Essential Oils for Headache Relief - Migraines and Pain

Understanding Headaches and Migraines

Headaches and migraines can be extremely debilitating. They affect over 1 billion people worldwide. While there are many pharmaceutical treatment options available, more and more people are exploring natural remedies like essential oils to find relief.

Headaches come in many forms, from tension headaches caused by stress and neck pain to sinus headaches from allergies. Migraines are recurrent, moderate to severe headaches that are often characterized by sensitivity to light, nausea, and throbbing pain.

Research shows that certain essential oil compounds can help alleviate headache and migraine symptoms thanks to their pain-relieving, anti-inflammatory and relaxing properties when inhaled or applied topically.

Essential Oils for Headache and Migraine Relief

Here are some of the top essential oils for easing headaches and migraines naturally:

Peppermint Oil

Peppermint essential oil contains menthol, which provides a cooling, numbing sensation. It also has antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory and pain-reducing effects. Studies show peppermint oil can reduce headache intensity.

Lavender Oil

Lavender essential oil is renowned for promoting calmness and sleep. It contains analgesic and anti-inflammatory compounds as well. Lavender can reduce migraine pain and help headaches from stress when inhaled or applied to the temples.

Eucalyptus Oil

Eucalyptus oil has a cooling, invigorating scent. It contains the compound eucalyptol which has analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties to relieve headache symptoms. It also helps clear sinus congestion.

Rosemary Oil

Studies demonstrate rosemary essential oil reduces headache frequency and severity as well as emotional stress. It boosts circulation while providing an analgesic effect on headache pain.

Chamomile Oil

The anti-inflammatory properties of chamomile oil make it ideal for soothing headaches. Inhalation also promotes relaxation. Combined with lavender, chamomile can significantly alleviate migraine pain.

Marjoram Oil

Marjoram essential oil contains multiple analgesic compounds that provide relief from muscle tension, sinus pressure, and migraine pain. It also helps relieve anxiety.

Young Living Essential Oil Blends for Headaches

Young Living is a leading essential oil brand. They produce a number of proprietary blends specifically designed to harness the analgesic power of essential oils for headaches:

Mgrain

Mgrain essential oil blend was created to provide cooling, comforting relief from headaches and migraines. It contains peppermint, marjoram, lavender, Roman chamomile, helichrysum, and rosemary oils.

M-Grain

M-Grain is a convenient roll-on blend with spearmint, peppermint, lavender, cilantro, marjoram, Roman chamomile, rosemary, basil, and helichrysum oils for migraine relief.

Panaway

PanAway oil blend contains wintergreen, helichrysum, clove and peppermint oils. It provides analgesic effects when applied topically to relieve muscle aches and headache pain.

Stress Away

This blend has copinga balsam, lime, cedarwood, ocotea and lavender oils to combat stress and tension that can cause headaches. It promotes relaxation.

How to Use Essential Oils for Headaches

There are several effective methods for harnessing the power of essential oils to find headache and migraine relief:

Inhalation

Directly inhaling essential oils stimulates the olfactory system which transmits signals to the limbic system in the brain. This triggers pain-relieving effects while also promoting relaxation. Add a few drops of oil to your hands, cup your hands over your nose, and inhale deeply for several minutes.

Diffusion

Using an essential oil diffuser disperses aromatic compounds into the air so you passively inhale them. This is an easy way to access benefits. Add several drops of your chosen oil or blend to the diffuser and inhale the aroma for 30 minutes or longer.

Topical Application

Applying diluted essential oils like peppermint or lavender to the temples, forehead, or base of the neck allows compounds to absorb into the skin for localized effects. Add 2-4 drops of oil to a teaspoon of carrier oil before massaging into skin.

Cold Compress

Soaking a washcloth in cold water mixed with a couple drops of minty essential oil like peppermint or eucalyptus then applying to the head provides cooling pain relief. Reapply as needed.

Tips for Using Essential Oils for Migraines

Those using essential oils specifically to treat migraines should follow these tips:

• Apply peppermint oil to the temples and forehead at onset of aura or pain for quick relief.
• Use a cold compress soaked in lavender, peppermint or eucalyptus oil across your forehead and eyes.
• Inhale the scent of oils like chamomile, rosemary or marjoram during the headache phase.
• To prevent migraines, diffuse relaxing essential oils like lavender nightly.
• Keep a diluted mix of migraine-fighting oils handy to roll onto temples as needed.

Precautions When Using Essential Oils for Headaches

Essential oils are very concentrated plant extracts so you should take some precautions including:

• Always dilute oils before applying them directly to skin.
• Avoid getting oils near the eyes, in nostrils or inner ears.
• Test for skin sensitivity by doing a patch test before wide-spread use.
• Don't ingest essential oils unless under a doctor's care.
• Watch for allergic reactions like rash, hives or difficulty breathing.
• Consult your doctor before using if pregnant, nursing or on medication.

Never ingest essential oils unless specifically advised by a medical practitioner who is experienced in their internal use. When used carefully, essential oils can be a helpful complementary therapy for alleviating many types of headache pain.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.