Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, commonly known as PCOS, is a hormonal disorder that affects a great number of women around the world. The symptoms of PCOS can vary from person to person, but it often manifests through irregular menstrual cycles, weight gain, acne, and hair loss. Luckily, nature always offers a remedy for every disease.
And the best way to make the most of nature’s gifts is through essential oils, which encapsulate all its superpowers!
Did you know for example that many essential oils have strong properties that can help you counteract typical PCOS symptoms?
These oils when combined with other significant changes in your lifestyle can truly help you reduce your PCOS symptoms! Eager to find out how? Let’s then cut to the chase and discover more about these amazing oils in the following article.
Essential Oils For PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome)
When you’re a woman with PCOS, you probably agree when I say that dealing with it can be a real struggle. What’s worse is that, as you know, the treatments that doctors usually suggest for this syndrome often have many annoying side effects. Still, it’s recently been proved that with the right diet, regular exercise, and an overall healthy lifestyle you can significantly counteract the unpleasant symptoms of this syndrome!
But there’s also something else you can do to overcome this issue, and that is to use the amazing power of essential oils.
As you probably know, essential oils are concentrated plant extracts that have been used for medicinal purposes since the dawn of time. Just like there are millions of different plants and species in nature, there are also a huge variety of essential oils that have all sorts of properties: some are anti-inflammatory, some analgesic, and some others have calming effects instead.
Crazy right? And trust me, when you get into the universe of essential oils, you’ll be amazed to see how only through smells you can drastically change the state of your body and mind.
And of course, there are some specific oils that when used properly can be a real panacea against PCOS, helping you restore the natural balance and rhythms of the body.
These oils work on our system in many different ways, from balancing hormones to enhancing mood and relieving stress. And what’s also cool about essential oils for PCOS is that you can use them in complete safety, applying them topically, diffusing them into the air, or even adding them to your skin routine! Here’s a list of my favorite (and most effective) essential oils for PCOS!
Lavender
Lavender is hands-down the queen of essential oils. This plant it’s literally packed with an endless list of properties and has a sweet, delicate yet distinctive smell. It is generally used to help the mind and body relax and unwind and regulate the mood. And as you know, mood swings are one of the most annoying consequences of PCOS. So when used to treat PCOS, lavender has proved to reduce anxiety and stress levels, which can be extremely beneficial for women with PCOS who often experience emotional distress related to the condition.
A study investigated the effect of lavender essential oil on anxiety, stress, and depression in women with PCOS. The study involved 50 women with PCOS who were randomly assigned to either an intervention group (which received aromatherapy massage with lavender essential oil) or a control group (which received usual care without aromatherapy massage). The results showed that, surprisingly, the intervention group had significant reductions in anxiety, stress, and depression levels compared to the control group.
When it comes to the right use of this oil, all you will need to do is simply rub a few drops of lavender essential oil on your skin, or add 3-5 drops of oil to your body lotion. Also, if you have trouble sleeping, try putting a few drops of lavender oil on your pillow before going to bed, you’ll fall asleep like a baby in a snap!
Clary Sage
Clary sage is one of the best essential oils to treat PCOS. Why? Well mainly because it can restore hormonal balance and reduce stress. As a matter of fact, a recent study proved that using clary sage oil regularly can be truly helpful to restore estrogen dominance while reducing the level of cortisol, which is the hormone linked to stress. On top of that, clary sage essential oil can also promote hair growth and fertility while fighting acne! For best results, I’d recommend using a few drops of clary sage oil and adding them to your skin creme or shampoo.
Thyme
This is definitely my go-to oil when it comes to aromatherapy applied to PCOS. According to recent studies, it has a high concentration of phytoprogestin, which is basically plant-based progesterone. So thyme essential oil helps to stabilize and boost progesterone levels and this, as you can imagine, can be incredibly useful if you have PCOS. Usually, a low level of progesterone is the root cause of annoying symptoms like hot flashes, mood swings, and insomnia.
Sandalwood
From incense to perfumes, sandalwood is another fragrance that is extremely popular in Aromatherapy. But it doesn’t simply smell good as it’s also full of benefits! Especially when it comes to PCOS, sandalwood can be used to help the endocrine system balance testosterone levels and as a result, it can balance out skin oils, helping you to reduce acne. And this is, as you probably know, another annoying symptom of PCOS. But there’s more: when you gift yourself a wonderful aromatherapy session, the fragrant smell of sandalwood while balancing your hormones can, as a result, also improve your libido, which is oftentimes very low in women with PCOS.
Geranium
Geranium essential oil can really do wonders for our body: it stimulates the adrenal cortex, hence helping you improve your focus and uplift your mood! Further, it can also increase the level of progesterone, a hormone that, as we’ve seen, is often low in patients affected with PCOS. And if it wasn’t enough, geranium has also proved to promote fertility!
Peppermint Oil
Peppermint oil is often used as a natural anti-inflammatory and for this reason, it can be a great remedy against menstrual cramps, which often annoys those with PCOS. In addition, it has also been proven to reduce hirsutism, which is the excessive growth of hair on the face, chest, and back.
Ylang-Ylang
With its flowery, exotic smell, Ylang-Ylang can be used for a variety of purposes, but it’s commonly known to be able to restore emotional balance. And it’s exactly for this reason that Ylang-Ylang is often used as a natural antidepressant. As you know, one of the most common symptoms of PCOS is a high level of cortisol, the stress hormone. Interestingly, a pilot study has recently shown that prolonged use of Ylang-Ylang can help balance the level of cortisol and adrenals, hence sensibly reducing stress.
Rose Oil
I know you’re probably not surprised to see rose oil on this list. Rose essential oil is indeed one of the most famous essential oil as it has a great number of beneficial properties, on both body and mind. Rose oil is a natural mood enhancer and can therefore help reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. It can also help reduce inflammation and regulate menstrual cycles.
Cinnamon
Keeping low blood sugar levels is also incredibly important when dealing with PCOS. And did you know that cinnamon is not only delicious but also incredibly healthy? This essential oil is indeed known to promote weight loss since its fragrant aroma can help induce a sense of fullness. Moreover, cinnamon is great also to increase insulin sensitivity, which can be a total game-changer if you have problems with insulin resistance.
Black cumin
The seed of Nigella black (AKA black cumin) has always been used in traditional folk medicine as a remedy against diabetes, Alzheimer and migraines. But interestingly enough, alongside cinnamon, black cumin can help you restore the normal blood sugar level and control your insulin sensitivity is black cumin essential oil. Recent studies have indeed proved that it takes only a few grams of black cumin to reduce fasting blood sugar levels and insulin resistance.
Rosemary
You probably have smelled the characteristic scent of rosemary millions of times while cooking. But amazingly, rosemary is not just flavorful for our tongues, but it has an incredible range of benefits for our whole body! Rosemary oil has indeed been used for many years in traditional medicine as a remedy to improve hair growth. But actually, it has also proved to improve memory and concentration both of which are usually affected by PCOS-related hormone imbalances.
Best Essential Oil Blends For PCOS
So given the great variety of oils that you can use for your PCOS, you might feel a little lost and don’t know which one to choose. But don’t worry because I’ve just rounded up a list of my favorite essential oil blends that can trigger specific effects on both body and mind. Once you have experimented a bit with some oils, you can get creative and explore the combinations that most appeal to your taste and needs. Just remember that, as a general rule, when applied to the skin, always try to combine essential oils with a carrier oil, like coconut oil or sesame oil, because some essential oils can be rather aggressive, especially if applied to the skin.
“Balance it out” Hormonal Balance Blend
Ingredients: 8 drops Clary sage+ 6 drops of Thyme+ 6 drops Frankincense+4 drops of Rosemary essential oil
Directions:
- Step 1: Fill a small container with your blend of essential oils, and add your carrier oil of choice. I personally suggest using a castor oil pack as it can give relief from inflammation while helping the mixture penetrate the body.
- Step 2: Gently apply it to the ovaries, rub it on the whole pelvic region, and make sure you repeat this process every day.
“Unwind and Relax” Calming Blend
Ingredients: 8 drops Lavender essential oil + 8 drops Clary sage essential oil + 6 drops Ylang-Ylang
Directions: Mix all the oils and either apply them on your pillow or diffuse them in your bedroom. Obviously, my suggestion is to diffuse them right before bedtime.
“Down from the swing” Mood Balancing Blend
Ingredients: 8 drops of thyme essential oil + 6 drops of geranium essential oil+ 6 drops of clary sage essential oil
Directions: Mix the oils together and try adding them to your diffuser to enjoy the mood-balancing effect of this wonderful blend.
Final Thoughts
So we have explored the amazing properties of essential oils for PCOS. All the oils that I decided to include in the list are those that I researched and tested personally. However, since we’re all different, and since PCOS has a wide spectrum of different symptoms, what worked for me might as well be ineffective for you! So my tip would be not to simply let the nose guide you but really try those oils that can be effective for a specific function.
Another thing that I’d like to highlight is the fact that, when using essential oils for PCOS, it’s important to use high-quality oils that are free from additives and contaminants. But most importantly, I’d like to remind you that essential oils should be used with care and should not be used as a substitute for medical treatment. For this reason, I’d suggest consulting with a healthcare professional before using them, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or if you’re affected by a particular medical condition.
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