I have recently had some great experiences using essential oils to relieve tension headaches.
- First add 1 drop of peppermint essential oil (Mentha piperita) into a teaspoon of Trauma oil and rub it on the back of your neck. It should feel cool and tingly. I love using Trauma oil as my carrier, it is quite healing in and of itself! It is made from Olive oil (first pressing), Calendula flower (Calendula officinalis), Arnica flower (Arnica montana) and St. John’s Wort flowering tops (Hypericum perforatum). You might feel immediate relief! You can repeat this application 3-4 times daily for a few days if needed.
- Next use 1 drop of Frankincense essential oil (Boswellia carterii) in the same amount of trauma oil and rub it into your feet! I know it might seem odd that massaging your feet with Frankincense would help a headache, but the reflex point are powerful and it works great. Massage your whole foot and especially your toes with the oil. If you find some sore spots, spend more time there. Massage as deeply as you enjoy, feeling sore as you rub your feet is ok, pain is not the goal! You can repeat this application 3-4 times daily for a few days if needed.
- Lastly make an inhaler with Rosewood essential oil (Aniba rosaeodora). Add 15 drops to the blank inhaler and inhale deeply every hour, into both nostrils. If you don’t have a blank inhaler use a tissue and add one drop of rosewood essential oil to the tissue every hour and inhale. If you don’t have rosewood essential oil you can use Eucalyptus essential oil (Eucalyptus globulus) instead.
I have found that if you use all three approaches, the headache can fade away within half an hour! If you try this approach, let me know how it goes. if you have other headache suggestions using essential oils, we would love to hear about them!
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Thanks, Andrea, will give it a try, and these are great suggestions for clients too!
Very informative! I just ordered Rosewood oil and some inhalers. Thank you for sharing!
I swear by the peppermint essential oil for relieving headaches. I actually apply 1-2 drops of undiluted peppermint oil to my forehead/temples and my headache usually goes within about 15 minutes. Peppermint oil can irritate the skin so those with sensitive skin should dilute it but I personally find it more effective when it is undiluted.
I also find a cold footbath helpful at relieving headaches with essential oils of lavender, peppermint and marjoram added to it.
I often get tension headaches so I am anxious to try this. (I’ve used peppermint on my temples and neck but it doesn’t take care of the pain.)
This is great, using it now and feel the headache fading already!