A lot of women in the world today struggle with hormonal imbalances in more ways than one. It could be in the form of PCOS, Thyroid, PMS and many others. And while the medical system helps us pin point the issue, there are very few empowering solutions or treatments available.

This dearth has caused a lot of us to take matters in our own hands and start off on this journey of holistic healing and management of our diagnosis. One such area of alternative healing is Aromatherapy and the use of Essential Oils.

 

What are Essential oils?

Essential oils are steam distilled from various different parts of plants such as leaves, roots, twigs, flowers, grass etc. These potent plant compounds much like Ayurveda have different benefits and properties. The use of these oils for mental, physical and spiritual benefits is known as Aromatherapy.

There are lots of different ways to use Essential Oils, but they can broadly be broken down into.

• Diffusion (in a ceramic diffuser or humidifier)
• Application
• Bath/ Foot Soak
• Added to Bath Water
• DIY Skincare Products
• DIY House hold cleaners

How do Essential oils work?

Inhalation

When we inhale the odor molecules of Essential oils they pass through the olfactory membrane that recognizes the smell and communicates with the limbic system and the cerebral cortex almost instantly.

The Limbic System is also known as our emotional brain. It controls emotions, memories, bodily functions like blood pressure, breathing patterns, fear responses, sensory information along with stress and hormone secretion.

 Our nervous system has two different responses, one is the relaxed response and the other is a fight or flight response.

When the body is functioning in the relaxed response all the hormones that are needed for our body to work efficiently are released. But its when we are in fight or flight that our glands start releasing cortisol and adrenaline and disrupts the required flow.

Our body does not know the difference between being chased by a tiger and our boss yelling at us, therefore every time that we are stressed our natural flow of hormones is disrupted.

A number of Essential Oils have sedative, hypotensive, cns depressant (anxiety reducers) and uplifting properties and based on the smells that personally speak to us, Aromatherapy is a fantastic way to soothe the nervous system and in turn help balance hormones.

The cerebral cortex is responsible for cognition, regulation, intellectual function, and movement and motor functions. The olfactory membrane is the first from all the other senses to send information directly to the cerebral cortex.

A number of Essential oils are cognition enhancers, cns stimulants and therefore also affect our cognition and productivity levels.

Apart from this when we inhale Essential Oils they get in touch with our sinuses, lungs and nasal passages.

As a lot of them are decongestants, antibacterials, antivirals, antifungals etc and therefore support healthy respiration.

 

Application: Harnessing the Power of Essential Oils for Hormone Balance

Essential oils based on their chemical compositions have different properties such as anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmodic, antibacterial etc and depending on what you wish to address they seep into through the skin membrane and help soothe issues.

Essential Oils are extremely potent, to give you an understanding it takes about 18 kgs of Lavender buds to distill 15 ml of Lavender Essential Oil. Therefore Essential Oils need to be diluted in carrier Oils before application. 

Carrier oils are chosen based on your skin type.

- Oily and Sensitive Skin – Golden Jojoba Oil

- Combination Skin – Apricot Oil, Grapeseed Oil

- Dry Skin – Apricot Oil, Sweet Almond Oil

Essential Oils for Balancing Hormones

As per research here are a few ideal Essential Oils for balancing Hormones.

• Clary Sage Essential Oil is known to help mimic estrogen in the body, but only when estrogen levels are low.

• Thyme Essential Oil is also known to balance progesterone levels in the body.

• Geranium Essential Oil is known to help regulate menstrual cycles, and is a favorite due its lovely calming aroma.

 

Listed below are a few DIY recipes dealing with PCOS Symptoms.

• For emotional Issues such as anger, anxiety, stress and mood swings you can use Essential Oils such as Diffuse - Lavender, Frankincense, Ylang Ylang, Geranium and Sweet Orange Essential Oil.

• For Bloating – Use a blend of Juniper Berry and Peppermint diluted in a base oil. 

• For Body Heating Up - Add a drop of Peppermint or Spearmint Essential oil in your bath water! 

• For Sugar Cravings - take a wiff of Cinnamon Essential Oil!

• For Adult Acne – In 5 ml of Aloe vera gel mix 2 drops of Juniper Berry and 2 drops of Lavender Essential oil and apply on affected area. Always mix the blend properly before use.

• For Insomnia – Diffuse some Lavender Essential Oil, Ylang Ylang or Sweet Orange Essential Oil.

• For Restlessness – Make yourself a foot soak, in bucket fill in some warm water, add a spoon of Epsom salt, 3 – 4 drops of Lavender Essential Oil and a spoon of coconut oil and dip your feet.

• For Painful Periods – In 50 ml of a base oil such as Apricot, blend in 20 drops of Cypress and 20 drops of Geranium Essential Oil. Apply on abdomen.

• For Brain Fog – Diffuse Essential Oils like Rosemary, Peppermint, Petitgrain and Nutmeg.

• For Hair Loss – In 50 ml of a base oil such as Apricot, blend in 30 drops Rosemary Essential Oil along with 20 drops of Geranium Essential Oil and apply on scalp preferably overnight.

• For Scanty Periods – In 50 ml of a base oil such as Apricot blend in 10 drops of Clary Sage, 5 drops of Thyme and 10 drops of Ylang Ylang Essential oil and apply on abdomen. You can also diffuse Geranium, Frankincense and Clary Sage Essential Oil. 

• For Hirsutism - in 5 ml of Aloe Vera, blend in 2 drops of Lavender and 2 drops of Tea Tree Essential Oil and apply on affected area.

• For Healthy Libido – Diffuse Ylang Ylang, Clary Sage or Geranium Essential Oil. 

 

Everyday more and more research in the field of holistic health is point towards how most physical ailments are triggered by repressed emotions. We urge you to study further on this and refer to the works of Dr. Joe Dispenza, Dr. Bruce Lipton and Dr. Lisa Rankin. We also urge you to watch the documentary “Heal” on Netflix.

A lot of women with PCOS or hormone balancing issues seem to hold repressed emotions from memories of abuse, shut down creativity at a young age, unfit body image that is triggered by the media, societal pressure on women, shame around menstruation and the feminine and sexual repression.

Being a women you are sure to relate to any or all of the above issues. Dwelling into the past isn’t important but acceptance of our beautiful bodies, self love and connecting to our innate creativity is the most important call that you will hear. Once you connect to it, slowly you will start to create wonderful feminine energy in every area of your life.

For connecting back to our creativity it’s a good idea to start using adult colouring books or starting to paint…you can diffuse citrus Essential Oils such as Petitgrain and Orange to help you tune in. 

You can use self love, sacral chakra and healthy body image affirmations along with taking a wiff Clary Sage Essential Oil to connect to your energy spiritually and clear any unconscious belief you maybe carrying. A lot of specific affirmations can be found on the internet, pick those that speak the most to you personally and at a later stage you could even make your own. Feel free to reach out to us should you need any assistance.

Why use Essential Oils?

Most everyday household/personal products that you use contain Endocrine disruptive chemicals and affect you in a lot of different ways. Its super important specially for those of us with sensitive systems to start moving to 100% Pure and Natural products. Essential Oils when used correctly, can be used for a number of DIY products right from the comfort of your home.

 How to use:

 When blending Essential Oils please keep in mind the dilution ratio, 3 to 5% dilution in a base or carrier oil, refer to the attached dilution chart in the link below to understand the number of drops.

https://tisserandinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/EO-dilution-chart.pdf

For Facial Skin – 0.7 to 2%
Body Massage – 1.5 to 3%
Pain Relief – 5 – 7%
(To make it easier mix about 50 drops of the Essential Oil in 50 ml of carrier oil for pain relief)

Few things you should know

• Fragrance oils aren’t Essential Oils (read labels carefully)
• Essential Oils are high concentrated, use them sparingly and carefully
• When Pregnant skip Essential oil usage, especially in the first trimester
• Always do a patch test, if you are allergic to the plant – you will be allergic to the EO
• Make sure you are using high quality 100% Pure Essential Oils
• Keep Essential Oils away from direct heat and sunlight and they can last over years!
• It’s perfectly fine to be confused when using EO’s the first time, reach out to people to clear your doubts
  
  The thumb rule to keep in mind for all Essential Oil usage is the dilution should be kept at 3%. Essential Oils are very strong and potent and should be used sparingly. Please maintain caution on usage.
  
  You can also find us at farmers markets in different cities, at The Earth Collective by Meenu Nageshwaran in New Delhi, at Horizon Plaza Artisinal Market HandpickedbyPC, at Luke Coutinho's Farmers Markets in Bangalore and Mumbai.
  
  Shop for all products from Meraki Essentials here 
  Should you need any further assistance on usage and finding the right essential oil for yourself feel free to reach out to us on  wecare@merakiessentials.com or reach out to us on +91 95990 80825.
  
  Disclaimer:
  This information is not intended as diagnosis, treatment or prescription for any disease, nor is it presented as an alternative to regular medical attention. Please note very few modern medical research studies have been conducted to be able to affirm or disapprove the effective of essential oils. If medical attention is indicated please contact a health professional.