Composition
Lemon oil, grapefruit oil, clove oil, thyme oil, Aden frankincense oil, cassia oil.
The plants and the oils
Lemon oil is usually cold-pressed from the peel of the lemon; steam-distilled lemon oil is also sold. Limonene gives it its lemony scent.[2]
Grapefruit oil is pressed from the peel of the grapefruit, a citrus fruit that did not exist 400 years ago. More than 90% of the oil consists of monoterpenes, mainly limonene.[3]
Clove oil is usually distilled from the buds of the clove tree, but it can also come from the stems or the leaves; clove bud oil contains up to 85% eugenol.[4]
Thyme oil is distilled from the flowering plant of garden thyme (Thymus vulgaris) or of Thymus zygis.[5]
Frankincense oil is steam-distilled from olibanum, the oleo-gum-resin of Boswellia trees; Aden was one of the ports from which the resin was shipped.[3]
Cassia oil, or Chinese cinnamon oil, is distilled from the leaves, twigs and bark of Cinnamomum cassia, a tree of south-eastern China whose bark is sold as cassia cinnamon. Its chief component is cinnamic aldehyde.[3]
Scent
- Lemon: pressed oil is fresh, bright and zesty, like a freshly peeled lemon; steam-distilled oil smells softer and sweeter.[2]
- Grapefruit: fresh-citrusy and rather sweet, somewhat like sweet orange oil but with notes in common with bitter orange.[3]
- Clove: spicy and warming yet slightly bitter and slightly woody, like clove buds but much stronger.[4]
- Thyme: red thyme oil is rich and powerful, sweet, warm-herbaceous and somewhat spicy.[3]
- Frankincense: fresh, almost green-lemony, with a rich, sweet-woody, balsamic undertone.[3]
- Cassia: strong, spicy, warm and woody-resinous, with an intensely sweet, somewhat balsamic undertone.[3]
How to use
Scent a room or use the blend in the Vivasan car diffuser.
Massage. Add 3 to 5 drops to a massage oil.
Bath. For a bath, add 8 to 10 drops to a little milk and stir it into the bath water. However, clove oil and thyme oil of the thymol type, both components of this blend, are advised against in the bath altogether.[6]
Storage. Store at room temperature (15-25 °C) and close the bottle after use: oxidised citrus oils can sensitise the skin.[6]
Precautions
- do not swallow the oil;[7]
- keep it away from the eyes;[6]
- keep the bottle out of the reach of children.[6]
- Clove oil can be very irritating to the skin, so at most 0.5% is recommended on the skin.[4]
- Oils rich in phenols, such as eugenol and cinnamic aldehyde, may cause skin reactions and should always be diluted before they are applied to the skin.[6]
- If the blend gets on the skin, keep that area out of the sun: expressed lemon oil is phototoxic and can cause burning or changes in skin colour in sunlight, and grapefruit oil carries a low risk of this.[6]
- People with asthma should try the scent carefully at first: fragrances, natural ones included, can make the condition worse.[8]
- The oil burns easily: keep it away from candles and flames.[6]
Sources
- ↑ Vivasan, product packaging of Long Life, oil mixture “Water” (E 129).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 AromaWeb, Lemon Essential Oil. Retrieved 8 November 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Steffen Arctander, Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin, Elizabeth, NJ, 1960: Cassia Oil; Grapefruit Oil; Olibanum; Olibanum Oil; Thyme Oil.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 AromaWeb, Clove Bud Essential Oil. Retrieved 8 November 2026.
- ↑ United States Pharmacopeia, Food Chemicals Codex, Thyme Oil, 2008: Description.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy (NAHA), Safety. Retrieved 8 November 2026.
- ↑ International Federation of Professional Aromatherapists (IFPA), Statement on Internal and Undiluted Use of Essential Oils. November 2019.
- ↑ Robert Tisserand, Proof of Safety: Challenges Facing Essential Oil Therapy. AIA Conference 2007.