How To Do A Castor Oil Pack

I first heard of castor oil pack(s) from a nutritionist turned good friend, who is a wealth of little health tips (and I’m on a never ending quest to pick her brain and learn them all). At the time I was looking to gently detox my liver and was asking for any tips or insight she had. I was experiencing horrible bloating and was looking for non invasive ways to aid my body without taking any additional medication. She told me to try castor oil packs and after a quick deep dive into the research, I was sold. This basically encompasses everything that I get weirdly excited about: a easy remedy to do at home that has a so many benefits!

Before we get on to what a castor oil pack can do, let’s first talk about what it actually is. To put it simply, a castor oil pack is a cloth saturated in castor oil, applied to the skin, with heat applied on top of this. It’s surprisingly easy to do once you have the ingredients, and it’s super inexpensive.

What is Castor Oil?

Castor oil is vegetable oil made by pressing castor seeds from the ricinus communis plant. It is rich in ricinoleic acid which makes up 90% of the oil and has been linked to the oil’s numerous benefits.

The ricinoleic acid in castor targets the lymphatic system, helping your body increase production of lymphocytes. Lymphocytes help increase circulation, they help fight disease, and they aid your body in detoxifying accumulated waste that has built up over time.

The use of castor oil packs dates back to ancient times and they’re still greatly loved to this day for their far reaching benefits while being relaxing and non invasive. They’re great to incorporate into your weekly routine if you’re looking for improved detoxification, reduced inflammation in the liver, or even to address an hormonal imbalance.

What are the benefits of castor oil pack (over the liver)?

• Reduction of nausea

• Pain relief

• Improved digestion

• Reduced inflammation

• Increased relaxation

• Immune enhancing benefits

• Improved circulation

• Improved elimination of waste

What you’ll need:

• A bottle of organic castor oil

• A piece of organic cotton flannel

• A heating pad or hot water bottle

• A zip lock bag or plastic wrap

• An old towel that you don’t mind ruining because castor oil stains

How to do a castor oil pack:

1. Fill your hot water bottle up or plug in your heating pad in an area where you can comfortably lay down.

2. Carefully saturate the cotton flannel in the castor oil.

3. Lay down and place the flannel directly on your skin over your liver. Cover the flannel with a piece of plastic (zip lock bag or plastic wrap) then over this place a towel, then a hot water bottle/heating pad.

4. Keep the castor oil pack in place for about 45 min-1 hour and don’t forget to relax!

5. Remove pack and wipe away any residual oil.

6. Place the flannel in a glass container and stick in the fridge and store for your next use (can use a couple of times).

7. Repeat as needed!

You can also do castor oil packs on other parts of your body that you’re looking to bring circulation to and get things moving, like a lymph node or abdomen, but our favorite place to do a pack is definitely the liver. We’re each on a good dose of medication daily, so we always try to keep our liver in good shape since it works hard. Try it out and don’t forget to drink lots of water afterwards!

Enjoy!