At the beginning of this week the sun was shinning and the birds were singing, it felt like spring had arrived and I was enjoying it so very much. With temperatures reaching 10°C (50°F) during the day most of the snow melted away and some of my winter garden plants started growing again. Today it is cooler again and the cloud cover has returned. It seems we had a small glimpse of spring but winter is still here for a little while longer. Maybe it is this rapid weather change that has triggered my headache but I have been suffering from a tension headache the last couple days. On a positive note, it has giving me the chance to experiment with essential oils for headache relief. It took me a couple minutes to make an essential oil headache remedy and it has been helpful. I like the cooling effect of the peppermint on my temples, back of neck and forehead; it seems to reduce the pain or at least distract me from it.
Headache Essential Oil Blend
30 ml/2 Tbsp./1 oz jojoba oil (or any carrier oil: olive oil, sweet almond oil…)
8 drops peppermint or spearmint essential oil
8 drops rosemary essential oil
This recipe is approximately a 3% dilution of the essential oils. Some people are very sensitive to essential oils so I recommend using caution when making a homemade essential oil blend and perhaps adding fewer drops of essential oils to start with. There are other essential oils that are reported to help relieve headaches like lavender, eucalyptus, chamomile and birch. I know that eucalyptus relieves headaches, especially those related to congestion, but I have not tried the others.
10 comments
My mom has, I believe, had great results with lavender oil. Lavender is also positively magical on burns apparently…
You know I have never thought to head to the essential oils for my headache, I usually just suffer through it. You can bet I will give this a try, thanks for sharing 🙂
I will have to try lavender oil too.
We went through so much conventional medicine over Christmas that I really felt like I needed a break from it for my body's sake. I really do find the essentials oil helpful in reducing the perception of pain. Let me know what you think when you get the chance to try it (hopefully you won't need to for a while).
I finally figured out a cure for my migraines, along with chiropractic care. Nothing works as fast as this oil combo (pictured in this blog post: http://www.elisaloves.com/2013/12/five-favorites-in-december.html). It also only works if I re-apply every 15-30 minutes until symptoms disappear. I LOVE having a natural headache/migraine prevention remedy.
What are in the blends? I'm curious.
I'm glad you're having luck with essential oils!
I 'discovered' lavender essential oil for tension related neck and headaches last summer. After a car accident that left me with whiplash type injuries- I assumed that physio was my best bet- and I tried all their exercises and used hot packs- nothing helped- I was having Migrane headaches 3 out of 7 days- finally I went to Chiropractor- and started rubbing lavender oil diluted in olive oil on my neck and shoulders- it was like a miracle- no headache within 10 minutes! a hot lavender foot bath with an ice pack on your neck also works wonders. Now a year after the accident I'm STILL Healing- I wish I had thought of essential oils sooner…
Me too!
I will definitely need to add lavender to my next batch of oil. I hope that you feel completely healed soon 🙂