April 21, 2022
Written by Melanie Swackhammer B.A.
Edited by Marisol Pons B.A. and Victoria Williams B.A.
Can I do a castor oil pack without the pack / compress?
So, you’ve heard of castor oil packs because you’ve been prescribed them from your Naturopathic Doctor, Functional Medicine Practitioner, or maybe you’ve heard about them from your favorite natural health influencer, right?
You love the idea of them because of all the amazing benefits, like…
- Improved bowel movements1and better absorption2
- Reduced core inflammation3
- Liver detox4 and microbiome gut health5-6-7-8
- Enhanced relaxation and better sleep9-10-11-12
While an interesting protocol, seed cycling for hormone imbalance requires the patient to ingest seeds like flax, pumpkin, sesame and sunflower on specific weeks of their cycle.
BUT you can’t help but think to yourself… “Do I need the compress for castor oil packs?”
“Why can’t I just rub castor oil on my stomach, throw an old t-shirt on, and call it a day?”
Call it a pack, a compress, or a wrap, either way, if you want the benefit of the Queen of the Thrones® Castor Oil Liver Pack or Pelvic Pack, you need it to get the job done properly.
Sounds like I’m trying to sell you something, agreed? Well, you are right, essentially.
I’m selling you on the benefits of this ancient health practice, and doing it the right way as it was intended, thankfully now with some easy tools created by a Naturopathic Doctor, for herself, her patients and her practice, to help her patients comply and get the results they were looking for.
You see, with the nightly repetition of your castor oil pack, the oil is only 50% of the treatment effect, the main purpose isn’t necessarily the oil, although most people think that it is.
The oil is supportive to reduce inflammation from the outside in, but what supports the body most is actually the use of the compress with the health-promoting action of CASTOR OIL.
Together, castor oil and the compress, pack or wrap, as people call it, have been used for centuries, and has since established its place in medicine.
But, like everything…
A castor oil pack treatment must be done the right way, using the right tools.
It’s become a habit to skip a step, and to simply rub or roll on the castor oil over the liver, belly or pelvic region, or wherever else you may use the pack. Although this does provide benefit, we are missing the effect from the compress. Think of it like one large physiological bandage for your liver, pelvic region or belly.
The effect of a bandage is to draw the attention of the nervous system, by stimulation of the skin receptors, c-tactile receptors as well as others. This nervous system stimulation through the skin, actually acts as an escape button, to shift the body into the parasympathetic relaxed state,13-14-15-16 activating the Vagus nerve.
In addition, the pack keeps in heat, which, based on the principle of hydrotherapy, supports circulation and increases blood flow. With this comes nutrients and healing factors.
Plus, the pressure of the pack supports deeper permeation of the oil, which already is able to permeate the dermis, unlike other oils, so true activity can be realized.
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When castor oil is simply applied topically, without the pack, it’s as simple as a skin emollient.
This is why one cannot do what has been called the ‘ lazy mans’ castor oil pack’, which is the practice of just applying oil to your skin and skipping the compress altogether.
You might be wondering, why does the compress matter this much?
Well, worn nightly as a compress, your Queen of the Thrones ® Castor Oil Pack has parasympathetic promoting effects, according to dermatological scientific research on neuro reaction to material softness and oil sensations on skin.17-18
In turn, this supports a shift into the parasympathetic nervous system, rest, digest and detox state, which is key to improving hormone imbalances and gut health. Sounds amazing, agreed?
Applying castor oil topically to your skin with your castor oil pack compress, allows it to work from the outside IN.
But how does your castor oil pack treatment do this?
You see, castor oil is known as a carrier oil, meaning, due to its molecular weight of ricinoleic acid19 (the major triglyceride chain making up approximately 90% of castor oil), it is effective topically, and only requires a minimal daily dosage.
It takes less than 2 tablespoons of castor oil placed on the pack at night, and much stays on the flannel, making it much less messy, and more convenient than traditional castor oil treatments. Amazing, agreed?
Repetitive nightly practice is like the training of the olympian athlete. Stay with me here.
The more you repeat it, the more your body can naturally bring on the relaxed state and shift from the sympathetic stressed state of hormonal imbalance, leaky gut and metabolic syndrome, to a calm, balanced parasympathetic state, all due to nightly application.
In chronobiology medicine, this is known as entrainement.20-21
Our bodies are entrained by 2 factors:
- An internal genetic body clock
- An external zeitgeber
What we are not too busy to do is easily place a Queen of the Thrones® Castor Oil Pack on the liver or pelvic region, before bed.
You, my friend, for your patients, clients or yourself can achieve this with practice, repetition and habit creation!
References:
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