If Mother Nature had to choose a plant that has ‘girl power’ in its genes, the shortlist must surely contain Vitex agnus-castus! Used traditionally for a couple of thousand years, it’s a wonderful inclusion in massage and skin care oils when women are craving extra TLC.
Vitex, Monk’s Pepper, Chaste Tree: all these are one and the same, referring to a plant that grows between one and five metres bearing flowers and fruit.
The Vitex genus includes both tropical and sub-tropical flowering plants, but Vitex agnus-castus is specific to temperate zones and found in Mediterranean countries, particularly Italy and Croatia.
Its foliage is delicate, dotted with white or purple lavender spike-like flowers that butterflies love.
Vitex agnus-castus trees can fruit for 15 years or more. Unlike many essential oils that are distilled from just one particular part of the plant, vitex essential oil is steam distilled from the leaves, berry fruit and stems.
Vitex is a member of the Lamiaceae family, which is almost like a who’s who of culinary herbs and essential oils! It includes basil, clary sage, hyssop, lavender and lavandin, marjoram, melissa, mountain savory, oregano, patchouli, peppermint, rosemary, sage, spearmint and thyme.
For those who enjoy following the chemistry of how essential oil compounds work: vitex essential oil is high in alpha-pinene, sabinene and 1,8-Cineole. You can read up more on that subject here, but the great thing is that we don’t need to fully understand the ins and outs of the science within essential oils to be able to use them and enjoy their benefits.
The single essential oil of vitex is suitable for inhalation (direct and via diffusing) and topical application (dilute as needed for your skin’s sensitivity).
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Young Living makes vitex essential oil available via its essential oil blend Progessence Phyto Plus™ rather than as a single oil (correct at the time of writing). This essential oil blend was designed especially to pamper women of all ages, and it’s particularly ideal if you’re 30-something or older.
How does it sound to feel harmonious, balanced and relaxed through the most chocolate-craving of times? Young Living Progessence Phyto Plus™ will help you to achieve that.
Our skin is our largest organ and ageing can take a toll on it. But Progessence Phyto Plus™ is a lovely addition to your moisturiser (add a few drops or more to your bottle or jar) and you can also smooth it directly onto your skin. 2-4 drops tapped gently into the skin on your face and neck daily (always avoid the eye area when applying essential oils) is a great routine to nourish and enliven your skin. The blend is ready-diluted with a touch of coconut oil (caprylic/capric triglycerides are skin emollients).
Try adding a few drops to your favourite carrier oil (Young Living makes a beauty called V-6 Enhanced Vegetable Oil Complex) for a deeply relaxing massage when you’re feeling like you need it the most.
Progessence Phyto Plus™ includes the essential oils of copaiba and Sacred Frankincense (wonderful for smoothing the appearance of fine lines), cedarwood and furocoumarin-free bergamot (that means it’s not sun sensitive the way photo-sensitive oils without the furocoumarin removed can be), peppermint, clove bud and vitex agnus-castus. These are combined with wild yam root extract and coconut oil for extra skin-nurturing benefits.
Essential oils are potent, so as always, please follow directions on the bottle and the usual guidelines for safe use of authentic essential oils.
Please ensure you are choosing a brand with complete transparency from seed to seal, such as Young Living. You can learn in this short video why we only ever recommend and choose Young Living oils and love them so much!
This will also connect you up with The Good Oil Team for our personal support and coaching. We'd love to help you on your journey to vibrant well-being the natural way!
Any questions? Please get in touch via our Contact page.
