Tristan Jade, LLC

Arnica In the News

2011-10-14T08:31:00.001-07:00

Arnica is finally making the news for it's wonderful healing properties. Here's one article from the NY Times. Another article lists arnica as an important ingredient in skin care products. It is!

The U.S. tends to be behind the curve on healthcare and natural products. It's great to see we are catching up to Europe and other areas that have been using arnica for centuries.

Usage Tip: Have baggy eyes in the morning? Feeling a little tired, puffy-faced? Just a dab of Essential Arnica under eyes will help take that away quickly while nourishing your skin.

Reminder: Tomorrow, October 15 is the last day for the Buy One Get One FREE offer. Sign up for our newsletter to get your discount coupon for the next special.

The holidays are coming. Essential Arnica makes a great stocking stuffer. Perfect for the personal trainer, massage therapist, yoga instructor, loved-ones that need a little help.

Usage Tips

2011-08-08T18:53:00.000-07:00

Some of you may be receiving our email newsletters. They contain some very useful information, background, usage ideas and more. Best of all they have codes for online shopping discounts on our products. If you are interested in signing up for our newsletter, just click here . It's simple to sign up. We are sending only a couple newsletters per month, not a lot to clog up email. Should you change your mind, it's simple to discontinue.

And now for a usage tip from a customer...

Veronica in Oregon wrote: "We now keep a bottle in our refrigerator. My husband burned his finger on the stove. He ran upstairs to get our bottle of Essential Arnica Gel. Put it on the burn and had immediate relief. What may have blistered, did not. Instant pain relief and prompt healing. Keeping the bottle in the refrigerator is imperative. The chilled aloe vera is cool on burn wounds. Our kids love it in the summer for minor sunburn too. Soothing relief and healing skin. I strongly recommend Essential Arnica Gel. It's a staple in our home!"

Receive 50% off your next 8 oz bottle by sending us your usage tip. If yours is published, we'll send you a bottle for only $8.99 (plus shipping/handling).

Topic related comments and questions are welcome!

Pain relief, naturally... fast... Essential Arnica Gel.

Using Essential Arnica Gel

2011-07-18T10:53:00.000-07:00

Initially I created Equine Arnica Gel to deal with muscle and other soft tissue soreness in horses. As the product grew in popularity so did the ways of using it. Essential Arnica Gel has proven to be even more versatile. Each week I have customers tell me of different ways they have successfully used either product. Some are rather creative. Today I'll post a couple of those. More will be discussed in the coming weeks.

Any time you exert your body such as hiking, water skiing, horseback riding etc., apply Essential Arnica Gel as soon after as possible. That night, before going to bed, apply again. Pay special attention to the muscles that were highly taxed in your activities. It's a good idea to use it the next morning and again the following night.

Why apply so often? Muscle exertion generates by-products that will linger in the muscles and joints. The toxins are flushed out quicker with Essential Arnica Gel applied directly to the area. In heavy muscle work there may be very small tears in the muscle fibers. This contributes greatly to the pain we may feel 2-3 days after the activity. Essential Arnica Gel helps these fibers heal faster, reducing pain, and getting us feeling better faster.

Please share the ways you use either product. As always, topic related comments and questions are encouraged.

Pain relief, naturally... fast... Essential Arnica Gel.

Tristan Jade Apothecary's Unique Formula

2011-07-01T12:51:00.000-07:00

Creating a line of products was never my intention as a small business owner. The development of Equine Arnica Gel and then Essential Arnica Gel came about out of customer need and repeated requests. We had contacts in the human skin care industry that encouraged and helped develop our products.

A few years ago several of my Equine Massage Therapy clients made repeated requests for me to pick up and use arnica lotion on their horses. I did this but found the products to be inadequate. The levels of arnica were very small (only 1-4%), the base ingredients were of poor quality and not conducive to absorption. The costs were rather high for these lotions.

Base ingredients are all over the board: mineral oil, menthol, witch hazel and even alcohol. None of these are very good for skin or hair (horse and human alike). Many are counter-productive to arnica absorption. Some sting or burn.

The warming and cooling illusion...
The cooling effect felt with some products is simply evaporative cooling. The element evaporates so quickly that it feels cooler, for a moment. This evaporation also takes the arnica with it. Menthol triggers cold receptors on the skin making it feel cooler but not actually reducing skin temperature. The same is true for ingredients that heat or feel warm. They trigger heat receptors giving the illusion that the area is heating up. Both heating and cooling do increase circulation very quickly but also very briefly. These ingredients may sting or burn skin that is irritated. None of these actually improve healing.

Tristan Jade Apothecary

Equine Arnica Gel was formulated in aloe vera. We wanted a base that would not sting, burn, dry out skin or damage coat. The aloe vera absorbs easily, cleanly into skin. An added benefit is the soothing properties aloe vera brings. Horses get sunburn sometimes too. Equine Arnica Gel, being based in aloe vera is soothing to burns, bug bites and mild abrasions. Plus it delivers effective arnica to relieve pain and speed up healing time. We added a touch of carrot seed oil for a calming aromatherapeutic effect for horses.

Customers who purchased Equine Arnica Gel usually tried it on themselves. People need an effective, safe pain relieving, healing product too. Demand grew for a human version. Many practitioners in the human health field wanted to use it on their patients and sell it at their practices. Thus Essential Arnica Gel was created.

Essential Arnica Gel has all the same healing ingredients as its Equine counterpart. Essential Arnica Gel is unscented. Carrot seed oil is not added to it. Our product development studies found a wide range of scents that people accepted. Ten people polled, had ten different scents that they preferred. Unscented seemed to be the best option.

Both Essential Arnica Gel and Equine Arnica Gel are formulated with 24% arnica solution in aloe vera. A touch of vitamin E was added to help prevent it from feeling sticky, help with absorption and moisturize a little. We produce all our products at an FDA approved facility located in Tempe, Arizona.

Coming up... the many uses for Essential Arnica Gel and Equine Arnica Gel.

Topic-related questions and comments are welcome!

Tristan Jade Apothecary's Unique Formula

2011-07-01T12:47:00.000-07:00

A few years ago several of my Equine Massage Therapy clients made repeated requests for me to pick up and use arnica lotion on their horses. I did this but found the products to be inadequate. The levels of arnica were very small (only 1-4%), the base ingredients were of poor quality and not conducive to absorption. The costs were rather high for these lotions.

Base ingredients are all over the board: mineral oil, menthol, witch hazel and even alcohol. None of these are very good for skin or hair (horse and human alike). Many are counter-productive to arnica absorption. Some sting or burn.

The warming and cooling effect...
The cooling effect you feel with some products is simply evaporative cooling. The element evaporates so quickly that it feels cooler, for a moment. This evaporation also takes the arnica with it. Menthol triggers cold receptors on the skin making it feel cooler but not actually reducing skin temperature. The same is true for ingredients that heat or feel warm. They trigger heat receptors giving the illusion that the area is heating up. Both heating and cooling do increase circulation very quickly but also very briefly. These ingredients may sting or burn skin that is irritated. None of these actually improve healing.

Tristan Jade Apothecary

Coming up... the many uses for Essential Arnica Gel and Equine Arnica Gel.

Topic-related questions and comments are welcome!

What is Arnica?

2011-06-17T15:58:00.004-07:00

The first thing I usually ask someone who's inquired as to what I "do for a living" is to find out if they are familiar with arnica. A few years ago, most people admitted that they had never heard of arnica. More recently about half the new people I encounter are familiar with it.

Arnica Montana, the scientific name, is also known as Leopard's Bane. This yellow daisy-like plant is harvested for the flowers which hold the key ingredients. The flowers are used either dried or fresh in topical healing solutions. Though grown in North America, it is native to Europe and parts of north Asia.

The product is infused from the flowers, much like making tea, in a variety of materials depending upon the intended use. These can be alcohol, water, oil, among others. From there it is incorporated with other ingredients to make the intended lotion, gel, wash, etc.

Okay, you know what arnica is and what it looks like. Now, what can it do for you? For centuries arnica has been widely used as a topical remedy for bruises, sprains, strains, insect bites, and any type of inflammation. The plant's properties increase circulation to the affected area. Increasing circulation helps the body heal itself. Reducing inflammation allows blood vessels, glands (especially lymph) to deliver the cells needed to heal (like white blood cells) while removing cells (such as unwanted bacteria) from the location. Our bodies are phenomenal healers, if given half a chance. Applying topical arnica products like Essential Arnica Gel quickly after injury enables the body to reduce pain and increase healing dramatically. Repeated applications keep the healing process underway.

It is much healthier to use a topical product to target the injured area rather than taking systemic remedies. Over the counter NSAIDS reduce pain and inflammation throughout the body yet may attribute to side effects such as stomach, liver and kidney problems. Why treat what isn't broken?

Arnica Montana is such a wonderful natural healing product. It is very reassuring that more and more people have heard of it and reap the rewards of using it.

Coming up next... Why Essential Arnica Gel is based in aloe vera.

Topic-related comments and questions are welcome!