Citronella Essential Oil
Out of all of the essential oils we use in our blends, Citronella Essential Oil is the ingredient most commonly used in Wild As The Wind preparations… and for good reason!
Like Organic Sweet Orange Essential Oil, which also makes many appearances in Wild As The Wind products, Citronella Essential Oil is an incredibly versatile and potent healer.
Because Citronella Essential Oil has such a diverse array of actions it is useful in many different preparations.
Healing Benefits Of Citronella Essential Oil
Citronella Essential Oil is variously: antibacterial, anti-cancer, antiseptic, antifungal, astringent, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antipyretics, antispasmodic, antidepressant, carminative, diuretic, deodorant, diaphoretic, sedative, tonic, and vermifuge.
However, Citronella Essential Oil is primarily used in Wild As The Wind products as an anti-inflammatory and insect repelling agent, with a mild view to embracing it’s other healing capabilities.
But, because Citronella is a powerful antioxidant it can help to heal bacterial and fungal infections, which makes it an important ingredient in many preparations.
Citronella Essential Oil Adulteration
Sadly, because Citronella Essential Oil is used extensively for providing perfumery chemicals such as citronellal, citronellol, and geraniol it is an essential oil that is very regularly adulterated.
The adulteration of essential oils is a very widespread phenomena, and it is why buyers of essential oils need to be very careful. We advise people to only buy essential oils from trusted vendors.
Sourcing essential oils from eBay and Amazon is likely to end in tears. There are several major class actions taking place in the USA against some of the most prominent essential oil vendors on both of these online selling platforms.
Why?
Adulterated essential oils are usually toxic and have been stripped of their therapeutic capabilities.
Wild As The Wind Citronella Essential Oil Products
*As with all essential oils, Citronella Oil must be diluted prior to topical application.
Wild As The Wind products that incorporate Citronella Essential Oil are
Anti-Fungal Insect Repellent & Salve
We also sell Citronella Essential Oil in it’s pure form so you can create your own blends, as well as using it in oil burners and diffusers.
How Citronella Essential Oil Is Made
Citronella Oil is one of several essential oils extracteded from the leaves and stems of different species of Cymbopogon.
Lemongrass Essential Oils is also derived from Cymbopogon. This is why Citronella Essential Oil and Lemongrass Essential Oil share many healing properties in common.
Citronella Essential Oil As An Insect Repellent
Mosquitoes hate Citronella!
Actually, to be more accurate, Citronella disguises the smell of blood which means that the female mosquito, (male mosquitoes don’t bite), are put off the scent of the wearer.
Female mosquitoes need the blood from another creature in order to make their babies. Without the nutrients from the blood of a host or ‘donor’, then the female has insufficient nutritional stores to reproduce.
When used as a salve, diluted Citronella Oil will help to assimilate toxins from mosquito bites faster than if you left your bites untreated, owing to it’s diuretic qualities. Also, increasing fluid intake to prompt regular urination will help to reduce toxic build-up and swelling also.
Citronella-based repellents only protect from host-seeking mosquitoes for about two hours although formulation of the repellent is very important. Initially, citronella, which contains citronellal, citronellol, geraniol, citral, α pinene, and limonene, is as effective dose for dose as DEET, but the oils rapidly evaporate causing loss of efficacy and leaving the user unprotected. However, by mixing the essential oil with a large molecule like vanillin (5%) protection time can be considerably prolonged by reducing the release rate of the volatile oil…
Citronella Essential Oil Is An Anti-fungal Agent
The aroma of Citronella Essential Oil comes from the leading constituent in the oil: Citral, also known as Lemonal.
Citral possesses potent antibacterial and anti-fungal properties.
At Wild As The Wind we advocate adding Citronella Essential Oil to any of your homemade anti-fungal preparations, because in all honesty, there aren’t many perfumes made with Oregano, Tea Tree and Myrrh Essential Oils! The addition of Citronella to any anti-fungal blend is a blessing in more ways than just it’s therapeutic benefits!
Citronella Essential Oil As An Antibacterial Agent
Because Citral, or Lemonal, possesses such potent antibacterial and anti-fungal properties, we also advocate using it in preparations for topical application where there is a high risk of bacterial infection.
This is another great reason for using a preparation containing Citronella Essential Oil as an insect repellent as well as a salve as it will help to considerably reduce any risk of infection from insect bits.
Having lived in hot countries I have seen too many people grow very ill through infected insect bites. People who scratch their bites with dirty finger nails, often unconsciously, whilst they’re asleep for example, can develop life-threatening sores from just one bite. The infection can go on to infect the entire body, if not kept in check, and so using Wild As The Wind Anti-Fungal, Insect Repellent & Salve as a salve is a wise choice.
Citronella Essential Oil As An Antipyretics
Antipyretics can lower fevers as they promote perspiration. The spice form of Lemongrass is frequently used as a tea, particularly in tropical countries, to reduce dangerously high fevers.
So, the inclusion of Citronella Essential Oil in any topical preparation will bring about a reduction in fever.
Antipyretics also aid gastric relaxation and so Citronella Oil can be used in conjunction with Peppermint Essential Oil, Ginger Essential Oil and even Lavender Essential Oil in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.
As Citronella also contains a carminative constituent, it offers another way of relieving IBS symptoms by helping to remove excess gas from the intestines as well as preventing gas from forming.
Citronella Essential Oil Is Anti-Parasitical
This immensely powerful essential oil is even thought to kill intestinal worms when applied topically to the belly!
Citronella Essential Oil As A Sedative
Citronella Essential Oil is also an effective sedative, which enable it to promote feelings of peacefulness in the user. It is also works well as an anti-spasmodic, so diffusing this oil in times of severe tension could prove to be very calming.
Citronella Essential Oil Is Anti-Cancer
The D- Limonene content in Citronella isn’t as high as in Sweet Orange Essential Oil, but Citronella can still claim anti-cancerous capabilities.
The D-Limonene is further enhanced, from an anti-tumour perspective, as it is coupled with a flavonoid known as luteolin in Citronella Essential Oil, which, unsurprisingly, is also found in Lemongrass Essential Oil.
Luteolin has been linked to combating cancer cells.
*Luteolin may also improve the symptoms of lung infections and it could be useful in the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis.
Citronella Essential Oil As An Antiseptic
Citronella Essential Oil contains antiseptic constituents, but it isn’t considered a go-to remedy for cleansing a wound. But if Citronella is all you’ve got in an emergency then it will do the job of cleaning a wound admirably!
*Always use essential oils in dilute form, at a maximum strength of a 5% dilution as a rule of thumb. Dilute using a carrier oil like Sweet Almond or Sunflower Oil, and not water.
Disclaimer
The information provided is not intended to replace the medical directives of your healthcare provider. This information is not meant for the diagnosis of health issues. If you are pregnant, have serious or multiple health concerns, consult with your healthcare provider before using essential oils or associated products. If you experience any complications or adverse reactions contact your healthcare provider.
Deepen your knowledge by using the Wild As The Wind Recommended Resources and Best Healthcare and Skincare Information Sources.
Wild As The Wind use a number of resources when deciding which formulas to put together for optimal healing and efficacy, as well as to support any health claims we may make.
We owe a particular debt to GreenMedInfo, and, of course, the teachings of Penny Price.
Other resources include:
- PubMed.
- Robert Tisserand
- Dr. Robert Pappas
- AromaWeb
- Dr. Josh Axe
- Dr. Eric Zielinski
Excellent article, will certainly use the oil as recommended, specially as an anti-fungal