Essential Oil Spotlight : Geranium

GERANIUM ESSENTIAL OIL

  Family: Geraniaceae

Common Name: Geranium

 Botanical Name: Pelargonium graveolens

Extraction method: Steam distillation of the leaves and branches.

Odour: Bourbon geranium is a greenish-olive oil with a pronounced green leafy-rosy scent.

General Description:
Geranium is a bushy perennial shrub, growing to a height of one metre, with hairy, serrated, heart-shaped leaves and dense umbels of pink flowers. The Pelargonium genus is a very extensive one, and includes of 200 different species, most of which originate from South Africa. Among the small number of species cultivated for their oil, it is the Pelargonium graveolens of the Reunion Islands, which is thought to produce oil of the highest quality.

 
History/Folk lore:  
There is very little historical reference to the Pelargonium genus. Geraniums originated in South Africa and were introduced into Europe in the late 17th century, geranium became a popular garden plant. It was the French chemist, Recluz, who in 1819 was the first to distill the leaves of geranium. The Italian doctor Rovesti employed geranium oil in the treatment of anxiety states. 

Main Uses In Massage:  

Geranium is one of the most useful remedies in aromatherapy massage because of its wide range of action, its mildness on the skin, and its reasonable cost.

Geranium helps the body cope with stress, making it suitable both for calming and uplifting. It is frequently used with good results on clients who are both tired and mentally overstimulated.

Geranium is a highly effective antifungal that is well tolerated by the skin. Useful for clients with yeast infections and possibly athlete's foot.

Geranium is extremely astringent and is used in aromatherapy for tightening and firming the skin and underlying tissue. It is also anti-inflammatory for the skin and mildly antibacterial, making it an excellent remedy for acne, dermatitis, rosacea and shingles.

 Therapeutic Properties or Actions: 
Anti-depressant, antiseptic, astringent, cicatrisant, cytophylactic, diuretic, deodorant, haemostatic, styptic, tonic, vermifuge and vulnerary.

Body Systems & Therapeutic Uses: 
  Integumentary system - Excellent astringent and haemostatic properties making it useful for treating wounds and bruises. Recommended for its anti-inflammatory properties for conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. Cytophylactic properties make it useful for the treatment of burns and wounds.
 Nervous system - Excellent regulating effect on the nervous system; used to relieve stress, nervous tension, depression, headaches and anxiety. Both sedative and uplifting.
Reproductive system -  Recommended for conditions where fluctuating hormones are a problem. May be used to relieve premenstrual tension and menopause.
  Skin Care - Popular for its ability to balance the production of sebum — making it valuable for skin that is either dry, oily or combination skin.  
Energetics - Geranium oil is cooling and moist. Has the ability to calm the mind, relax the body, ease frustration and irritability. 

Precautions: 
None at usual doses, including pregnancy.
May cause some irritation to sensitive skin. 
 

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I will be posting more information about other essential oils on this blog so keep checking back.

< Related articles - bergamot , clary sage , eucalyptus & frankincense >

Information on this page is for educational purposes only and should not replace advice from a medical practitioner.  
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Essential Oil Spotlight : Frankincense

 

FRANKINCENSE ESSENTIAL OIL

Family: Burseraceae

Common Name: Frankincense (also known as Olibanum)

 Botanical Name: Boswellia carterii

Extraction method: Steam distillation of the oleo gum resin.

Odour: Frankincense oil is a pale-yellow or pale-amber greenish mobile liquid with a strongly diffusive odour. The odour is fresh and terpene-like with a subtle green-lemon note.

General Description:
A handsome small tree or shrub with abundant pinnate leaves and white or pale pink flowers. It yields a natural oleo gum resin which is collected by making incisions into the bark; at first, a milky-white liquid appears which then solidifies into tear-shaped amber to orange-brown lumps between the size of a pea and walnut. The scrapings from the first cutting are thrown away, the second cutting yields low quality frankincense; it is at the third cutting that the best frankincense is taken. 

Native to the Red Sea region; the gum is mainly produced in Somalia, Ethiopia, China and south Arabia, the distilled in Europe. 

Over the past decade it has become increasingly difficult to obtain good Frankincense because drought has caused the desert to spread into marginal land which is the natural habitat of the Frankincense tree, also because of wars in the producing areas which has made it impossible to collect the raw resin. 

 
History/Folk lore:  
Frankincense played a role in the religious and domestic life of the Ancient Egyptian, Babylonian, Persian, Hebrew, Greek and Roman civilizations. It has been perhaps the most important aromatic incense ingredient since history began.

An alternative name for Frankincense is Olibanum. This occurs commonly in older texts, and is thought to derive from the Latin "Olium Libanum" (Oil from Lebanon). The name Frankincense itself derives from Medieval French meaning 'Real Incense'. 

Frankincense is one of the four main ingredients that make up Jewish ceremonial incense, and has for centuries formed an integral part of the Frankincense has been used for 5000 years for spiritual healing and was used in ancient Egypt in the embalming process.

Main Uses In Massage: 
Frankincense is a very interesting essential oil because of its long use in many religious and spiritual settings and has been used as incense, for meditation and worship. 

The antiseptic and mild expectorant nature of frankincense helps asthmatics who often develop bacterial infections in the lungs from a tendency toward shallow breathing. Many other respiratory conditions, such as bronchitis and laryngitis, can be helped by the anti-inflammatory effects of frankincense. 

One of the most important uses of frankincense for massage work is its marked ability to boost the immune function. Lowered immunity is a common side effect of chronic stress and various diseases, and the ability of essential oils to reduce stress and increase resistance to illness is extremely hopeful.

 Therapeutic Properties or Actions: 
 Antiseptic, astringent, carminative, cicatrisant, cytophylactic, diuretic, emmenagogue, expectorant, sedative, uterine, vulnerary.

Body Systems & Therapeutic Uses: 
  Nervous system - Has been used to alleviate anxiety, nervous tension and stress-related conditions.
  Respiratory system - Traditionally been used to treat respiratory conditions such as asthma, bronchitis, catarrhal conditions.
Skin Care -  Well known in skin care for its cicatrisant, cytophylactic and vulnerary properties and recommended for dry and mature skin, scars, wounds and wrinkles.
 Energetics - Gabriel Mojay recommends frankincense to smooth the free flow of Qi. Best used whenever there is an accumulation of stress that has led to irritability, restlessness and insomnia. 

Precautions: 
None at usual doses, including pregnancy.

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I will be posting more information about other essential oils on this blog so keep checking back.

< Related articles - basil, bergamot , clary sage & eucalyptus  >

Information on this page is for educational purposes only and should not replace advice from a medical practitioner.  
© Graphics are property of Aromatherapy For Australia. Please do not use images without permission or without credit or link back to this blog post. Please read our Terms & Conditions