Natural menstrual cramp relief and menstrual products

Menstrual cramps are a pain (pun intended), and we all know it. But taking Tylenol or ibuprofen regularly is not good for our bodies. Midol also has less than ideal ingredients. So what ways can we go about this naturally?

There are items you may already have at home to help, and others you may want to consider adding to your Aunt Flow arsenal.

• Heating pad — I love the king size. It wraps around more of the abdomen and feels so good!) A flaxseed heating pad is a great natural alternative
• Fair trade chocolates — chocolate just makes everything better. I get the soy free, they are trade chocolate. Soy and I do not get along.
• Cloth pads — I had far fewer cramps with much less intensity, as well as a less heavy flow once I ditched toxic tampons and pads, and switched to cloth or at least organic cotton pads.
• Menstrual cup — this is the best eco-friendly option (besides free bleeding). This prevents any waste.
• Earthley’s Ease the Ache — amazing for cramps! I’ll give a testimonial below as well as details of how to save 58%. But if you have cramps, this is a must have.
• Kombucha this is a great fermented tea with beneficial probiotics do you help keep your gut health and check.
• Soothing music — I Carmens tend to peek during her your menstrual cycle. Bring a little calmness to your day with soothing music.
• Herbal bath — Who doesn’t love a nice relaxing bath? These beneficial herbs can help bring relief to cramping as well as help heal after birth, plus it’s safe for baby!

Earthley’s Ease the Ache was formulated for women who need some help during menstruation. The herbs help to ease cramping and pain, are rich in vitamin K to slow heavy bleeding, and help to smooth out mood swings. It’s also great for postpartum mamas to deal with pesky afterpains! Try it for just $5!

My teen and I have used it the last few months and I can tell you, this works! I no longer have painful cramps, and my teen no longer complains either.

JUNE 28, 2021 ONLY!

Get a 1oz Ease the Ache (Women’s Cramp Formula) for just $5. Click here. No code will be needed.)

Also, save 10% on:
~Natural Balance – Hormone Support
~Castor Detox – Detoxing & Pain Relief
~Detox Bath – Detox Support
~Nourish Her Naturally – Women’s Multivitamin

Which one would you choose?

Here’s more to consider to have a more natural menstrual cycle.

Have you considered what the tampons you are using are made of? How they affect your body? Would they be causing more intense cramps? The materials used to make pads and tampons are often bleached, and because tampons and pads are considered medical devices, manufacturers are not required to disclose the ingredients. Check out this article for more information. And 7 reasons why you should ditch tampons here.

Alternatives to tampons and mainstream pads are:

Reusable pads or tampons Etsy is a great place to look for these

Period underwear you can wash and use again. Just be very careful of which brand you choose, many contain toxic chemicals. Thinx is in lawsuits over this.

Menstrual cup

Have you tried these natural alternatives?

Herb of the week: Dandelion

Latin name: Taraxacum Officianale Botanical family: Asteracea
Energetics (Chinese medicine): Drying, cooling Properties:

🌼 Diuretic
🌼 Nutritional
🌼 Liver support
🌼 Stimulates appetite
🌼 Supports immune system
🌼 Supports kidney function
🌼 Anti-inflammatory
🌼 Antioxidant-rich

Safety: For all ages. Can be used in pregnancy and while breastfeeding. Safe both internally and externally. Be cautious or do not use if you have an allergy to ragweed.

Most people consider dandelions “weeds,” but they are one of the most beneficial plants around! Ironically, we spend so much time and money trying to kill them using toxic chemicals, while the plants themselves can support our livers and kidneys and promote detox. It’s nearly impossible to kill dandelions, anyway, because their taproot can go up to 30 feet deep, and if there’s any piece of it left, it will regrow.

But why would we want to kill this beautiful plant?! It’s in season around mid-late April in northern climates, although it blooms sporadically during warm months. The flowers are open and yellow (composed of many tiny petals) during the day, and close at night and during cool, wet weather. They turn to white puffballs of seeds after a couple of weeks, and the wind carries them everywhere. Dandelions spread easily!
The whole plant is edible and medicinal. The roots are best harvested in the fall when the stored energy is highest, at or after the second year. They can be used raw in tea or tincture to promote liver health. Roasted, they make a nice coffee substitute.

The leaves are bitter in flavor and rich in several vitamins and minerals. They can be eaten in salads, or made into tea or tincture. They support kidney health and are sometimes called “nature’s multivitamin.”

The flowers have mild pain-relieving properties, and are nice infused in oil to make a salve or cream for sore muscles. They are also edible, and can be tossed in salads, used to make jelly or wine. Some also use them to make cookies, muffins, or fritters.

Enjoy all that dandelions have to offer!

Earthley products containing dandelion are:
🌼 Sun Shield
🌼 All Purpose Salve
🌼 Nourish Her Naturally
🌼 Nourish Me Naturally
🌼 Baby Balm
🌼 Pain Potion
🌼 Sinus Saver
🌼 Cough-B-Gone
🌼 Immune-Biotic
🌼 Natural Balance
🌼 Mama’s Tummy Relief
🌼 UT-Relief

I also love dandelion detox tea. You can find in most grocery stores.

Learn more about this herb and recipes for dandelions.

Learn more uses for this powerful herb.

(Note: be sure the dandelions you forage are not sprayed with pesticides or fertilizers.)

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Stay Healthy Day 26: Use Herbal Remedies

This year, rather than relying on OTC medications if your family gets sick, consider using herbs. They’re inexpensive, fairly easy to obtain, and have few to no side effects — we can’t say the same about OTC or prescription drugs!

But, if you’re new to herbal medicine, you may not know where to begin. Try these 10 herbs to help your family stay healthy this winter.

🌿 Ginger is one of our favorite herbs. You can buy it in any grocery store (seriously, Walmart carries it) and it’s really inexpensive. Even the organic is only $5/lb. and a large piece might cost $2 (that will last weeks). Ginger is anti-inflammatory, it helps colds and sinus infections, general pain, stomach upset, and more. It’s also safe for kids of all ages (even babies), and pregnant and nursing women. It’s an all-round awesome remedy.

🌿 Mullein is often a go-to remedy for us. It’s been said to help with diarrhea, asthma, bronchitis, whooping cough, colds, flu, and lots more. For any respiratory infection, use a tea or a tincture made with mullein It can also help with insomnia. It’s fairly safe, including for pregnant/nursing women and children.

🌿 Elderberry is a very popular flu remedy, and for good reason: studies show it can reduce the duration of the flu from 6 – 7 days to only 2 – 3. It’s strongly anti-viral and fights many infections. Many people find it both effective and palatable. It’s safe for kids from around 8 – 12 months

🌿 Peppermint or spearmint are known tummy-soothers. They can also help with headaches, and peppermint may soothe sore throats (peppermint has a high menthol content that can cool the throat, but spearmint doesn’t). It’s also very safe for most. Pregnant or nursing women should be cautious because large doses can present a problem in sensitive women (cause contractions or reduce milk supply), but most women will not have an issue.

🌿 Catnip is one of our favorite herbs. It can help soothe a nervous child — it’s a mild sedative. It can also treat stomach upset, and may be helpful with coughs. It’s recently been shown to be an excellent insect repellent. We use it to help teething babies with great success, and it’s also great for general insomnia.

🌿 This plant is where marshmallow, the candy, originally came from! Today, the candy is made from gelatin and corn syrup, but the marshmallow plant remains in use for humans. The plant is very high in mucilage, which means that it helps to coat the digestive system. This means it is effective for coughs, bronchitis, whooping cough, diarrhea, and more. It also may be used topically, because it is anti-inflammatory, and it may help cuts, scrapes, and infections.

🌿 Turmeric root has gained popularity lately as a strong anti-inflammatory. It’s been shown to fight colds, infections, and even cancer. It’s also been shown to help liver disease, Alzheimer’s, and other chronic illnesses.

🌿 Acerola berries are extremely high in vitamin C. For this reason, it may be beneficial against colds, flu, whooping cough, and other common winter ailments. They’re also strongly anti-inflammatory.

🌿 For years, people have recommended Echinacea as a cold remedy — because it helps. It’s beneficial against colds, flu, bronchitis, UTIs, ear infections, candida, and more. People have used it for almost any infection. It can cause allergic reactions in some, so be careful if your family has allergies to plants/pollen.

🌿 Goldenseal root is a very expensive, rarer herb. It’s bright gold colored, and usually used topically. It’s good for cord care in a newborn baby. It can be used directly on diaper rash as a powder, including yeast or bacterial rashes. It helps get rid of both bacterial and viral infections (topically and internally) and soothes sore throats. Be warned that it’s very powerful, and it makes other herbs more powerful when taken in conjunction.
https://modernalternativemama.com/2013/10/18/10-herbs-to-keep-your-family-healthy-this-winter/

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Dry brushing benefits and lymphatic congestion

Do you show any signs of Lymphatic congestion? It’s more common then you may think and unfortunately when we don’t take the steps to recognize that there is a problem and do something about it, like all things, it turns into a much bigger problem.

Do you dry brush? Dry brushing has benefits. It helps stimulate blood flow and removed dead, dry skin on the areas you brush. It’s believed to “wake up” your lymphatic system. It helps me feel more energized. I dry brush several times a week. I have used it as an aid in removing extra hormones across the breast. I used the smaller facial brush to help remove dry, flaky skin, caused by an autoimmune disease, around my eye. It may be beneficial in helping ward off wrinkles. While some say it’s helpful to remove cellulite, others say there is no proof. However, I can attest to smoother, healthier looking skin and that’s still a win. Treat yourself to a dry brush set!

I know, I know! It’s so hard to actually take care of yourself when you’re a mother, or even a father, because kids and all… where do we fit in the time for us?

But, you have time for a cream right?

A few moments of your time each day, to rub in this Lymphatic Cream, can make the world of difference. YES, it is as simple as that – well, it’s a start at least and better than doing nothing at all.

How does it help you ask? Let me tell you…

As our body’s natural “vacuum”, the lymphatic system gathers up dead cells, bacteria, and more! It eliminates all the junk – when it’s working! Our lymphatic system doesn’t have a natural pump, so sometimes fluid just gets stuck or becomes sluggish. This causes swelling, uncomfortable aches and pains, and can even lead to headaches, low immunity, and gut health issues. Our ingredients gently but effectively encourage fluid to get moving! Removing this built up junk promotes overall health and wellness.

Earthley’s Lymphatic Cream is a top selling products for a reason. Save using the code on the graphic.

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End of year teacher gift ideas

The end of the year is drawing near and I’m sure you are thinking of teacher gifts. I am an affiliate for a company that makes botanical and herbal-based products. If you are looking for some unique gifts, and would like to support a small business, I wanted to share a few ideas from Earthley. We have a chocolate lotion bar, it looks like a small bar of soap, but it’s lotion—so unique! There are herbal lip balms, herbal bath soaks (less expensive per bath than a bath bomb!), hand made soaps, body butter, face masks, etc. Almost everything is vegan. Earthley is Leaping Bunny certified, meaning all products are 100% cruelty free, and have always been.

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Stay Healthy Day 16: Use natural skin care

These days most skin and body care products are loaded with toxins and some products even have hundreds of toxic ingredients hidden under labels like “fragrance.” That’s just the tip of the iceberg!

If you want truly trustworthy skin and body care products that you can trust, my recommendation would be herbal body care.

I trust this brand, you should too!

Check it out here.

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Stay Healthy Day 15: Avoid toxic skin care ingredients

Do you know how to read labels to know whether or not your skin care products are toxic?

If you don’t and you need assistance the Environmental Working Group database is a great resource!

Simply type your skin care products in to the search bar and see how they rate. There’s also additional information that walks you through why it’s rated low or high (for toxicity) and what the concerns are.

My favorite skin care line is from Earthley. It’s the cleanest line I have used, with all ingredients disclosed. For me, it was even more effective than Beauty Counter and it even cost less and was more effective for me and my daughter. My daughter used the acne products from both lines and recently brought me her half used bottles of Beauty Counter and kept her Earthley products. Check out their skin care line here.

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Stay Healthy Day 6: Why you should avoid aluminum in deodorant

When you take a second to think about deodorants – antiperspirants in particular – the problem seems rather simple and self-explanatory. We apply deodorant to our armpits to block smells. But why does our body sweat in the first place? Sweating occurs as one of the body’s prime efforts to detox. So, if we’re preventing the detox, where are we sending the toxins that our bodies are trying so hard to flush out? The answer is the lymph system, which is the bodies defense against infection. Cancer is also frequently spread throughout the body when cancerous cells break off from a tumor and travel to another location in the body through the lymph system. Basically, the lymph systems works by trapping the bad stuff and flushing it out frequently via our pits. When the glands in our armpits are blocked, our breasts are right there to take in the toxins. Antiperspirants have been linked to breast cancer.

The biggest concern in antiperspirants is the active ingredient that works to plug sweat glands temporarily, an aluminum-based compound. They are specifically related to breast cancer because the upper corner of the breasts, near the armpits, is usually the site of developing cancerous cells and tumors. This is where the cancer cells travel to first.

Read more here: https://www.onegreenplanet.org/lifestyle/the-dangers-of-deodorants/

A good deodorant is hard to find and it shouldn’t be but between toxic aluminum and baking soda rashes mothers often find themselves wasting a ton of time and money only to end up with their pits looking rashy and sore.

That is where I love my Earthley deodorant, offering something unique, affordable and healthy. 💁‍♀️

The ingredients include:

🌿 Apricot Oil
🌿 Wax
🌿 Magnesium Chloride Flakes
🌿 Arrowroot Powder
🌿 Mango Butter

We offer scents:
🌿 Lavender
🌿 Citrus
🌿 Rustic
🌿 Woods
🌿 Spring Blossom
🌿 Vanilla Bean

❌ No Fragrance
❌ No Aluminum
❌ No Baking Soda
❌ No Parabens
❌ No Gluten
❌ No Artificial Colors
❌ No Soy

Check out all of the scents!

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Natural non-toxic insect repellent

With the warm weather here, the bugs are out!

But don’t be too quick to grab a store-bought bug spray. Almost all contain DEET, which is a toxic ingredient and better kept off your skin.

Luckily, safer natural options do exist!

Did you know about these risks?

Deet is the most effective and widely used insect repellent but it has many harmful effects like:⁠
⁠

1. The use of it with children can cause seizures and can increase their risk of WNV infection.⁠
   ⁠
2. Deet has the potential to cause effects on pregnant mamas with the development of the fetus.⁠
   ⁠
3. The chemical ingestion of deet causes a peak plasma level in the body, causing toxic effects like seizures, hypotension, & coma.⁠
   ⁠
4. For many people deet can cause skin reactions and allergic reactions like redness, rash, swelling, & hives (especially if applied for an extended amount of time). ⁠

⁠Have you tried a natural bug spray or repellent? If so, comment below your favorite ones?

I have used Badger Anti-Bug Balm and this year using Earthley’s Pest Aside (I love the smell!)

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Natural remedies for bug bites and rashes

It’s that time of year for bugs and poisonous plants! 🌿🐝

The Great Outdoors are full of wonder…and also full of things that bite, sting, and create rashes. Don’t stay inside, grab this Black Drawing Salve from Earthley and get back out there! Bentonite clay and activated charcoal can soothe the irritation of any minor skin concern. Mosquito bites, poison ivy, and bee stings are no match for this herbal salve! Enjoy the season knowing you’ve got a remedy for any minor annoyance.

This salve can also be used as a spot treatment for acne! It comes in a mess-free tube for maximum tote-ability. I keep one in my purse and one in the house, so I always have one handy.

You can also add baking soda to the bath to help neutralize the sting. Diluted apple cider vinegar applied with a cotton ball is also helpful. Diluted lavender and frankincense essential oils can help with itching and promote healing. My mom always taught us to make an “X” on the nite with our fingernails to help stop the itch.

Earthley has put together a list of what you can use to help you deal with bites, stings, and rashes in our Untoxic Summer Guide!

Download it for free! ☀️

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