Health & Beauty - December 2014

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© Lisa Wyman

Ding dong

I love the sound of bells. The joyful peals coming from a church announcing a wedding or other ceremonial occasion sound fabulous floating on the air around the village letting local people know something is happening.  It makes me very sad to hear about villages where the bells have been banned due to health and safety issues.  Where is the joy in that?

A bell being rung doesn’t only happen on land it also happens at sea!  Signalling, keeping time or warning other vessels are traditional uses for bells on ships. Plenty of bells would have been rung around Dartmouth over the centuries to warn ships of danger.

Bells tinkling above the shop door would let a shopkeeper know a customer was entering – back in the days when people lived behind or ‘over’ the shop.  Now we rarely hear that iconic sound unless we are watching a period drama on the TV.  A bell on the reception desk at a hotel summons the clerk to book you in.  A bell is rung to open the stock market each day on Wall Street.   Bells carry a weight that a buzzer lacks.

Bells are pretty important around Christmas time too.  I wonder if the bells on the harnesses of the reindeer are there to act as a warning to other sky born creatures.  After all, Santa wants to slip down the chimney, eat the cookies, drink the milk and slip away again without waking the children up, so why the jingling bells?

Those delightful bells that can be heard along with the light thud of the sleigh settling on the roof are the happy hopeful noise a child longs to hear which is why they stay awake so late on Christmas Eve … Every film made about Christmas time has an undercurrent of bells running through the soundtrack for added joy and poignancy. Carols often have a reference to bells. 

Singing ‘Ding Dong’ is just a way of verbalising bells that are announcing something wonderful.  In this case that the sky is full of angels singing and that is officially wonderful!

All the traditional Christmas songs have bells in the background, from the most sophisticated to the schmaltziest.  Even hardened rock stars get sentimental at Christmas and throw in a few peals to soften their hard core philosophies. It’s a reminder that excitement is round the corner.  But I can’t help but wonder if we need a reminder of what Christmas is really about?

I am willing to bet that the majority of people turning up for Midnight Mass only go to church at that time of year and then under the influence of too much mulled wine.  I hope I am wrong and would be delighted to lose the bet.

Am I right in thinking some people celebrate this festive period without having the slightest religious thought?

The Christmas Story is a fantastic one and must not be forgotten in the rush to buy presents and overindulge in a way that our ancestors would find scandalous.

Yes, it’s true The Three Wise men brought presents to the stable, but they were symbols and portents of what was to come.  Gold, of course, was the symbol for Kingship on earth and was a traditional gift for royalty.   Frankincense was a fragrant gum that was burnt as an offering to God so this acknowledged they recognised him as the son of God.  Did you know that Myrrh is scented oil used to anoint dead bodies?  This was to show that the journey Jesus had ahead of him was a foregone conclusion, or so it is said … The three kings did not come laden with pointless bits of rubbish that would be discarded before lunch.

I can hear you thinking how has this got anything to do with health and beauty?  How on earth will she get to the part where she is going to bang on about not eating too much (again) and counting glasses of champagne by keeping a tally on our arms with lip liner?

Aha! This year I am going to talk about the gifts from the three kings and the fact that even then, way back when, oil was a top seller and a beauty product!  Yes, that’s true. 

Frankincense was a perfume (in a resin like form) and, when perfume first started its journey to the sugary sweet sprays we use to today, the scent was blended in oil which acted as the carrier that allowed perfume to stay on your body.  When the Egyptians were building the pyramids their wages included a measure of oil each day that they applied all over their body to act as protection and to moisturise the skin so it did not become uncomfortably dry under the sun’s rays.

On the whole, we are distrustful of oils today and the idea of using them brings to mind tanning, greasy hair, oily patches on our faces and make-up that separates.  Oil-free was the catch phrase for some time until it came full circle and now products containing oils are head line news. 

Where the oil comes from is a much used marketing tool.  If the oil can come from an exotic land and be harvested in a quirky way it gets bigger attention in the press than say regular olive oil. 

Argan oil used for centuries by women in Morocco has now reached our shores.  It is a great source of Vitamin E and antioxidants and is fantastic for skin, hair and nails.

The truth is that oil is best for those with dry to severely dry skin or hair.  The application of it to the hair will replenish natural emollients, protect the hair from the sun’s damaging rays and repair the follicles to increase elasticity and shine. 

Coconut oil is very fashionable now with people making all kinds of claims about its potential.  Coconut is antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal.  It contains monolaurins and is naturally antiseptic so makes a great addition to any soap or body wash.  Massage coconut oil over your body BEFORE a shower and take advantage of its ability to remove dead skin with its lauric acid.  This fatty acid gently removes impurities without drying out the skin. Apply again after the shower to lock in moisture and ward off bacteria.

A great treat for your hair to make it super shiny just in time for Christmas parties is to massage some coconut oil onto your scalp and leave it over night.  In the morning put shampoo directly onto the scalp and massage in well to break down the oil before using water to rinse it away.

A dull fact about Christmas is that present wrapping is drying to your hands as paper steals moisture from them AND all the extra washing up and food preparation means more time for your hands to be in water.  It’s a disaster!  These are drying times not only to the skin but also the nails.  Find a coconut based hand cream and apply as often as you can.  Rub some into your cuticles and nails if you can find the strength.

Here’s wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy Trails for the New Year.

First published By The Dart December 2014