Geranium essential oil is extremely beneficial for your body and mind. It is distilled from geranium plants, known botanically as Pelargonium graveolens, but it does not have an overly sweet fragrance. This oil is excellent for skin issues, neuropathy, inflammation, blood circulation, muscle tone and emotional troubles like depression and anxiety.
I was thrilled to find out that it has actually been proven to be helpful in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. All of these incredible uses of geranium essential oil are due to its natural antibiotic, antiseptic, antidepressant and anti-inflammatory properties.
1. Treat Skin Irritations and Diseases
Mix 5 drops of geranium oil into 1 teaspoon of coconut oil to treat dermatitis and sores. Apply a small amount to the irritation 2 times a day. This is an excellent treatment for skin conditions like eczema.
2. Clear up Acne
Add 1 drop of geranium oil to 1 to 2 drops of argan oil in the palm of your hand, rub your hands together then apply the oil blend to acne-prone skin. Even if you tend to have oily skin, it needs to be moisturized after cleansing to help it heal. The antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties of geranium oil will clear up that acne in no time.
Argan oil is also beneficial for acne-prone skin. It absorbs quickly, is not greasy and brings its own special skin-healing properties to the mix. Argan oil is high in vitamins A and E, which are very good for the skin, is a natural anti-inflammatory and is high in antioxidants.
3. Reduce Wrinkles and Firm your Skin
Put 2 drops of geranium EO in some lotion for facial skin and use it 2 times each day. Wash your face first with a mild face wash. You can also put the geranium oil in a carrier oil like argan oil or jojoba and use that as a moisturizer.
4. Improve Skin
Mix 2 drops of geranium essential oil into a small amount of your favorite body or face wash for general all-over skin improvement. Just mix up as much as you would normally use for 1 or 2 washes at a time. It will improve your skin’s health and appearance. You can also put a few drops of the oil in your diffuser, or even a pan of hot water on the stove, and let the geranium oil steam gently waft over your face.
*As with all essential oils, you should test geranium EO on a small, inconspicuous area before spreading it all over your body or face. Just dab a drop on your ankle and wait a few hours.*
5. Heal Wounds or Incisions
Apply 1 to 2 drops of geranium EO to wounds and incisions to shorten healing time. Geranium oil reduces the inflammation and enhances circulation to speed healing. You can apply it directly with your fingertips or apply it with a cotton swab. Cover the wound with gauze or a bandage. Reapply 2 times a day until the wound or incision is healed. The geranium oil will also reduce scarring.
6. Speed Up Scabbing
Use geranium essential oil to help speed up the formation of scabs. It actually encourages blood vessel contraction which quickly stems blood flow. Clots or scabs form much more quickly than they would otherwise. Ingest geranium essential oil to take advantage of this incredible benefit. It is not toxic but make sure you get good, quality, therapeutic-grade oil. You can add 1 drop to a serving of frozen soy milk, frozen yogurt or ice cream for a medicinal treat or eat it with 1 teaspoon of flaxseeds or wheat germ.
7. Repel Biting Insects
Mix up spray-on or rub-on geranium essential oil insect repellent. For spray-on repellent, mix 10 to 20 drops of geranium oil into 1 1/2 tablespoon of water, 1 teaspoon of carrier oil like argan, avocado or sweet almond oil and 1 teaspoon of witch hazel or vodka. Shake it up to thoroughly mix the ingredients and put it in a spray bottle. For a rub-on insect repellent, just mix 10 to 20 drops of geranium oil into 2 tablespoons of your favorite carrier oil.
*Do not use on very young children or when pregnant or nursing.*
8. Treat Itchy Bug Bites
Keep geranium essential oil on hand to treat itchy bug bites. You can simply apply a drop of geranium oil or mix it with 1 or 2 drops of light carrier oil, like argan, and dab that on the bite. It will stop the itching and speed healing.
9. Fight Infection
Take advantage of geranium oil’s antibacterial properties to prevent infection. Apply 1 to 2 drops directly on scrapes, cuts and wounds 2 times each day. You should keep fresh scrapes and wounds covered to protect them from debris and further injury.
10. Tone Muscles
Rub geranium oil into your muscles for improved muscle tone. Its natural astringent properties tighten muscles and skin, which helps prevent sagging. This oil is especially great for abdominal muscles and upper arms, where muscle tone breaks down and the skin tends to get saggy. Mix 5 drops of geranium EO into 1 tablespoon of a good carrier oil like coconut or jojoba.
Coconut oil liquefies quickly when you put it in your palm and rub your hands together and has a good viscosity for massage but you may prefer a lighter oil like jojoba or argan. Try both and see which oil works best for you. I prefer to use 1 tablespoon of coconut and a few drops of argan for the best of both carrier oils.
11. Prevent Hemorrhoids
Take a high-quality geranium oil by mouth to help prevent hemorrhoids. Its blood-vessel contracting properties can keep hemorrhoids from forming. Just 1 drop a day is all you need.
12. Speed Up Cell Regeneration
Practice geranium EO aromatherapy with 2 to 3 drops of the oil in your diffuser to improve whole-body cell regeneration. Enhanced cell growth encourages fast, efficient turn-over of dead cells and a healthier metabolism. You can do this aromatherapy several times a day for maximum benefit.
13. Reduce Edema or Water Retention
Utilize geranium oil’s natural diuretic properties to encourage healthy urination and reduce edema or water retention. Edema, which is commonly referred to as water retention, makes you feel sluggish and uncomfortable. Your organs and body, in general, can’t function properly when you are dragged down by water weight.
This is not just a matter of carrying around excess weight. It is a matter of carrying around unhealthy toxins. Healthy urination helps your body release toxins of all types and flush them out of your system. Practice geranium EO aromatherapy several times a day or mix 5 drops of geranium EO into 1/2 teaspoon of argan, sweet almond or jojoba oil and massage it into your body.
You can also add 3 to 8 drops to a dishpan of warm water to soak your feet and ankles or use a blend of 1 drop of carrot seed oil, 2 drops of geranium oil and 3 drops of grapefruit oil. Continue to drink plenty of fresh water to help your body flush out the toxins.
14. Reduce Body Odor
Mix 5 drops of geranium essential oil into 5 tablespoons of water, put it in a spray bottle and spray your body, especially the underarms, every morning. Its antibacterial properties eliminate odor at the source by eliminating bacteria before it begins to stink. Another great benefit of geranium essential oil is that your body absorbs it into your circulatory system even when you just diffuse it or apply it along with a carrier oil. Because of this, your perspiration actually smells like geraniums. Your own sweat becomes a sweet, flowery perfume.
15. Improve Your State of Mind
Use geranium essential oil to help improve your mental state. It lifts your spirits, relieves anxiety and depression and helps you let go of old anger and resentment that can really take a toll on your emotional health. Practice geranium EO aromatherapy or just put 1 to 2 drops of the oil on the palm of your hand, rub your hands together to warm the oil and release the aroma then cup your hands over your nose and mouth.
Deeply inhale the sweet aroma to reap the benefits. You might want to try an uplifting blend of oils in your diffuser that includes 2 drops of lemon essential oil and 1 drop each of geranium EO and grapefruit EO. The citrus notes are very refreshing and bring some wonderful benefits of their own.
16. Alleviate Nerve Inflammation and Pain
Use geranium EO massage oil for relief from pain due to fibromyalgia, neuropathy or nerve inflammation. This is great for relief of nerve pain from shingles but can really help with any sort of nerve pain and inflammation. Use 100% therapeutic grade geranium essential oil. Mix 3 drops into a tablespoon of coconut oil and massage tense, painful or sensitive areas 2 to 3 times a day for relief. You can also practice geranium EO aromatherapy several times a day or put 10 drops of the oil in a warm, soothing bath for all-over relief.
17. Fight Alzheimer’s and Dementia
Practice geranium EO aromatherapy or massage several times a day to help treat Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The anti-inflammatory properties of geranium oil reduce inflammation along the neural pathways, making the development of neuro-generative diseases less likely. Geranium oil has also been used in a massage oil blend to improve sleep, enhance contentment and alertness and reduce wandering, withdrawal and agitation.
Aromatherapy works well for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia, although patients with more advanced dementia who have lost their sense of smell don’t seem to respond to it. Mixing a few drops of geranium, mandarin and lavender oil into a tablespoon of sweet almond oil and rubbing the mixture into the patient’s skin each day seems to be very effective.
18. Prevent or Treat Sinus and Throat Infections
Add a few drops of geranium oil to a teaspoon of carrier oil and rub it into your skin along your throat, under your nose and over your sinuses 2 to 3 times a day to prevent or treat a bacterial infection. You can also practice geranium oil aromatherapy 2 to 3 times a day for the same benefits.
19. Reduce Inflammation
Take advantage of geranium essential oil’s anti-inflammatory properties to reduce inflammation anywhere on your body. It helps alleviate inflammation from everything from arthritis to heart disease. Geranium oil aromatherapy will help as well as massaging the body with geranium massage oil.
Was this list helpful to you? I was amazed by all the incredible benefits that this floral essential oil has to offer. It has been used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat the lymphatic system for centuries. I hope you will try geranium essential oil. With all of its incredible healing properties, I’m sure you will be glad you did.
Please leave a comment to let me know if this list helped and tell me about your own personal experiences with geranium essential oil. We’ll just keep adding to the on-going list of all of the great uses for this wonderful floral oil. Be sure to share, too, so that others can learn about all of this oil’s natural benefits.
References:
1. Dr. Axe: 15 Geranium Oil Benefits for Healthy Skin and Much Morehttps://draxe.com/10-geranium-oils-benefits-healthy-skin-much/
2. Sustainable Baby Steps: Geranium Essential Oil: Uses, Benefits, and Precautionshttp://www.sustainablebabysteps.com/geranium-oil.html