Lemon Essential Oil Benefits and Uses

Lemon. Is there anything it can’t do? 

In fruit form, fresh lemon is a delicious accent to a tasty meal. Whereas lemon juice can take your frosty libation from great to truly extraordinary. Packed with Vitamin C and other antioxidants, lemon fruit is thought to boost immunity and aid digestion.

And then there’s Lemon essential oil. For a zesty and fresh aroma, look no further than Lemon. This citrus essential oil has a long history of reviving stale air and revitalizing moods, and it’s a frequent additive to aromatherapy blends. 

But Lemon essential oil benefits extend far beyond the borders of what you might think. In this short guide, we take a glance at eight little-known lemon oil benefits.

Banish Bad Bugs 

What is Lemon essential oil good for? Lemon is frequently used in household cleaners thanks to its antimicrobial properties. In particular, it’s proven to possess:

• Antibacterial properties

• Antifungal properties

That means you can reach for Lemon to disinfect the surfaces of your home. Kitchen counters, bathroom sinks, and shower tiles all find germ relief when Lemon essential oil swoops in. 

Simply mix 40 drops Lemon, 1 oz 190 proof alcohol, and 3 oz distilled water in a spray bottle. Apply to surfaces as you would any other multi-surface cleaner (there’s no need to wipe up with water afterward).

When diluted with a carrier oil, Steam Distilled Lemon can work as a helpful hand moisturizer as well.

Improve Your Skin

A 2017 review of essential oils and their properties notes that the antibacterial properties that combat household germs make Lemon oil well-suited to help support skin conditions. Traditional medicine and scientific studies alike suggest that Lemon essential oil benefits for skin can be:

• Helping heal wounds

• Controlling blemishes

• Reducing redness and rashes.

With properties like these, Lemon is a powerful addition to your skincare routine.

Is Lemon essential oil good for your face? The short answer is yes (when diluted before topical use). While it can help many skin types, it’s especially well-suited for oily skin and uneven skin. 

Let us explain.

Lemon For Blemish Control

If your skin is oily, you may notice enlarged pores filled with sebum, or be prone to blemishes. In these cases, Lemon essential oil is an excellent skin care ally thanks to the following properties:

• Astringency – This essential oil is an astringent, which means it helps to shrink and reduce the appearance of pores. Make it part of your cleansing or toning routine to enjoy its full benefits.

• Controls oil production – As if that wasn’t good enough, Lemon helps control the production of sebum, an oily substance that is secreted by your sebaceous glands that help keep your skin and hair moisturized. In turn, Lemon’s ability to control over/under-production of sebum, in turn also helps to reduce breakouts.
  
  

Lemon For Uneven Skin

Besides its blemish-busting properties, Lemon is an antioxidant. You’ve probably heard just about every substance from blueberries to spinach to citrus fruits described with this term, but it’s worth explaining what it actually means.

Oxidation is the process by which harmful substances like secondhand smoke, pollutants, and UV rays damage skin cells. They remove oxygen atoms from stable molecules, making them unstable, which in turn drives them to bond with other cells (and spread the damage).

This process is considered one of the root causes of signs of aging skin, including sun spots, wrinkles, and fine lines.

A 1999 study demonstrated that Lemon oil can help prevent oxidation on the skin’s surface. This means that it may be able to help even your skin tone and texture, including:

• Neutralizing facial redness

• Lightening under-eye circles

• Reducing the appearance of stretch marks

Try adding Steam Distilled Lemon essential oil to your cleansing or moisturizing routine. 

Soothe Sore Muscles

Another reason you might want to use Lemon essential oil for skin? It can help reduce skin sensitivity or skin irritation.

• The antioxidants in Lemon essential oil are also anti-inflammatory. Since an inflammatory reaction often causes physical soreness, topical Lemon oil can help target a specific muscle group.

• A 2002 study on rodents tested Lemon oil’s ability to reduce discomfort. Lemon aromatherapy had clear results—it reduced the test subjects markers of discomfort, indicating Lemon oil had provided a significant amount of relief.

Add Lemon to massage oils and body balms as part of your self-care routine.

Help Reduce Sweat And Body Odor

Beyond facial care, Lemon can also be an excellent addition to body moisturizers and deodorants thanks to its BO-banishing properties.

What causes odorous sweat? In 2018, researchers identified some of the armpit-dwelling bacteria that metabolize proteins in human sweat, putting off a sulfurous compound. 

Lemon acts to prevent body odor in two ways:

• Antibacterial properties – The same qualities that help combat blemishes can also reduce the number of odor-causing bacteria on the skin’s surface.

• Strong, fresh aroma – The zesty, citrus-fresh aroma of Lemon works to effectively replace BO with the aroma of Lemon essential oil. 
  
  

Reduce Nausea 

When your stomach sits sideways, Lemon can help to restore balance. This is especially true in relation to pregnancy and morning sickness. In a study conducted with pregnant women in 2014, it was shown that Lemon essential oil had a positive effect on those who inhaled it. 

Reach for our Lemon the next time nausea strikes. You can carry it:

• In a pocket diffuser

• By wearing a diffuser bracelet
  
  

Relieve Stress

While its aroma is bright and joy-inducing, the properties of this essential oil may also help to alleviate you of stress. 

Several studies on college students experiencing stressful exam periods have demonstrated that Lemon is comparable to Lavender in its nerve-soothing effects. 

Consider adding an essential oil diffuser to your bedroom, or even to your car. That way, you can enjoy Lemon’s beneficial effects when you’re on the go.

Boost Energy

Lemon can brighten your mood, and perhaps also help to fight fatigue. A 2016 study tested Lemon aromatherapy’s effect on sleep-deprived mice. After aromatherapy, the test subjects had more energy and were more active.

If you struggle to find energy throughout the day, Lemon can serve as a healthy, side-effect free alternative to caffeine.

Keep Hair Healthy 

Ensure your hair remains strong, robust, and shiny with Lemon essential oil. 

By regulating sebum (as previously mentioned), Lemon helps prevent your hair from becoming oily and stringy. 

The process is simple: 

• Add six drops of Lemon per one ounce of shampoo base (meant to have additional ingredients added) before massaging into your scalp.

• If you’d like to keep essential oils out of your shampoo, mix a few drops of Lemon essential oil with a carrier oil and wear it as a hair mask. After 10-15 minutes, shampoo and condition, washing hair thoroughly.  

For more on essential oils and shampoo, check out our deep dive on the subject here!

Can I Put Lemon Essential Oil in My Water?

Putting lemon juice, lemon peel or lemon rind in your water is thought to have beneficial effects. It’s an easy route to accessing the citrus fruit’s Vitamin C and nutrients. 

It’s natural to wonder if Lemon essential oil uses include flavoring water.

Because we don’t know our customers’ specific allergies, medical conditions, and tolerance to essential oils, we cannot recommend essential oils for internal use. 

Like many reputable essential oil companies, we include a “For External Use Only” warning on our products to be extra cautious and safe.

If you’re curious about using essential oils in your water or in other recipes, we recommend consulting with your doctor and an aromatherapist. 

What Can I Mix With Lemon Essential Oil?

Even if you don’t put essential oils in your beverages, there are thousands of Lemon oil uses that connect you with the fruit’s amazing effects. Two of our favorites are facial cleanser or household cleaning products.

To get started, we recommend the following Lemon facial cleanser that is free of harmful pathogens. Combining the power of pure Lemon essential oil for skin with other beneficial, aromatic essential oils can help to:

• Control oil

• Support even skin tone

• Uplift your mood to start your day off right

Ingredients:

• 3 oz Pure Argan oil

• 1 oz Almond meal

• 10 drops Lemon Around the World essential oil

• 4 drops Lavender essential oil

• 4 drops Frankincense essential oil

Add all ingredients to a pump bottle. Wash face as usual, and rinse with warm water.

This mildly exfoliating face wash works well for most skin types. 

Once you’ve mastered this recipe, you can customize it with Vitamin E and create your own essential oil blends.

Getting Started

Ready to get started with pure essential oils? Try out a tried-and-true diffuser blend like Fighting Five, which combines Lemon with Cinnamon Leaf, Moroccan Rosemary, Clove Bud, Eucalyptus Globulus and Eucalyptus Radiata for an immune-boosting and refreshing aroma. Another essential oil blend we love is the Mandarin Lemon synergy blend because it’s a powerhouse of citrus oils that can help motivate your mood while diminishing your worry. 

Whatever your choice, you can find it here, at Edens Garden.

Sources:

1. Orchard, Ané, and Sandy van Vuuren. “Commercial Essential Oils as Potential Antimicrobials to Treat Skin Diseases.” Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine 2017 (2017).  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5435909/
2.  Brannon, Heather. “Sebum.” Very Well Health. https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-is-sebum-1069375
3. Calabrese, V. “Oxidative stress and antioxidants at skin biosurface: a novel antioxidant from lemon oil capable of inhibiting oxidative damage to the skin.” Drugs under experimental and clinical research 25.6 (1999). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10713866/
4. Aloisi, Anna Maria et al. “Effects of the essential oil from citrus lemon in male and female rats exposed to a persistent painful stimulation.” Behavioral Brain Research 136.1 (2002). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166432802000992 
5. Mihas, Gurdeep et al. “Structural basis of malodour precursor transport in the human axilla.” eLife (2018). https://elifesciences.org/articles/34995
6. Stenzaly‐Achtert, S. et al. “Axillary pH and influence of deodorants.” Skin research and technology 6.2 (2000): 87-91. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1034/j.1600-0846.2000.006002087.x?casa_token=9-bUDBFUKb0AAAAA:yyqhE2CmoJeGKRvzxlidyNQ7oxCGhnBjAtycihqYHjPtBKsBXWGXlcq28WIXSPAYJrPTZVWI1-23Co4
7. Yavari Kia P, Safajou F, Shahnazi, and M, Nazemiyeh H. “The effect of lemon inhalation aromatherapy on nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. Iran Red Crescent Med J. 16.3 (2014). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24829772/
8. Wells, B., & Hopkins. “Aromatherapy for test anxiety in college students.” Journal of Contemporary Chiropractic 1.1 (2018): 3-8. https://journal.parker.edu/index.php/jcc/article/view/13
9. Han, C., Li, F., Tian, S. et al. Beneficial effect of compound essential oil inhalation on central fatigue. BMC Complement Altern Med 18. 309 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-018-2375-6