Why I Use Essential Oils to Support Hormone Balance in My Naturopathic and Functional Medicine Practice: Part I

Essential Oils Holistic Actions on Hormones**

Hello dear friends. It’s Dr. Sarah.

I’ve been having fun sharing my clinical tips with you and I hope you have been enjoying them too. My wish is that the information I’m providing can empower you with making nurturing choices to optimize your life.

Recently, I have gotten some great feedback from you, which I really appreciate. Some of you stated that you would like to hear more about the specific interventions that I use in my naturopathic and functional medicine practice.

So, I’m going to take heed on what you feel you would benefit learning about and split this video blog into two parts.

Today, I will explain how essential oils accomplish hormonal harmony. My aim is to clear up some of the confusion in the blog-o-sphere about essential oils and their actions on hormones.

Then I will list four of the essential oils that I find most effective in my practice to help balance hormones. This will be a preview to part two, where I will explain more of the research on these oils and how I recommend using them to my clients. It is a continuation of the theme of my previous video in which I discussed the most used oil blends for stress relief in my clinic.

As always, I will have all the links to references and additional articles listed at the end of the video blog. This way, you can dive in deeper if you want to.

In fact, as a bonus, I unlocked a few articles from my essential oils database which are usually only available to subscribers. So, if you are curious about this resource, you’ll want to check out the sample posts on geranium and clary sage oils that will be available for the next few weeks.

So, let’s get started!

 

Clearing Up the Scary Sclareol “Estrogenic” Effect

Essential oils modulate hormones through various multi-dimensional actions, but are they estrogenic and/or hormonal imitators? There is some misunderstanding about this on the internet.

For example some folks claim that “sclareol,” found in clary sage oil, is “estrogenic.” This is based on observations that this oil can aid in regulating hormones. Although it is true that this aromatic ally is helpful for hormonal issues, it is likely not estrogenic. This is for a few reasons.

First, depending on the extraction method and the plant part used, this constituent could be or could not be present and have varying quantities in clary sage oil. Therefore, the success of the oil for hormonal health cannot be accounted for by one molecule which is not found consistently in the bottle of those who use it.

Second, based on its biochemical structure, sclareol does not resemble a steroid hormone. Rather, it is a diterpene alcohol that has anti-inflammatory, anti-pathogenic, anti-tumoral, and metabolic balancing properties.

A post about clary sage oil by aromatherapy guru, Robert Tisserand, states:

.. on the basis of its structure, sclareol is unlikely to have any estrogenic action. Even if sclareol was estrogenic, at about 4% of clary sage oil, it would have to have a very high binding affinity for estrogen receptor sites for the essential oil to have any effect, and this is extremely unlikely.

This does not mean that clary sage oil is not effective. It may well be useful in relieving menstrual pain, pre-menstrual symptoms, menopausal symptoms and other problems, but none of this necessitates an estrogen-like action.

And, I’m not saying that sclareol could not possibly be estrogen-like, I’m just saying there’s no evidence that it is, nor does its structure suggest such an effect. This also means that there’s no evidence to support clary sage oil “balancing hormones”, mimicking estrogens only if there is an estrogen deficiency, or stimulating the body to produce natural estrogens.

 

A Little About Lavender Oil, Tea Tree Oil, and “Man Boobs” …

Not to get too off on a tangent, but it is also worth mentioning here that another reason people feel essential oils are “estrogenic” is due to some hyped-up headlines. Specifically, reporters have been associating tea tree and lavender oils with “man boobs.” This was centered around a few isolated cases.

I have a few articles that debunk these claims in detail.

To summarize, these accusations were based on researchers extrapolating that the personal care products containing essential oils that the boys were using caused the boys’ breasts to enlarge (gynecomastia).

This was “validated” by a few in vitro, petri dish, studies that cited evidence of estrogenic effects. However, there were many issues with this conclusion. For example, constituents were isolated in large quantities vs. using the essential oil itself. In addition, the tests were done in a plastic container, which is known to be estrogenic. In other words, the medium the study used to test hormone effects biased the results.

The bottom line is that there was never evidence that the essential oils themselves were to blame. Furthermore, we know that shampoos and beauty products do contain validated endocrine disrupting substances, which have actual evidence of causing hormonal havoc.

 

Essential Oils Address the Root Cause of Hormone Imbalance

Essential oils are holistic. Rather than manipulating biochemistry, they act to balance it.

I view essential oils as indirectly (or directly) influencing healthy hormone balance by addressing the root causes of the deregulation.

For example, they modulate:

• Stress physiology and vagus nerve function, calming our nervous system
  • By relieving stress, essential oils help to regulate cortisol, the stress hormone. This allows for more resources to go into sex hormone production.
  • Some doctors refer to this concept of cholesterol production going to cortisol vs. estrogen and progesterone as the “cortisol steal.”
• Mood, emotions, and trauma
  • The aroma of essential oils link directly to our emotional brain and impact neuroplasticity.
• Brain neurotransmitters
  • There is an association between brain neurotransmitters and hormones.
  • For example, there is a serotonin-estrogen link and a progesterone-GABA connection.
  • I have a past article that provides a whole overview on this concept.
• Benefiting sleep
  • Through their impact on neurotransmitters, stress, and the nervous system, essential oils can enhance sleep, which is vital for hormonal harmony.

Their molecular actions also address underlying issues that can cause brain and hormonal imbalances at the cellular level. This is through the effects of their hundreds of different aromatic molecules on multiple biological pathways. For example, essential oils can decrease inflammation, act as antioxidants, assist with digestion, ward off infections, support the microbiome, aid in metabolic functions, and more.

I have a whole podcast expanding on the holistic ways essential oils support hormonal health. I will make sure to post the link so you can tune-in. It’s a great resource that explores the science of how essential oils can be your ally in achieving peace with chaotic hormones.

Now that you understand how essential oils aid hormone balance, lets’ preview my four favorite hormone harmonizing oils.

 

My Four Favorite Essential Oils for Hormonal Harmony

The essential oils I use the most in my practice are based on their effectiveness in some small, clinical trials and my personal experience with using them with clients for over 20 years.

Specifically, I find rose geranium, clary sage, lavender, and neroli to be at the top of my list.

In part two, I will share with you several of the studies on these oils that explore how they can support hormone balance.

 

Conclusion: Essential Oils for Hormone Health

As far as we know today, the most commonly used essential oils are not estrogenic in their effects in the body; however, they are an incredible ally for hormonal harmony. This is because they can help to influence the triggers that cause hormonal imbalance to begin with, such as stress, mood issues, and sleep problems. They also positively influence biochemical pathways at the cellular level which can cause hormonal problems and decrease cellular receptor sensitivity to hormone signals.

I hope this information was helpful to you in understanding how essential oils impact hormones.

Thank you so much for taking the time to learn how to nourish and nurture your mind, body, and soul.

I would love to hear from you on what your favorite oils and blends are for hormones in the comment section. Also, feel free to share what I can do to support you more. Your feedback helps to guide my focus on topics for my blogs and social media.

Sending you many blessings.

 

Resources

• The Two Most Recommended Essential Oil Blends in My Practice to Erase Stress and Calm the Brain and Nervous System (My clinical tip with references)
• The Bioactives of Sclareol: A Mini Review (Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2022)
• Essential Oils for Hormones: Holistic Support for Healthy Estrogen, Progesterone, Testosterone, Thyroid, and Oxytocin Balance (My article with references)
• Five Cool Ways Essential Oils Can Holistically Support Hormone Health (Ep. 412 of the Essential Oil Revolution with detailed show notes)
• Essential Oils for Stress Relief and Mental Health: A Review (My clinical tip with references)
• Three Ways Essential Oils Support Brain Health for Better Mood, Memory, and Cognition: Part 1 (My clinical tip with references)
• A Naturopathic and Functional Medicine Approach to Supporting the Brain Using Essential Oils: Essential Oils for the Brain Part 2 (My clinical tip with references)
• Creating True Transformation in 2025 with Healing Resources to Reflect, Rejuvenate, and Revive (My clinical tip with references)
• Lavender Oil: The Go-To Essential Oil that Soothes the Brain, Lowers Anxious Symptoms, Calms Stress, Decreases Head Discomfort… and More! (My article with references)
• Determining the Quality of Essential Oils- Part II (My article with references)
• Optimizing Hormones and Sexual Health Using Functional Medicine and Essential Oils with The Girlfriend Doctor, Dr. Anna Cabeca, DO, OBGYN, FACOG (Ep. 406 of the Essential Oil Revolution with detailed show notes)
• A Brief Review of the Latest Study Regarding Tea Tree and Lavender Oils’ (Isolated Constituents) “Endocrine Disruption” (Found in a Petri Dish, Using Human Cancer Cells) (My article on saratoga.com with references)
• The Science to Set the Saga Straight…Hormonal Effects and Essential Oils (My article in my EO database with references, now available to public)
• Rose Geranium Essential Oil: Supporting Hormonal Health Throughout a Woman’s Lifespan: Beyond Birth Through the Wise Years (My article in my EO database with references, now available to public)

**Transcript has been edited for grammar and ease of reading