All about Castor Oil Packing for Fertility

Castor oil is a vegetable oil pressed from seeds from the castor bean and has varied uses for hair, skin, even constipation. But my obvious favorite is it's benefits to increasing fertility. It helps to detoxify your reproductive organs and tonify your blood cells. Castor oil affects three systems within the body:

⋒ The Circulatory System: Blood is the body’s natural healing agent.  Castor oil packs stimulate circulation in the body, helping to bring fresh, oxygenated, untried rich blood to the reproductive organs.  This enables healing of scar tissue, the breakdown of adhesions, and provides nutrition to the ovaries and uterus.

⋒ The Lymphatic System: think of lymph as the garbage collectors of our bodies.  It finds the ‘garbage’ (i.e. toxins, excessive hormones, and waste) and brings it to our lymph nodes, where it is processed and purified. However, our lymphatic system doesn’t have it’s own pump like the circulatory system does. It gets it’s movement from exercise, heat, and stretching. Castor oil packs can also benefit and stimulate the lymph, promoting detoxification and cleansing when applied to the pelvic region.

⋒ The Liver: The liver, your body’s lymphatic powerhouse, stores and processes toxins and hormones in the body.  Stagnation in the liver can lead to hormonal imbalance. Castor oil packs can also be applied to the liver to help it decongest, which may promote hormone balance.

PLEASE NOTE: castor oil packs should not be used during your period or after ovulation if you could be pregnant, but they are a fantastic way to nurture your fertility after your period up until ovulation as well as after ovulation if you didn't TTC that cycle. Not safe during pregnancy.

Want to know how to castor oil pack? Grab the following supplies:

⋒ One bottle of cold pressed/unrefined castor oil. Make sure it's hexane free.

⋒ An non dyed flannel cloth (the oil will make any color run). I recommend these.

⋒ An old towel or two to lay underneath you to protect your furniture from the castor oil should it drip. It stains.

⋒ Plastic food wrap - enough to fully cover the flannel cloth. If you prefer not to use plastic, you could probably use a beeswax wrap if you have one large enough.

⋒ A hot water bottle or hot rice pack (either can be found here). May need to be reheated. You could also use an electric heating pad if you prefer.

⋒ A glass storage container/jar for your oiled cloth so you can reuse it.

Here's the process:

⋒ Set up your towel underneath where you’ll sit or lay: on a couch, on the floor, in a bed or chair, etc.

⋒ Get your hot water bottle or hot rice pack ready.

⋒ In your glass storage container, soak the flannel in a tablespoon of castor oil at a time, until it’s pretty saturated but not soaked.

⋒ Lie down on the towel(s) and place the flannel square over the affected area. You can either put it over your abdomen, or over your liver (just below your right breast). Fold over any extra fabric.

⋒ Place the plastic wrap over the flannel, ensuring all the flannel and oil is covered.

⋒ Place the hot water bottle or heating pad over the plastic and let sit for 30-60 minutes while you relax, read or watch TV. (I use this time to meditate, catch up on podcasts, books I'm reading etc.)

⋒ Don't feel guilty for taking time for yourself. Self care is important!

⋒ After 30-60 minutes, remove the pack and put it in your glass storage container then store in the fridge. You can reuse it about 15-30 times before making a new one—just add a little more oil each time to keep it saturated.