Self-Care Tip #6: Castor Oil Packs

Until You Can Get a Massage…Self-Care Tip #6: Castor Oil Packs

What are y’all doing to take care of yourselves? I started doing a little gardening. Historically, I’ve killed every plant I’ve ever owned, usually within a matter of days or weeks. The longest plant I ever had was a spider plant in my office when I worked at Girls Inc of Metro Denver, and no amount of forgetting to water it would make it die completely. But now I’m committed! Plus I have extra time on my hands and a toddler who loves to be outside watering plants so it’s hard to forget to do so.  Keep my plants in your thoughts.

On Saturday I saw clients for the first time since mid-March. Considering all the hullabaloo massage therapists have to go through to re-open it went pretty smoothly! I’ve made my office as touch-free as possible, and I’ve removed anything that can’t be easily cleaned. It’s made my office rather boring and inhospitable but at least y’all can get a massage!

Have you seen my list of protocols and guidelines regarding COVID-19? If not, please read them here.

Right now I’m still only working on Saturdays, and they are already booked. Thank you so much for your continued patience; when I am able to start booking in the middle of the week I’ll be in touch with each of you to reschedule.

Until you can get a massage again, I’ll just keep on sending out weekly self-care tips. This week I want to talk about Castor Oil Packs. I often recommend them for folks who come to see me for Arvigo Techniques of Mayan Abdominal Therapy® (ATMAT), but can be used by other folks as well (but not if you’re pregnant).

Castor oil is made from the castor bean; it contains ricinoleic acid, a fatty acid with anti-inflammatory properties. In addition to decreasing inflammation, castor oil  increases circulation and lymphatic drainage, and helps to break up scar tissue. Some people have maybe heard of taking castor oil as a laxative and/or to stimulate birth – all my tips today are EXTERNAL uses of castor oil. Please do not ingest castor oil without the direction of your midwife or doctor.

Castor Oil Packs

A castor oil pack is a non-toxic, unbleached piece of flannel or cotton that has been soaked with castor oil and then placed over a body part (usually the abdomen, or whatever body part you are addressing).  The flannel needs to be unbleached and non-toxic/all-natural because otherwise you might absorb the toxins into your body (click here for an example). I prefer using cold-pressed castor oil, because it retains more of the natural properties of the oil (click here for an example). A towel is placed on top of the flannel and then a heat source is applied to help your body absorb the castor oil. Castor oil stains, so you don’t want to use your fancy guest towels.

Leave the Castor Oil Pack on for 45-60 minutes, every 2^nd or 3^rd night for two weeks; if you’re still having symptoms after the two-week period, continue every 2^nd or 3^rd night for another two weeks.

Reasons to Use a Castor Oil Pack

Reduce Scar Tissue from previous abdominal surgery (wait 4-6 weeks post-surgery to start castor oil packs) or trauma, including but not limited to:

• Cesarean birth
• Ectopic pregnancy
• Hysterectomy or Oopherectomy
• Endometriosis removal
• Cyst or fibroid removal
• Appendectomy
• For best results, regular Castor Oil Packs should be paired with daily self-care Uterine & Reproductive Health massage (I teach this at the Initial URHM appointment.)

Menstrual Cramps

• Reduce pain by placing a castor oil pack on the lower abdomen on the days you have heavy cramping

Digestion Issues

• Encourages bowel movements – helpful if you have chronic constipation
• Reduces inflammation in the gut
• Reduces scar tissue and fascial binding in the gut (best results when paired with self-care massage.)

Stimulate Lymphatic Drainage

• Encourages your lymphatic fluid to flow throughout your abdomen, flushing out your gut and liver
• See my previous blog post about Lymphatic Drainage for all the reasons this is good for you!

Chronic Joint Pain and Arthritis

• Put the castor oil pack on whatever area you have pain; it’s especially helpful for the lower back, sacrum, knees, ankles, shoulders, wrists and elbows

This is a great video that shows you how to do your own castor oil pack.

You can reuse your castor oil pack a few times. After each use store your used flannel in a Ziploc bag in the fridge. (The bottle of fresh castor oil does not need to be refrigerated.)  Next time you use it, warm it up in a heating pad until it’s soft, and then add fresh castor oil to it before putting it on your body. If it has a rancid odor to it, then it’s time to throw it away and get a new flannel.