DIY Women's Supporting Essential Oil Blend

DIY Menstrual Relief Essential Oil Blend

What is an essential oil? 

An essential oil is an aromatic, volatile substance found within a plant. It is extracted from a particular part of the plant, like the flower, leaf, resin, bark, root, branch, seed or fruit. Within these oils, hundreds of organic constituents promote beneficial responses when applied or inhaled. Essential oils are full of different chemical compounds such as terpenes that are in part responsible for the aromatic and 'healing' properties of essential oils. 

    So we know that our largest organ is the skin, and whatever we put on our skin to some extent will be absorbed into our body, it actually provides direct absorption into our bloodstream! This is why it would make sense that essential oils used externally and topically can have therapeutic effects! 

    In today's blog, I will be sharing with you my women's supporting essential oil and also sharing specific studies about essential oil blends that have been shown to reduce menstrual pain in women.

    This blend came about when I was getting more into the therapeutic uses of essential oils (apart from diffusing) I remember a coworker told me she used lavender topically to reduce menstrual pain and I was like what!

    Having a background in nutrition and supplementation, I am pretty well versed in different ways to prevent and reduce menstrual pain such as taking magnesium, b vitamins (especially B6 Pyridoxine and B3 Niacin), fish oil, flax, evening primrose, eliminating dairy and so on, but I had never heard of using lavender topically.

    It turns out many essential oils in addition to mood supporting benefits have analgesic (pain reducing), antispasmodic (spasm relaxing), anti-inflammatory properties. Some even are said to act as phytoestrogens which help to regulate estrogen in our bodies. Knowing this it makes perfect sense and essential oil could help regulate menstrual pain. Also, menstrual essential oil blends are massaged into the pelvis which can be significant as massaging is relaxing, increases circulation, and may decrease cramps.

There also some studies that back this up

One study said "The level of menstrual pain was assessed 24 hours later. The results found that the reduction of menstrual pain was significantly higher in the aromatherapy group than in the acetaminophen group" In this study, a blend of clary sage, marjoram, cinnamon, ginger, and geranium in a base of almond oil was used. The girls were massaged once and at 24 hours the pain was compared to the acetaminophen group (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21949670) 

In another study "female nursing students who massaged their pelvic area with a blend of lavender, cinnamon, clove and rose essential oils in a base of sweet almond oil for 10 minutes once per day throughout their premenstrual week experienced less cramp pain and menstrual bleeding once their period arrived. ….To make the blend used in the study, mix 1.5 drops of cinnamon, 1.5 drops of clove, 1 drop of rose and 1 drop of lavender into 95 drops of sweet almond oil."

(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24802524)

    I made 'my' blend before I even started looking at studies. I researched the essential oils usually used in menstrual blends and added more or less of specific essential oils based on the smells I preferred and the sensation I wanted. I basically winged it! You'll notice that many of these herbs have similar properties, such as being

analgesic- acting to relieve pain
antispasmodic- used to relieve spasm of involuntary muscle

anti-inflammatory- used to reduce inflammation

nervine relaxant herbs- herbs that specifically help support the nervous system 

vasodilator- something that promotes the dilatation of blood vessels

emmenagogue- stimulates menstrual blood flow

Temilife Women's Supporting Essential Oil Blend

• 2 oz of carrier oil 
• Avocado Oil, Fractionated Coconut Oil, Jojoba Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Apricot Kernel Oil are all good choices
• 8 drops Clary Sage
• known as the 'woman's oil', calming & relaxing, antispasmodic, analgesic, acts as a phytoestrogen (helps to regulate estrogen/hormones in the body), a nervine herb
• 8 drops Sweet Majoram
• vasodilator/ emmenagogue, analgesic, vasodilator, anti-inflammatory, nervine
• 6 drops Ylang Ylang
• antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, nervine, mood supporting
• 4 drops Rose Geranium
• anti-inflammatory, analgesic, mood supporting "phytoestrogenic"/hormone balancing
• 4 drops Lavender
• analgesic, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, adaptogenic, nervine FYI: Lavender is excellent for burns studies actually show it help speed wound recovery (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4880962/)
• 2 drops Cinnamon Cassia
• antibacterial/fungal/viral/septic/parasitic, analgesic, antispasmodic
• 2 drops Peppermint
• analgesic, anti-inflammatory, uplifting 

Make sure to properly dilute your essential oil blends, they are potent oils! This AuraCacia Dilution guide is helpful!

Here also some other Essential oil blends to use during your period 
12 drops Geranium, 6 drops Ylang Ylang, 4 drops Clary Sage to 1oz Carrier Oil

6 Drops Roman Chamomile, 3 drops Geranium, 2 drops Lavender, 3 drops Ylang Ylang, 2 drops Bergamont to 1oz carrier oil

Check out my youtube video! In this video I show the process I use to make blends, it also features my favorite essential oil brands!

 

I hope you enjoyed this post! Do you have any other essential oil 'remedies'?

If so please share in the comments!

Thank You for reading!

-Temilife