| How to Use Lavender Oil Posted: 11 May 2018 01:00 AM PDT Whether you're already familiar with essential oils or you're just getting started, lavender oil is one of the most useful oils you can have in your kit. You can use it to treat bug bites, alleviate anxiety, treat dandruff, and even clean around the house! Just make sure you check the label to verify your essential oil was made from true lavender, or Lavandula angustifolia, and dilute the oil in a carrier oil before use. EditImproving Health and Wellness - Dilute pure lavender oil in your choice of carrier. Applying pure essential oil to your skin can potentially cause severe irritation. The most common dilution is a 2% preparation, or 12 drops of lavender oil per of your carrier oil, lotion, or other moisturizer.[1]
- Popular carrier oils include coconut, olive, sweet almond, argan, and avocado oils.[2]
- You can either dilute the lavender oil ahead of time and store it, or you can dilute a little each time you need it.
- Some people prefer to use lavender oil undiluted; however, this can cause you to become extremely sensitive to lavender over time.
- Rub 2-3 drops of diluted lavender in your palms and inhale to ease anxiety. Lavender is probably best known for its soothing, relaxing, properties. By adding a little lavender oil to your palms, then cupping your hands around your face and breathing deeply, you can help ease the symptoms of anxiety and stress.[3]
- Lavender oil can also help ease insomnia due to stress.
- Add 2-3 drops of lavender oil to your skin cream to treat acne. Lavender won't clog your pores, and it has antibacterial properties, which may be the reason it's so helpful at clearing up acne. Since you're mixing the lavender oil into your skin cream, there's no need to dilute it with oil first.[4]
- You can also add a dab of diluted lavender oil directly onto a blemish to help soothe your skin and reduce redness.
- Diffuse lavender oil during a massage to help with pain relief. The soothing scent of lavender may help you feel more relaxed as you get a massage, boosting the effects and helping ease the pain of sore muscles, sprains, or achy joints.[5]
- To diffuse your essential oil, you can purchase a commercial diffuser, or you can place a few drops of the oil onto a tissue and place it near you during your massage.
- If you're using a diffuser, read the instructions to determine whether or not you need to dilute the lavender oil. You do not need to dilute it if you are placing the oil onto a tissue.
- You can also add 1-2 drops of lavender oil to of massage oil to promote relaxation and pain relief.
- Dab diluted lavender oil on your neck, chest, and back to ease breathing. The soothing scent of lavender is often used to treat breathing issues such as the cold, flu, and bronchitis. You will only need 1-2 drops of lavender oil, as too strong of a scent can worsen respiratory ailments.[6]
- There is conflicting data on the use of lavender for patients with asthma; therefore, it should probably be avoided until more research is done.[7]
- Apply 2-3 drops of diluted lavender oil to soothe a minor burn. Burns can be extremely painful, but a few drops of lavender oil may help take out some of the sting and ease the redness in the area.[8]
- Lavender oil can also relieve a minor sunburn.
- Use a drop of diluted lavender oil to ease bug bites. Lavender oil can take the itching and swelling out of bug bites and stings, including bee stings, ant bites, and flea bites. Just place one drop on top of the sting to help relieve your discomfort.[9]
- The oil can also help reduce the temptation to scratch the bug bite, helping to avoid potentially dangerous and painful infections.
- Place a drop of diluted lavender oil on the end of your tongue to relieve nausea. Lavender is known to help ease the symptoms of nausea, including morning sickness and motion sickness. Be sure you're using culinary-grade lavender if you ingest it.[10]
- Lavender is also used on pressure points, such as behind the ears and around the navel, to ease nausea.
- Place a few drops of diluted lavender oil on a fungal infection once a day. Lavender has some antifungal properties, so a few drops of lavender oil once a day may help heal fungal infections such as ringworm or nail fungus.[11]
EditUsing Lavender as a Beauty Treatment - Add undiluted lavender oil to your body lotion for a pleasing scent. There's no need to pay extra for scented body lotions. Instead, choose an unscented lotion, then add 3-4 drops of undiluted lavender oil to the bottle.[12]
- If you don't want the whole bottle of lotion to smell like lavender, dispense a little lotion into your hands, add 1 drop of lavender oil, and rub your hands together to mix it thoroughly.
- Make a sugar scrub with sugar, undiluted lavender, and oil. Mix of granulated sugar, of your favorite carrier oil, and 5-8 drops of lavender oil to create a sugar scrub that will leave your skin feeling soft and smooth.[13]
- If you like, you can add 3 drops of purple food coloring, but this is optional.
- Rub diluted lavender oil into your scalp to treat dandruff. Having a flaky scalp is no fun, but dandruff can be stubborn and hard to treat. Luckily, you can help relieve the flakes by massaging diluted lavender oil into your scalp once a week until the symptoms are relieved. Leave the oil on your scalp for about an hour, then shampoo out.[14]
- To dilute the lavender oil, add 12 drops of oil to of a carrier oil like argan, coconut, or olive oil.
- Try parting your hair and applying the lavender oil to the affected areas with a dropper so it doesn't end up in your hair instead of on your scalp.
EditCleaning around the House - Diffuse lavender oil to help repel insects. Lavender is known to be an insect repellent, especially for nuisances like mosquitoes and moths. Place your lavender oil in a diffuser, or add a few drops to tissues or cloths placed around your home to help discourage insects from hanging around.[15]
- You can also apply diluted lavender oil to your skin to act as an insect repellent when you go outside. Add 12 drops of lavender oil to of a carrier oil, such as argan or coconut oil, to dilute it.
- Add lavender oil to scrubbing powder to disinfect as you clean. Since lavender is a natural antibacterial agent, it's a great way to kill germs without using harsh chemicals. Just add 3-5 drops of the undiluted oil to your preferred scrubbing powder, then clean the surfaces in your home as usual.[16]
- Although lavender is effective against a wide range of bacteria, it may not kill all germs, so if you have concerns about food-borne pathogens or other serious contaminants, you may want to use a commercially-prepared disinfectant.
- Add 3-4 drops of lavender and water to a spray bottle to freshen laundry. Spray your laundry with the lavender mixture before you put your clothes in the dryer to leave them with a fresh, natural scent.[17]
- You can also spritz a little of the mixture on your bedding to help you have a more restful night's sleep.
- Add lavender to some of your recipes to add a subtle flavor. If you have culinary-grade lavender, you can add a 1-2 drops to your cooking to impart a subtle floral flavor. Keep in mind that too much lavender will take over the dish, but a little is a pleasant surprise in foods like breads, cookies, and brownies.[18]
- You can also add lavender to your water, tea, or even a homemade salad dressing!
- Lavender can help cut the sharpness of citrus, so try adding a little to a lemon pie.
- To ensure you are purchasing true lavender oil, check the label or website to make sure the essential oil was made from Lavandula angustifolia. The oil should be sold in a dark-colored glass bottle to help protect it from breaking down.[19]
- Pregnant and breastfeeding women should avoid using lavender oil.[20]
- Some people may be allergic to lavender oil, so test the area on a small area of your skin first.
EditSources and Citations
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| How to Stay Entertained on a Treadmill Posted: 10 May 2018 05:00 PM PDT If you work out using a treadmill, it can sometimes be difficult to stay motivated. To remain dedicated to your treadmill routine, you can mix entertainment with your workout to prevent yourself from becoming bored. Try listening to music, reading a magazine or book, listening to an audiobook, or watching a TV in the gym. You can also develop a variety of different workouts to make your daily routine more exciting. EditSwitching up Your Workout Routine - Do interval training. Spend 1-5 minutes doing hard, fast, or steep running on the treadmill followed by 1-5 minutes of slower, less steep, or easier jogging or walking. Continue to alternate between the 2 types for your entire workout. This will allow you to get a more effective cardio workout in less time.
- Try running a fartlek on the treadmill. A fartlek is a style of running which mixes hard, intense running with easier, relaxing periods of jogging. Use the treadmill controls to increase the incline and difficulty periodically. You can incorporate the visual environment into the fartlek: increase the difficulty when you see someone wearing red, and decrease when you see someone wearing blue.[1]
- For example, if you're watching TV, adjust the treadmill setting to be very difficult every commercial break, and then ease things up again during the program. Or switch this up: make it easy during the commercials and tough during the show.
- Gradually increase the difficulty with a "boil the frog" run. This workout gradually increases in difficulty as time passes. Begin your run at a comfortable rate. Then, every 10 minutes, make the run a little harder. Press the "Increase speed" button once or twice, and bump up the incline by 1 percent. After 30 minutes, you'll be running at top speed. Then, gradually slow back down to a comfortable jog.[2]
- Since you'll start out on an easy setting, the run won't be as immediately unpleasant as if you'd started on a difficult setting.
- Go to the gym with a friend. Motivating yourself to go to the gym—and work out once you're there—can be challenging. Running on the treadmill with a friend will help motivate you to work out in the first place, and will give you something to do while running. The two of you can chat or listen to the same songs.[3]
- If you and your friend both feel a little bored at the gym, you could try to race one another, or keep track of who has run more miles overall.
- Set daily exercise goals. Setting and working toward a daily goal can keep you entertained and focused throughout your workout. Set goals that determine the length of your workout, the distance you run or walk, or the amount of calories you burn.
- For example, if you ran yesterday, set a goal to run today.
EditListening to Music or Audio Content - Listen to high-BPM music during your workout. In addition to keeping you entertained, music can motivate you to push yourself harder during your workout routine. Select a variety of rock or dance songs for your playlist that fall between 120 and 140 beats per minute (BPM). Songs with fast tempos that fall within this BPM range will help maintain your energy and motivation during your workout.[4]
- Play music on your stereo if you work out at home, or listen to music using your portable or digital music player and headphones at the local gym.
- Songs with a BPM between 120 and 140 include: "Starships" by Nicki Minaj, "Best Day of my Life" by American Authors, "Raise Your Glass" by Pink, and "Eye of the Tiger" by Voyager.
- Check out a list of the top 100 running songs at https://www.sparkpeople.com/blog/blog.asp?post=the_top_100_running_songs_of_all_time.
- Switch up your exercise playlist weekly. No matter how fun and upbeat your standard exercise and treadmill songs are, you'll get tired of them eventually. Keep yourself motivated—and stave off boredom—by adding a few new songs to your treadmill playlist every week.[5]
- You can make your own playlists, or look on a streaming site like Spotify or Pandora. These sites have popular exercise playlists that update frequently. Or, ask some friends for their treadmill playlists.
- For example, try upbeat songs like: "Born to Run" by Bruce Springsteen, "Lose Yourself" by Eminem, "Beautiful Day" by U2, or "Dog Days are Over" by Florence and the Machine.[6]
- Cue certain songs to change the pace of your run. Designate certain songs or artists on your music playlist that require you to run or walk faster when they are played. Try putting 3 fast, upbeat songs in a row, and following these up with a slower rock song. Run at a fast rate during the pop songs, and slow down to a medium jog for the rock.[7] This will keep you from getting bored, and ensure that you run at a variety of speeds.
- Or, if you keep your playlist on shuffle, increase your treadmill speed whenever songs by a specific artist are played.
- For example, start out with "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk (116 BMP), and follow it with "Can't Hold Us" by Macklemore and "Fight for Your Right" by the Beastie Boys (146 and 135 BPM, respectively). Then slow things down a little with "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor (109 BPM).[8]
- Listen to an interesting podcast series. If you spend many hours per week on the treadmill, at some point you may want to listen to something a little more intellectually engaging than top-40 radio. Try out a few different types of podcasts to see which holds your attention while you're running and working out.[9]
- Podcasts exist on nearly every topic imaginable. Check the iTunes store, or look to find podcasts that stream online.
- Try audiobooks if reading while running is a challenge. Some people love to read while jogging on a treadmill, while others find it too difficult to keep their place and focus on the page. Audiobooks are a great alternative, especially if you're running for longer stretches of time.
- You can stop at a cliffhanger in an engrossing novel, and you'll be eager to pick up where you left off during your next treadmill session!
- Download audiobook files to your phone or tablet, or use a portable CD player.
EditEnjoying Visual Entertainment - Watch a sitcom for short, fast runs. If you're planning a fast-paced run, you'll need to find a show that keeps your attention. Sitcoms are useful to watch since their plots are brief and self-contained, and you don't have to watch each episode in sequential order. Watching a sitcom or short, light drama is a great way to keep your mind distracted so you can jog for a few miles on the treadmill.[10]
- For a fast-paced run, try a sitcom with 30-minute episodes like Friends, How I Met Your Mother, or Modern Family.
- Select a dramatic TV show for longer, slower runs. For a long-distance workout, look for an engrossing drama or other hour-long show. The length of the episodes will force you to run for 45 minutes to an hour, and the show's plot will take your mind off of the difficulty of the workout.[11]
- Try attention-grabbing dramas like Game of Thrones, The Crown, or Grey's Anatomy.
- Make a fun game out of watching other people at your gym. If you're tired of electronic media, try people-watching instead. Play variations of counting games during every workout. For example, count the number of people wearing a certain brand of athletic shoes throughout your workout.[12]
- Or, count the number of people wearing a specific shirt color. Keep track and try to beat your record the next time you're at the gym.
- When watching TV on the treadmill, experiment with different genres of TV to see what works best for you. If watching a dramatic reality show doesn't hold your interest on the treadmill, try watching a horror show or high-stakes thriller instead.
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| How to Stop Your Shoes from Squeaking Posted: 10 May 2018 09:00 AM PDT Squeaky shoes can be embarrassing and annoying. The squeaking noises can be caused by the bottoms of the shoes, the insoles that are inside of the shoes, or the outer parts of the shoes. Fortunately, regardless of where the squeaking is coming from, you can usually fix the problem yourself right at home. EditQuick Summary To stop the insoles in your shoes from squeaking, take them out and sprinkle baby powder underneath them. If it's the bottoms of your shoes that are squeaking, rub them with a dryer sheet so they're not as slick. If it's the outer parts of your shoes that are squeaking, try lubricating them with a shoe conditioning oil or hanging them up somewhere to dry. For more ways to stop your shoes from squeaking, like using coconut oil or sandpaper, read on! EditFixing Squeaky Insoles - Sprinkle baby powder underneath the insoles in your shoes. If your insoles are moving around a lot when you're walking, that could be why your shoes are making squeaking noises. Pull out the insoles, sprinkle some baby powder inside of your shoes, and then put the insoles back in. The baby powder will help reduce the friction between your insoles and shoes so they don't squeak as much.[1]
- If you don't have baby powder, you can use talcum powder or cornstarch instead.
- If your shoes don't have removable insoles, sprinkle the baby powder along the seams of the insoles instead of underneath them.
- Try putting paper towels underneath the insoles. Fold 2 paper towels so they're small enough to fit inside your shoes and then slip them underneath the insoles. Putting a paper towel underneath your insoles will help prevent them from moving around and squeaking as much when you're walking.[2]
- If you don't have paper towels available, try using napkins or dryer sheets instead.
- You may want to change out the paper towels after you wear your shoes a few times so they don't start to smell.
- Apply coconut oil under the insoles if your shoes are still squeaking. Remove the insoles and rub coconut oil on the bottom of the inside of your shoes. Then, reinsert the insoles. Coconut oil can help lubricate your insoles so they're less likely to squeak when they move around.[3]
- You only need to apply a thin layer of coconut oil to your shoes.
- You may need to reapply the oil if your shoes start squeaking again later on.
EditStopping Shoe Bottoms from Squeaking - Rub the bottoms of your shoes with a dryer sheet. If your shoes squeak when you walk on smooth surfaces like tile or hardwood floors, it could be because the bottoms are too slick. Go over the bottoms a few times with a dryer sheet to make them less slick so they don't squeak as much.[4]
- You may need to rub the bottoms of your shoes with a dryer sheet every few times you wear them so they don't start squeaking again.
- Try roughing up the bottoms of your shoes with sandpaper. Gently go over the bottoms with a piece of fine sandpaper until they feel slightly rough to the touch. Sandpaper can make the bottoms of your shoes less smooth and polished so they don't squeak as much when you walk around in them.[5]
- You can find fine sandpaper online or at your local hardware store.
- Make sure you use a fine sandpaper that's 120-220 grit so you don't scratch up your shoes too much.
- Use super glue to reattach the bottoms of your shoes if they're loose. If there is a gap between the bottom and the upper part of one of your shoes, fill in the gap with super glue and then clamp it down until the glue dries. Loose shoe bottoms can also cause squeaking noises when you walk, so reattaching them may solve the problem.[6]
- If you don't have clamps, try setting something heavy on your shoe or wrapping rubber bands around it to hold the bottom and upper part of the shoe in place.
- Let the super glue dry for 24 hours before wearing your shoes.
EditFixing Squeaking on the Outside of Shoes - Apply a conditioning oil to your shoes if the outsides are squeaking. Sometimes, shoes squeak because the material on the outside of the shoes rubs together. If you notice the outsides of your shoes squeaking every time you take a step, try rubbing a conditioning oil into the outer parts of the shoes so they're lubricated and less likely to squeak.[7]
- Make sure you use a conditioning oil designed for your shoe type. For example, if your shoes are made out of leather, you'll want to use a leather conditioning oil.
- Keep in mind that the conditioning oil will fade over time. If your shoes start to squeak again, reapply the oil.
- You can find conditioning oil online or at your local shoe store.
- Put saddle soap on the tongues if the squeaking is coming from the laces. Saddle soap is a conditioning cream that can be used to lubricate shoes. If the tongues on your shoes are rubbing against the laces and making squeaking noises, rub saddle soap onto the front side of the tongues to make the squeaking stop.[8]
- You can order saddle soap online. If you don't want to order saddle soap, try applying a conditioning oil to the tongues instead.
- You may need to reapply the saddle soap after the first application wears off.
- Try drying your shoes if moisture is causing the squeaking. Moisture trapped inside of shoes can cause them to squeak. There are a couple of ways you can dry out your shoes so they don't squeak anymore, including:[9]
- Hanging them in a dry, warm location. A laundry room or a spot near a fireplace are both good places you can hang your shoes to dry.
- Stuffing them with newspaper. Newspaper will absorb any moisture that's in your shoes. Tightly stuff your shoes with crumpled balls of newspaper and leave them in a warm, dry place overnight.
EditThings You'll Need EditFixing Squeaky Insoles - Baby powder
- Paper towels
- Coconut oil
EditStopping Shoe Bottoms from Squeaking - Dryer sheets
- Sandpaper
- Super glue
- Clamp
EditFixing Squeaking on the Outside of Shoes - Conditioning oil
- Saddle soap
- Newspaper
EditRelated wikiHows EditSources and Citations
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