Cinnamon essential oil benefits

There are few scents as resonant of cosy winter days spent wrapped up by a fire with a hot mug of something delicious than sweet and spicy cinnamon.

Cinnamon essential oil retains the beautifully rich, warming scent of the spice. It can be used in beauty treatments that give you a warm, festive glow on the inside – and moisturised skin to boot.  

What is cinnamon oil?

Cinnamon oil is produced by steaming the leaves or bark of trees from the Cinnamomum family.

Oils made from cinnamon bark are more expensive than those produced by leaf oils.

Bark oils have the familiar, delightful scent of the cinnamon spice, rather than a medicinal tang like the leaf.

Be sure to choose a cinnamon bark oil for the most pleasant experience.

Cinnamon oil uses

Always dilute cinnamon oil with a carrier to ensure you don’t irritate your skin or lungs. On their own, essential oils are potent enough to be severely irritating.¹

Cinnamon oil can be used for a variety of beneficial beauty treatments, including:

• An aromatherapy treatment

Use a diffuser to fill your home with the warming scent of cinnamon, but light for no more than thirty minutes at a time, so as not to irritate your respiratory tract.

Alternately, apply to a cotton pad or cloth and inhale for a little aromatherapy when you’re in a rush.

• Massage into skin with the addition of carrier oil

 Massage this oil into tense or stiff parts of your body to soften muscles and produce a relaxing effect.

• Dilute into baths or beauty products

Although you shouldn’t store your essential oil in the bathroom (the conditions are too moist), you can dilute your cinnamon formula into baths or beauty products.

Relax in a steamy, cinnamon-infused bath for warming relaxation, or add to cleansers, like shampoo or body wash, to enjoy a hit of the spicy stuff while grooming.

Benefits of cinnamon oil

Cinnamon oil is associated with a wide variety of benefits for health and wellness, including:

1. Relaxing in a diffuser

Cinnamon oil is a beautiful essential oil to use in a diffuser for aromatherapy, particularly in the autumn and winter months when the scent suits the season.

2. Soothing qualities

The smell of cinnamon oil can help create a relaxing environment, an ideal backdrop to your wellness routine

3. A great addition to cleaning solution

Add a few drops of cinnamon essential oil to your home cleaning products to circulate its unique, uplifting scent around your home.

Cinnamon oil side effects

Experts advise that you only use essential oils occasionally, once diluted. With caution, as they are so concentrated, they can cause irritation, respiratory distress, and even chemical burns.²

Cinnamon contains a compound called coumarin, which is toxic to the liver and kidneys in high doses.³ 

Only use cinnamon essential oil irregularly, and only in consultation with a doctor if you live with liver or kidney ailments.

Last updated: 2 March 2021