Hello Green Beauty

Essential Oil Profile: Ginger

Latin Name: Zingiber officinale

Plant Family: Zingiberaceae
Plant Part Used: Rhizomes
Extraction Method: Steam distillation
Scent: Warm, spicy and woody
Color: Pale yellow to dark amber
Viscosity: Thin
Shelf Life: 6 years
Max Dermal Use Level: 4%
Notes (Perfume): Base (to Middle)
Phototoxic: Yes (very low level)
Safe for Kids: No
Safe for Pregnancy: Yes
Safe for Breastfeeding: Yes
Has GRAS Status: Yes
Chemical Families: sesquiterpenes, monoterpenes, monoterpenols
Primary Chemical Constituents: alpha zingiberene, beta bisabolene, beta sesquiphellandrene, germacrene D isomer, camphene
Blends well with:

(Worwood, 2016, p. 592)

bay (West Indian), bergamot, black pepper, cardamom, cistus, clove bud, coriander seed, cypress, frankincense, geranium, grapefruit, immortelle, jasmine, juniper berry, lemon, lime, mandarin, marjoram (sweet), niaouli, orange (sweet), palmarosa, patchouli, petitgrain, plai, rosalina, rose maroc, rosemary, rose otto, sandalwood, spearmint, turmeric, vanilla, vetiver, ylang ylang

General Information

Ginger essential oil is extracted using steam distillation from the root (rhizome) of the perennial herb Zingiber officinale, which is better known as ginger. Ginger is native to China, India and Southeast Asian countries where it is often used as spice and medicine. In traditional Chinese medicine, ginger is often used to treat digestive, respiratory and circulation problems.

Currently, India and China are the leading producer and exporter of ginger essential oil. Ginger CO2 extracts are also available and have closer chemical composition to the actual plant as compared to the steam distilled essential oil.

Some in vitro studies showed that ginger essential oil has anticancer activity against certain types of cancer, specifically prostate and lung cancer (Tisserand & Young, 2014).

Therapeutic Properties

(Worwood, 2016, p. 592)

Analgesic – reduces pain sensation
Antiseptic – prevents and kills microorganisms which include bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoa
Antispasmodic – relieves muscle spasms
Antitussive – relieves cough
Carminative – has calming (sedative) effect
Circulatory - promotes flow of blood and lymph
Expectorant – promotes removal of mucus from the body
Febrifuge – anti-fever agent
Fortifying – strengthen the immune system
Pectoral – beneficial for diseases or conditions of the chest and respiratory system
Stimulant – increases alertness and energy
Stomachic – promotes appetite and aids digestion
Thermogenic – stimulates heat production

Uses and Benefits

Help Improve Digestion

If you are experiencing digestion problems like constipation or stomach spasm, you can create a massage oil with ginger essential oil and rub it onto your stomach.

Relieve Joint and Muscle Pain

Ginger essential oil can also be used as natural painkiller. Its warming properties help improve blood circulation and reduce pain. It is an ideal remedy to treat sore muscles, arthritis, rheumatism and menstrual cramp. You can incorporate ginger essential oil to your favorite pain relief massage oil or balm.

Relieve Nausea

If you experience nausea due to pregnancy (e.g. morning sickness), motion sickness (while travelling) or migraine, then adding a few drops of ginger essential oil to your diffuser can help reduce nausea.

Treat Symptoms of Cold and Flu

Ginger essential oil is a great way to treat common symptoms of cold and flu such as cough, sore throat, nasal congestion and mild fever. You can make a vapor rub or an inhaler blend using a combination of ginger, peppermint and eucalyptus essential oils.

Disinfect the Room

Using ginger essential oil in room spray will not only add an energizing aroma to your house, it can also cleanse the air, thanks to its antiseptic properties. Ginger essential oil blends well with citrus (e.g. sweet orange) and spicy (e.g. black pepper) oils.

Skin Care

Ginger essential oil has an ability to prevent and fight pimple-causing bacteria, so you can combine it with lavender or tea tree essential oil to create a facial serum for people with oily and/or acne-prone skin.

Hair Care

Ginger essential oil can stimulate hair growth by improving blood circulation to the scalp. The antiseptic properties of ginger oil can also help treat dandruff problems. Create your own hair tonic by mixing ginger essential oil with carrier oils that are good for the hair like avocado, jojoba and argan oil.

Safety Information

No known contraindication with any medical drugs, procedures and conditions.
Has been given GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status by US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This means that it is safe for ingestion (depending on the safe dosage). It is highly recommended to consult first a health professional before ingesting any essential oil.
Ginger essential oil has low level of phototoxicity but its phototoxic effects are not considered significant. (Tisserand & Young, 2014). As a precaution, it is suggested to avoid direct sunlight or use a sunscreen when using ginger essential oil topically.

References:

Ginger Essential Oil Information. Retrieved from https://essentialoils.co.za/essential-oils/ginger.htm

Organic Ginger Essential Oil. Retrieved from https://anandaessentialoils.com/product/ginger-organic-essential-oil/

Tisserand, R. and Young, R. (2014). Essential Oil Safety (2nd ed.). London: Elsevier.

Worwood, V.A. (2016). The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy. Novato, CA: New World Library.

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, by Hello Green Beauty

In Essential Oil,

Know the Difference: Essential Oil VS CO2 Extract VS Absolute VS Hydrosol

If you have just started your aromatherapy journey, then most probably you are only familiar with essential oils. However, did you know that there are other aromatic plant extracts besides essential oils? I’m talking about Absolutes, CO2 Extracts and Hydrosols. These plant extracts also have benefits akin to essential oils and might have their own distinct characteristics not found on essential oils.

Let’s get to know in details the differences between essential oil, CO2 extract, absolute and hydrosol.

ESSENTIAL OIL

Essential oils refer to highly concentrated volatile oils that are extracted from plant materials (e.g. flowers, leaves, fruits, etc.) either by steam distillation or mechanical expression. “Volatile” means that the essential oil will easily evaporate at room temperature when exposed to air for a long time. Each essential oil has its own unique chemical constituents which contribute to its therapeutic properties. Compared to absolutes and CO2 extracts, essential oils contain smaller and lighter molecules, that’s why they can be absorbed more quickly into the body.

There are two methods to extract essential oils: steam distillation and mechanical expression.

Mechanical Expression

Mechanical expression is often used to extract essential oils from the rinds (peels) of citrus fruits. In this method, the citrus fruits are subjected to high mechanical pressure (e.g. piercing the fruit peels) in order to extract the essential oils. Because there is no heat involved during extraction, mechanical expression is also often called as “cold pressed” method.

Essential oils produced via mechanical expression have more intense scent than the distilled versions. However, citrus-based essential oils extracted using this method usually also contain furanocoumarins – a non-volatile chemical compound responsible for causing phototoxicity in citrus essential oils (e.g. lemon, bergamot, etc.).

Steam Distillation

Steam distillation is the most common method of extracting essential oils from plant materials. The practice of steam distillation dates back thousands of years in order to make aromatic waters used in ancient perfumery. The process involves using low pressure steam to extract essential oil from plants. Compared to other plant extraction methods (e.g. solvent extraction), steam distillation has lower production cost, easier process and doesn’t use any chemical solvents.

If you are a fan of citrus essential oils, then it’s highly recommended that you choose the steam distilled version over the cold pressed since it doesn’t contain the phototoxic compound furanocoumarins.

HYDROSOL

There are two products produced during the steam distillation process: essential oil and hydrosol. Hydrosols, also known as hydrolats or flower waters, contain aromatic compounds from plant materials that are water soluble. Compared to essential oils, hydrosols have subtle fragrance and more gentle to the skin. In fact, unlike essential oils which can cause skin sensitization when applied pure on the skin, hydrosols can be sprayed directly on the skin without the need for dilution.

In cosmetic formulation, hydrosols are ideal to be used when formulating facial toners since they’re already water soluble so you don’t need to use a solubilizer, plus they’re very gentle to the facial skin. Hydrosols are also perfect for linen spray because they can add a subtle hint of fragrance without staining your linens (which can be a problem for some essential oils). Take note also that since hydrosols are water-based, they basically have shorter shelf life than essential oils.

ABSOLUTE

There are some aromatic compounds that cannot be extracted via steam distillation (e.g. plant materials that are heat-sensitive). In this case, a solvent is used to extract the aromatic compounds from the plant materials. For absolutes, the solvent used is called hexane – a colorless liquid that is derived from petroleum. The process involves soaking the botanicals in hexane to extract the fragrant molecules which are later separated from the solvent to produce the absolutes.

Compared to essential oils, absolutes have more intense fragrance, thanks to their high concentration of heavier, non-volatile (non-evaporating) aromatic molecules which also contribute to their thicker consistency. Due to their long lasting scent, absolutes are also more preferred ingredients in making perfumes.

Despite their popularity in perfumery, there are some people who don’t like to use absolutes since there could be traces (very tiny amount) of hexane remain in the plant extracts. Absolutes are also more expensive than essential oils.

CO2 EXTRACT

Another type of aromatic plant extracts that are obtained by solvent extraction is the CO2 extracts. Unlike absolutes that use hexane as solvent, CO2 extracts use carbon dioxide. You might ask, CO2 is a gas, so how could it possibly be used as a solvent? With a specific pressure and temperature, the carbon dioxide can be transformed into a “supercritical” state – which is the fluid (liquid) state of CO2. The liquid carbon dioxide is then used to extract the aromatic compounds from the plant materials. After the extraction process, the liquid CO2 is brought back to its gaseous state, so what remains is the CO2 extracts.

Carbon dioxide extraction is the most expensive plant extraction method but it produces the highest quality of aromatic extracts compared to steam distillation. Unlike absolutes, there are no traces of CO2 remain after the extraction process so CO2 extracts are completely safe and natural. CO2 extracts also have longer shelf life than essential oils and absolutes.

The chemical constituents of CO2 extracts are also quite different from essential oils as they also contain heavier aromatic molecules that cannot be extracted by steam distillation. For example, ginger CO2 extract contains the molecules gingerol – a chemical compound found in fresh ginger, which is not present in ginger essential oil. CO2 extracts are said to have closer chemical composition of the original plant.

There are two types of CO2 extracts: CO2 Select and CO2 Total.

CO2 Selects use lower pressure to extract volatile CO2 soluble aromatic compounds. Consistency wise, CO2 selects are quite similar to essential oils. On the other hand, CO2 Totals are extracted using higher pressure and contain both volatile and non-volatile CO2 soluble aromatic compounds. Moreover, CO2 totals have thicker consistency since they also contain heavier molecules like waxes and resins.

References:

A Beginner’s Guide to Essential Oils Part 1: Essential Oil Extraction. Retrieved from https://tisserandinstitute.org/beginners-guide-essential-oils-part-1-essential-oil-extraction/

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, by Hello Green Beauty

In Healthy Eating,

Banana Chief’s Giant Banana Chips – The Healthy Banana Chips

One of the most popular Filipino "pasalubong" (souvenir) items that even foreigners love is banana chips – also known as plantain chips. They're sweet, crunchy and so addicting that I can even finish a pack or two in just one sitting. However, it's a fact that most banana chips sold in the market are not the healthiest snacks you can munch since they're loaded with lots of sugar.

Fortunately, there is a new local brand of banana chips that has no sugar added. You might wonder, “how can banana chips become sweet without sugar?”. Banana Chief’s Giant Banana Chips made it possible by deep frying giant saba in coconut oil, giving the chips their natural sweet and nutty taste without the addition of sugar. They also use high quality giant saba from Zamboanga which contributes to the bigger size of the banana chips.

If you get tired with plain old banana chips, Banana Chief's came up with the following exciting flavors:

Ripe - this variant doesn’t have any sugar glaze added, its sweetness is naturally derived from the ripeness of the bananas used in making the chips
Salted - if you love potato chips, then you will definitely love this lightly salted banana chips made from unripe saba
Pinoy BBQ - unripe saba chips with smoky BBQ flavor
Milk Chocolate-Covered - sweet banana chips covered in Theo & Philo milk chocolate
Dark Chocolate-Covered - bittersweet banana chips covered in Theo & Philo 65% dark chocolate

A box of Banana Chief’s Giant Banana Chips is sold in the price range of Php 195 to Php 330 (depending on the variant) and can be bought from the following stores:

Banana Chief’s Online Shop
Friends and Family - High Street, BGC
Go Lokal - Makati, NAIA Terminal 3 and Cebu
Providore - SM Aura Taguig
Real Food - BGC Taguig and Alabang
The Green Company - San Juan and Pasig
The Trading Post - One Bonifacio Mall (BGC)
Vegan Grocer - BGC Taguig and Alabang

The brand is also currently holding a crowdfunding campaign via The Spark Project to support the livelihood of our local Giant Saba farmers from Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte. Moreover, for every Banana Chief's Giant Banana Chips you buy, the more it will empower the lives of our local farmers and their families. Imagine, you're not just eating banana chips, you are also helping people :)

If you are interested to support their crowdfunding project, just visit their official campaign page. For a pledge (contribution) as low as Php 595, you will receive 1 box of Banana Chief's Giant Banana Chips (your choice of flavor) + 1 Banana Chief laptop sticker as your reward. A full list of their campaign rewards can also be found on their crowdfunding page.

To know more about Banana Chief's Giant Banana Chips, you can follow them at the following social media channels:

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/BananaChiefsPH

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bananachiefsph/

P.S. To always get the latest blog updates, don’t forget to follow me on Facebook.

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In Cosmetic Chemistry,

Can You Get Cancer from Cosmetic Talc Powder?

Talc powder (also known as talcum powder) has gained a bad reputation in the cosmetic industry for the past few years alongside paraben and sulphate (e.g. SLS/SLES). The controversy started when Johnson & Johnson, a major manufacturer of baby powder using talc, was involved in several lawsuits by women who claimed that their ovarian cancer was caused by daily dusting of Johnson’s baby powder on their genital area. Aside from ovarian cancer, there are also articles floating around the internet claiming that talc can also cause lung cancer. Before we dig into those issues, let me first give you more info about talc.

Talc is a natural mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate. It has the ability to absorb moisture (e.g. sweat) and reduces friction which makes it an ideal ingredient for baby powders. Talc is also a popular filler used in powder makeup due to its soft and silky texture.

In its natural form, talc may or may not contain asbestos – a mineral known to cause lung cancer. This is due to the fact that talc and asbestos are naturally occurring minerals that may be found in close proximity in the earth, which explains the potential for contamination during its mining. This means that talc itself is not carcinogenic, rather it’s the talc that is contaminated with asbestos.

The good news is that cosmetic-grade talc does not contain asbestos. Cosmetic regulating bodies have imposed stricter standards stating that talc used in cosmetic products must be free from asbestos. Bigger cosmetic brands that use talc in their products have already taken the initiative to only use asbestos-free talc. For example, Unilever assures their consumers that they only use cosmetic-grade (asbestos-free) talc in all of their personal care products. However, for small scale cosmetic manufacturers, we can’t be assured that they will always comply with regards to the use of cosmetic-grade talc in their products.

Now let’s go back to our two main issues.

Does talc powder cause lung cancer?

According to the American Cancer Society, “no increased risk of lung cancer has been reported with the use of cosmetic talcum powder”. Again, I would like to emphasize that they’re referring to cosmetic-grade talc.

You will only be susceptible to lung cancer if you are a miner working at a talc-mining site where you can be exposed to extremely large amount of talc contaminated with asbestos over a long period of time. For us consumers, this won’t be a problem since talc must be purified from any impurities (e.g. asbestos) before making its way to our cosmetics. Not to mention that when we use talc in baby powder or makeup, we don’t really inhale it in very large amount for extended period of time unlike the talc miners.

Does talc powder cause ovarian cancer?

The public concern over perineal (genital area) talc powder dusting and its relation to ovarian cancer has been a topic of debate for many years. In fact, for the past 20 years, several studies have been conducted with regards to this issue but evidences are still considered inconclusive (unproven). Some experts say that finding talc particles in ovarian cancer tissues do not necessarily mean that talc is the cause of cancer. There are many other risk factors that can cause ovarian cancer such as genetics (e.g. family history), diet and lifestyle choices. Those said factors are not even mentioned on previously conducted studies and instead just focuses on asking women participants if they use talc powder on their genital area or not. Due to limited evidences from human studies, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies the genital use of talc powder as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”. “Possibly” which means that it may or may not cause or increase the risk of having ovarian cancer. In other words, it is not yet certain whether talc powder can cause ovarian cancer.

There are still ongoing researches being conducted to find stronger evidences linking ovarian cancer to talc powder. Until a final conclusion is presented, it is a matter of personal choice whether you want to avoid applying talc powder on genital area. However, if you have an increased risk of getting ovarian cancer due to a family history of the disease, then I highly advise that you avoid using talc powder on your genital area, just to be on the safe side.

Take note that the existing research studies only mention about genital application of talc powder, which means that using talc-based powder on other parts of the body or face will not cause any harm.

Any alternatives to cosmetic talc?

If you are a cosmetic formulator and you want to make a talc-free baby powder or powder makeup formulation, then you need to use an alternative raw material that has similar properties with talc. We’re looking for powders with silky texture, very fine particle size and has oil/moisture absorption capabilities. Example of these materials are boron nitride, sericite mica, silk powder and kaolin clay.

You can also use plant-based starches like cornstarch, arrowroot powder and rice powder as alternatives to talc. However, since they are food-grade powders, they have shorter shelf life and more prone to microbial contamination. They also have larger particle size than talc so they need to be grinded prior to use in cosmetics so that they would have finer and smoother texture when applied on skin.

References:

Is talc bad for you? Retrieved from https://thebeautybrains.com/2006/09/is-talc-bad-for-you/

Perineal Talc Use and Ovarian Cancer: A Critical Review. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3621109/

Talc. Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetic-ingredients/talc

Talcum Powder and Cancer. Retrieved from https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/talcum-powder-and-cancer.html

P.S. To always get the latest blog updates, don’t forget to follow me on Facebook.

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, by Hello Green Beauty

Pages

Essential Oil Profile: Ginger

Know the Difference: Essential Oil VS CO2 Extract VS Absolute VS Hydrosol

Banana Chief’s Giant Banana Chips – The Healthy Banana Chips

Can You Get Cancer from Cosmetic Talc Powder?

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Essential Oil Profile: Ginger

Know the Difference: Essential Oil VS CO2 Extract VS Absolute VS Hydrosol

Banana Chief’s Giant Banana Chips – The Healthy Banana Chips

Can You Get Cancer from Cosmetic Talc Powder?

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