In my previous blog post about Geranium, I shared information with you about the whole plant Pelargonium graveolens, and also about what you can do with different scented cultivars of Pelargonium. In this blog post I will continue with the essential oil of Geranium, a highly versatile oil used in many of Aquarian Bath body products.
The whole Pelargonium graveolens plant, with leaves, tender stems and pink flowers are steam distilled to produce Geranium essential oil, also known as Rose Geranium essential oil. Rosy and sweet with a touch of mint, the scent is uplifting and refreshing. This oil blends well with Lavender, Rose and Citrus. At Aquarian Bath I use it most often together with Lavender essential oil. Geranium essential oil has a middle range evaporation rate compared other essential oils. So what that means is if you have a blend of essential oils like peppermint, rose geranium, and cedarwood, then you will smell the top note, peppermint, first. As the peppermint smell fades, you will then smell the geranium. As the geranium evaporates, last you will smell cedarwood, the base note.
Some of the main constituents of Geranium essential oil include: geraniol, borneol, citronellol, linalol, terpineol, limonene, and pinine. These constituents help contribute to its beneficial use in skin and scalp care and for emotional balancing. Insects also hate the smell. As with all essential oils, it should never be used undiluted on the skin.
Skin Care
Geranium essential oil is used in skin care blends for improving skin tone. Even sluggish oily skin can benefit from Geranium, and this oil would work well in a bentonite clay mask. Overall Geranium is considered a balancing essential oil, which means it is a great choice for moderately dry or oily skin types. For all these reasons we include Geranium essential oil in our Skin Regeneration Balm.
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| Aquarian Bath's Skin Regeneration Balm is made with garden fresh scented Geranium leaves, Geranium essential oil as well as other herbs and essential oil beneficial for the skin. |
Since Geranium essential oil is so safe and versatile is actually a perfect essential oil to use together with the Aromatherapy Lotion Bar recipe that comes with our Lotion Bar Kit:
Aromatherapy Lotion Bar
1 oz by weight Raw Unrefined Shea Butter (2 Tablespoons packed)
1 oz by weight Raw Organic Cocoa Butter (3 Tablespoons of chocolate chip sized bits)
1 oz Candelilla Wax (5 Tablespoons)
2 oz by weight of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (¼ cup)
½ teaspoon Geranium essential oil
In a clean dry ceramic, enamel, or heat safe glass pot melt Shea Butter on low heat. Continue heating on low for an additional 10 minutes. The additional heating time is an important step when working with raw unrefined shea butter. It prevents bars from becoming grainy at cooler temperatures. Add Cocoa Butter & Candelilla. Stir until ingredients are completely melted. Add Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and stir until melted. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, then add add ½ teaspoon of Geranium essential oil just before pouring into the molds.
Tick Repellent
My late friend, Barbara Hall (Lady B), an herbalist and professional gardener from New York discovered an amazing use for Rose Geranium essential oil. It was absolutely imperative that she find an essential oil to repel ticks, having suffered multiple bouts of Lyme disease. After testing many different essential oils, she found that Geranium was a potent tick repellent. Barbara developed the following recipe specific for repelling ticks. She used this spray in her professional gardening work. Reapplication is required when the scent fades:
Rose Geranium Tick Spray Recipe by Barbara Hall
1 tsp Rose Geranium essential oil
1 tsp vodka
8 oz water
Pour into a spray bottle
Geranium calms the emotions
Geranium essential oil is sensational when used in Aromatherapy for calming the emotions. This may be due to its ability to stimulate the Adrenal cortex. Geranium essential oil helps bring improvement to emotional balance by relieving nervous tension, anxiety, and stress. It is also thought to have a mild mood improving effect.
Geranium essential oil is sensational when used in Aromatherapy for calming the emotions. This may be due to its ability to stimulate the Adrenal cortex. Geranium essential oil helps bring improvement to emotional balance by relieving nervous tension, anxiety, and stress. It is also thought to have a mild mood improving effect.
1. Add a few drops of the essential oil to your central air filter to calm down an irritable household
2. Add a drop to a tissue for inhalation
3. Add 15 drops to 1 ounce of Jojoba or Grapeseed oil for massage
Even without the distilled essential oil, you can still get a mood boost by crushing the scented geranium leaves from your garden between your fingers and inhaling the aroma.
Many Aquarian Bath Products include Geranium
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| Rose Geranium is paired with French fine high altitude Lavender essential oil, another uplifting essential oil, in our Lavender Rose Roll On Perfume. |
We use Geranium essential oil in three other products which are shown below. These include our Lavender Rose Lip Balm, Lavender Rose Geranium body Soap. We also bundle our Lavender- Rose Geranium products into a nice gift set.
Sources:
Hall, Barbara. Lady Barbara’s Garden
Price, L. and Price, S., (2000). Aromatherapy for Health Professionals, Second Edition. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingston.
Tisserand, Robert B. (1997). The Art of Aromatherapy. Rochester, Vermont: Healing Arts Press.
Wildwood Chrissie. (1996). The Encyclopedia of Aromatherapy. Rochester, Vermont: Healing Arts Press.
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