[akaione2000]

Hello, akaione2000.

First of all, welcome to the forum.  

Very interesting information.  It seems like I do remember reading somewhere once about lavender EO being useful for "estrogenic" purposes. Those of us following along on this thread like to hear about anything that could produce a bubble butt, lol.  Would it be possible for you to provide links to some of the studies/info regarding this so we could read as well?  I hope LEO would have the same "butt potential" for genetic females also, although it does seem probable since we have naturally higher estrogen..  Were you already involved in the martial arts, biking, walking, etc. prior to using the LEO, or did you begin all simultaneously?

So basically, one would remove any oil residue that could interfere with LEO's absorption/potency, then just apply with a carrier oil?

Again, welcome aboard and thanks for posting!

Thanks for the warm welcome! The main study that lead me to those conclusions is here: http://www.hormones.gr/691/article/article.html

There are others but they are small scale case studies and not as relevant. This one is more the raw, lab based, in vitro experiment kind of research. You need to scroll down to the section on Lavender and Tea Tree Oil. I don't pretend to understand it completely but there is some indication that there is some sort of "sensitization" to estrogen that the LEO and Tea Tree oil are creating. The graphs where you can see where the estrogenic activity is shown in folds over a baseline of pure estrogen are quite interesting. It is potent stuff if I am reading that correctly. 

As for carrier oils, I was not really consistent on that front. My thinking was split between two theories. One, that getting the LEO to absorb as totally and completely was my highest priority, and that carrier oils will slow this down. On the other hand, oils absorbed directly through the skin very likely sink deeply enough to effect metabolism and fat distribution. It isn't a sure thing as I can't seem to find it now, but I remember a study where nurses massaged underweight premature babies with coconut oil(nutritive), mineral oil(non-nutritive), and a water based massage gel as a control. The coconut babies gained significantly more weight than the other two groups after adjusting for calories consumed. 

Something to consider is that full strength LEO is almost never recommended to be applied directly to the skin. It is not uncommon for people to get rashes and have allergic reactions so I'd say better to stay on the side of caution, use at least a little oil with it especially at first. I didn't have issues with full strength LEO but I've never had allergies or been very sensitive to harsh chemicals. Which is what LEO is, even though it is natural it is highly concentrated.  
 
The only thing that was started at the same time as the LEO routine was an intermittent fasting diet. One large meal per day. Thats how I lost the weight. The exercise program dates back to my highschool days. Traditional Japanese karate can be very good for building the glueteus maximus and gluteus medius, no doubt. But if anything I have LOST muscle. Pretty much everywhere. And that loss, combined with how my fat is redistributing, my body hair is growing more slowly and some of my balding is reversing indicates to me that my hormones are at the very least less testosterone dominant if not leaning in the other direction. So, no, I don't think my exercise program was a confounding or contributing factor. 

Yes, just clean the area of oil and water on the skin using 90+ percent isopropyl alcohol then let dry for a minute, then massage the LEO/carrier oil into the skin until absorbed. The pretreatment should mimic some of the benefits of using DMSO for topical applications. DMSO is a compound that makes water and fat soluble medications better able to absorb through the skin by making them both water and fat soluble. 

I hope my answers aren't too wordy. I am pretty shy and once I start talking or posting I can ramble. I am really happy to be contributing after this forum completely changed my life forever.

-Charley