The Ultimate Guide To Using Essential Oils For Hormone Balance
Balanced hormones are crucial to your health. Hormones control almost every function of your body to some degree, which means when there’s an imbalance, you can experience significant problems. Many major health issues are linked to hormonal imbalance, as well as less-major issues.
In women, PMS and excessive menstrual cramping are caused by imbalanced hormones while, for men, imbalanced hormones can lead to unusual aggression or low fertility. Over time, an imbalance of hormones can cause further problems.
This means that keeping your hormones balanced is critical. You’d think the human body would do a good job of that on its own, but in the modern world there are just too many things working against you.
Most people likely have some type of hormone imbalance, and this only becomes more common and more severe as you grow older.
Many people are prescribed hormone therapy injections. While these can help, it’s also possible that they’ll simply tip the balance off in a different direction because it can take some time for your doctor to dial in the dosage for you.
Fortunately, there’s an easier way. Essential oils can help to regulate your hormone balance safely and naturally.
Essential Oils For Hormonal Imbalance
While this list isnt exhaustive, it should give you a pretty good idea about which essential oils you might want to consider picking up for improving your hormonal balance:
At the end of this post Ill let you know what I would do if I was going to buy only one of these oils for hormone balancing.
How To Use Essential Oils For Healthy Hormone Balance
NOTE: Ive used both Young Living and DoTerra oils. I also like Floracopeia.
The following oils have been shown to exhibit therapeutic effects similar to that of phytoestrogens, meaning they balance estrogen levels:
- Clary Sage: Stimulates the pituitary gland, which regulates ovulatory and sex hormone function. Clary sage is also a uterine tonic pairs well with geranium. Great for cramp relief & PMS.
- Fennel: used to balance cycles. Also a wonderful digestive aid.
- Basil: recommended for delayed menstruation or scanty periods.
- Cypress: useful for circulation, can relieve stagnation associated with heavy bleeding or mid-cycle bleeding
- Geranium: has an overall balancing effect on female hormones
These oils would be useful for those with low estrogen levels or dropping estrogen levels, as is the case in peri-menopause or menopause. Stress can cause low estrogen in menstruating women, but I recommend hormone testing so youll know your estrogen and progesterone levels.
There are certain Young Living blends that support hormone balance :
Practical Applications
You can use all these oils topically with a carrier oil , and in some cases, take them as a supplement. You can also mix up your own blends for use depending on your unique physiology.
For menopause: try clary sage, Dragon Time, SclarEssence, Lady Sclareol topically.For cramps: try Dragon Time, valerian, ginger , clary sage, lavenderFor PMS: try Dragon Time, EndoFlex, fennel, clary sage
Make Your Own Blends
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2 They Calm Relax And Soothe
Some essential oils contain constituents that calm and relax smooth muscle, making them ideal for use during your menstrual cycle. Clary sage is one such example rich in a chemical called linalyl acetate, part of the esters group. Clary sage also supports healthy oestrogen levels. It is one of my favourites to include in an epsom salts bath.
Other relaxing oils include Roman chamomile, lavender and ylang ylang.
doTERRA have a wonderful blend by the name of ClaryCalm, designed especially for women. I like to roll just a little over my abdomen to ease tension and cramps. It contains clary sage, lavender, bergamot, Roman chamomile, ylang ylang, cedarwood, geranium, fennel, carrot seed, palmarosa and vitex.
Soak In An Aromatherapy Bath
Essential oils baths are a relaxing way of supporting the bodys detox pathways and restoring harmony to your hormones.
Just keep the following safety guidelines in mind when using essential oils in a bath:
- Avoid using thyme oil in a bath because its a strong irritant.
- For all other oils, always mix 5 20 drops with 1 tablespoon liquid castile soap . This prevents skin irritation or burns. Soap and oils are also more effective at diluting oils than bath salts or milks.
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Sandalwood Something For The Men
Next, we have an oil that is extracted from a tree by the same name, which is believed to regulate the levels of testosterone in both genders. It is a major component in mens colognes, and it smells just like the name suggests, woody.
Sandalwood also works as a sedative, which eases anxiety and cortisol levels, and it stimulates the memory.
Cautions
There are no known risks to this oil, but it is recommended you dilute it well in a carrier substance before applying topically.
Blends well with: Rose, Geranium, and Lavender.
Why Are They Widely Popular
Though research on the impact of this product is still in its infancy, the little being conducted has shown positive results. It suggests that essential oils are highly beneficial to human health. It shows that it is particularly effective on hormonal activity.
Traditional healers also use this product to cure severe ailments. It can reduce stress, encourage better sleep patterns, and allow for better focus.
The scent that essential oils provide is pleasant and calming. The scent enhances the Performance of the solution. This is because the olfactory tube is linked with the part of the brain responsible for reacting to emotions and the storage of memories.
Psychological studies show that scent has a stronghold over positive and negative associations. And, those associations can stimulate the release of the feel-good hormone or stress hormone.
It also helps a lot that essential oils, when used to balance hormone, has little or no risk. So, there is no harm in giving it a try.
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Top 4 Essential Oils To Have In Your Arsenal
4 || Lavender
Stress can make your hormones go crazy. Adding in a few essential oils that lower your stress levels are key to helping your body find more balance. It also helps support getting a good night’s sleep to help your body.
3|| Geranium
Geranium works with your adrenal system in releasing hormones, such as estrogen. Using geranium in the correct fluctuation of your cycle helps you to maintain a balancing menstrual cycle as well.
2 || Thyme
Low progesterone is linked as causes for infertility, PCOS, and the imbalance of your other hormones as well. Thyme is great for balancing progesterone in women AND men, according to this study.
1 || Clary Sage
Many of the issues that surround hormone imbalance are either our thyroids deciding that they dont want to work the way they should or the things that we put in our bodies are hormone disruptors. Clary Sage works with your thyroid to get your hormones back on track. In a 2014 study in the Journal of Phytotherapy Research, the inhalation of clary sage EO was found to improve thyroid hormone levels while also reducing cortisol levels by 36% in some woman! It was also found to help balance the moods of the women in this study as well!
And if an oil doesnt work for you, dont use it!
How Ive Used Essential Oils For Hormone Balance
As I mentioned, I prefer to use essential oils topically or aromatically for hormone related issues or for any other purpose. Essential oils can be so powerful that this is often all that is needed to get the benefits and it reduces the risk of allergic reaction and other problems that can happen when essential oils are used undiluted or taken internally.
These are some of the ways I like to use essential oils for hormone balance
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Clary Sage Essential Oil
When hormones are mentioned, we most often think of estrogen and progesterone they enhance womanhood but plague women on a monthly basis until dropping off and causing even more distress in menopause.
Clary Sage essential oil provides relief for symptoms caused by an imbalance in these two hormones. It is the best oil for a womans worst time of the month. It is effective in easing the pain caused by menstrual cramps by relaxing the smooth muscles, especially in combination with Lavender and Marjoram. In addition, many midwives have found success in using it to ease the pains and stress of childbirth, as it helps to bring on contractions.
A 2014 study even showed that simply inhaling Clary Sage dramatically decreases the bodys cortisol our stress-regulating hormone as well as improving the thyroid levels, thereby having an anti-depressant effect on the body and enhancing overall mood. This speaks to the power of aromatherapy and the instantaneous effect that it can have on our mind and body. Clary Sage can relax you to allow for a restful nights sleep and ease any negative moods. It is a must-have for women of any age.
Clary Sage is ideal for aromatic and topical application with a carrier essential oil of your choice. I prefer to dilute Clary Sage with fractionated coconut oil. I also love to combine Clary Sage with other hormone balancing oils. Below you will find my hormone synergy roller remedy for you to use throughout the day.
How To Get Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils
Are oils sounding good right about now?!
The best value way to join with a wholesale account is either by purchasing the Home Essentials Kit, or taking advantage of this months special, which is actually running right until the end of February.
The Home Essentials Kit is comprised of the top 10 essential oils and a diffuser. It includes some oils that are valuable in supporting stress, sleep and moods , some that can be used in DIY cleaning , some for DIY skin care , and some to support various body systems . There is no membership fee when you join this way.
The second option allows you to pick and choose what oils you would like. I have designed a custom package that meets the criteria for this months special , featuring oils that are more specific to stress, sleep, mood support and hormones.
As always, if you are ready to get started, follow my instructions here, or get in touch to arrange a chat together.
Im here to help you find health naturally,
Lauren.
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Best Essential Oils To Use For Hormone Balance
Before you go out and buy a bunch of essential oils, you need to understand which oils will work best for balancing hormones.
Not every essential oil is going to help you, and you can maximize the health benefits by choosing oils that are especially effective at reducing inflammation and reducing stress.
You also need to be sure that you’re buying high-quality oils that are produced in such a way as to preserve the delicate aromatic compounds which give each oil its unique benefits as well as it’s pleasing scent.
We’ve broken this list into two sections, because you can use essential oils to balance your hormones in two different ways.
You can use them as household cleaners to replace the harsh chemical cleaners that are causing your hormone imbalance, and you can use them to directly reduce stress and inflammation to help regulate your hormones that way.
Many of the essential oils we’ll list will appear in both lists, and these are the most highly recommended oils because they’re multi-purpose.
Essential Oils For Hormone Imbalance
Essential oils are amazing at supporting our bodies naturally. They work with our bodies to maintain wellness and help tip the scales back when our bodies are out of whack. Essential oils can uplift your mood and support you through the rough emotions of the day.
There are two main ways to use essential oils in everyday life by diffusing or applying topically. For on the go and everyday applications, I prefer using roller bottles and applying the diluted oils directly to my skin. At the end of this post, Ill share one of my favorite roller blends to use to help through the emotions of your trying to conceive journey and to balance hormones.
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How Do Essential Oils Help With Hormonal Imbalance
I hope Ive convinced you to keep an open mind and learn more about how essential oils might help you feel your best. Lets look at how essential oils can work on hormonal imbalances to get you on the right track again.
What is Hormonal Imbalance?
Hormonal imbalance is exactly what it sounds like. Your body has multiple hormones, all with a specific task to carry out, and if the levels of any of these are too high or too low, your body can suffer. Additionally, if the ratio of some hormones to others is out of whack, you might experience uncomfortable symptoms.
There are so many hormones in your body that carry essential messages to so many systems. And its not just the sex hormones that everyone thinks of immediately, though of course those are important. Imbalances in estrogen, progesterone and testosterone can be responsible for the uncomfortable symptoms women experience in menopause hot flashes, fatigue, weight gain and during their menstrual cycle.
Related article:Thyroid Symptoms in Women Causes and Natural Treatments
What Causes Hormonal Imbalance?
A healthy lifestyle is your best defense, and reducing stress is key to maintaining good health. Thats where essential oils can come in. Here are some of the top essential oils for hormones.
German Chamomile The Great Relaxer
I think its pretty safe to say that most people have heard of Chamomile, but odds are they typically connect it to the tea. While the herbal tea is a great relaxer, the essential oil has components that take the term calm to a whole new level. Thats because this oil not only eases depressive symptoms, German Chamomile battles anxiety to keep our cortisol levels down. It also reduces feelings of anger, all of which affect our hormone production.
Cautions
If you or anyone you plan on giving Chamomile too are allergic to the Ragweed family, then its a good idea to skip topical application and stick to diffusing.
Blends well with: Clary Sage, Ylang-Ylang, and Rose
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How To Use Essential Oils For Hormone Imbalance
- Mix some coconut oil with the essential oil and rub it on different areas of the body. This will allow them to be absorbed into the body through the skin.
- Add 1/4 cup of Epsom salt to a warm bath, then add 3 drops of clary sage and 2 drops of lavender. Soak in the bath to help relieve PMS symptoms.
- Create an aromatherapy formula consisting of 2 drops of clary sage oil and 2 drops of lavender oil to help improve hormone balance.
They Calm Relax And Soothe
Some essential oils contain constituents that calm and relax smooth muscle, making them ideal for use during your menstrual cycle. Clary sage is one such example rich in a chemical called linalyl acetate, part of the esters group. Clary sage also supports healthy oestrogen levels. It is one of my favourites to include in an epsom salts bath.
Other relaxing oils include Roman chamomile, lavender and ylang ylang.
doTERRA have a wonderful blend by the name of ClaryCalm, designed especially for women. I like to roll just a little over my abdomen to ease tension and cramps. It contains clary sage, lavender, bergamot, Roman chamomile, ylang ylang, cedarwood, geranium, fennel, carrot seed, palmarosa and vitex.
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Additional Essential Oils To Support Adrenal Health
Hypothalamus: The hypothalamus is pearl size region of the brain that serves as control center for neural and hormonal messages received from/sent to body. It is constantly reading blood the levels of cortisol, and adjusting signals sent to the adrenal glands for optimal internal balance of the body. Chronic and prolonged stress can damage the hypothalamuss ability to receive clear messages from the body which then impacts all outgoing endocrine and neural signals. Just as you might reboot a computer, you can reset the hypothalamus with Vibrant Blue Hypothalamus blend to encourage the natural ability of the hypothalamus to receive clear messages from the body.
All of these oils are included in the Vibrant Blue Oils Stress Support Kit.
Naturopathic Tips For Hormonal Balance
Essential oils are incredibly supportive, but must be part of a greater holistic approach:
Consume regular healthy fats: did you know that cholesterol is actually vital to hormone production? Cholesterol is converted into the building block hormone pregnenolone precursor to other steroid hormones . About 20% of cholesterol comes from the food you eat. The lions share is actually synthesised by your body, mostly in the liver and intestines.
It is healthy to include fats in your diet.
An entirely plant-based diet is cholesterol free, as food sources of cholesterol are from animal origin .
However, plant-based fats provide essential fatty acids that the body can utilise to create its own cholesterol.
Watch your caffeine intake: studies have shown that caffeine increases the stress hormone cortisol at rest, the effects of which were detailed above. Caffeine, a diuretic, can also dehydrate you. Dehydration is a stressor to the body, and can elevate cortisol.
Sleep well: lack of sleep will throw out your bodys circadian rhythm. At night as we start to wind down, the sleep hormone melatonin is supposed to spike while cortisol declines. With lack of sleep, cortisol can stay abnormally elevated, and contribute to weight gain.
If you are stressed, know that high intensity workouts may not be your friend: high intensity workouts will spike your cortisol geez that bloody cortisol! I feel like I am, typing the same thing over and over
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