Castor oils packs are a traditional naturopathic technique used for a range of detoxification and hormone problems including period pain, fibroids and endometriosis pain. Below you will find a tried and tested recipe for castor oil packs.
Recipe for Castor Oil Packs
You will need the following:
- Two cotton or wool flannel cloths, about 12 inches square ( a piece of old sheet is fine but make sure there are no synthetics in the fabric)
- Two plastic sheets – one to protect the bed and smaller one to wrap around the area being treated; for endometriosis, the pack will be applied to the abdomen
- Hot water bottle
- Approx 100ml of castor oil
- Bath towels
- Baking soda
- Hot water
- Safety pins.
Method
- Heat the castor oil in an enamel-lined, china or glass saucepan, hot enough to put straight onto the skin with out scalding.
- Immerse the cloth in the saucepan and stir round with tongs, ensuring that it gets thoroughly saturated.
- Meanwhile, cover the bed with a plastic sheet and a large. Lift out the saturated cloth and place it over the area to be treated. For endometriosis, the cloth needs to be placed over the central abdomen area.
- Cover the oil-saturated cloth with the other smaller cloth, which has been soaked in hot water and wrung out.
- Wrap the area securely in the plastic, then with a towel and secure with safety pins.
- Lie down carefully and lay a hot water bottle on the area being treated.
- Leave on overnight, or for at least for two hours.
- In the morning, strip off the pack and store in a plastic bag so that it can be reused for three or four more treatments.
- After taking off the pack, wash the area with water to which baking soda has been added. This is to stop any rash from developing. Do not panic if the skin turns red and blotchy. This is temporary and merely a sign of how actively the castor oil is working.
- To reuse the pack, put the oil-soaked piece of cloth back in the saucepan, pour over more castor oil, and reheat the cloth.
Making castor oil packs sounds like a fiddly process, but once you have done it a few times it becomes easier. Always buy the best quality castor oil for this treatment. Aim to do two to three treatments on consecutive nights and then rest for a few nights. You can keep up this regime for about three months and then taper off to about one session a week.
N.B. It is not advisable to do a castor oil pack when you are menstruating or if you are pregnant.