It is quite common for massage therapists to incorporate mint oil into their treatment, whether during or to close. But what does mint oil do? And why are essential oils effective? Let’s explore this topic further.
Right from the outset I would like to make it clear that I am not a specialist with regards to essential oils. What I will be writing about is my own research with regards to medical journals, research articles, as well as first hand experience from incorporating mint oil into the massage treatments that I do. I am not a naturopath, aromatherapist, or herbalist.
EDIT (immediately after posting): this was meant to be a short guide, but turned into a quite thorough post. The main reason is having to explain why essential oils are beneficial and how they are used. I do believe that this is the best way to have presented the information while still keeping each section informative and easy to follow.
The topics that we will discus are broken down into categories of:
— first explaining what essential oils are;
— next establishing that there are different types of mint oils and noting the one that I personally use;
— then showing what mint oil has been proven to help with;
— continuing on as a how-to for gaining the benefits from mint oil;
— and finally noting some safety concerns
What are Essential Oils?
Essential oils – sometimes referred to as volatile oils – are extracted from plants at either the bark, stems, stalks, leaves, roots, flowers, and fruits (among other parts). Extraction is done in a wide variety of ways. In western societies this is done because of the unique skin permeability properties, as well as its uses as an antiseptic.
With groups of people that span much farther back in time, you can trace their uses of essential oils to at least 6,000 years ago. Places like China or Egypt are two that come to my mind. Their uses of essential oils were important as a therapeutic, spiritual, cosmetic, and aromatic means.
The most common ways of delivering essential oils to your body are:
— local topical application
— inhalation
— added to the water prior to taking a bath
You can find capsules that contain toned-down or even unstable essential oils inside. These have been thought to have unreliable and unintentional results. This is because of the way that they are made. Other ways of ingesting minute amounts (whether for flavour or something else) are in teas, candies, or other chewables.
Because essential oils can be extracted from many many types of plants, as well as different parts to those plants, there are a wide variety of essential oils that can be found on the market. Each has different effects, meaning that they are useful for different things. Essential oils as a whole have been shown to be helpful with: indigestion, respiratory problems, pain relief (particularly regarding muscle pain), depression, insomnia, headaches, joint swelling, and certain skin conditions.
It is important to note that you need to use very little oil (think only a couple drops) to achieve the desired effect. It is also advisable to dilute the oil before using it topically, but that will be explained further down.
Different Kinds of Mint?
Personally, I use Hagina brand Japanese mint oil in my massage treatments. This is derived primarily from Mentha arvensis. While the plant itself is also known as wild, corn, or field mint; it is actually from the same primary strain of plant that all mint types are derived from. This primary strain is scientifically known as Lamiaceae. The rest of the ‘ingredients’ to Japanese mint oil include: limonene, and linalool.
Currently, there are 600 kinds of mint, stemming from 25 distinct species. By far and away the two most common are: peppermint (Mentha piperita) and spearmint (Mentha spicata). Many constituents or byproducts of these two types of mint are used within other mint products.
Specific Uses of Mint Essential Oils:
Mint oil has shown to be particularly helpful with relieving arthritic conditions and painful muscle spasms. However, it is constantly being studied further and there is more to find out still. There is quite a solid amount of research that has proven mint oil to have the following beneficial actions:
— anti-inflammatory
— analgesic
— antimicrobial
— antiseptic
— antispasmodic
— fungicidal effects
— decongestant
In regards to the antispasmodic property, this makes it an effective and preferable choice to deal with irritable bowl syndrome or pain associated with the menstrual cycle. When applied topically around the temples or head it also has a relieving effect on headaches. Furthermore, itching due to things like poison oak / ivy, ringworm, scabies, and herpes blisters can also be eased.
How to Use Mint Oil:
As outlined previously, there are a few general ways that any essential oil can be delivered to your body. Now we will look at how I would suggest mint oil specifically be used for optimal results. The first will be the longest, while the rest will be short summaries.
Massage Oil
Essential oils should be diluted before being applied to the skin. In regards to self-massage this can be done using a carrier oil. The ratio should be about 3-5 drops of mint oil to one ounce of carrier oil. Examples of a good carrier oil could be warmed coconut oil, mineral oil, or apricot oil. It should go without saying that if you are allergic to nuts, do not use a nut based oil (i.e. almond) as your carrier oil.
Before using any new oil that you may have bought, you should first perform an allergy test. This is done by applying a very small amount to your skin. Massage it in a little bit, and then wait 24 hours. You would know immediately if you did have an allergy, but sensitivities may take a bit more time to show up. If all is well after 24 (or even 48) hours, then you can try mixing your carrier and essential oil to use whenever you would like!
Proper self-massage is its own topic, but just know that you do not have to be swimming in oil. Less is more, but if you feel like you are getting too much friction and it is agitating your skin.. then you should be adding a couple more drops of the oil mixture.
If have been massaged by me before, you will know that I do not use mixtures. I will apply mint oil after I have massaged a particular area (i.e. upper traps). I am able to use this undiluted form because I had massaged that area. By this I mean that I have provided you with a barrier (so to speak) of oil so that the mint oil is not directly on your skin.
As a final note: you can apply essential oils directly to your skin, but if you have never used or had that type of essential oil used on you before then this is a bad move. You should re-read everything that you just read above with regards to massage uses, and then pretend that this portion does not exist.
If you are courageous of heart and have had positive experiences with mint oil before then you can add 1-2 drops of mint oil to your hands. Afterwards, you can apply that to a very specific area of your skin. This can be very effective at the base of your skull (occiput) or temples; especially when dealing with headaches.
Steam Inhalation
Heat up some water until it is steaming. This does not have to be boiling – which would likely be too much for your body to handle right away and can cause burning. Pour hot water into a bowl, and add 1-6 drops of mint oil. Make sure that you have a towel large enough to cover your head and the bowl.
Cover your head with the towel (stops the steam from escaping), and close your eyes while hovering over the bowl. You are effectively making your own private steam room here. Play around with the distance from your face to the bowl – I personally find that being a bit less than a foot away helps with comfort.
Do not do this for longer than two minutes, each time. If you are just trying this for the first time, I would even say no longer than 40-seconds or so. But you can repeat this cycle by waiting a brief amount of time before starting again. Try waiting about 1-3 minutes between steam inhalation sessions. This method is the best way to get the decongesting and sinus clearing benefits from your mint oil.
Another general inhalation method (but without the use of steam) is to simply place an uncapped bottle of mint oil about an inch below your nose – and then take a whiff! This is can have a very pleasant but also intense aroma. The effects of inhaling essential oils this way are not well documented; although I have heard an aromatherapist state that this is one of the best methods of receiving them.
Bathing
This is pretty similar to the steam inhalation, in that you are just adding a few drops of your mint oil to water. In this instance you just have a large tub to hold your water. It should be noted that you can add a bit more essential oil with this as there is significantly more dilution. Just know that if you are starting with a small amount, you can always add a bit more once you are in the tub to get a stronger affect. Whereas if you started with too much you cannot go back from there.
Diffused Into Your Environment
Diffusing essential oils into your environment is a great way to gain their effects in a subtle but wholly manageable way. This is done by using water, a few drops of mint oil and placing them within a diffuser (if you are unaware of what this is then google “diffuser” and I guarantee you will recognize it visually, if not by name). It is important to note that these are subtle, and to that end they will not be as strong or quickly noticeable as the previous methods.
This way may also be appealing to people who feel that previous listed methods use time that could otherwise be spent on different things throughout their day. I do not agree with this, but it is undeniable that you can very quickly (and with little thought or effort) have this method in the background as you are working, watching a movie, sleeping, etc.
Note: incense sticks I would consider comparable to diffusers. However, if headaches are your problem, I would suggest avoiding incense sticks as their smoke may worsen your symptoms.
Safety Concerns
— the use of mint oils should be avoided if you have any of the following conditions:
» severe liver damage.
» gallbladder dysfunction (including gallstones) or disease.
» chronic heartburn.
» allergy or sensitivity (skin or otherwise) to any type of mint or derivative thereof.
— mint essential oils should be avoided with any children under the age of about two-and-a-half to three years (studies have indicated 30 months).
→ can lead to sudden apnea (temporary restriction or complete cessation of breathing) because of the mint oil affecting a specific membrane within their nose. This membrane has a direct correlation with heart and lung functioning at this age.
— application to children (older than noted above) around their chest should be avoided.
→ can lead to acute respiratory distress by way of bronchial or laryngeal spasms.
— never use undiluted essential oil (of any kind) on someone under the age of 12. These volatile oils can be too intense for their body to handle, and should always be diluted down to be less invasive.
— according to the European Medicines Agency doses of menthol over one gram per kilogram of body weight may be toxic; they advise attentive + cautionary use with mint oils using menthol as the base.
— when taken orally mint oil may cause heartburn, nausea, vomiting, perianal burning, or blurred / double vision.
— inhalation of large doses of mint oil may lead to dizziness, confusion, nausea, and blurred / double vision.
→ studies specifically show that this is more in regards to menthol. Err on the side of caution here because, as noted above, too much menthol may be toxic. To best protect yourself, simply apply this knowledge to the entire umbrella of mint oils.
Some of the above may contradict what you read earlier within this post regarding the benefits that mint and other essential oils can provide. The reason for this goes back to the point of too much mint oil = toxic. This is because, as with anything else in life, too much of something good is bad.
Looking at nausea: as ironic as it may seem to give yourself nausea from using too much, when you were trying to help feeling nauseous in the first place; you really only have yourself to blame for that one. Be smart, and you will have excellent results!
If you would like more information on the above, I would suggest going to speak with a naturopath, aromatherapist, or herbalist. This way you can get a more thorough first hand experience, while also taking comfort in knowing that they have a more complete or comprehensive education to back up what they are telling you.
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