Abhyanga Oil is your own custom oil that you create to perform your self Abhyanga Massage. If you are not familiar with what Abhyanga Massage is and how to do it visit this post on Fountain of Youth – Ayurvedic Abhyanga Massage.
There are a few options for making your own Abhyanga Oil. You can make something super simple with one or more of your favorite base carrier oils. Or you can make something more customized and extravagant including your own essential oil blend. You can also do it the traditional Ayurcedic way and create an Abhyanga Oil based on your dosha type.
Whichever route you choose to go, you are sure to see the benefits by performing an Abhyanga self-massage using your own customized Abhyanga Oil.
Table of Contents
Option 1 Make a Base Carrier Oil
Keep it simple. Combine one or more of your favorite carrier oils in a glass bottle. I like to use a glass pump bottle like the one here so it is easy to heat up in a mug and dispense the right amount of oil.
Great examples of carrier oils to use individually or combined are Coconut oil, Sesame oil (not toasted), Sweet Almond oil, Sunflower oil, Jojoba oil and or Olive oil.
To make the solution, combine one or more oils in the glass jar and shake well. To use before massage, just place bottle in cup of hot water to heat up.
If you would like to take a more traditional Ayurvedic approach to making your oil, you can customize it to your predominate dosha. In your personal constitution you can find out what your primary dosha and constitution are by clicking here.
Based on your primary dosha body type you can pick your carrier oil or carrier oil blend.
Oils that are best for Kaphas Sweet Almond oil, Sesame oil and Olive oil
Oils that are best for Pittas Coconut oil and Sunflower oil
Oils that are best for Vatas Almond oil and Sesame oil
Jojoba Oil is good for all constitutions and dosha types.
*Photo Credit mypokcik/BigStock.com
Option 2 Add a Custom Essential Oil Blend to your Abhyanga Oil
Taking the base oil you just made, you can now add your own custom essential oil blends. Before working with essential oils make sure you read the Essential Oils Guide: Safety and Uses. Make sure you also understand each individual essential oil and their cautions before using.
This is my personal favorite essential oil blend to use for Abhyanga Massage:
10 drops Ylang Ylang
12 drops Sweet Orange
4 drops Geranium
2 drop Australian Sandalwood (Optional)
12 drops Vanilla
Added to 4 oz of carrier oil blend in glass pump bottle.
As mentioned, this is my personal favorite as it smells both sweet and sensual while being very calming to the system. Feel free to experiment with your own blends or purchase pre-made blends with scents you like. If you are working with strong essential oils like peppermint (cooling) and cinnamon (warming), make sure to use a very small amount as these oils are potent and can cause irritation in large doses.
Option 3 Infuse Herbs – Create a Ayurveda Herbal Infused Oil
If you would like to take the benefits of your Abhyanga massage experience a step further, infusing beneficial herbs into your oil is a great way to do that.
Popular herbs to infuse in Ayurveda (which can be found here) are Brahmi and Bhringraj.
Brahmi’s benefits include calming your mind, increasing mental clarity, and providing sleep support.
Bhringraj’s benefits include rejuvenating hair and scalp and is said to be a natural solution for hair loss and premature graying.
You can infuse your carrier oil blend with the herbs or powders using either the cold method of combining in a jar and letting sit for a couple of weeks or the faster heat method by heating over a stove.
For more in-depth information on how to infuse herbs into oils and other herbs you can use, I recommend this post from the Herbal Academy.
If you would like to purchase a pre-blended Ayurvedic herbal infused oil check out Bayan Botanicals.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. If pregnant, nursing or have a medical condition please consult your health care practitioner before using any of these methods or products.
-Elizabeth Hemmings, author of Easy Green Cleaning
P.S. If you know someone who would like to create their own Abhyanga Oil feel free to share this post using the icons below.
This was a great post! I didn’t know that it was possible to create your own Abhyanga oil. I’ve been using Bhringraj oil for my hair but now I’m definitely thinking of preparing my own Abhyanga oil for the entire body. Very useful information here!
Thank you so much for sharing this. I can’t wait to make my own!
I have been considering making my own abhyanga oil with ashwagandha. I have ashwagandha powder — is it possible to do a soak with this? Would I strain out the powder before use? Thanks!
Sorry for the delayed response. Yes, you can use powder just double strain with cheesecloth and mesh strainer.
This recipe sounds incredibly delicious and fragrant! I look forward to trying it! Thank you!
Great to hear, I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!
Thank you for this. I’m curious what essential oils you’d add or remove specifically for Vata ? Or whether you could point me to a good recipe?
I think the mix as-is would be good for balancing the Vata Dosha as it is good to use sweet, soothing and warming oils like sandalwood, rose, jasmine, sweet orange, vanilla, lavender, lemongrass, ginger and ylang ylang. But always feel free to mix in the oils you prefer.