How Castor Oil can Benefit Your Hormone Health
Have you heard of castor oil packs? Have you avoided them because they kind of sound weird and like they may be really hard to add into your already busy lifestyle? I hear you! Before I started using castor oil packs, I felt that I didn’t have the time, money, or energy to add in one more biohack that may really make no difference in my life. However, once I finally bit the bullet, ordered a castor oil pack and did my first session, I could not believe I waited so long. Castor oil packs are now a staple in my healthy hormone routine that I cannot live without! If I can do it, YOU CAN DO IT!
Before we talk about how to do a castor oil pack, let’s first talk about why you might want to add this in to support your health.
Benefits of Castor Oil Packs
Promotes the parasympathetic nervous system
They promote the parasympathetic nervous system which is our rest, digest, and detox state. Most people are stuck in a sympathetic or stressed state or are now in a burnt out state after living a chronically stressed life. When you are constantly running on stress hormone, this is not only going to impact your adrenal health but will also slow digestion, impair detoxification, impact hormone balance, and decrease overall metabolic function! By adding in Castor oil packs you can activate your parasympathetic nervous system promoting a more restful state.
Promotes Better Sleep (plus all the benefits of better sleep!)
Castor Oil Packs can down regulate cortisol which can promote more restful sleep. More restful sleep = better detoxification and healing in our body. I remember in college, we would always joke about staying up late or not getting enough sleep by saying “I will just sleep when I am dead!” (morbid I know…). However the problem with this is, if you are neglecting sleep now, your body is not going to be able to process, repair, and detox like it needs to to maintain optimal health moving forward. Lack of sleep also puts more strain on your adrenal glands to keep pumping out more cortisol which begins that cascade of stress induced hormone imbalance (increased stress = decreased thyroid hormone = imbalances in estrogen / progesterone).
So if you find yourself struggling to fall asleep or stay asleep, adding in castor oil packs can be a great support to reduce cortisol levels.
Supports regular, daily bowel movements
NEWS FLASH: If you are not having at least 1 bowel movement per day, you are constipated. If you are constipated you are not detoxing well. If you are not detoxing well, your thyroid and hormones will suffer.
Regular bowel movements allow your body to detox toxins, excess hormones, and maintain a healthy gut bacteria. When this is not happening, it can contribute to liver stress. A stressed out liver will not produce healthy bile for fat digestion nor will it be able to regulate hormones well which can contribute to hormonal imbalances and skin issues like acne. Impaired liver function can also impair thyroid hormone conversion, when your body converts free T4 to free T3, the active form of thyroid hormone.
Having regular bowel movements is an essential foundation to not only hormone health but your overall health. Outside of diet recommendations, castor oil packs are my number one recommendation to support regular bowel movements.
Stimulates healthy bile flow & lymphatic drainage
Castor oil packs can stimulate the movement of healthy bile from the liver through your gallbladder. Bile is what helps us absorb healthy fats and fat soluble vitamins like Vitamin A, D, E, and K which are needed for hormone production and regulation. Bile also binds to toxins and helps our body excrete them thus reducing your overall toxic burden. Castor Oil packs also stimulate the better lymphatic flow through the liver which supports better detoxification. Better detoxification = a lower toxic burden = better hormone balance. By adding in castor oil packs you are promoting healthier liver function which plays a vital role in your overall health.
Preserves your body’s master detoxification agent, glutathione
Glutathione is your body’s master antioxidant. Inflammation, stress, poor diet, lack of sunlight/movement, and medications can all decrease this vital compound in the body. By preserving this antioxidant, you are supporting immune function, detoxification, and insulin sensitivity. You are also reducing cell damage and preserving important nutrients like selenium that are needed for optimal thyroid function! Preserving Glutathione means that your inflammation levels won’t be running rampant throughout your body which can suppress thyroid function and hormone balance.
The bottom line, castor oil packs can help support the liver do its many amazing jobs and can help promote a more calm and relaxed state. Both of these foundations have a direct impact on your thyroid and hormone health. If that’s not enough, I don’t know what is!
How to Use Castor Oil Packs
And now let’s demistify this Castor Oil Pack thing! I promise it sounds way more daunting that it actually is! I personally love the Castor Oil Kit from Queen of Thrones because it makes it so easy to get started. You get your high quality, hexane free castor oil in a dark amber glass bottle as well as a ready made pack! While you can make your own if you would like, this kit makes it SO easy to get started.
Step 1: Prep Your Pack
Lay out your pack (or organic cotton fabric if you are making your own) with the fabric side UP and the shiny side DOWN. This fabric portion is what will go against your skin. Next pour 1-2 tbsp of castor oil in the very center of the pack.
You want to try and keep the castor oil pretty central on the pack - it will absorb and spread outwards over the fabric. With time the fabric will become more and more saturated so you may find that the 3rd, 4th, 5th +++ time you use it, you need less castor oil. Keeping it more central on the fabric will also keep this as mess free as possible. If the white elastic bands start to get saturated with castor oil, this can start to bleed onto the clothes you are wearing leaving an oil stain.
Step 2: Put on the Right Clothes
I have a specific “Castor Oil Pack Outfit” that I wear just the be sure that I don’t ruin my favorite shirt! Like I said, castor oil can stain fabrics and oil stains are just the WORST. So better safe than sorry! I just wear a big T shirt I got for free somewhere and a pair of old black athletic shorts that were probably $10 from target. If these clothes get stained, I won’t be heart broken.
Step 3: Find your Liver
POP QUIZ - DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR LIVER IS LOCATED?
You liver is located underneath you right rib cage. This is where you will place the center of the castor oil pack that has all the castor oil on it. Then wrap the stretchy bands around you to firmly secure your castor oil pack to your abdomen. If you are making your own castor oil pack, you can use a belt, like the belt from a robe or something similar, to secure the pack to you.
Step 4: Kick Back and Relax!
That’s right, kick back and relax for anywhere from 2-4 hours. For a first session I do recommend keeping it to about 2 hours just to see how you react. Some people can start to feel increased detox symptoms so best not to go overboard your first session. Once you have done a few sessions you can also wear your castor oil pack overnight.
While you can go about your normal evening routine, cooking dinner, cleaning, getting ready for the next day, or whatever fills your evening, OR you can really take this time to focus on relaxing like stretching, reading, journaling, spending time with family, chatting on the phone with a friend or something that will help you disconnect and recharge your battery after a busy day. Being that sessions do last for a few hours, you can also do a combo of both!
Common FAQs
When Should I do Castor Oil Packs?
While you can do them anytime of day, I recommend doing castor oil packs in the evening before bed as part of your night time routine. Because castor oil packs promote the parasympathetic nervous system and can reduce cortisol levels, it can really help promote a better night sleep.
How Often Should I use castor Oil packs?
I recommend using castor oil packs 2-4 times per week. Starting with just 2 sessions per week until you know how your body tolerates them is a great place to begin. From there you can increase your session. Some people do enjoy using them daily but I find that you don’t have to use them daily to see the benefits from them!
It can be particularly helpful to increase your sessions during your luteal phase, or the weeks between ovulation and the start of your period. During this phase your liver is working hard to detox excess estrogen and giving it a little extra boost can be helpful in reducing PMS symptoms, painful cramps, and balance out heavy cycles.
Is there anytime I should NOT use them?
It is best not to use castor oil packs while on your period. Because castor oil can push detoxification, it is possible that it could increase bleeding which may not be good. Do your research on this and find what you feel comfortable with. I typically recommend just taking the week off!
You do not want to use castor oil pack when you are pregnant or if you could be pregnant. Because castor oil pushes detox, it could cause an early miscarriage.