All busy mums could do with a dose of magic in September - and the best way to enjoy this is by creating some time for self-care, using essential oils.  I write this article after being deep in my own Motherhood initiation as my partner was in LA for a week - so I know: it’s very timely for me that our focus is brought back to pampering ourselves a little.  

For many busy mums, September is the month where you are back to the school routine, maybe after being deep in juggling childcare and work during the school holidays.  So, today, we dive into the magic of aromatherapy as a way of restoring the balance and creating some relaxing downtime.  After all, if you’re a lover of aromatherapy, it’s likely you also long for a life of magic.

The challenges of busy mums

There are a few challenges for a busy mum who has been stuck living in the mundane, though.  And these are challenges that a mum will need to choose through, in order to begin to nurture herself properly.

The first one is that she can often struggle to create a nurturing space for herself because she feels she has to ‘keep going’, tending to all of the family’s needs before her own.  From here, she can end up denying her own needs and desires for self-nurture, instead constantly rescuing others and putting her own needs last (often because of the deeper feeling that she needs to be loved and approved of). 

On the other hand, she can also have kept going serving others so much that she has now reached the point of burn-out, where she’s become a bit shut down and distant and refuses to meet the needs of others.  Again, this is a deep call for that self-care and love - so it’s an important challenge to recognise you’re in, and love yourself in.

If you’re resonating with either of these, then it’s definitely time for you to choose to give yourself a little bit of pampering and love.  We all deserve it.

So, here are some of our favourite self-care blends for busy mums.

Top 8 feminine essential oils for busy mums

There are lots of great essential oils that can help with relaxation, but the main ones I’d recommend for mums looking for nurturing specifically include all the florals, as they are particularly balancing for the Feminine, and really feel like a beautiful pamper.  Often, when we’ve been in “busy mum” mode, we can do with a bit of dropping back into our femininity.  

Here are some floral oils for you to explore - you might combine them with other groups of oils to mix it up a bit:

• Jasmine – has a warm, floral, exotic aroma, is emotionally warming and uplifting, and good for apathy, stress, and nervous exhaustion - all perfect for a busy mum.
• Rose – has a deep, fresh, rosy aroma. It is one of the most wonderful oils for busy mums, as it is a powerful emotional releaser, and can help with stress, anxiety, depression and restore feminine balance.
• Geranium – has a heavy, sweet, floral aroma and is wonderful for balancing feminine hormones, and relaxing, stabilising and lifting the emotions.  It is excellent for the nervous tension, mood swings, anger and frustration of a mum.
• Rose Geranium – is a beautiful, lemony-rosy oil that is balancing and mood-boosting - wonderful for a busy mum’s stress-related anxiety, high emotions and low mood.
• Ylang Ylang - an intense, sweet, woody floral, this oil is perfect for treating low mood, anxiety, nervous tension, anger and stress-related insomnia - a really powerful one for busy mums and their fried nervous system.
• Lavender - a sweet, fresh, herby floral, this oil is one of the most popular oils for its relaxing, calming properties - it is a tonic for the nerves, so it has to be on the list for busy mums.
• Chamomile - a sweet, herby oil, that is steam-distilled from the flower heads of an annual herb.  This one can’t be missed off the list as it’s a soothing, calming, balancing oil that is helpful for irritability, anger, anxiety, stress and tension - excellent for mums who have been overloaded.
• Clary Sage – has a dry, musky, bittersweet floral aroma. It is known to be perfect for feminine nurture - a euphoric antidepressant, with a calming, sedating influence on the nervous system and emotions. It couldn’t be missed off the list for busy mums.

To begin to integrate essential oils into your pampering, we’d recommend you create a little kit of oils that you can dip into, easily - and then follow our blends below, for simple ways to create pockets of time for yourself. 

Our top 3 recommended self-care rituals and blends

Every mum longs for a moment of self-care, so the first invitation we would make to you, if you’re a busy mum, is to make some time for yourself to create your own pamper ceremony.  We recommend blocking out time in your calendar and settling down to create one of the following blends and doing the associated 3 rituals, to create some well-deserved rest and restoration.

Self-care massage ritual

What mum wouldn’t like a massage - so why not treat yourself to a DIY one?  Massage is deeply relaxing for the body - and in particular, your nervous system - so we highly recommend this particular busy mum ritual for its mind/body benefits.  It is an easy way to just take 30 minutes out of your routine and let your nervous system know that everything is all ok!

Blend: Mix 3 drops Rose Geranium, 2 drops Lavender and 1 drop Jasmine into 15ml of Grapeseed carrier oil and mix well.  

When you’ve mixed this oil, get yourself comfy somewhere you feel calm and relaxed, perhaps surrounded by cushions and blankets, with some music on and your favourite candles, and then spend 30 minutes lightly massaging the oil into your skin.  Start at your legs, working in a direction towards your heart, and complete at your head, perhaps even giving yourself a scalp massage.  It doesn’t matter too much if you can’t reach your back, as the oils in an aromatherapy massage do most of the work - essentially, you are moving your lymphatic system and allowing the oils to do the massage for you, but your body will also really welcome the calming light massage and sense of touch.  

Bathing Ritual

If you’re a fan of long, relaxing baths, then we recommend gifting yourself a long, luscious and really indulgent soak in the tub, now that the kids have gone back to school.  Here’s an extra special blend and ritual we suggest:

Blend: Mix 3 drops Chamomile, 2 drops Clary Sage and 1 drop Ylang Ylang into 15ml of Bath Oil or Shower Gel and pour into the running warm water of your bath.

When you’ve done this, brew yourself a Chamomile and Rose tea (with the herbs and petals, not the essential oils). The deepest luxury would be to add rose petals to your bath to add to the aromatic experience.  Allow yourself to sink into the relaxation - lie back and enjoy for as long as you desire. 

Self-care mini facial ritual

Your skin has likely also suffered a bit with the lack of self-care over the summer holidays - as well as with the sunshine beating down on it - so, finally, we recommend treating yourself to a mini facial, as well as your other rituals - even if they’re on a separate day, or maybe even as part of your bath!

This mini facial is for busy mums short on time, so incorporates a little cleanse, tone and mask, as well as a facial oil for a deep moisturising.

Cleanser Blend: Mix 1 drop of Chamomile into 5ml of Base Formula’s Cleanser with Cucumber Extract and massage into the face for a few minutes, with light circular movements. Rinse with a sponge and repeat once more, for a deep cleanse.

Toner Blend: Next, pop enough Witch Hazel Hydrolat on a wet cotton pad so that it is soaked, and pat onto your face, paying particular attention to the T-zone.

Mask Blend: Indulge yourself with a face mask - mix ¾ of a teaspoon of Kaolin Clay with ¾ of a teaspoon of Rose Hydrolat, until it forms a paste (you might like to add more of each until it reaches the consistency you desire). Next add 2 drops of Rose essential oil into the clay mixture, stirring well, before applying to your face with a facial brush.  Once applied, leave on for 10 minutes and relax, perhaps giving yourself a mini hand massage. Wipe off more of your Cleanser blend, and then tone again with your Witch Hazel Hydrolat.

Facial Oil Blend: Finally, mix 2 drops of Lavender essential oil (for dry skin) or 2 drops Lemon (for oily skin) into 10ml of Sweet Almond oil and blend well, massaging in to the face with circular motions, and leaving it on as a moisturising oil.  You might also like to then finish your ritual with 5ml of Base Formula’s Moisturising Lotion with your choice of 1 drop of Lavender or Lemon to complete.

These pampering rituals are a great way to kick-start and re-choose your own self-care after a busy summer season.  And of course, you can experiment with the oils you use - if you have your favourites, substitute them into the blends above to tailor them; your body knows what it needs.

Happy blending, mums!

Nicole Barton
Consultant Aromatherapist

Disclaimer & Safety Advice

Read other articles by Nicole Barton