Last Updated on May 30, 2016 by Marc Seward

Rosemary Essential Oil

When it comes to essential oils, rosemary is often one of the first essential oils to come up, and for good reason. This miracle oil promises a wide array of benefits from treating respiratory infections to soothing an itchy scalp.

Those unfamiliar with essential oils may commonly use rosemary as a spice, turning their meal into a culinary adventure. Whatever way to choose to enjoy rosemary, one thing is for certain, and that it vastly improves your health, beauty routine, and even your dinner.

In this article, we will explore not only the many benefits of rosemary essential oil, but also the many ways you can incorporate this useful essential oil into your life.

Rosemary Essential Oil Benefits

The benefits of this herby essential oil are far reaching, treating everything from indigestion to poor circulation.

1) Digestive Aid

Rosemary is not just a delicious herb to add to your mashed potatoes, but its essential oil is also an effective digestive aid. Using a bit of rosemary essential oil helps improve such uncomfortable stomach ailments as cramps, constipation, bloating, gas, and indigestion.

Further aiding the digestion process, rosemary essential oil helps to detoxify the liver, promoting the secretion of bile, a key component of the digestion process. Rosemary essential oil is also great for the digestion process because it improves blood circulation, helping your body to absorb nutrients.

2) Stress Relief

Rosemary essential oil is a popular scent in aromatherapy, calming frazzled nerves and reducing stress levels. When we are stressed, our body releases a hormone called cortisol, activating the flight or fight response.

When your body produces excess amounts of cortisol, your body is negatively affected. For instance, your body suffers a hormonal imbalance, throwing off your metabolism.

Research has found that inhaling rosemary essential oil greatly reduces cortisol levels found in the saliva. Next time you know you are going to be in a stressful situation, keep a bottle of rosemary essential oil handy and inhale for five minutes. Not only will you keep calm, but also your body will be spared from the damage of excessive stress and cortisol levels.

3) Immune Support

Antioxidants are a major part of our immune system. They help fight infections while scavenging damaging free radicals roaming around the body. Unfortunately, we often can’t totally avoid being around free radicals, as they are normally found in our food, water, and environment.

That’s why it is important to use products that help stimulate antioxidant activity to help the immune system fight infectious diseases and other illnesses. Studies have found that both inhaling rosemary essential oil and using it as a massage oil stimulates antioxidant activity in the body.

If you are looking for added protection against heart disease and cancer, consider regularly using rosemary essential oil.

4) Oral Care

Rosemary essential oil is a great way to boost your oral hygiene routine. This antibacterial oil helps disinfect the mouth while fighting bad breath. Used as a mouthwash, rosemary essential oil helps keep your teeth and gums healthy by protecting you from plaque buildup, cavities, and gingivitis.

5) Pain Relief

Rosemary essential oil can be used in many ways to help treat several types of pain. Used as a massage oil, this healing oil can be used as topical pain reliever, soothing headaches, achy muscles, sore joints, and headaches.

Add a couple drops to a hot bath and inhale the healing vapors to help alleviate pain associated with rheumatism. Rosemary essential oil is an effective anti-inflammatory and is a great addition to pain management for sprains and pulled muscles. This pain relieving oil also helps boost blood circulation, expediting the healing process of wounds.

6) Mental Clarity

For those who have to perform taxing mental tasks at work or school may benefit from the tonic abilities of rosemary essential oil. This mental boosting oil helps clear the mind while soothing frazzled nerves.

It helps stimulate mental activity and memory while fighting mental fatigue. Studies have found that inhaling this essential oil prior to taking an exam helps boost mental sharpness and concentration. Other studies have found that consistently using rosemary essential oil may help slow the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

7) Respiratory Support

The minty undertones of rosemary essential oil help open up clogged airways. Inhaling this soothing essential oil helping to give relief to those suffering from sore throats, the flu, congestion, and allergies. Meanwhile, rosemary essential oil is considered an antiseptic, making it effective in helping to fight infections causing the illness.

8) Aromatherapy

Rosemary essential oil is a popular scent in aromatherapy. Its pleasing and healing scent is commonly used in candles, perfume, beauty products, cosmetics, and room fresheners.

This scent is used to boost mood, improve mental activity, and soothe an irritated respiratory tract. Rosemary itself is used to spice and enhance the flavor of food.

9) Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Although the jury is still out on this one, rosemary essential oil is believed to help reduce the inflammatory symptoms associated with sexual diseases such as the herpes virus.

The antimicrobial properties of this essential oil may help reduce the symptoms and inflammation of the disease while possibly decreasing its contagiousness.

10) Skin Care

The antiseptic and antimicrobial properties of rosemary essential oil make it useful in helping to treat such skin conditions as dermatitis, eczema, acne, and oily skin.

Regularly using rosemary essential oil in your skincare routine helps to impart a healthy glow and a youthful appearance by helping to keep your skin moisturized and toned.

11) Hair Care

Rosemary essential oil is commonly used in commercial hair care products. This is because this beautifying oil stimulates the hair follicle, promoting the growth of strong, healthy hair.

Those trying to grow their hair out can greatly benefit from using this essential oil. Studies have found that rosemary essential oil helps to delay premature hair loss, or delay the loss of hair for those already starting to show signs of male pattern baldness.

Those suffering from an itchy and flakey scalp may also find relief with rosemary essential oil. By regularly rubbing this healing oil into your scalp, it will help nourish and moisturize the scalp, removing dead skin cells and dandruff.

The Many Uses of Rosemary Essential Oil

It is clear that rosemary essential oil provides many benefits to your health and beauty routine. Using essential oils may be daunting to the uninitiated, but fortunately, gaining the benefits of this healing oil is extremely easy. Here are some of the ways you can incorporate the benefits of rosemary essential oil into your life.

Scalp Treatment

One of the most well-known benefits of rosemary essential oil is its ability to stimulate the hair follicle and promote hair growth. Rosemary essential oil not only helps to slow signs of hair loss, but it also helps to delay graying, and also helps to moisturize a flakey, itchy scalp.

• Rosemary Shampoo: To experience the effects of rosemary essential oil daily, simply add 10-15 drops to your regular shampoo. Make sure to shake and stir up the shampoo to ensure the drops of rosemary are evenly distributed.
• Scalp Massage: By regularly massaging rosemary essential oil into your scalp, you can help stimulate the hair follicle while adding moisture to a dry, itchy scalp.

To make the Scalp treatment mix the following:

1. 4 drops of rosemary essential oil
2. One tablespoon of jojoba oil or any carrier oil or your choice.

Rub this mixture into your scalp and let sit for 30 minutes. If you want to double to hair growth abilities of this scalp massage, try adding a couple drops of peppermint essential oil to the mix.

Hot Oil Treatment

Using a hot oil treatment once a week can help keep your scalp moisturized and your hair healthy and strong.

To make a hot oil treatment, mix:

1. 4 drops of rosemary essential oil
2. 2 tablespoons of jojoba oil in a glass jar and seal it.

Place the sealed jar into a pot of hot water until the oil is heated up, but not so hot that it burns your scalp. Massage the heated oil into your scalp, moving your fingertips in a circular motion. Once you’ve completely covered your scalp, lightly massage some of the oil into the length and ends of your hair.

Put a shower cap over your hair and scalp and then cover with a damp, very warm towel. Once the hot towel has cooled, replace with another damp, warm towel. Let the oil soak into your hair and scalp for 30 minutes. Rinse the hot oil treatment out with a gentle shampoo. Use this treatment weekly.

Muscle Rub

To soothe sore, achy muscles, try making a pain relieving muscle rub. This all-natural muscle rub is a great alternative to over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs, which can have negative side effects.

Mix the Following:

1. 2 drops of rosemary essential oil
2. 2 drops of peppermint essential oil
3. One tablespoon of coconut oil.

Liberally massage this mixture directly onto the affected area and experience immediate, soothing relief.

Brain Tonic

If you want to boost your concentration, memory and mental performance, rosemary essential oil is a great way to boost neurological activity. Add a couple drops of rosemary essential oil to your diffuser and inhale the brain boosting vapors for an hour each day.

If you do not have a diffuser, try mixing a couple drops of rosemary essential oil with ½ a teaspoon of coconut oil and massage the mixture onto your upper neck.

Headache Relief

Rosemary essential oil is not only a proven anti-inflammatory, but it also helps boost blood circulation, helping to relieve the pressure of a painful headache. Rosemary essential oil can be used in a variety of ways to treat a headache.

To get direct relief, try massaging a couple drops into your temples and wherever you feel the pain of the headache. Inhaling the vapors of rosemary essential oil is another effective way to help soothe a headache.

If you are experiencing a tension headache, rosemary essential oil not only helps to heal the pain itself, but it also helps alleviate the stress causing the headache itself.

Arthritis Relief

If you are suffering from joint pain associated from an inflammatory condition such as arthritis, rosemary essential oil can be a helpful and effective addition to your pain management plan without adding any harmful side effects to the mix.

1. Mix a couple drops of rosemary essential oil with a tablespoon of coconut oil.
2. Massage the oil directly onto the achy joints, rubbing in a circular motion. The analgesic properties will help relieve pain while the anti-inflammatory properties will help reduce painful swelling of the joints and inflammation.

Congestion and Cold Relief

If you are experiencing congestion due to a cold or allergies, rosemary essential oil can help clear your airways while helping to fight the infection. To get relief from chest congestion, mix a couple drops of rosemary essential oil with a carrier oil and rub directly onto your chest.

If it is your throat that is troubling you, try massaging the mixture onto your neck and throat area. Adding a couple drops of rosemary essential oil to your diffuser will help break up any respiratory issues you may be experiencing.