Neem Oil…hmmm

Okay, so as you know, my company Gahlou Wellness, LLC, is all about beautiful, healthy skin. Our line, Ah!Romatic Soothers, is a shea butter based line that is fabulous and I am always researching new ways to help existing and new clients to maintain and renew their skin.

Today, I am going to talk about neem oil.

Oh my goodness, it’s a wonderful oil. I mixed it with the Ah!Romatic Soothers base blend and used it to heal a few nasty scratches I got this summer. Now, I am the type of person who normally gets a scratch and keeps the scar for years. Not this time. The research that I did about neem oil prompted me to try it out. I’ve seen it listed as an ingredient in many Indian skin care products. I had to find out it’s benefits for myself.

Now, I have to admit the first thing that struck me was the strong herbal smell. I could almost call it smelly, stinky, really odorous. So if you are the type of person who only like flowery smells – you have two choices: don’t buy neem oil, or use it sparingly and mix it with a carrier oil and/or an essential oil that overpowers neems penetrating smell. The great thing about neem is that it is an essential oil, so the smell doesn’t last too long. But it’s healing benefits – wow.

Like I said, it healed my scratches and the scars are almost completely faded. I also use it for it’s antifungal, antibacterial properties. Will I use it in my products? I am definitely formulating a blend.

FYI…if you are trying to conceive…DO NOT USE NEEM OIL.

Review information I gathered on line:
Neem seed oil has also been found to prevent implantation and may even have an abortifacient effect similar to pennyroyal, juniper berries, wild ginger, myrrh and angelica. The effects were seen as many as ten viagra after fertilization in rats though it was most effective at no more than three days. (Sinha, et al., 1984); (Lal et al., 1985). In a study on rats, neem oil was given orally eight to ten days after implantation of the fetus on the uterine wall. In all cases, by day 15, the embryos were all completely resorbed by the body. The animals regained fertility on the next cycle showing no physical problems. Detailed study of the rats revealed increased levels of gamma interferon in the uterus. The neem oil enhanced the local immune response in the uterus.(Mukherjee, 1996) Post coital use of neem oil as birth control does not appear to work by hormonal changes but produces changes in the organs that make pregnancy no longer viable (Tewari, 1989) (Bardham, 1991).