more Geranium Essential Oil
Scientific name: Pelargonium graveolens
Family: Geraniaceae
Origin: Egypt, India, Madagascar
Form: steam-distilled essential oil
Parts: leaves + flowering tops
Originally from South Africa, Seventeenth-century Europeans took a fancy to this tender perennial with its pretty mauve and pink flowers, also known as “rose geranium” and propagated it in their greenhouses. The resulting hybridization increased the species to more than 600. It has a long history of medicinal use. South African natives made a paste from the leaves to treat wounds and abscesses. Once the plant was naturalized in North America the Native Americans used it to treat conditions ranging from toothache to cholera. A few of today’s medicinal uses are as an anti-diabetic, an adrenal stimulant, and as a hormone balancer it is used to treat PMS and symptoms of menopause.
Most commonly, the leaves and flowers of the geranium are steam-distilled and made into an essential oil that is widely used in cosmetics and perfumery. The oil is used in facial steams, toners, masks, creams, and especially good for oily hair in shampoos, conditioners and rinses. It is a great sebum balancer and cell regenerator, and is highly anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antimicrobial. It is great for many skin conditions from sensitivity to acne to an overabundance of oil, and even dissolves blackheads. Like any remedy that helps to balance hormones, it is great for hormone related acne (teen and menopausal especially), because it addresses the source of the problem as well as the symptoms! The whole plant is aromatic and the resulting oil is a pale olive green. In perfumery, geranium oil is considered a middle note, is rich and warming, and its scent is earthly, sweet and green with a wonderful rose tone. It is an especially adaptive oil with the ability to address a wide variety of emotional and physical needs and is considered one of the most feminine of the essential oils. Its aroma is said to be uplifting yet grounding, centering and balancing, eases frustration and irritability, and encourages adjustment, assurance and tranquility. Its primary constituents include alcohols, which stimulate cellular activity and cellular regeneration and terpenes, which provide its primary scent and make it a superb insect repellant.