Massage Oils

Our therapeutic organic massage oils not only smell great but they have been formulated with essential oil blends that are highly analgesic (pain relieving) and anti-inflammatory, plus they have additional herbal extracts, like calendula and arnica, to relax and heal injured tissues. They also feature a blend of several different moisturizing base oils to leave your skin absolutely glowing. Our massage oils come in two different delicious scents, lavender + lemongrass and ruby red grapefruit + chamomile.

Amethystine is my homage to the PNW with lavender, cedarwood, and Doug Fir. It's listed as a body oil due to its delightful fragrance but can also be used as a massage oil or bath oil too! You can use the massage oils similarly.

New additions to our Aromatherapeutics line

I've added a few additions to my line of aromatherapy inhalers and now it's a complete set of 8. Here's an overview of what each inhaler has been formulated for:

• Breathe-decongestant and allergy support
• Calm-for anxiety and panic attacks
• Clarity-for mental focus and energy
• Control-for cravings and addiction to sugar, nicotine, drugs and alcohol
• Joy- for depression
• Relief- for headaches and migraines
• Serene- for anxiety and stress
• Soothe- for nausea, morning sickness, and hangovers

I've worked very hard on all of these formulas to ensure that they are truly effective tools to help with a wide variety of issues. My inhalers are some of my most popular products! Thanks for your support!

Announcing the Rose + Cacao Collection

Our Rose + Cacao Collection has launched, and is available on our website. I've worked so hard on this collection and can't wait to share it with you! Please feel free to repost this image to share it with friends. If you are chocolate lover, looking for the perfect Valentine's gift, or just want to treat yourself, we have lots of amazing offerings!

This collection contains two cacao absolute perfumes, Cupcake and La Vie en Rose, a decadent vegan brown sugar and pink Himalayan body scrub that smells exactly like a fudge brownie, a Triple Chocolate Whipped Body Butter, and an aphrodisiac cacao, rose geranium, and vanilla massage oil. Everything is ridiculously delicious and made from the highest quality organic essential oils and materials with lots of love!

In Appreciation of the Classic Shave

While the contemporary trend in men’s shaving products may be for 3, 4 and 5 blade razors (where the blades cost more than the razor itself), and aerosolized shave gels, we at Momoko Therapeutics think that men’s shaving is one area where modern technology is outclassed by the past. Whether straight razor or dual-sided safety razor, there’s nothing quite like the classic shave. We salute this men’s ritual and wish to promote it with products that make for a great experience, nourish the skin, and smell fantastic.

The core of our men’s grooming line consists of our Cypress Shave Oil and Bay Rum Aftershave.

Cypress Shave Oil

A shave oil is not something you would typically find on your drugstore shelf, but it is intended to be used in place of shaving creams, gels, or soaps, and lubricates the skin for a smooth and close shave.  One of our product testers had this to say:

“Honestly, this is amazing. The first time I tried this, I had skipped shaving for a few days – which normally makes for a painful shave, but this was entirely pain-free! I feel like I am getting a closer shave than I ever have with a classic safety razor, and my skin feels so smooth afterwards. I use a standard Merkur razor to shave my face and head, and I am now using this exclusively.  Previously, I had been alternating between shave soaps applied with a brush and different natural shaving lotions, and this is better than anything I’ve tried before.  Between the shave oil and the aftershave, I actually look forward to shaving.”

Our shave oil is beneficial in two primary ways: lubrication when shaving, and nourishing the skin. Unlike shave lotions or soaps, the shave oil involves a very thin but highly viscous layer between the blade and the skin, which results in a closer but smoother shave than you would get with lotions or soaps. The nature of the oil also means it is not wiped away on the first pass of a razor – so you get consistent lubrication of the blade on multiple passes, without reapplication.  We use a targeted blend of quality organic oils in this product, including: extra virgin olive oil, jojoba oil, rosehip seed oil, meadowfoam oil, vitamin e oil, and seabuckthorn extract.  This combination is not only mechanically functional for a great shaving experience, but it is designed to be nourishing and healing to the skin. The oils in this blend promote both hydration of the skin and reduction of inflammation.

We also believe that even though a product is therapeutic and functional, it can still smell great.  We use organic Australian blue cypress essential oil in this product to round out its masculine, pleasant, and complex scent with notes of woodsiness and smoke.

Bay Rum Aftershave

Aftershave has been documented as far back as Roman history, and Bay Rum aftershaves are documented in 19th century literature – which truly puts the classic in “classic shave.” Our Bay Rum Aftershave starts with the rum, and we have carefully selected a dark Jamaican Rum to serve as the basis for our aftershave (the selection process was a pleasant experience, as we drank all of the runners up).  For the Bay, we use a very high quality essential oil of the West Indies Bay tree (Pimenta racemosa).

Like all of our skin products, the Bay Rum Aftershave is both therapeutic and has a great scent. In addition to the rum, which is antiseptic and refreshing on skin contact, witch hazel and hyaluronic acid tighten pores and improve the texture of skin, while glycerin provides moisture.  We have a deep fondness for the Caribbean islands and drew on that inspiration to compile a wonderful scent.  The rich complexity of the dark rum mixes with essential oils of sweet orange, West Indian Bay, cardamom, cinnamon, and the slightest bit of clove to develop an aroma mixing citrus and spice with a remarkably masculine presentation.

Loki Cologne Spray

In addition to our shave oil and aftershave, our current men’s grooming line rounds out with our cologne spray: Loki. Named for the Norse trickster god, this cologne is a light, playful, and masculine scent with notes of smoke, citrus, and forest. Essential oils of vetiver and multiple tree oils mix with lime in an intoxicating fashion.  Unlike many colognes, our cologne spray is light and not overpowering. It is the perfect finishing complement to the Momoko Therapeutics shave experience.

Article on Essential Oils and Norovirus

Here is some interesting information about essential oil effectiveness against norovirus, the gastrointestinal virus that is highly contagious and has been sweeping the country as of late.

The effect of essential oils on norovirus surrogates

Essential oils (EOs) have long been applied as flavoring agents in foods, and due to their content in antimicrobial compounds, they have potential as natural agents for food preservation. In this study the effect of three EOs, clove, oregano and zataria, was evaluated on the infectivity of norovirus surrogates, i.e. feline calicivirus (FCV) and murine norovirus (MNV). Different concentrations of EOs were individually mixed with each virus at titers of ca. 7–8 log TCID50/ml and incubated for 2 h at 4 °C and 37 °C. The infectivity of the recovered viruses after triplicate treatments was evaluated by cell-culture assays. 2% of oregano EO at 37 °C decreased the FCV titers by 3.75 log TCID50/ml, with decreasing effects at lower concentrations, and also decreased MNV titers by 1.04–1.62 log TCID50/ml, with respect to the concentration used. Clove and zataria EO effects on FCV showed similar trends in titer reductions to those obtained with oregano EO, achieving the maximum titer reduction when FCV was treated at 37 °C with 0.1% of zataria EO. These results represent a step forward in the understanding of EOs as antimicrobials and their possible application in the food industry as alternative natural compounds to reduce viral contamination and, therefore enhancing food safety. Effects of essential oils were evaluated on Norovirus surrogates. Oregano EO was quite efficient on inactivating MNV and FCV. Zataria EO at 0.1% gave the maximum reduction on FCV infectivity.

Source:
 Elizaquívela, P., Azizkhanib, M., Aznara, R, and Sanchez, G.
 a Department of Microbiology and Ecology, University of Valencia, Spain
 b Department of Food Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Iran
 c Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA), Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Spain