Essential oils for a spring detox

Spring is here and the blossoms are opening everywhere, trees are budding and it is so beautiful. Spring is my favourite month. It means renewal, a fresh start and of course the end of winter.

Many people like to detox when the spring comes and unless you have a serious illness or are pregnant or breastfeeding, or a child or otherwise unsuited to fasting, you might like to consider doing a detox before the weather warms up too much. We live in an urban environment and no matter how healthy we might think we are, there are toxins building up in our system. There is the food that we eat, especially processed and junk food. There are the toxins that come from products that we use on our skin that are absorbed into our body, there is pollution from everywhere but even from synthetic materials in our house or car. And maybe you haven’t thought about it like this before, but these toxins which build up in our body could be causing our health problems, especially those in our digestive system, or even the aches and pains that we suffer from. This is why it is good to detox. It is also good for your liver and kidneys. Even if you can’t do a real detox, you might be tempted to set aside a few days or a week to avoid all processed and junk food, caffeine products, sugar and anything else that you might think is not really good for you (which could be dairy products, gluten and so on.

This year, I am going to try one day of fasting (just eating freshly made organic vegetable soup) and a week of avoiding all the bad things (mine is bitter chocolate!) I think it is going to be a little difficult to eat vegetable soup for breakfast as I am a milk and muesli addict, but I am going to try. Maybe I’ll even like it. After all, I used to think it was strange to have cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes and olives for breakfast, but I got over that!

I am going to support my body in this spring cleaning, by having a massage, and I am going to prepare the oil myself. A massage will help the body detox by stimulating the lymphatic system and circulation. In fact you can’t really get rid of toxins unless the lymphatic system is stimulated as that is where many of the toxins reside (as well as the kidney and the liver). Fasting is only one way to remove toxins in the system, massage also does, along with other ways including skin exfoliation and brushing. Having baths with aromatherapy oils blended for detoxifying the body will also help immensely. So I am going to make myself 3 products for this detox; a body oil, a salt scrub and a bath oil. I feel like I am really spoiling myself and why not!

Here are many essential oils which help the body detox:

Juniper berry is great for cleansing and purifying and it cleanses not only the body but also the mind. However, this oil is not for those who have kidney disease or kidney or bladder infections (but those people probably wouldn’t be detoxing). It is also a good oil for water retention and it is a strengthening oil and rids negative energy (a detox has emotional aspects as well).

Grapefruit is a great oil for detoxing as it stimulates the circulatory and lymphatic system. It is also useful when detoxing from substance abuse.

Sweet fennel is great to use when detoxing as it helps reduce water retention and reducing the congestion of the lymphatic system.

Ginger is a great oil for stimulating the lymphatic system.

Lemon is beneficial for stimulating circulation and reducing fluid retention.

Rosemary oil helps in the elimination of toxins and the associated pain of such conditions as gout and other muscular aches and pains.

Helichrysum oil is a great oil for detoxing. It stimulates and decongests the lymphatic system.

Geranium oil stimulates lymphatic circulation.

Carrot seed oil is great for detoxifying the liver and stimulating all organs and the lymphatic circulation

Cypress oil is great for decongesting the lymphatic system. It is also good for muscular aches and pains, as well as rheumatism and arthritis. It is believed by traditional Chinese medicine that the oil is useful for the liver. On an emotional level cypress helps during periods of change.

How to make a salt scrub? There are many ways and ingredients which can be used for a scrub during detox, but I am choosing to use magnesium sulfate and sea salt. Get 1/2 cup magnesium sulfate (great for detoxing) and 1/2 cup sea salt and 3/4 cup of cold pressed vegetable oil (I am using organic sunflower oil because it is nice and light and so great for my skin). Add a mixture of 7 drops of your chosen detox essential oil blend. You could also add some clay for an extra detox boost.

For the bath salt take 1/2 cup magnesium sulfate, 1/2 cup of sea salt and add up to 10 drops of your chosen detox blend.

For your body oil, use around 2% for the oil, which means for 100ml of cold pressed vegetable oil add 2 ml of essential oils which is around 50 drops.

For my detox bath blend I have chosen cypress, juniper and grapefruit. For my body oil I have chosen carrot seed, helichrysum, cypress and geranium oils. And for my salt scrub also cypress and juniper. You need to choose the oils according to your individual situation or you can seek the guidance of a professional aromatherapist. With my products now ready, I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to starting the detox. You know, even if you can’t face fasting or eliminating certain foods, you could still do a sort of detox by just using aromatherapy oils and getting massage and exfoliating your skin. What oils will you be choosing for your detox? I would love to hear!

#aromatherapy #essentialoils #cypress #detox #spring #mommazen