Lemon - Citrus limon

Cold pressed from the peel of the fruit, lemon essential oil brings a fresh, citrus aroma to any blend.  Just as an ice-cold glass of lemonade can quench your thirst on a hot summer day, this essential oil can add significant therapeutic properties to EO formulas.

Its uplifting energetics can brighten a gloomy day and reduce stress.  With a high level of the monoterpene Limonene, Lemon essential oil 
is cooling, astringent, antioxidant, and antidepressant. It has analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antispasmodic benefits as well.  So Lemon EO is good in topical and inhalation blends to reduce swelling, pain, and muscle spasms,  and will help improve your mood while doing so!  It's quite helpful in blends for varicose veins too.  As a skin-penetration enhancer, it'll bring all the components of a blend deeper into the layers of your skin.

Wait, it gets better.  Lemon EO is antibacterial and antiviral.  You can use it in homemade cleaning solutions and diffuser blends during cold and flu season.  It stimulates your immune system and supports your liver.  I love to add it to a glycerin soap base for hand-washing.

While Lemon essential oil is pretty safe, there are some cautions that need to be taken into consideration when using it.  It is phototoxic, and it will oxidize easily.  Phototoxicity means that when this oil is applied topically at too high of a dilution, it will cause a skin reaction if exposed to UV rays (sunlight or tanning beds).  This reaction may be in the form of burns or areas of skin discoloration, and it may be temporary or permanent.  To avoid the possibility of a phototoxic reaction, make sure your product contains no more than 2% lemon EO.  (That's 12 drops or less in 1 ounce of carrier oil.)  It's also important to store your oil in a cool dark place and to minimize exposure to the air.  The limonene content will oxidize (spoil) easily (with exposure to light, heat, air, and time).  Once oxidized, it will irritate the skin.  (If you use an oil that has oxidized, you'll know almost immediately by the severe burning sensation and reddening skin!)  It's best to write the date you first open your essential oil on the bottle so you will know when it expires.  Lemon EO has a two year shelf life (although refrigeration may help extend its shelf life a bit longer).

There is one more concern that I'll express here.  It takes approximately 30 lemons to make 1 drop of Lemon essential oil.  Like all essential oils, this one drop is highly concentrated.  I've heard of some people adding 2 - 3 drops of Lemon EO to a glass of water then drinking it.  I strongly caution against doing this with Lemon, or any other essential oil.  Water and oil don't mix, so water is not a carrier for essential oils.  Ingesting 2 - 3 drops of Lemon EO is the equivalent of eating 60 - 90 lemons -- which is not good for anyone!  With no carrier oil to protect the mucous membranes of your digestive tract, the undiluted essential oil drops may damage the cells of the lining in your esophagus and/or stomach.  Additionally, drinking undiluted essential oil drops may cause damage to internal organs.  Such damage may go unnoticed until it's too great to repair.

Even with the precautions I've mentioned above, Lemon essential oil has G.R.A.S. (Generally Regarded As Safe) status, and if stored and used properly is an excellent component to a variety of blends.

To learn more about Lemon EO, you can read about it in the Essential Oil Datasheets on this website.