This one is for the ladies. Sorry, gents. Just be glad you don’t need it and go read something else. Perhaps this entry on chocolate chip cookies (they’re delicious). Anyhow—this oil is for those rather unladylike cramps that tend to surface on an irritatingly regular basis. It’s loaded with essential oils designed to reduce pain, increase circulation, and relax muscles. And it helps, which is rather the point, so that’s good.
Clary Sage is the main oil here as it’s the classic anti-cramp (specifically uterine, as well) essential oil. Lavender is calming. Peppermint and juniper are for pain, cassia is to increase circulation, and roman chamomile is to help calm things down.
Anti-Cramp Oil
20 drops clary sage essential oil
15 drops peppermint essential oil (USA / Canada)
10 drops cassia essential oil
3 drops lavender essential oil
3 drops juniper essential oil
2 drops roman chamomile essential oilA carrier oil, like grape seed or safflower, to top off
Place the essential oils in a 15mL glass bottle—you should have about 3mm of oils at the bottom of the bottle. Top it off with the carrier oil, cap, and shake to combine. Massage into the stomach and lower back as needed. Pair it with an ibuprofen for a harder hitting remedy.
Interesting! I’ll have to try this one out! Thanks for sharing <3
Do you think this would work for IBS cramping as well? I get a lot of that, and it feels EXACTLY like menstrual cramps, although I know it’s my colon and not my uterus. Thanks! Great recipe, and I LOVE your blog!
Ann—I’m really not sure as I haven’t tried it, but I have found some sources stating that Clary Sage is good for intestinal cramping and inflammations of all kinds, so it’s definitely worth a try. You should also check out my tiger balm and hot tiger balm massage bar recipes, both of which are great for increasing circulation and pain relief. You might consider adding some menthol and cajeput EOs to the blend as well—both really add to the cooling sensation, which I find very soothing.
My daughter absolutely loved this oil. I’ll be making it again.
I’m so glad it worked for her, Cheryl 🙂 Thanks for reading!
My husband get horrible leg cramps after being on his feet a lot and being active. Think this would work?
This oil is pretty specifically targeted towards menstrual cramps, so while you can give it a try, I doubt it would be as effective as something like white tiger balm or hot tiger balm, both of which I love for sore muscles. You should also consider looking into some dietary causes, as I know cramping can be caused by dietary deficiencies. Good luck!
I know this is an old comment, but I had the same problem as Eileen ‘s husband for years. He should talk to his doc about adding magnesium supplements or using magnesium oil. This got rid of my leg cramps (and as a bonus the constant chocolate cravings I’ve always had vanished completely).
Great tip—thanks Stacey! Hopefully Eileen will find this 🙂
Another great recipe! I don’t have cassia (yet) but used all the other ingredients and then put it into the salve base from your bandits salve. Then I put that in a deodorant container and put it on my lower back and abdomen as soon as it was set. I can feel a sense of unclenching already. Thank you!
I’ll second the magnesium for muscle twitching and cramping that isn’t cyclical. Works wonders–magnesium oil topically to get back to normal, magnesium natura-calm orally to stay on top of it.
I’m so glad it’s working for you! That reminds me—I need to whip up another batch 🙂 I’ve been planning a solid version for a while as the oil is a bit of a liability in purses.
Great recipe as yours always are. I know these are old comments – but both juniper and clary sage have some recognition as being useful for helping with muscle spasms more generally, not just those associated with menstrual pain.
I make a modified version of your recipe – I do mine with perfumers’ alcohol rather than a carrier oil… but I have dystonia (a neurological movement disorder that causes pretty severe & sustained muscle spasm) – this blend doesn’t help the pain of the spasm so much (that’s where the tiger balm-y type things come in) – but in combination with massage does seem to help in actually releasing the spasm. May well be placebo – I’ve a background in science/med – can’t help questioning these things 😉 – but does also in my case appear more effective than massage alone.
Thank you so much for sharing, Laura 🙂 I love the perfumer’s alcohol alternative for a less greasy product. I’m assuming you’ve found my tiger balm recipes as well? This one is suuuuuper hot (and helpful).
Is it juniper oil in this leaf or berry oil? I’d really like to try this but need to know which oil to order,thanks.
It was the berry essential oil 🙂
Hi, I was wondering if this is okay to put in a roller bottle? Thanks!
Absolutely, great idea 🙂 Try and get a glass one if you can due to the high EO concentration.
Hi Marie,
I am hoping to make this soon. Currently waiting on all EOs to be delivered.
But I don’t have 15ml container. The one I do have is reserved for another one of your recipes. I have a 70ml bottle though. The thing is, I am not sure if it would be safe to multiple the ingredients (EOs and carrier oil) to fit in the 70ml bottles. We’re talking some 4x increase here and that just seems a lot given that EOs can get dangerous at higher concentrations.
Can you please advise?
Hey Janie! Honestly, I would recommend making this formulation even more diluted than I did—I’ve learned a lot since I shared this back in 2013 🙂 The 70mL bottle would take this from approximately a 20% concentration (quite high!) to 4%, which is still slightly higher than typically recommended (max 3%), but obviously much lower than 20%. Unfortunately, I can’t speak for how that will impact efficacy… high essential oil concentrations vs. safety vs. efficacy is a thing I’ve often wondered about in regards to Tiger Balm. The stuff sold in SE Asia is straight-up 50% essential oils, but that wouldn’t be allowable in the EU… so is it unsafe? Are those particular essential oils safe in concentrations that high? I simply don’t know, unfortunately. Happy making!