As aromatherapy practitioners (or aromatherapy beginners), we have so many far-out oils available to us, getting the most exotic oils in the world shipped to us in days via internet shopping. All these fancy sounding oils easily lure our attention, and we sometime forget the gems available in simple oils like Lemon. Cold pressed lemon essential oil is inexpensive, readily available, and has an amazing array of truly therapeutic uses, with science to back them up. Here’s a wrap up of this wonderful oil, and how you can easily make use of it.

The most common use of Lemon oil, and how many people get introduced to it (and to aromatherapy in general) is adding it to drinking water. Folks have been adding the oil to tap water just to add some flavor for a long time, before the idea of purifying your water was a big deal. With a little more understanding of what the oil does, however, now we know we’re NOT just making it taste better, but we’re purifying the water AND ourselves.

In terms of making the water cleaner, Lemon essential oil is noted to kill Diphtheria bacteria at a 0.2% concentration. This converts to 10 drops in about 8 ounces of water. This is a little bit strong — a very lemony flavor — and 5 drops at any one time is a more common amount to consume (unless you feel your water is really in need of purification). The oil is also thought to be an excellent detoxifyer for the liver and the lymph system. For this, add 5 drops to a cup of water and drink on an empty stomach. This can be done first thing in the morning, an excellent time for purification of the body. So you can see, adding a little Lemon to your water is a great idea just for taste, for purification of the water itself, and for personal detoxification — easy to do and very worthwhile!

Lemon has excellent antiseptic properties, which means it kills bacteria on our skin’s surface. For this reason, it can be used for acne-prone skin — because of its photo-toxicity however, this should not be done if the skin is to be exposed to direct sunlight in the following 48 hours. Yet you CAN still use the oil to remove warts — putting one drop on location 1 to 3 times per day can dissolve warts effectively. Want to use this antiseptic quality, but don’t want to use it on your skin? Do the same thing on your kitchen counter tops! For a super eco-friendly cleaner, mix 2 cups water with 2 cups white vinegar, then add 20 to 30 drops of your essential oil. You can use this to clean nearly everything, with a really appealing fresh scent when you’re done.

How about a great mood lifter? Lemon oil is a perfect choice — being the oil that is considered the highest note, the brightness has a direct brightening on our moods. It’s really the perfect choice for those mid-afternoon doldrums, where our minds and bodies really seem to get stuck in slow gear. This is the time to break out the diffuser and get a little lemon oil going! Its ability to lighten up has been backed-up by scientists noting its stress reducing and anxiety relieving action by working with our dopamine and serotonin systems.

It’s not just an emotional pick-me-up Lemon offers, but one to our calculating brains as well. Research in Japan showed office workers reducing their errors by nearly one-half when inhaling the aroma. The essential oil has been the focus of university research which clearly indicated chemical changes in our gray matter: Lemon essential oil reduces the rate at which acetylcholine is broken down, making more available for use. Acetylcholine is the primary information-processing neurotransmitter — so whether its from putting a smile on our faces or making more neurotransmitters available, simple lemon oil is a great choice for students when studying, the office environment, or anytime a little mental clarity is called for.

As you can see, there’s a lot more to lemon essential oil than we usually give it credit for. We can ingest it for detoxification, purify our water with it, clean with it, and inhale it for mental and emotional stimulation. Who would have thought!

The author has made available much information about aromatherapy, such as using geranium and other therapeutic essential oils.