A huge part of my C-section physical recovery has included the use of castor oil for scar massage and castor oil packs for scar tissue and adhesion prevention and healing.
Castor oil is a potent anti-inflammatory. When massaged into the skin it is deeply penetrating, working to break up scar tissue and adhesions (even more so effective when used with heat!)
The effective use of a castor oil pack can be between 4-5 times per week over a 5-week period, with a week's break in between before starting the cycle again. Realistically I don't have time to do a castor oil pack every day but it is a priority for me to try and do one at least once a week along with using it to do my daily C-section massage (usually done before my morning shower).
Directions for making a Castor Oil pack:
Source a high quality, cold pressed, organic castor oil if possible. I purchase mine from: https://lotusoils.co.nz/product/castor-oil-cold-pressed/
Cut open a 'Large Ziplock Freezer Bag' (purchased from https://www.countdown.co.nz)
Using an organic cotton towel or cloth - ensure you can double and even triple (personal preference) the layers of this cloth so you can cover the treatable area over and around your scar (lower abdomen area).
Stack/fold these 2-4 layers of material on top of each other.
Place them on top of the cut open Ziploc Freezer Bag.
Saturate this stacked layer of cloth with the castor oil (it should feel significantly more heavy once you have saturated it). Ensure you saturate the cloth knowing that you will be able to use this same pack up to several times without needing to reapply more oil.
Castor oil does stain so it is best to have 1 or 2 old towels on hand.
Place the stacked or folded cloth over your lower abdomen/pelvis and then cover the folded cloth with the cut open Ziplock Freezer Bag
Place a hot water bottle (or desired heat source) over the plastic covered cloth.
If the heat is too intense - lay one of your old towels in between the heat source and the castor oil pack. (Double the layer of towel if needed).
To keep the heat in, you can drape a towel over the castor oil pack.
Breathe deeply and allow the castor oil pack to be on your body for a minimum of 20 minutes and up to as long as you would like.
After you remove the pack, massage the remaining castor oil into the skin and rinse any excess with warm water. (It is usually easiest to jump into a warm shower).
Store the used castor oil pack in a new Ziplock bag and seal.
You can reapply castor oil to the pack every 2-3 days to make sure the pack stays saturated.
As the castor oil pack absorbs released toxins, be sure to change out your cloth every 1-2 weeks.