The 8 Ball: Nadine Artemis
NADINE ARTEMIS: From her oils and serums to her herbal shampoo and conditioner, Living Libation's Nadine Artemis has us hooked on plant power. Read on to learn about wise interaction with the sun and Nadine’s tips for beautiful skin.
For those who are new to essential oils, can you tell us about what makes yours so special?
Living Libations is dedicated to providing essential oils that are really real and the purist on the planet.
All brands of essential oils are not equal. Due diligence is needed if you want only really pure and authentic oils. Many distributers and marketers use terms such as “Grade A” and “therapeutic grade” to describe their oils. Yet, these are words without meaning. No organization or association monitors the purity or quality of essential oils, and there is no universal essential oil grading system in place. “Grade A rosemary oil" may not contain any rosemary at all! It may be oil components from a peppermint plant grown with fertilizer that is tinkered with in a laboratory until it smells a little bit like rosemary but is missing all the benefits provided by authentic rosemary oil. Essential oil aficionados must be aware! This is why it is so important to know your source!
Each essential oil has specific components that make it distinctive and authentic, and those components are preserved by gently handling the plant matter and careful distillation. For over 20 years we have nurtured personal relationships with artisan distillers and family farmers around the globe so that we may secure authentic oils and extracts that are purely and fairly produced. Many of the highest quality plants and flowers used in plant oils are indigenous to the developing world, and the people native to those regions learned from their families the ancient craft of distillation. We can track our oils from the plant growing in the field to the oil arriving on our doorway. We know our essential oils are real and pure because we know their provenance.
Do you have a favorite Best Skin Ever?
My favorite Best Skin Ever is the one I have on hand! I like to rotate through them throughout year. Right now I’m loving the floral aroma and quenching hydration of the rose otto essential oil in Rose Best Skin Ever.
Can you speak about oral care and the connection to overall health?
Research is demonstrating a strong correlation between poor oral health and whole body health problems, including elevated inflammation markers, gut issues, heart disease, and even brain health – such as Alzheimer’s disease. Optimal health hinges on keeping the microbiome of the mouth healthy and avoiding periodontal disease, with its early symptoms of bleeding and receding gums.
The good news is that it is easy to prevent and heal periodontal disease with botanical oils alone. Essential oils are bacteriostatic or anti-bacterial, and some oils even break up biofilm (plaque) where dangerous bacteria live. These plant gems are potent and yet gentle enough to use on the delicate gums and tongue. Frankincense, Myrrh, Seabuckthorn, Peppermint, and Rose are really beautiful for gum health. Cinnamon, Oregano, and Clove essential oils are powerful and can really break up biofilm. My own oral care routine uses a mixture of all of these oils, though if you mix just a few, your mouth will thank you.
We are so inspired by you! Can you walk us through your morning? What does your routine look like?
Our days are filled with such variety that there is rarely a routine. Yet, in more quiet times my family starts the morning by watching the sunrise over the lake together from our nest, drinking spring water, and eating breakfast. As we bring in the day, we like to call out all of the things we feel grateful for and celebrate everything that we appreciate in our lives. After breakfast, in the summer, we go for a swim in the lake and catch some sun.
Please talk to us about wise interaction with the sun. Any advice for us living in Boston dealing with harsh winters, often with very little sunny days?
The winters in Canada are often long and cloudy or snowy, so I understand what you are facing in Boston. In the winter, I am sure to eat vitamin D rich foods and apply Sundew Vitamin D Crème to keep my skin lubricated with this essential hormone.
In the sunny summer months, I enjoy long days of play in the sun to stock up on fat-soluble vitamin D made in the skin to help tide me through the winter months. We have been lobbied into a loss of sunlight, yet our interaction with the sun need not be all or none!" If we are wise, we can enjoy a healthy and happy relationship with our ancient friend, the sun. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
1. What we ingest determines how our skin responds to sunlight. The skin must be nourished internally with real food to receive the full blessing of the sun. Well-nourished skin responds better to sunlight, and an antioxidant-rich, rainbow diet of sun-grown foods, herbs, and luscious fats brimming with nutrients preps the skin for the sun.
2. Recover your skin's integrity. The skin’s outer layer is a thin coating of oils that provides natural and sun-screen protection. The integrity of this layer is damaged by soaps, scrubs, and synthetic moisturizers. (These things also disrupt vitamin D production.) Washing and moisturizing the skin with essential oil serums and botanical oils regenerates the skin's top layer.
3. Sun yourself wisely. Start slowly but surely, and start in the spring so that you may create a protective tan with phased in exposure. Melanin, the tanned-skin pigment, prevents sunburn. Melanin is our ancient biological mechanism of photo-protection designed exclusively to support our relationship with the sun. Melanin transforms 99.9% of absorbed UV radiation into heat that is easily dissipated, allowing us to sidestep radiation damage that contributes to cell damage. If your skin starts to feel warm, it is a sure sign to seek shade, because we do not want to get burned.
4. Botanical oils preserve the juiciness of your sun exposure. Plants, too, require wise interaction with the sun. Almost all plant oils offer some degree of ultraviolet protection to their own tissue – and ours. Plant oils offer a range of protection that can gracefully extend our time in the sun. Virgin coconut, jojoba, olive, and seabuckthorn applied to the skin provide a measure of sun protection. Raspberry seed oil also has potential use as a broad range sun protectant.
Tell us a favorite recipe or meal you’ve been gravitating towards recently.
In the summer and into autumn we love collecting edibles from the woods around our house. We can fill our dinner plates with fresh greens, flowers, herbs, mushrooms, and fruit. We make fresh, zingy dressing for the bounty with some luscious oil and vinegar steeped with herbs with a drop or two of an essential oil.
The one (or two) Living Libations products everyone should incorporate into their day-to-day.
Our line of Best Skin Evers are super versatile! You can wash your face and body and also moisturize with it. There is no need to rinse it off unless you want to. They are great for all skin types and for men, women, and children too – and it smells great.
Poetic Pits is also a lovely treat for the body and the nose. This line of deodorants is a sweet way to harmonize your natural scent and your sweat with the androgen-loving sandalwood essential oil. Each variety of Poetic Pits is a sensual way to charm your underarms.
How to get beautiful skin in a nutshell; what should we be doing?
In a nutshell:
1. Ditch synthetic skin care that strips the skin and banishes friendly bacteria.
2. Wash with oils.
3. Drink plenty of pure water.
4. Eat a rainbow of fresh, real food.
5. Avoid reading so-called beauty advice that prompts you to pick at, point at, or prod at your skin (or body) in a disapproving fashion. Your skin is the moist envelope of your soul, and it is amazing!
