How do I use my Handcrafted Herbal Oil? How do I use an Infused Oil? How do I apply this oil?
Body Oiling has been used for thousands of years in many countries and cultures. It has been used in the Indian Ayurvedic Healing, mentioned in the Bible, used by the Egyptians in cosmetic applications.
Body oiling calms the nervous system, hydrates the body, nourishes the skin, and can establish a ritual to your daily life. It is said to be most effective after a shower or bath to lock in moisture. But I use oil for my body daily, wet or dry skin. I apply it to most parts of my body and use different infused oils for different reasons.
I like to layer both my lavender infused oil and my Helichrysum infused oil on my face. Helichrysum is known for regenerating skin, helping with scar repair, and minor blemishes. I adore the soothing qualities of lavender infused oil as well as the sweet smell of lavender oil. Using lavender oil on my face instead of a moisturizer, helps keep my skin hydrated and that wonderful lavender smell close to my nose.
I choose to use Lavender oil all over my body when my pain levels are mild to moderate. If I want an all over lavender smell or I just want to feel like I am wearing a comfort hug all over, I reach for lavender herbal oil. If my pain levels are moderate to acute, I reach for St Johns Wort herbal oil. On occasion, I will apply SJW herbal oil and layer Lavender herbal oil over it.
Which herbal oil I choose and where I apply it does have to do with WHAT the plant used to create it is known for. I personally come from a place of pain and a desire to help heal that pain. My body has pain nearly every day. It is more a question of how strong my daily pain is not IF there is pain.
I choose to use Lavender, Helichrysum, and St John’s Wort the most. All seems to help lower pain in different ways. I also like to use Clary Sage for balancing hormones. I found Clary Sage helped reduce the sensation of itching I had from complications of shingles that has left me with nerve damage. It is not an indicated plant for shingles but I was desperate enough that I tried it and it helped me. With four months of shingles pain, itching and nerve damage, I do not argue when I find a herbal oil that helps me.
Lavender is relaxing, smells wonderful, soothes, comforts, helps heal bruises and helps reduce inflammation. Lavender’s main claim to fame is for stress reduction. I grow nearly 20 varieties of Lavender here at Alba Ranch. I have found that the sweet pink lavender in the Augustafolia family make the sweetest herbal infused oil.
St John’s Wort is known for pain reduction. It’s specialty is nerve pain. It has also been used for hundreds of years with bruises and contusions to help promote healing. Topical application of St John’s Wort herbal oil has helped reduce my pain levels with nearly daily use for the last couple of years. I had read about how it has helped others with nerve pain and decided to try it for myself. I ordered my first bottle of SJW herbal oil from a company in France several years ago. Now I make my own since I have discovered it grows naturally all over my property. St John’s Wort herbal oil has a “sweet” smell. Not a specific sweet, just sweet.
Helichrysum herbal oil I used mostly on my face. It helps repair skin and helps work with scars. It does help reduce pain as it has mild analgesic properties. I used it on my face when I fell and hit my head on rocks. I had a concussion and mild swelling on my face with a bit of a road rash scrap. I started applying the Helichrysum herbal oil to soothe the skin and had the added benefit that it appeared to reduce inflammation. It helped the skin repair faster and the rash (felt like a bad scraped knee but on my face) was gone in four days. I never really bruised and the swelling was gone in a few days as well. I started using lavender essential oil immediately after the fall but in a few hours it was drying out my skin and making the scrape hurt worse. That was when I switched to using the Helichrysum herbal infused oil which gave me almost immediate relief from some of the pain.
Six months later, I had a dental surgery that was pretty intense. It left me with a swollen face that just ached. I remembered the success with Helichrysum herbal infused oil from my previous injury. I applied the Helichrysum herbal oil on my face where my teeth on the inside hurt the most. It didn’t take the pain away entirely, but it greatly reduced it so it was bearable. There is no worse pain than teeth pain. Most pain killers do not work for that pain and since it is in your head, it is impossible to get away from.
Overall, I have enjoyed using herbal infused oils. That are easy to apply, but can get on your clothing. I wanted a more portable version that was less messy. So I added in some organic beeswax to make a balm. That has made the application even easier. With better control of placement, it means less mess on clothes and easier to carry with me on the go. I use both the herbal infused oils and herbal balms.
Herbal healing Oils and Herbal Balms are both available in the Alba Ranch Online Shop now. I will add more as I grow more plants and create more combinations. I have not added essential oils to any of the Lavender, Helichrysum, or St John’s Wort Herbal oils. They are made with organic olive oil and whole plant material.
