Rosemary oil is also well known for its antiseptic and antibacterial compounds, and some research supports the use of rosemary for memory enhancement and varicose veins. A relaxing and invigorating massage with rosemary massage oil is always a treat, so it’s easy to see why this essential oil is so popular.
Before using any essential oil, it’s an excellent idea to become acquainted with all of its benefits, uses and cautions. In doing so, you can ensure that you use the oil safely and enjoy its incredible properties with complete peace of mind. In this guide, you’ll find out how rosemary essential oil can enhance your life.
What is rosemary essential oil?
Rosemary essential oil is extracted from rosemary, a popular herb belonging to the mint family. Often used in cooking and cosmetic preparations, the flowers and leaves of the plant have a strong and distinctive smell that is often compared to camphor or pine. The fact that it is native to Mediterranean regions explains why it’s commonly found in Mediterranean cuisine (think pizza and pasta). The earliest mention of rosemary in history is 5000 BC, and we know the Egyptians used it in their burials.
Rosemary can grow up to six feet in height and produce attractive blue or purple flowers throughout the year. Its leaves are elongated with smooth edges and pointed ends and are dark green in color. This plant’s essential oil is used for a wide range of purposes, ranging from aromatherapy and body care to hair care, hair growth treatments and more. It is often used in diffusers to create a pleasant room fragrance that creates a calm and tranquil ambience. Furthermore, rosemary essential oil has insect repellent properties that may help to repel mosquitoes and other insects naturally.
Rosemary essential oil – quick facts
🌲 Latin name: Rosmarinus officinalis/Salvia rosmarinus
🌲 Countries of origin: Mediterranean, including France, Greece, Italy & Spain
🌲 Scent note: Middle - Top
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🌲 Annual production: 60 kg essential oil per hectare of fresh rosemary produced
🌲 Popular uses: Focus, stress relief, memory improvement, muscle relaxation, home fragrance, digestive issue treatment, addition to skin and hair care products, varicose vein treatment, preserving agent for natural skin care preparations.
How is rosemary essential oil made?
Rosemary oil is extracted from the leaves, flowers and sometimes the stems of the rosemary plant via a steam distillation process. Steam is passed through the plant material which vaporizes and is then condensed, when the oil can then be separated and collected. The resulting oil has a green coloration and a robust herbal scent. Rosemary essential oil contains more than 50% monoterpenes, which give it its therapeutic benefits.
The highest quality rosemary oil is distilled from plants that are grown organically and free from pesticides and other harmful adulterants. Choosing a 100% pure rosemary oil will also help to ensure that the oil’s scent is as strong and long-lasting as possible and that it contains the ideal concentrations of terpenes for various health benefits.
Benefits of rosemary essential oil
Rosemary oil is undoubtedly one of the most popular essential oils in the world. The Ancient Greeks and Romans used the herb to strengthen memory, and these days people use it to balance, cleanse, and purify.
- 🌲 Assisting in hair growth
- 🌲 Stimulating your skin
- 🌲 Natural deodorising
- 🌲 Stress and anxiety reduction
- 🌲 Memory enhancement and boosting cognitive performance
- 🌲 To support digestive processes
- 🌲 A natural insect repellent
Let’s take a look at these benefits of rosemary essential oil in more detail.
Rosemary oil for hair growth
Rosemary Essential Oil can be added to hair care products to address dry scalp conditions and may be effective at helping to treat dandruff. Along with enhancing hair growth and hair health, it’s believed that the powerful anti-inflammatory properties of rosemary oil work particularly well in cases of hair loss like alopecia areata, psoriatic alopecia, and androgenetic alopecia.
Rosemary essential oil for your skin
Rosemary Oil is often added to skincare products to preserve them and slow skin ageing thanks to its high concentration of antioxidants. When used topically, rosemary essential oil gives your complexion a deep cleanse and stimulates cells’ healing. It can also trigger lymphatic drainage and circulation, expelling toxins naturally and reducing inflammation at the same time.
Using rosemary oil for varicose veins is a good idea for these reasons. Studies suggest that it also relieves pain.
Rosemary oil as a natural deodorant
When used topically, rosemary oil can act as a natural perfume, body spray or natural deodorizer. Because it contains chlorophyll and menthol, it’s excellent at keeping odour-forming bacteria at bay.
Rosemary Essential Oil to reduce stress and anxiety
Research has revealed that just inhaling rosemary oil can decrease the levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, in your blood. This hormone is responsible for Fight-or-Flight mode and can additionally cause you to gain weight, undergo oxidative stress, high blood pressure, and increase your chances of getting heart disease.
Use rosemary essential oil in your diffuser, in an aromatherapy spray, or in a pillow mist to get these great benefits.
Rosemary oil to enhance memory and stimulate cognitive performance
Greek scholars used rosemary oil to improve their memories, the Romans continued the practice, and today we’re seeing aromatherapy-based treatments enhancing the quality of alertness and memory in study participants.
Rosemary essential oil to support digestive processes
You can use rosemary oil to combat a variety of digestive complaints, including bloating, constipation, cramping, gas, and indigestion. It’s also effective when it comes to stimulating the appetite and regulates your body’s production of bile.
Rosemary oil as an insect repellant
Rosemary’s pleasant smell makes it a great room and linen spray and even a natural deodorant. A few drops spritzed lightly on linen or around your home can create a wonderful, natural scent.
As an added plus, rosemary essential oil is also an excellent, natural way to repel ants, flies, and mosquitos in your home and yard. These pests dislike the smell and will avoid it whenever possible.
How to use rosemary essential oil
There are many different ways to use rosemary essential oil to support your overall health and wellness. Here are some of the most common ways to use this essential oil:
- 🌲 Topically
- 🌲 Aromatherapy/Inhalation
- 🌲 Hair care products
- 🌲 Spray mist
Let’s look at each of these uses of rosemary essential oil in more detail.
Topical use of rosemary essential oil
You can add a few drops of pure rosemary oil to homemade skin care products, or use it in store-bought creams and lotions to add fragrance and skin-health-boosting properties to these products.
You can also make your own rosemary massage oil for stress relief, relaxation, skin care benefits, to reduce pain and inflammation of joints, muscles, smooth muscles such as digestive muscles and veins, and improve blood flow in varicose veins by adding a few drops to a carrier oil such as jojoba, rosehip or grapeseed oil and massaging it into your skin. A rosemary massage oil can be used on the stomach area to aid digestion.
If you’re using rosemary oil on your face for acne or anti-aging benefits, be sure to choose a non-comedogenic carrier oil, which is one that won’t clog your pores, such as the ones mentioned above as well as plum oil and blueberry seed oil.
Using rosemary oil topically might also ensure the bugs leave you alone!
Aromatherapy/Inhalation of rosemary essential oil
Many aromatherapists recommend using rosemary oil in a diffuser or in a warm bath. It reduces stress and anxiety and relieves fatigue. Diffusing it can also help keep you focused and on task when you need to get things done at work or at home.
Hair care with rosemary essential oil
Add a few drops of this essential oil to your conditioner, hair mask or shampoo and massage it in to invigorate your scalp and help to treat scalp conditions like dandruff. Massage the products into your scalp for a few minutes before rinsing for best results.
Spray mist with rosemary essential oil
Make yourself and your home smell better and liven yourself up with a rosemary essential oil spray mist. Add 5-10 drops of rosemary essential oil to a spray bottle filled with distilled water and give it a good shake. Mist yourself with it like a natural perfume or body spray for a fresh scent and even as a natural deodorizer. This method might even help keep the mosquitoes away. Or spritz your home, your linens or your car to make them smell fresh again.
Rosemary essential oil research
There is plenty of research to support rosemary’s healing properties. Over the years, numerous research papers have focused on this plant and the oil derived from its incredible properties. These are some of the most interesting:
Stress relief with rosemary essential oil - 2007
One study from the Meikai University School of Dentistry in Japan found that just 5 minutes of aromatherapy with rosemary or lavender oils significantly reduced cortisol (the stress hormone) levels in 22 healthy participants while boosting their bodies’ antioxidant activity.
Antidepressant and anxiety reducing effects of rosemary - 2021
In animal models, rosemary was found to reduce anxiety and depressive behaviors by modulating oxytocin, neurotransmitter levels and stress hormones.
Rosemary oil for alertness - 2013
While rosemary oil reduces stress, it has also been found to increase alertness. Inhaled rosemary oil in 20 subjects was found to increase blood pressure, heart rate and respiratory rate immediately after while reducing alpha brain waves and increasing beta brain waves, which are indicators of increased alertness. Subjects also reported feeling “fresher” after inhaling rosemary oil.
Rosemary for memory enhancement - 2003, 2009
A study published in Psychogeriatrics followed 28 elderly participants suffering from either Alzheimer’s or dementia. The patients were required to inhale rosemary and lemon essential oils each morning and lavender and orange oils each evening. All of the patients showed marked improvements in their cognitive function, without any undesirable effects.
Another study focusing on rosemary oil for memory enhancement assessed the impacts of rosemary oil on the cognitive performance of 144 test subjects. The research, published in the International Journal of Neuroscience, showed that the oil significantly improved the participants’ quality of mental alertness, emotional wellness and memory.
Healthy cellular growth with rosemary essential oil - 2011
Rosemary is a rich source of carnosol which, according to an article published in the journal Cancer Letters, has shown anti-cancer properties in various studies of leukemia, colon cancer, breast cancer, skin cancer and prostate cancer.
Muscle pain and relaxation with rosemary essential oil - 2010, 2017, 2021
Rosemary essential oil may be more effective than a placebo for muscle pain management and relief. Topical rosemary oil was found as effective as menthol rub and more effective than a placebo in hemodialysis patients over just 3 days of use three times a day.
Research published in the journal Phytomedicine also found that rosemary oil shows promise in relaxing smooth muscles, relieving pain and improving blood circulation through its antispasmodic effects. The study shows that using rosemary oil for varicose veins may be able to reduce the symptoms of this uncomfortable condition.
In an animal model of osteoarthritis, topical rosemary and peppermint reduced inflammation and pain in rat knee joints affected by osteoarthritis.
Hair growth with rosemary essential oil - 2015
A 2015 study on the efficacy of rosemary oil to treat male pattern balding found that test subjects using rosemary oil or minoxidil 2% experienced equal increases in hair follicle development. The group using rosemary also reported less of an itchy scalp compared to those using the minoxidil. This shows that rosemary oil could be an effective, natural alternative to conventional hair loss/hair growth treatments.
Rosemary oil for acne - 2007, 2020
Rosemary oil has been found to have powerful antibacterial effects, being found effective against Propionibacterium acnes and several other drug-resistant, acne-causing bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Cutibacterium acnes. Rosemary was as effective as tea tree oil against the drug-resistant bacteria.
Rosemary oil for skin care and wound healing - 2010
In mouse models of wound healing, topical rosemary essential oil was found to reduce inflammation and enhance skin repair and regrowth as well as collagen deposition in the treated wounds.
Side effects of rosemary essential oil
While adverse reactions to rosemary oil are very uncommon, side effects can occur, especially when the oil is used at high dosages.
Some people also recommend drinking rosemary essential oil diluted in warm water or added to cooked food in small amounts to support the digestive process. At volant, we don’t recommend ingesting essential oils because they’re very potent - we recommend sticking to using the oil externally and instead ingesting the herb to reduce the risk of irritation. Using the oil internally can lead to queasiness or nausea. If you plan to use essential oils internally, seek proper medical supervision.
When used topically, skin reactions like swelling, redness and itching may occur, especially if you have sensitive skin. We recommend doing a patch test before using an essential oil topically for the first time.
If adverse reactions do occur, discontinue use immediately and consult a trusted healthcare professional.
Contraindications of rosemary essential oil
Pregnant and breastfeeding women should avoid using rosemary oil unless advised by a healthcare professional, as the oil can have negative impacts on unborn children.
If you are taking blood-thinning medications, ACE medications, lithium medications or diuretics, rosemary oil may not be safe for you.
This essential oil should not be used on or around pets, as it is toxic to dogs, cats, birds and other animals.
Where to buy rosemary essential oil
Rosemary essential oil is widely available online and in stores. When purchasing rosemary oil, be sure to look for a 100% pure essential oil - not an extract. This ensures that you will be buying a pure and authentic product with all of the therapeutic benefits of true rosemary oil. If it’s organic, even better!
Here are some of the retailers at which you can purchase rosemary essential oil.
Volant
Volant produces only the highest quality, pure Organic Rosemary Essential Oil and other essential oils to support your health and wellness. You’ll also find rosemary essential oil in our Focus Essential Oil Blend for its ability to boost mental function and manage stress so you can get things done. Our oils are organic and sustainably produced to ensure that you can enjoy your purchases without being exposed to any unnecessary chemicals or pollutants. We also offer stylish, Scandinavian-designed diffusers to help you to make the most of your 100% pure Volant rosemary essential oil.
Amazon
Amazon has dozens of vendors selling essential oils online. However, there is no guarantee that all of these vendors are selling high quality and pure products, so it’s important to be cautious. Research each seller thoroughly and make sure that they are offering quality rosemary essential oil and not an extract or scented oil!
Pharmacies
Many pharmacies also sell essential oils, but it’s essential that you assess the quality of these oils before you buy them. Only choose pure and organic rosemary essential oil to ensure that you can enjoy the many benefits that this natural product has to offer.
doTERRA
doTERRA’s essential oils are widely trusted for their quality and purity. These essential oils are another great option if you are looking for pure and organic oils that will bring you all of the benefits that you are looking for.
Rosemary essential oil FAQs
Can pregnant women use rosemary essential oil?
Using rosemary essential oil while pregnant is not advised or safe. Speak to your qualified healthcare provider before using any essential oils during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
Can rosemary essential oil be used on babies and children?
Rosemary oil should only be used on or around children aged 6 years and over. However, if you wish to use this oil on children under the age of 12 years old, it’s advisable to use an even more diluted preparation than you would use on an adult. Certain essential oils may be safe to use on children, but kids should never take essential oils internally. Speak with a healthcare provider before using any essential oils on children, and avoid using any of these oils on babies.
How should rosemary oil be stored?
Essential oils are very concentrated and volatile and can be affected by warm temperatures and direct sunlight. Store your rosemary oil out of reach of children in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.
Can I use rosemary essential oil on pets?
Rosemary essential oil should not be used on or around pets, as it can be toxic to them. If you are using this oil in a diffuser, ensure that your pets are in a different room or have a way to exit the room freely if they feel uncomfortable.
Can rosemary oil interfere with my medications?
If you are taking blood-thinning medications, ACE medications, lithium medications or diuretics, rosemary oil may not be safe for you. Speak with your healthcare provider before using this oil topically, internally or in a diffuser.
How can I use rosemary essential oil?
Rosemary oil can be used to make rosemary massage oil and can be added to creams, lotions, skin care products and hair care products in appropriate quantities. It can also be diffused and added to room sprays, natural perfumes, linen sprays and your bath. If you wish to use rosemary for memory enhancement, you can inhale it or dilute it in a carrier oil of your choice before applying it to your wrists and temples.
Does rosemary oil for varicose veins work?
Studies suggest that using rosemary oil for varicose veins may be able to reduce the symptoms and pain of this condition and enhance blood flow.
En résumé
Rosemary essential oil is renowned on a global scale for its wide range of therapeutic, antibacterial, antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory properties. Not only is it a great addition to rosemary massage oil, shampoo, lotion, cream and perfume, but you can also use rosemary for memory enhancement and try rosemary oil for varicose veins, inflammation, indigestion and repelling insects.
If you’d like to experience the healing properties of rosemary essential oil for yourself, it’s important to find a trusted supplier. Volant offers only the purest, highest quality essential oils which are 100% pure and organically produced for your peace of mind. When you invest in our essential oils, you know that you will be choosing the best products for yourself and your family, without needing to worry about impurities or toxins.
If you have any questions about our pure rosemary essential oil, please contact us at support@volantaroma.com and we would be glad to assist you!
