Opening skin pores so herbal solution can enter breasts -- best way?
July 20 2009 at 10:49 AM Gumbyy (Login gumbyy)
I'm new to BE and spending a lot of time learning the art and science of it. I'm also a male, learning this info to help my non-English speaking girlfriend enhance her AA breasts.
Since we live in a foreign land in SE Asia with no health food stores, we are limited in the BE herbs available to us. Fortunately, Fenugreek and fennel are both available at Chinese medicine shops. She has just started with the Fenugreek, and we are trying to learn a good procedure to help it be absorbed into the breasts when topically applied to the skin. (I have read a lot of opinions that topical application is much more effective than eating Fenugreek)
Some people say you need to apply heat before and after applying the herbal solution. She does not have a heating pad, and I don't know if I can find one here to buy, though I probably can if I do some searching. Also, she does not have hot water. She lives in a little village in an underdeveloped country. The water that comes out of her tap is usually lukewarm, because we're in the tropics.
What is the purpose of applying heat? Is it to open the pores of the skin? I have always been under the impression that warm water does this. I suspect that taking a shower in lukewarm water, the kind she has, will also open the pores. But when you exit the shower, it's my impression that the pores close up again in just 3 or 4 minutes.
Does dry heat from a heating pad also open the skin's pores?
What can she do to maximize absorption if I can't find a heating pad for her? My guess is that she needs to apply the herbal solution to her breasts immediately after finishing her shower, and massage it in within 3 or 4 minutes to give it a chance to penetrate her skin before the window of opportunity closes.
Am I wrong? Can the solution penetrate her skin even if the pores are closed?
If it is a good idea to apply the solution to her breasts immediately upon finishing her shower, should she first dry the breasts with a towel or apply it while they are wet?
If her lukewarm bath water is not sufficient to open her pores, I imagine she could heat up some water in a kettle, soak a towel with it and wrap this around her breasts for a few minutes to open her pores, then apply the solution.
So...is a heating pad doing anything different than a simple warm or lukewarm shower would do?
Fennel Fairy wrote, in another thread, that if you pour boiling water over fenugreek seeds, with equal amounts of water and fenugreek, and let it sit overnight, it will form a slick gel that is ideal for massaging breasts. That seems like a great idea, and today I discovered that this works even if there's about 10 times more water than Fenugreek in the mix. After they've steeped overnight, you can squeeze the softened seeds with your fingers and the seeds will exude a goo that will make the tea slick and slippery for applying to skin. So you don't need to mix Fenugreek tea extract with a lotion or oil, you can apply it straight in this manner.
So...my thinking now is that my girlfriend makes this tea, lets it sit overnight, squeezes the soft seeds in the morning to make the tea slick and slippery, then takes her bath and, immediately upon finishing her bath, towel-dries her breasts and massages this slick Fenugreek tea into her breasts until it is absorbed. Then I was thinking she could continue the massage with coconut oil to seal the pores so the Fenugreek cannot evaporate, and of course to stimulate the breast to grow. (if coconut oil is appropriate I mean. It's a lot cheaper here than olive oil)
Then she can eat some of the softened seeds throughout the day, 20-30 minutes before meals and at bedtime.
How does this routine sound to you?
Or does she really need a heating pad? My concern here is not just whether I can find a heating pad here, but also that applying a heating pad before and after is more work for her, and means she cannot meet with people to run her business until she's finished with the heating pad. She's a busy woman with a child and a business to run. Part of the art of BE, I would think, is simplifying it so that it does not require more effort and expense than a person can reasonably handle.
Also, people have said that you should start with a low dose of Fenugreek and ramp up from there. They are talking about eating Fenugreek, but does the same advice apply to massaging a Fenugreek seed tea extract into the breasts? Or can you use a much higher amount when you do that?
It is difficult to make a massage tea with the 1500 mg of Fenugreek that they recommend for newbies. That's about 1/3 of a teaspoon of Fenugreek seeds...not much to work with. Making my fenugreek tea-gel, I used 1 tablespoon of seeds. But perhaps the fact that I'm soaking and squeezing the seeds to make a massage gel means that the seeds that remain in the tea after she massages are much less potent than originally, so she could safely eat them without overdosing. What do you think?
Thanks for any suggestions! Sorry to raise so many issues and ask so many questions in one post!
Hopefulgurl
(Login hopefulgurl)
SENIOR MEMBER
Re: Opening skin pores so herbal solution can enter breasts -- best way?
July 20 2009, 4:01 PM
Hello Gumby,
I think one of the major reasons of using the heating pad is that the heat will increase circulation to the breasts, which means more nutrients from the blood will be carried to breasts. Which is good for breast growth. It never really occured to me that the heat could also be used to open pores to aid in absorption of the breast lotion. I wonder if anyone else has any input on this.
Mel C
(Login mcovert)
Re: Opening skin pores so herbal solution can enter breasts -- best way?
July 20 2009, 5:06 PM
I have read some past posts of NBE ers doing this.They use heating pad before their massage,then put lotion,cream,batter,etc. on,and then apply the heat again.I think I will start doing this.I do heat at night after my massage,so I'll give it a whirl.Good luck!
~~What you think about,you bring about~~
Mel C
MrsJimHalpert
(Login MrsJimHalpert)
Re: Opening skin pores so herbal solution can enter breasts -- best way?
July 20 2009, 8:35 PM
Perhaps applying the gel to the breasts in the evening before bed would be more convenient to her. I don't have much time in the morning, so I just massage after I shower. Its not until before bed i massage with my fenugreek and apply heat. Also, if you can't find a heating pad, maybe she could just wrap her breasts with a blanket to make them warmer. or heat up some water and put it on a towel over her chest.
MrsJimHalpert
(Login MrsJimHalpert)
Re: Opening skin pores so herbal solution can enter breasts -- best way?
July 20 2009, 8:37 PM
About the pores, I don't think you necessarily need to "open" them. Our skin breathes in the air around us and absorbs anything we apply to our skin. This is why they say to be careful of ingredients in beauty products, because our skin absorbs the ingredients in the products, even the harmful ones.
Gumbyy
(Login gumbyy)
Re: Opening skin pores so herbal solution can enter breasts -- best way?
July 21 2009, 9:04 AM
Hopefulgurl,
If the reason for the heating pad is to increase blood circulation to the breasts, it seems that it's duplicating the function of massage, which also does that. If she massages, maybe she doesn't need to do the heating pad thing. So the big question is, what is the purpose of the heating pad? To increase circulation? Or to help the herbs get absorbed by the skin?
Gumbyy
(Login gumbyy)
Re: Opening skin pores so herbal solution can enter breasts -- best way?
July 21 2009, 9:06 AM
Mrs. Halpert,
Perhaps you are right that open pores don't matter. But my experience, routinely using coconut oil on my hands every day as a moisturizer, is that if I don't soak my hands first for 2 or 3 minutes, and my hands are dry, it is quite difficult to get the oil to absorb. But if my hands are soaked, it is easy and the oil quickly becomes cream-like and spreads and absorbs easily.
Using skin lotion is different. I think it does absorb when the skin is dry, I guess because the lotion has water in it.
Sukidoll
(Login sukidoll)
SENIOR MEMBER
Re: Opening skin pores so herbal solution can enter breasts -- best way?
July 21 2009, 12:52 PM
The purpose of applying heat is to raise prolactic levels. This aids in storing and directing fat to the breasts. I think moist heat is better than dry heat.
To maximize absorption try exfoliation. I don't think I have heard of anyone ramping up with their massage ointments, so what you are using is fine
Haley
(Login prettypurplekao)
Re: Opening skin pores so herbal solution can enter breasts -- best way?
July 21 2009, 5:35 PM
Gumbby, I used a hot wet towel instead of a heating pad at first before massaging. I have gotten a heating pad since, but I think the hot wet towel worked just fine. Give it a try before you purchase a heating pad. I just happen to find one after much searching for only $10 at Target.
I wasn't willing to spend $20 + on one, so I got pretty lucky. Tell your girlfriend to try putting a hot wet towel on before the massage and if this is ineffective then you can purchase a heating pad. I thought it worked pretty well though. I just hated it because wet towels eventually produce mildew. :/
BTW one thing I hate about applying the heat, it makes me so darn sleepy. I feel like I need a nap after my massage in the morning. LOL.
Gumbyy
(Login gumbyy)
Re: Opening skin pores so herbal solution can enter breasts -- best way?
July 22 2009, 9:26 AM
Sukidoll, if the purpose of the heating pad is to raise prolactic levels, isn't it duplicating one of the effects of massage, which also raises those levels? Nothing wrong with that, but maybe one can just stick to massage and save time and effort.
Haley, how long do you keep the hot wet towel on? Also, does a heating pad produce moist heat or dry heat? I would think it is dry heat, which isn't as good.
Mrs. Halpert, I think I will suggest to my GF to apply before bedtime, when she's not so busy. I'm also now worrying that maybe she doesn't want her customers to smell the Fenugreek on her breasts, and applying at bedtime would solve that problem too.
I just found some info on how to maximize absorption here:
http://www.smartskincare.com/bestpractic...apply.html
MrsJimHalpert
(Login MrsJimHalpert)
Re: Opening skin pores so herbal solution can enter breasts -- best way?
July 22 2009, 3:24 PM
what you said about the oil and soaking your hands is true. i forgot about that. when i massage right after a shower it feels like the oil is gone, rather than when i massage without a shower, it just stays on my skin. so probably a shower would help.
MrsJimHalpert
(Login MrsJimHalpert)
Re: Opening skin pores so herbal solution can enter breasts -- best way?
July 22 2009, 3:28 PM
yes! the fenugreek can be smelled on her skin. i once went to work and had a couple ladies constantly commenting about how something smelled like maple syrup, but they couldnt seem to tell that is was me, thankfully. i never wore it out of the house again!
also the heating pad produces dry heat.
Haley
(Login prettypurplekao)
Re: Opening skin pores so herbal solution can enter breasts -- best way?
July 22 2009, 4:50 PM
Gumbyy I use the hot wel towel for 2 - 5 minutes before the massage, I would also sometimes reapply it after the massage , but think that may have been a bad idea now that I think about it.