ESSENTIAL OILS DURING PREGNANCYIf you use essential oils for massaging your skin during pregnancy, you’ll notice many favorable effects. The oils will boost your relaxation, improve blood circulation, ease back pain and prevent stretch marks by maintaining skin elasticity and resilience. A word of caution: never apply essential oils undiluted! Instead, you should always combine them with base oils (i.e., jojoba, sesame, olive or sweet almond oil). The amount of essential oil in the final mixture should not exceed 1% (5 drops of essential oil in 2 tbsp of base oil). As the first pregnancy trimester is a very sensitive period, wait until the fourth month to start applying the blends. These massage oils can be easily created at home:
To prevent stretch marks, regularly massage the mixtures into your skin twice a day. Your skin will feel well moisturized and elastic. Due to hormonal changes and substantial weight loss after delivery, your skin may be stressed at that time, and the risk of stretch marks will still persist. To prevent or remove strech marks try to find some time for yourself and apply the mixtures twice a day. After childbirth you may use massage oils with a higher concentration of essential oils in them (2-3%, which is 10-15 drops of essential oil in 2 tbsp base oil). Besides, you may choose the oils you should stay away from during pregnancy. Some of them are rose, rosemary, patchouli, clove, and peppermint. These are a couple of recipes for postpartum women:
For more blends read Recipes with Essential Oils Read also Essential Oils Safety information. See the List of Oils that should not be used during pregnancy |