal also told me that he was giving us a break and that it would NOT go in her record but she still had to go home for consumption of alcohol.

I think that they are idiots, I think that they started a big ruckus because they are ignorant, and when I gave them a little information, a little too late they still had to follow through with sending her home for consumption of alcohol.

However they also knew that they hadn't anything to stand on and legally couldn't ticket her, suspend her or put it in her record... they knew that they would have a legal battle if they did.

So, my daughter does not take flower essence to school anymore. When she has a water bottle I will put a dose in there for her. She will not bring the bottle of essence to school though. This is so unfortunate, I was appalled at their ignorance.

I wrote the company Bach and they too were appalled.
I spoke with an organic alchemist, business owner of LOTUS WEI,LLC., She has offered to help educate my daughters school on flower essences.

I have found it hard to not push this further, by filing a complaint with the police department, by writing the school board by calling the local news station. However,I am not sure of what my intentions would be about doing that. Is it for revenge? or is it for education purposes. Should I fight for my rights or chalk it up as a learning experience and move on?

I won't make that decision today. I will sit quietly and figure out my intentions first.

But for the record... keep your flower essence hidden, don't show any officers of the law and maybe you should think twice about drinking while consuming flower essences.



visit lotuswei.com

Beautiful Oats

Today I worked on oat tops. I worked on them some yesterday too. I would take the end tip of the hull and pinch and the seed would pop out. It was easy to do, just tedious and after doing it for 3 hours yesterday and then for another hour and a half it really made my fingers sore.
So far, spending almost 5 hours of removing the seeds from the hull I had pretty much had it. The last half hour of those grueling hours I let my mind drift.

I thought that there had to be a better way of doing this. I thought of the indigenous woman and how they must have sat in groups and worked with the grains of the earth, what they may have talked about. I could almost here them laughing and sharing stories as their fingers worked the grains.

I imagined the elders of the group doing most of the talking and the younger women listening and learning, learning about family, respect, hard work and learning about the place in which they held amongst the elders or this tribe.

What would they discuss, would it be much different then maybe something that we would discuss in a family setting? Maybe not unlike the women of my generation, gathering in the kitchen preparing a feast for extended family around holidays.

While I was dreaming about these woman, these strong women with dust on their feet, sitting in a group close to the ground and with toddlers strapped to them or running about their feet. While my mind wandered and played in the ideas and minds of thee indigenous people, I found myself working with the oats in a different way, I was feeling their texture in my hands, rolling the oats in my fists and smelling the faint aroma.

The oats felt good in my fists and I kept working them, rubbing them against each other and listening to the rustling of them when they wisped away the hulls from the friction. The seeds began to separate and it hit me.

I realized how much quicker this was to separate the seeds, the one seed at a time technique was painful and tedious but rolling the oats in my hands, smelling them, admiring them and enjoying the texture of them was working much better. I thought that this may have been kind of the same technique that these women may have used.
In no time at all, the oats were finished.

Another hour had passed and I finished twice if not 3 times as much then the one seed technique.

So, this day… I visited women from the past and heard their laughter, saw their faces and learned from them… at one point I took the oats to the ground and sat there working with them so that I could feel closer to these women. This experience was enlightening, I feel extremely grateful and blessed and I feel a communion that I didn’t feel before. The more that I work with these plants, the more that I love them. The more I give to them, the more they give back.
Thank you JoAnn Sanchez for allowing me this opportunity.

skin cancer week 3

It is quite amazing to watch the transformation. I am a believer of herbs, it isn't a doubt in my mind at all that they work but watching and sharing with the rest of the world (or my few followers anyway)is so exciting. Week one, week two and now week three.. I can see the transformation and it is really cool.

Skin Cancer week 2

Week 2 of using Creosote Oil. Not much difference... however it may be changing shape.. and color. Not sure if it is actually changing but it looks as though it may be changing. We are going to keep on applying the Creosote Oil 3x a day for now and will keep you posted.

Rosemary Gladstars Cleansing Grains

A beautiful recipe from an beautiful herbalist, Rosemary Gladstar.

oats
white clay
almonds
lavender
roses
poppy seeds
honey or water or both.

The girls and I are having a "spa day"... no date set yet but I got so excited about it that I already made a batch of this wonderful cleansing scrub!