Body oils are the bread and butter of my skincare routine. If I was on a deserted island and could only bring 3 things it would be 3 different oils.

I might die from lack of food and shelter, but as least my skin would be glowwy and plump.

One of my favorite ways to use oil is with a Castor Oil Pack.

Castor oil has a lot of healing properties, the big ones being that the main fatty-acid in castor oil has shown to reduce pain, swelling, and inflammation significantly. (1)

This is something I use for digestive pains, menstrual discomfort (or simply to encourage a healthy menstruation), when I’m stressed, or just when I need some self-care time.

It can be used for muscle inflammation anywhere, but for the sake of this post I will describe it as being used on the abdomen as I use it for what I listed above.

Materials Needed for this Oil Pack:

1. Container
2. Castor oil
3. Natural (undyed) wool or cotton flannel that is the correct size to cover the abdomen
4. Heating pad or hot water bottle
5. Plastic wrap or plastic bag cut about double the size of the flannel
6. A large towel to protect the bed/ sheets (castor oil will stain)

How To:

1. Lay the towel down and pull blankets/ sheets back so that you may lay comfortably on the bed without touching anything you don’t want stained.
2. Place the cloth (wool or flannel) into the container and pour the castor oil on top. You want it saturated but not soaked.
3. Place the cloth over the abdomen.
4. Cover the cloth with the plastic wrap.
5. Place the heat source (water bottle or heating pad) on top of the cloth.
6. Relax for the next 60 minutes or so. Read a book, catch up on The Bachelorette (#TeamPilotPete anyone????), or chat with your mom. Just make sure you’re freaking relaxed.
7. When you’re done you can rub the oil in or clean yourself off. Personally, I like to feel like a slick baby dolphin but if you like dry, cracked skin that’s none of my business (I have 0 room to talk when my elbows could start a forest fire – there’s not enough oil in the world to save them).
8. Store your pack in the fridge (covered) and you can reuse it 25-ish times! #lesswaste baby!!!

Have you tried this? Are you going to? Did I shame you (WITH LOVE) into using more body oils? I hope all of the above are a yes.