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With its fantastic, fresh aroma and multiple uses, lemon essential oil is truly a favorite oil. I use it for everything from boosting my mood to clearing my head to deodorizing my home and keeping those pesky bugs off of my window screens.
Lemon essential oil is extracted from the fresh rind of the fruit from the citrus tree. Like all citrus species, lemon trees are evergreen, producing several crops of fruit in a year. The fruit’s peel is full of tiny sacs that contain the essential oil, and the fresh aroma is intensely fruity, tangy and citrusy, with wonderful light, fizzy top notes.
The History Of Lemon
Lemon was used by the ancient Romans for upset stomachs and to sweeten the breath. In southern European countries such as Spain and Italy where lemon trees have thrived for centuries, the fruit was, and still is, regarded as a cure-all, especially for fevers and infections. Later, it was also used by the British Navy to prevent scurvy and is now used all over the world for almost everything.
Lemon essential oil is not only stimulating and invigorating but also is a natural astringent, deodorizer, diuretic, antiseptic and bug-deterrent.
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The oil is non-toxic and non-sensitizing but can be a mild irritant, so perform a skin patch test before using it in massage blends or baths. Furthermore, lemon essential oil is phototoxic, so avoid using it on your skin if you will be going out into the sunlight.
Lemon Essential Oil And Aromatherapy
In aromatherapy, lemon essential oil can clear a dark mood, renew zest for life, and restore focus and aid in problem-solving. Furthermore, it is useful for clearing the head ─ whether you have a cold or are mentally exhausted ─ as well as for energizing an aching body, boosting circulation, treating cellulite and warming hands and feet. It certainly is an oil that should be in your stockpile.
Home Use For Lemon Essential Oil
Lemon essential oil is fairly inexpensive and has tons of home usages. Here are a few of my favorites, with included recipes:
1. Massage and diffuser blends
Add these mixtures to 4 teaspoons of a carrier oil as a massage blend or to your room diffuser to spread the aroma through your home:
To revive energy and fight fatigue
- 3 drops lemon essential oil
- 3 drops eucalyptus essential oil
- 2 drops lavender essential oil
Or:
- 4 drops lemon essential oil
- 4 drops peppermint essential oil
- 2 drops rosemary essential oil
2. Baths blends
To relieve fatigue, improve circulation and to warm the body:
- 2 drops lemon essential oil
- 2 drops rosemary essential oil
- 1 drop lavender essential oil
Uplifting and stress-away blend
- 1 drop lemon essential oil
- 1 drop clove essential oil
- 1 drop orange essential oil
- 1 drop pine essential oil
3. Inhalation
To fight a cold or the flu, place a drop of each on a tissue and inhale, or add this blend to a room diffuser:
- 3 drops lemon essential oil
- 3 drops tea tree essential oil
- 2 drops eucalyptus essential oil
4. Relieve nausea
- Place a drop of lemon essential oil on a tissue and deeply inhale until the symptoms cease.
- You also can combine lemon essential oil with peppermint essential oil to help with morning sickness and motion sickness.
5. Fireplace/wood stove aroma
- Drop several drops of lemon essential oil onto the logs of your fireplace or wood stove and let the oil absorb before lighting. It will release a wonderful aroma.
- You also can add lemon peels to your fire to release the natural, lemon essential oil from within the fresh peels. The fresh scent is amazing!
6. Disinfectant and deodorizer
- Add 1 drop of lemon essential oil to ½ ounce water in a spray bottle. Spray as a disinfecting cleaner and as a natural deodorizer.
- Add several drops of lemon essential oil to a cotton ball and place in vents or drawers and cabinets to maintain a fresh and deodorizing
7. Laundry
- Place 25 drops of lemon essential oil to each load of laundry.
- Lemon essential oil can also eliminate unpleasant odors from clothes and rugs, such as perspiration, cat urine and petroleum.
8. Dishwasher
- Add a few drops of lemon essential oil per load as an extra disinfectant and lemon scent.
9. Insect repellent and deterrent
- As a natural repellent, blend a few drops of lemon essential oil with a carrier oil and apply to the skin. Be sure to keep the blend out of your eyes!
- To deter bugs from screens, doorways and outdoor areas, blend 1 drop essential oil to ½ ounce water in a spray bottle and spray on screens, around doorways and in outdoor areas.
Just as a note, the indigestion of essential oils is not recommended. However, remember that freshly squeezed lemon juice is a natural diuretic and can help detoxify your system. Add fresh lemon slices to your water and tea every day to boost your health in many ways.
Enjoy!
Do you know of other uses for lemon essential oil? Share your tips in the section below:
