Stream of Consciousness 2
How beautiful that I find myself sitting to write an exact month from my last publishing. Goals can transform in this way - it seems a monthly Stream, rather than a weekly, suits me better.
I’ve been settling in to a new routine. I recently moved across the country, haphazardly packing and cautiously driving myself from the Sequoia Mtn region of California to the Catskill Mtn region of New York. The move was ignited by a deep feeling to be closer to family, to my parents and grandparents. After nearly a decade of living on the West Coast, I couldn’t ignore the need to return home.
I’ve spent five formal years studying health (add on four informal years of passionate self-study and work experiences). A central driver of this passion has been to share this information with my family, especially those who struggle with some pretty chronic health conditions. I’ve been a sponge - a lucky sponge.
How fortunate to feel my flow state while listening to lectures on the psychology of happiness, or myelin sheaths (the protective layers surrounding nerve cell axons).
How fortunate to learn of the life-changing power of having a sturdy “locus of control.” Or even learning that there is a structure in our brain called the fusiform facial gyrus - and that some folks innately recognize faces better than others.
Being back in my home town is reminding me that I have a well-formed facial gyrus. It’s been a pleasant adjustment to recognize people at the supermarket again. Not that I didn’t create family and acquaintances out West, but there is something unique about chatting with someone who saw you play soccer as a kid.
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While I feel content with my rate of health-knowledge (and with the fact that I will never be done learning), where I surely need practice is on relaying this information to others. It’s a true skill to build! I’m not fully at the point in my education to be giving out health advice - I am very contientious to stay within my training scopes - but of course questions do come my way from those who know me. I feel very confident as a (beginner) massage therapist to provide a quality service, to aid the body in her natural healing process, to bring circulation to the soft tissues and to relieve pain related to tight muscles and the like.
As a matter of circumstance, I am unable to practice massage in New York. So, while I still hold my California standing and will perhaps plan some trips back, my practice is at a stand still until further notice.
My next planned pursuit is to formally study Herbal Medicine, to keep adding modalities to my tool box, and to keep exploring ways to help small scale folks find alternative ways of actions and support to make their lives more easeful and more in tune with nature (potato, potato).
ANYHOW I bring this rant up, I believe, to get to the point of what my intentions are for the products I am offering to the public - namely the infused herbal oils. The FDA and US government have rightfully strict rules about how products can be labeled & advertised, and what information can be shared by the company/individual selling the product. I work very hard to stay compliant - reading long legal documents, seeking mentors and resources on the matters, and again - working within my scope.
As of today: I am not a doctor. I am not an Herbalist.
I do have hard-earned credentials, but the purpose of my work in making and offering these oils is to share the complexly simple options we have to nourish our skin. I’m someone who has had sensitive skin her WHOLE life. Right out the womb, I was red-faced and cradle-capped. As a young child I had eczema, shingles, rashes galore. As a teen I developed sebhorreic dermatitis on my scalp, something I still am learning to support.
Throughout my journey listening to my skins signals (because the itchy-inflammation is communication, after all!), I have learned the importance of a holistic approach (lifestyle modifications, stress outlets, so on forever) but I have also learned of the necessity to only put on my body what I want to be absorbed into the rest of my system. Our skin is permeable, absorbent; “if you wouldn’t eat it, don’t soak your skin in it!”
In my early twenties I developed some cystic acne and luckily reached out to a holistic esthetician, Naomi McCann, through the Woodstock Healing Arts Center. She introduced me to Laurel - a slow-farm skincare company I highly highly recommend (laurelskin.com). Their whole plant formulations are extremely well thought out, intricate, and top quality. I noticed a slow yet steady return to acne-free skin, and I haven’t used a “commercial” cleanser or moisturizer since.
In fact, I don’t use a lot of common skincare items that I grew up on.
Rather than commercial moisturizers or massage gels, I use my home-made infused herbal salves. My family has become fans as well, and friends have given great feedback and interest.
It’s not to say that everyone has to make a complete shift, but I personally find comfort knowing what exactly the ingredients are in something I am absorbing, especially as someone sensitive to synthetics. A bachelors in Health Education makes it impossible not to read ingredient labels, beit in snacks or lotions. And my hope is to extend this perspective shift to others, because I know a lot of people are struggling to find products that work for them. It’s easy for these things to go unnoticed especially since we’re rarely taught about them.
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So, on the record, Three Seas skincare products are sold solely to be used to soothe our skin, while reducing the amount of synthetic and known-to-be-harmful ingredients in our bathroom cabinets.
For more information about plant properties, there are so many lovely books, practitioners, and resources that I hope dear readers are able to connect with.
I will say - there is magic in nature. Seeds, too light to resist the wind, turn into lavender fields. I don’t claim ownership to the recipes I work with. Rather they have been passed down from plants to people for longer than my short time on this earth can fathom. I just feel lucky to be called to this work, to be called to spend time by the river and with family and to do my best to breathe, to feel and spread joy, to create.
Aw. Goodnight!
