For all its rugged nature, the blossoms of the rosemary plant are delicate, lending an endearing quality to a daring plant. Rosemary essential oil offers benefits that are rooted in the plant’s traits and tales. It is storied as being used against the plague, as well as for ceremonies, be they weddings or funerals. This links to rosemary’s association with memory, calling on long ago lessons, as well as those of today.
As we delve into the many benefits of rosemary essential oil, consider all it offers us. Supporting ways in which to be delicate yet daring, tender yet tenacious, and kind yet clear.
Description
Botanical Name: Rosmarinus officinalis
Origin: Asia and the Mediterranean
Extraction Method: Steam distillation
Plant Parts Used: Leaves and flowers
Note Classification: Middle
Scent: herbal, penetrating, crisp, woody
Blends Well With: chamomile, lavender, lemongrass, peppermint, eucalyptus
Shelf Life: 4 years
Cautions:
- For a list of cautions associated with the use of rosemary essential oil, please review this article.
- Read more about essential oil safety here.
Maximum Dilution: 6% for topical application. (Recommended maximum dilution for home use is 3%.)
4 Powerful Benefits Of Rosemary Essential Oil
Rosemary essential oil is stimulating, arousing one’s mind as it awakens senses and offers protection. Such clarity and concentration lends well to planning a career, a meal, a work of art, or best ways to study. It invigorates circulation as it encourages fat breakdown, slowing the effects of aging. Ah yes, this dew of the sea even bestows hair radiance, a crowning jewel for a keenly attuned mind!
Rosemary essential oil from this darling by the sea offers 4 exquisitely dependable benefits:
- Clear Mind And Mood
- Wellness Wisdom
- Whole Body Benefit
- Caring For Your Place
For Clear Mind And Mood
Supports Mental Clarity
Rosemary supports clear thinking and concentration through its stimulating effects.
A small study of human subjects in Thailand confirmed that inhalation of rosemary essential oil resulted in stimulatory effects for the participants. These were noted via electroencephalography (EEG) analysis and each person’s report of mood. Camphor is the terpene compound in rosemary that prompts this sort of welcome stimulation.
Improves Memory
An in vivo study published in 2017 found that inhalation of rosemary essential oil alleviates stress in mice. This oil acts as a regulator of the sympathetic nervous system with its functions related to the fight or flight response. Instead of recklessly running away, rosemary brings balance that boosts memory and physical functions.
Eucalyptol, also known as 1,8-cineole, is a major component of rosemary essential oil. It aids in reducing inflammation, including its effects on memory and circulation. The compound pinene aids memory retention as well as respiration, adding another layer of rosemary essential oil protection. Better breathing plus a circulation boost equals improved memory!
For Wellness Wisdom
Boosts Immune Tenacity
An in vitro study, published in 2010, used gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to analyze compounds found in rosemary essential oil from Pakistan. Findings revealed that these components have very good antimicrobial potential, along with notable antioxidant activity. This assures that free radicals and other tissue-harming toxins are brought down and flushed from the body. These benefits, combined with its stress-reducing capacity, make this oil an immune system champion.
Soothes Inflammation
Just think of how the immune system is our defense from inflammation, both on the surface and within. Rosemary is beneficial for those with occasional or chronic inflammation, such as arthritis and bronchitis. The oil’s terpene compound pinene supports analgesic pain relief as it aids reducing inflammation flares. Carnosol is one of the components responsible for rosemary’s anti-inflammatory support.
As part of its inflammation thwarting ability, rosemary essential oil goes to work releasing toxins. It stirs you with stimulating qualities that are the result of its flavonoids and diterpene compounds. These beneficial chemicals boost the immune system, offering added supports for ridding free radicals. This capacity results in fat breakdown, reducing cell damage. All of this adds up to a boon for those who suffer from general stiffness caused by fluid retention and sore muscles.
Cleansing Protection
The composition of rosemary essential oil has been an aid to many people for centuries. It thwarts fungi, bacteria, and viruses.
A 2018 review of essential oil studies conducted on Rosmarinus officinalis from 1990 to 2014 reports on overall findings of its plant chemistry and biological activity. Studies primarily used a variety of in vitro methods. One observation is the possible synergistic effect that occurs between rosemary essential oil compounds. Those tested against bacteria and fungi were described as having antibacterial and antifungal action. This same review reported on the potential antioxidant action of rosemary’s isolated compounds.
This simply means that rosemary supports your immune system, helping to ward off inflammation and infection.
For Whole Body Benefit
Enhances Skin And Hair
Rosemary is infused with wondrous compounds that protect skin and hair from microbes and pests, including the ones we can see. Be it a staph this, or a louse that, rosemary essential oil knows when to help with defying these upsets. The oil has compounds that ward off bacteria and fungi, the microbes that cause skin problems like acne, carbuncles, athlete’s foot, ringworm, and jock itch.
Rosemary stimulates circulation to the scalp, nurturing glands, nerves, and hair follicles. This beneficial mix of care encourages hair growth. It aids anyone with male or female patterns of baldness.
Camphor, found in rosemary, is a cleansing compound that interferes with the life of parasites.
Simply put, regardless of your skin or hair concern, rosemary’s strength responds to the need!
Stimulates Circulation
Rosemary essential oil has a reputation for stimulating circulation by increasing heart rate. This supports overall function, assuring that tissues and organs receive oxygen, and that wastes are carried away. The circulatory benefits are reported to improve cognition, with clearer thinking and memory being observed outcomes.
A human subjects study published in 2012 suggests that rosemary aromas affects thinking and mood states through different neurochemical pathways. Voluntary participants performed cognitive tasks as, unbeknownst to them, they inhaled rosemary aromas.
The authors report the presence of rosemary’s compound eucalyptol (1,8-cineole) in participants’ blood serum after task completion. They suggest that the aromas were absorbed via the mucous membranes of the nose and lungs, good news for those who like diffusers.
Aids In Respiration
Our respiratory systems are intricate, quite lovely, and sadly susceptible to invasions by all sorts of awful stuff. Some we can see, as in the form of manufacturing facilities spewing forth huge plumes of steam and particles. Adding to respiratory system stress are toxins in furniture and all those airborne illnesses. The good news amongst all this gloom is that rosemary essential oil is rich in respiratory aids.
The compound pinene encourages dilation of bronchial tubes, thus easing respiration as it reduces congestion. Eucalyptol is a compound that helps to break up mucus. And camphor provides bodily warmth, a true benefit when warding off a cold.
Relieves Aches And Pains
A day on the playing field, or the changes of advancing years, can result in muscular aches and pains. There are days when those travel from one spot to another. And gosh, how they can interfere with working in the yard or cutting the fabric of a new design. Thankfully rosemary is there, bringing her quiet aid and resilience to alleviate these annoying aches.
Rosemary essential oil does the same for headaches and rheumatism, stimulating circulation along with its mild pain relief. Rosmaricine is the component that promotes such valued benefits.
In Caring For Your Place
Brings Disinfection Protection
One of my favorite uses for rosemary is its disinfecting ways, in part because it works, and also because of its uplifting aroma. These benefits offer thorough caring at home when sunny days are short or contagion are out and about. We’re good to go with a spray here, a diffuser there, and swish in the bath.
The same compounds that fight off infections are those that contribute to rosemary’s disinfecting benefits. Just think of the aromas created by the camphor and eucalyptol that are extracted from rosemary’s leaves and flowers! They are captivating for us, yet deadly for microbes.
Repels Insects
Have you noticed how the times of year we long for are those favored by pests? The days grow longer and warmer. As they do, the ants and mosquitoes celebrate too. How they can wreak havoc in the house and turn an outdoor party into a swatting fest.
Once again, rosemary comes to the rescue! Those same compounds that repel microbes are bad news for bugs.
Read next – How to actually use rosemary? 14 practical ways here!
The Bottom Line
- Rosemary continues to be widely researched because of its helpful medicinal uses for human for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
- Rosemary is stimulating; this aids in concentration, clear thinking and boosting circulation, including to the brain. It also benefits those with arthritis and rheumatism.
- Rosemary is a friend to hair and skin as it offers protection from the microbes that cause acne and fungal infections. It nurtures hair follicles, limiting hair loss and dandruff.
- This essential oil offers an array of overall wellness benefits such as the ability to quell inflammation, improving the immune system and supporting respiration by opening airways.
- Rosemary is welcome where you live because its disinfection powers help with cleaning, and bugs run from sight!
Read more:
- Top 14 Rosemary Essential Oil Uses You Should Try
- How To Store Essential Oils At Home – Do’s And Dont’s For Extending Oil Life
