I love to make up blends of herbal oils and often give the people I see a little bottle of something to use externally alongside taking their herbal tinctures or teas. It could be a neck and shoulder rub, a stomach massage oil, a foot massage oil or something for helping to heal scar tissue. I believe that taking some time to massage a part of your body that needs some love and attention is a wonderful technique for healing as it brings our awareness to the places that need it and encourages an attitude of self care and nurturing. The blend I have given out more than any other is my breast massage oil so I thought I would share the recipe with you here.
Before I started to see clients I don’t think I was really aware of how many women suffer from sore or tender breasts, often with lumps and swellings, which can vary a lot with hormonal fluctuations throughout their cycle. The breasts are made up of glandular tissue (which includes lymph nodes and milk producing lobes), fatty tissue and fibrous or connective tissue. The lymphatic system does not contain its own pump so it relies on the movement of muscles to keep it flowing nicely around the body. As there are no actual muscles within the breasts themselves, massage becomes even more important for healthy breasts and lymphatics.
You can use any nice base oils to perform the massage but herbal infused oils add extra therapeutic value alongside that special something which I like to think of as the plant’s own consciousness. The base of my breast massage oil is violet (Viola odorata) infused in sweet almond oil, though a good quality, organic sunflower oil could also be used quite happily.
If you don’t have any violet infused oil (and now is of course the wrong time to be making it from fresh) you can use dried plant material infused into the oil using the heat method which I outlined in this post. I personally prefer the fresh oil because the flowers impart a delightfully gentle aroma but using the dried leaf will still be effective.
Calendula oil, which can be found in many health food shops, makes a lovely substitution, especially when mixed 50/50 with lavender infused oil which can be made from dried flowers all year round. A small amount of yarrow or chamomile infused oil makes a useful addition if there is inflammation. Rosemary infused oil can be added at about 25% if there is a need to increase circulation and many people also recommend dandelion flower infused oil. Rose infused oil is another delightful addition, though I tend to stick with a few drops of the essential oil as it has a stronger aroma which resonates so much with the heart and with feelings of self-love. You can also add castor oil which is useful for removing congestion but, as it’s ridiculously sticky, I’d keep it to around 5%.
If you really want to keep things simple then stick with a plain almond, apricot or coconut oil, all of which have wonderful healing properties of their own.
The recipe I use as an all purpose breast massage oil is as follows:
28ml Violet infused oil
2ml vitamin E oil
2 drops each geranium and rose essential oils
Combine all the ingredients in a 30ml bottle and use to massage the breasts regularly.
Geranium essential oil is one of the best oils for balancing the endocrine system so is lovely for sore breasts due to fluctuating hormone levels. It also has a very balancing effect on the mind and emotions too.
When massaging the breasts I like to do a combination of circular movements with gentle kneading and a sort of pulsing action which is great at getting the lymph flowing. There is a good video here which outlines some techniques for this lymphatic pumping action.
Another great tip for getting the lymphatics flowing well in the breast area is to splash them with cold water after a hot bath or shower. Alternatively you can alternate a few splashes of hot water (though not unbearable of course) with cold water for a few minutes.
Finally, (in something of an aside) while we are on the subject of lovely ladies with voluptuous breasts, regular readers of this blog may remember the rescue hens we adopted during the summer. One of them, the delightful Primrose, has shot to stardom and is appearing in the British Hen Welfare Trust’s 2012 calendar, having fought off hundreds of other hopefuls to become Miss June.
This is how Primrose looked when we first got her:
And this is her calendar girl shot, only a couple of months later.
All the money from the sale of the calendars goes to support the charity, so if you or someone you know is a hen lover, you can pick up a copy here!
What a gorgeous girl! Well done Primrose, and well done Lucinda and Mark xxx
LikeLike
Thank you Sue! She is a beauty isn’t she. I will have to drop you some eggs round sometime. 🙂
xxx
LikeLike
Wow what a truly beautiful hen! Surely this isn’t her only modelling contract 😉
BHWT is a fantastic charity with some amazing people doing incredible things for these lovely hens, please buy the calendar and other goodies too.
So proud of you Lucinda and your amazing nurturing! (and Mark too)
Cx
LikeLike
Thanks for your comment Colette!
It’s amazing what a bit of space, good food and love can do isn’t it! That’s why BHWT is doing such a great thing. All beings should know love in their life, not just suffering followed by a brutal death like in the battery farms.
Here’s to happiness for all hens everywhere.
xxx
LikeLike
I love violet oil for the breasts! I had such terrible, painful, swollen, inflamed breasts every month right before my period, for over a year. It just kept getting worse, until I read about and tried violets. Violet oil, drinking violet infusions and using poultices for a couple of months and I haven’t had any problems for the last couple of years. What a relief!
Your blends sound lovely too. I’ll have to give them a try.
Congratulations on your hen. She looks beautiful.
LikeLike
Hi Amber,
Wow that is fantastic, thanks for sharing your experience.
Did you use both flowers and leaves in your oil or just one?
x
LikeLike
Well done Primrose! What a fabulous miss June she is 🙂 Sadly (for me, happily for miss Primrose), the calender is already sold out, so I guess I’ll have to keep searching for my 2012 calender 😦
Now, back to the post – lovely and such a great reminder of something I often mean to do but don’t. I have a little violet oil from the spring and also some geranium essential oil – so I’m all set to go. Your violet and calendula oils look so vibrant – and I just love your artwork there in the beginning. Beautiful as always 🙂
D
LikeLike
It must have just sold out in the last day! Well I guess that’s good news for the fundraising team.
I hope you like the oil. I think it feels very special to use and it smells great. 🙂
Lots of love to you xx
LikeLike
Oh Lucinda! Look how gorgeous Primrose is now! Well done sweetheart:)
Simply adore your artwork xxx Just gorgeous! Lovely informational post and I thank you for sharing! Big hugs and much love to you dear one xxx
LikeLike
She’s beautiful isn’t she. I do love her so. I love the way the hens always want to be around us and seeing what we are doing, so bright and curious.
xxx Lots of love to you too xxx
LikeLike
They are very interactive little creatures! Which makes it doubly horrible that they are ever placed in a factory type of setting! Many blessings to you and your girls, Lucinda! It warms my heart thinking of how you saved these darlings!!! xoxoxox
LikeLike
I made a wonderful Breast Massage oil for a Herbal Pharmacology class a few years ago. My plant was dandelion. I used the flowers and infused it in coconut oil. It had a wonderful smell and gold color. I think I infused it for about a week and used a combination of sun and crock-pot. I’ve read since that you are not suppose to crush the flower-heads when you strain it and not infuse for over 2 weeks or the oil will have a nasty smell. My first try came out great.
LikeLike
Oh how lovely. i haven’t experimented with dandelion in breast massage oils myself but I have heard others recommend it so I’ll have to have a go next year. Thank you for sharing your experiences.
LikeLike
1. do you have any violet flower infused oil for sale, i can send my paypal email, i live in uk, and you can charge for shipping too, its just that people say its hard to find violet flower oil and much easier to find violet green leaf oil, but i dont want latter i want former(flower oil)?
2. is the carrier oil sunflower or olive?
thanks
LikeLike
Hi adiy,
I’m afraid i am quite low on stock right now but I’ll be making some more very soon so if you email me at whisperingearth@gmail.com I can let you know if I have any when my harvest is in.
I tend to use sunflower or sweet almond oil as the carrier for flowers like these and olive for leaves like comfrey and plantain. I find olive a bit heavy for the delicacy of flowers.
LikeLike
Dear Lucinda, is there any herbal, plant or essential oil that can help enlarge the breasts? I have estrogen dominance so I need to be careful with the products I used and I’m very under developed. Thanks.
LikeLike
I seem to remember Valerie Ann Worwood recommending geranium essential oil in a base oil for increasing breast tissue along with regular massage but I don’t know if it actually works to be honest. With a pre-existing condition it is generally a good idea to see a practitioner local to you and have them make you up an individual mix because they can look at all the facets of your case.
LikeLike
Can you sent me the best breast oil list to my mail.
LikeLike
My daughter is 49’she had a partial historyrectme done 4/5 years now she has had her hormonal balance done a okay her breast are very sore no help out there for her pain,got any ideas ? Thanks ellie
LikeLike
Always love reading your blog posts. Your knowledge is amazing x
LikeLike