Massaging your baby is a wonderful way for you both to relax and to help create a beautiful, loving and trusting bond
If you haven’t tried it already, give it a go. And a massage with organic essential oils is great for promoting sleep, relieving colic and the gentle contact encourages an environment of comfort and security.
Essential oils can be used in your baby’s bath, in your baby massage and also in a humidifier.
Considerable caution must be taken though, as these oils are extremely concentrated and must be properly mixed and very well diluted before use.
Please re-check all measurements a second time before use (as we all know that a frazzled mumma-head can fog clear thinking).
Methods of use:
Bath – Make a dilution of 1 drop of essential oil in 2 teaspoons of carrier oil, run the bath as usual, add 50 drops of this dilution to water and mix well in the bath water.
Massage – Make a dilution of 1 drop essential oil in 30mls of carrier oil, gently massage your essential oil blend into baby’s skin.
Humidifier – Add 1 drop of essential oil in 500ml of water.
Vegetable-based carrier oils are the best for baby massages. Organic Virgin Coconut Oil is wonderful as a carrier oil for young skin. It is very gentle on sensitive skin; it is also anti-viral and anti-fungal.
Sweet almond oil and Apricot kernal oil are also very good carrier oils.
The most suitable essential oils for babies that are safe to use are Lavender, Chamomile and Mandarin oil.
If your baby is not sleeping well use organic chamomile can help.
Chamomile with a sweet herbal and fruity scent is a peaceful oil with soothing and calming properties, its analgesic action eases pain, especially when it is caused by colic.
For another proven natural sleep aid, we also recommend our favourite organic balm which mixes essential oils (including sandalwood and lavender) and other natural ingredients into a divinely smelling balm to be rubbed on bub’s back, neck, feet and temples a half-hour before sleep time.
When considering cleanliness, organic lavender has antibiotic, antiseptic, disinfectant and anti-viral properties.
Lavender with its sweet, gentle soothing aroma, is a calming sedative oil also with pain relieving qualities; it is invaluable for many skin conditions.
These three oils can also prove helpful with eczema and dry itchy skin. Mandarin has a cheery uplifting aroma; it is also nurturing and soothing.
We often recommend First Light Organics baby oil. The relaxing organic lavender and chamomile also nourishes your baby’s skin, helps with cradle cap and is rich in natural vitamins that soften and protect.
ONEA has an excellent baby massage oil (also suitable for women during pregnancy) made using 100% certified organic ingredients. It contains a blend of Australian apple seed oil, Manuka honey, natural vitamin e, sandalwood oil, Kangaroo paw flower and is perfect for massaging new babies.
Please note that it is NOT recommended to use aromatherapy for babies less than 3 months old without expert advice.
It is always a smart move to ask your doctor or health professional for advice before using aromatherapy with your baby or toddler.
And also take care to ensure that your aromatherapy essential oils are pure and organic – do not use fragrance oils and other synthetic oils.
Quick tips:
If you have any massage or bath oil mixed unused and you plan to re-use on a later date, always:
- Store it in a bottle labelled with your baby’s name, the date, the dilution and the names of the organic essential oils in the preparation
- Label whether it was used for massage or for your baby’s bath
- Describe in a few words on the label whether there was any noticable effect on your little one (calming or sleep inducing or soothed irritability). This can be very useful knowledge when you are searching for ideas in the bewitching hour
- And always store your organic essential oils in a dark cool spot and high enough away from small hands
