Everything You Need to Know About Rosemary Essential Oil

Rosemary – it’s not just the herb you’ll find next to parsley, sage, and thyme. This aromatic herb is used to create rosemary essential oil, a potent substance with a number of amazing benefits. I love rosemary’s unique aroma – it adds a wonderfully green fragrance to soaps, shampoos, and lotions. But its aromatic uses are just the beginning; this essential oil is packed with benefits.

Rosemary Essential Oil Benefits

Traditionally, this Mediterranean evergreen was used for medicinal purposes, including memory improvement, muscle ache relief, and digestive relief. Today, it’s used in a number of cosmetic and aromatherapeutic situations. Here are just some of the ways you can benefit from this oil:

1. Improved Hair Growth: Your hair follicles love rosemary. When you apply rosemary essential oil to your hair, it wakes them right up! Use this oil to stimulate hair growth. Not only can it help your hair grow longer and stronger, it can slow down premature hair loss. Use diluted rosemary oil in a tonic or shampoo to fight back against aging hair and male pattern baldness.
2. Scalp Healing: An itchy, flaking scalp can be a real pain, and those white flakes on your shoulders don’t do much for your appearance. The same hair tonic or shampoo you used to improve hair growth can also provide exactly what your itchy scalp needs to heal. Even better, combine it with tea tree oil or basil oil to create a tonic that fights the bacteria that causes dandruff in the first place. And a final perk? Your hair will smell amazing.
3. Soothe Skin Conditions: Rosemary essential oil contains antimicrobial and antiseptic qualities that benefit the skin if you suffer from eczema, dermatitis, or acne. Apply a cream or lotion that contains rosemary oil regularly to soothe away flare-ups, moisturize your skin, and create a bright, healthy glow.
4. Stress Relief: Let’s talk stress for a minute. When something stresses you out, your body releases a chemical called cortisol. If you’re constantly undergoing stress, cortisol is constantly building up in your blood. Let that go on unchecked and you’ll end up with a hormonal imbalance or an impaired metabolism. But not to worry – you have rosemary essential oil, which has been proven to decrease the level of cortisol in saliva. Simply enjoy the aroma of rosemary for 5 minutes a day and watch your stress slip away.

Rosemary Essential Oil Contraindications

Rosemary essential oil is safe for most people to use. However, if you have epilepsy it is recommended that you avoid oils that, like rosemary, have a particularly strong scent. If you know you’re allergic to rosemary, don’t use this oil. If you’re pregnant, check in with your doctor or midwife before use. Finally, any essential oil can be dangerous if it isn’t diluted properly. If you’re unsure how to use rosemary oil safely, check in with an expert before making your own mixtures.

Rosemary may taste great on chicken and potatoes, but that’s just the beginning of what this aromatic herb can do! Do you love rosemary oil, or even the herb? How do you like to use it? Let me know your cosmetic or culinary recipes below!