In the wellness industry, essential oils are used for just about everything, from making us smell nice to promoting sleep. While there are “many” of scents worth adding to your collection, Adina Grigore, the founder of S.W. Basics and the author of Skin Cleanse, shared her list of the top 10 essential oils that everyone should own.
She took into account a number of elements when making her list of the greatest essential oils, including price, effectiveness, potency, and variety of uses. Due to the range of uses they have, each one costs less than $15 and carries a “serious punch.”
According to Grigore, “It’s not simply that they smell fantastic. They have the power to truly uplift you as well.” In addition to other things, essential oils can be used to relieve congestion and headaches. To learn how to use ten different essential oils, continue reading.
10 Best Essential Oils by Adina Grigore
1. Lemon Oil
The kinds of commercially available items you use every day frequently contain lemon oil. You can buy everything from hand soap to flavored sparkling water with lemon fragrance if you browse the aisles of any grocery shop. The aroma closely resembles that of the fruit from which it is derived, being bright, light, zesty, and clean as is the case with many citrus oils.
There is a reason why lemon has been so widely associated with freshness and cleanliness, even though many of those odors and aromas are now manufactured artificially. Lemon oil is a potent antibacterial, astringent, and antiseptic agent.
“There’s a reason that lemon has become so universally identified with freshness and cleanliness: Its oil is a powerful antibacterial, astringent, and antiseptic agent.”
Due to the high concentration of D-limonene, a substance that helps to reduce the appearance of wrinkles, promote circulation, and tone the skin, diluted lemon oil can be incredibly useful for skin care. In fact, a recent study found that D-limonene contains anti-inflammatory and skin-repairing effects.
It has also been demonstrated that the aroma of lemon oil has a potent impact on mood. The results of one study indicate that lemon oil vapor has antidepressant properties. Another convincing study discovered that the smell of lemon oil improved participants’ moods. This result was supported by both self-reported and empirical evidence (elevated levels of the anti-stress hormone norepinephrine were measured in the blood of participants).
2. Cinnamon Oil
If cinnamon oil is warm and spicy, musky and sweet, lemon oil is bright, refreshing, and energizing. Since cinnamon is both an import from the Far East and a staple of spice cabinets, it seems sense that for me, it evokes a particular blend of sensual exoticness and warm familiarity.
It’s actually one of the oldest essential oils in history, with the Egyptians describing their widespread use of it in the Ebers Papyrus, a medical text that dates to around 1550 BC. It’s derived from both the bark and the leaf of the Cinnamomum verum tree.
“For me, cinnamon conjures up a distinct mixture of sexy exoticness and cozy familiarity.”
Cinnamon was in high demand back then. Due to the fact that Arab traders controlled the majority of the supply coming from Sri Lanka and India and kept the exact source of their supply a secret, they were expensive and difficult to obtain. Emperors, royals, and subsequently the aristocracy of Europe were the only highly affluent people who could afford cinnamon oil. Fortunately, today there are no restrictions on the cost or availability of this incredibly important oil.
Chest colds can be treated with cinnamon essential oil through aromatherapy. Its analgesic and antispasmodic characteristics, when applied topically, help relieve muscle pain. Additionally, it functions as an antibacterial and a potent natural preservative. It has antibacterial and antimicrobial properties in addition to being anti-inflammatory and analgesic. According to certain research, cinnamon oil has significant antioxidants that may help prevent neurological diseases and heart disease.
3. Lemongrass Oil
If you Google “lemongrass,” you’ll probably get a lot of results for Thai restaurants in your neighborhood (delicious!). Even while I love a good curry, I’m even more enamored with the plant’s essential oil.
Originally from Sri Lanka and south India, lemongrass is a fast-growing tropical grass that is currently grown in warm regions of Africa and Asia. The entire plant is used in a variety of products, from tea to cleaning solutions, and it has long been employed in Indian healing rituals to treat illnesses like gastrointestinal problems and fever (thus the name “fever grass”)
“I like to use it for its cheerful, energetic scent alone, but there also happens to be plenty of evidence that it possesses powerful medicinal and pharmacological properties.”
True to its name, lemongrass essential oil has a gentle, sweet, lemony-yet-herbal perfume and is produced by steam distilling the plant. Even while there is much of evidence to support its tremendous medical and pharmacological characteristics, including the potential to inhibit the formation of malignant cells and tumors, I choose to use it because of its upbeat, energizing aroma alone.
Lemongrass essential oil is also antibacterial, antifungal, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and can be a powerful insect repellant, according to research. Its antifungal qualities are particularly useful in battling the unpleasant yeast that causes dandruff. According to one study, participants who took a dandruff tonic with a 10% lemongrass oil concentration noticed a significant decrease in dandruff in as little as one week.
When I’m feeling under the weather, I like to add some lemongrass oil to my bath.
4. Clary Sage
Clary sage has several healthy qualities for the skin, including being antibacterial, astringent, antiseptic, and capable of enhancing circulation. Clary sage has a distinctively sweet herbal scent that I find appealing. This scent helps to mask some of the more overpowering components found in natural skin care products.
“Clary sage has been lauded for its reputed ability to regulate hormones, and its scent is thought to have antidepressant effects.”
The essential oil from the perennial clary sage shrub, which is native to the northern Mediterranean region and North Africa, is produced by steam distilling the plant’s blooming tops and leaves. Clary sage didn’t truly take off until medieval times, despite the fact that the ancient Egyptians used it medicinally.
Clary sage seeds were once used by physicians and herbalists to address vision issues; the word “clary” comes from the Latin word “clarus,” which means “clear.” Additionally, it was employed as a wine flavoring and was known as “muscatel sage” due to its resemblance to German muscat wine. The two nicknames were combined by some smart individual, perhaps while they were under the influence of clary sage wine. Clary sage is a result.
Hormone regulation is said to be a strength of clary sage, and its aroma is believed to have depressive properties. A 2014 research of 22 postmenopausal women in their 50s, some of whom were depressed, revealed that inhaling diffused clary sage reduced cortisol levels and increased thyroid hormone levels, which alleviated participants’ depression. And according to a 2012 study, clary sage, lavender, and marjoram are helpful massage oils for reducing menstrual cramps and agony.
5. Lavender Oil
Okay, good. I can see you rolling your eyes at me since you’ve read about lavender oil so often in your life and in this book. Why did the oil kingdom’s Taylor Swift make my list of the top ten? Because it’s impossible to dispute how wonderful lavender oil is, the truth be told.
First off, the plant that we commonly refer to as lavender is Lavandula angustifolia, one of 39 different species. Although each species has unique characteristics, they all include significant amounts of linalool, linalyl acetate, eucalyptol, and camphor. It is a powerful essential oil since it contains so many of these ingredients in high concentrations. Sedative, antispasmodic, anti-anxiety, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, anesthetic, immune-stimulating, and antiviral are some of the properties of lavender.
It’s really safe, however it contains a lot of linalool, which some individuals may find sensitizing. As with all essential oils and substances in general, test a tiny amount — diluted at about six drops in one tablespoon of carrier oil — on your skin to see if there is an adverse reaction.
In your homemade products, you can use lavender oil and carrier oil up to a 50-50 ratio if your skin enjoys the scent. I use lavender every day, every day, in a zillion different ways.
6. Tea Tree Oil
Melaleuca oil, often known as tea tree oil, is currently having a moment in the natural beauty spotlight, and with good reason. It’s very amazing stuff.
Australia is the only place where tea trees naturally grow, yet even there, they are very common. Tea tree leaves have historically been used by indigenous Australian communities to cure coughs, colds, wounds, sore throats, and skin conditions.
“Tea tree oil is antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and exhibits anticancer activity.”
Tea tree oil has anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and anti-cancer properties. In addition to treating gingivitis, mild to moderate dandruff, killing the influenza virus, and killing oral bacteria for up to two weeks, studies have indicated that it can reduce the growth of cancers in mice. This miraculous Australian product also effectively treats acne like benzoyl peroxide. It requires more time but has fewer negative side effects and is less drying than the typical drugstore component.
Almost all of my DIY products contain tea tree oil, which I recommend diluted to a 5 percent concentration (approximately 14 drops per tablespoon of carrier oil). One of my favorite uses for it is to add a few drops to the mouthwash I buy at the store.
7. Eucalyptus
Essential oil of eucalyptus is absolutely not for the weak. You’ve undoubtedly scented something that includes it, even if you’ve never personally experienced it. Perhaps Vicks VapoRub? The aroma is camphor-like and slightly minty (camphor is also a component in Tiger Balm ointment and VapoRub). Your airways will be cleared quite quickly, and it can make you gasp.
“The scent is a little strong, but it really freshens up a room and makes the air feel clean.”
What else has been demonstrated is as follows: It functions as a pesticide and has the power to eradicate weeds, insects, mites, fungi, bacteria, and even the drug-resistant parasite that causes malaria. It’s probable that this is what motivated the 1850s planting of the first eucalyptus trees in California. The government was concerned about the spread of malaria despite the fact that it was an alien species from Australia. The trees were useful. It has anti-inflammatory properties and can help strengthen your immune system.
At home, I enjoy diffusing eucalyptus oil. Although the aroma is a little overpowering, it actually does freshen up a space and give the air a feeling of cleanliness. It works well as a mosquito and moth repellant in the pantry and closet.
8. Rosemary Oil
This oil smells a lot like the herb you use to season your dish. It is frequently included in skin care products, especially organic ones, because it not only offers benefits for the skin on the outside but also significantly increases the shelf life of a product.
“While it stimulates many bodily systems, it also decreases levels of the stress hormone cortisol.”
A stimulant, rosemary oil. It has been demonstrated that the scent of rosemary can strengthen your immune system and raise your heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate when inhaled. Additionally, it has been demonstrated to support the area of your nervous system that regulates organ function and raises brain wave activity.
But despite stimulating a number of body functions, it also lowers cortisol levels, a stress hormone. And since it accomplishes all of this while in the air, you may just spread it to enjoy these health advantages. If you enjoy the perfume of eucalyptus, you may make your home smell like a forest by combining it with rosemary.
9. Sweet Orange Oil
South Florida is where I was born and raised. You are aware of what is said about that, right? It’s possible to remove the girl from Florida, but it’s not possible to… okay, you get it.
Sweet orange essential oil is my favorite. It has the greatest scent, in my opinion, of any essential oil. I feel cheerful and energized after just one whiff, and in a strange way, I think that sometimes, just smelling it might satisfy my cravings for sweets (which are severe and constant because sweets are the best). Therefore, keeping orange oil on hand allows me to easily and affordably fix all of these issues.
In trials, it decreased anxiety when inhaled, and when applied topically, it slowed participants’ respiration and pulse rates while simultaneously making them feel more upbeat and energetic.
“It makes me happy and energized from one whiff, and in a weird way I believe that just smelling it can sometimes satisfy my sweets cravings.”
Because orange oil doesn’t diffuse well and, like lemon oil, can make your skin photosensitive when applied directly, it’s best to use it in products that you’ll rinse off in the shower and stick to a ratio of no more than 12 drops of essential oil per ounce of carrier oil. You only need a tiny bit of sweet orange oil when DIYing, in my opinion, because the scent is so alluring.
One thing to keep in mind is that bitter orange oil is particularly phototoxic, so make sure you buy sweet orange oil instead.
10. Peppermint Oil
You are familiar with the aroma of peppermint. It’s already included into your toothpaste, mouthwash, or shampoo in your medicine cabinet. Or perhaps it’s in the gum in your back pocket. But the reason peppermint is present in each of these items is probably unknown to you.
“It’s incredibly invigorating, and having it literally right under your nose makes you feel refreshed all day.”
Menthol and menthone are the main components of peppermint oil. It is an antioxidant, antiviral, antimicrobial, antifungal, antispasmodic, stimulant, and antispasmodic. It is a successful headache remedy: In one trial, participants reported a considerable reduction in tension headache discomfort within 15 minutes, and the pain continued to decrease for the following hour.
It reduces nausea, enhances focus and memory, and acts as an analgesic, which numbs and eliminates discomfort in the skin.
I believe that peppermint oil works best in lip products. It’s really energizing, and having it there in front of you all day long makes you feel renewed.