Cypress essential oil is derived from trees in the family Cupressaceae, commonly known as Cypress. These trees are rich in essential oil. Cypress essential oil is a tonic for the circulatory system. It is used to heal some blood circulation-related conditions like hemorrhoids and varicose veins. Aromatherapy, it s used to spiritually ground a person and instill a sense of emotional security.
Source
Cypress essential oil is steam distilled from the bark of trees in the family called Cupressaceae. The most famous tree in this family is Cupressus sempervirens. This is also known as Mediterranean Cypress. Its bark yields the essential oil. This tree was known to the people in ancient times as the tree which lives forever. Recently, this tree has sparked research for its ability to resist forest fires. This tree has religious significance in many cultures. In Tibetan culture, it is used to make incense. Some essential oils also make use of their cones for making the essential oil.
Production
The essential oil produced by steam distillation is pure and organic. If it is extracted using solvent extraction or supercritical carbon dioxide, it does not remain organic. The later essential oils are contaminated with inorganic solvents, which adversely affect health.
Other Names
It is also known as Cupressus oil.
Blends Well With
Cypress essential oil goes well with other woody oils, like cedarwood oil and pine oil. It also goes well with lavender, rosemary, and citrus oils like bergamot, lime, lemon, orange, and grapefruit.
Properties
These are the healing properties of Cypress essential oil.
- Astringent – It is one of the most powerful natural astringents. It shrinks the skin and makes the skin taut.
- Anti-inflammatory – It reduces inflammation when applied topically.
- Antiseptic – It reduces the risk of septic in wounds by preventing bacterial and other infections.
- Vasoconstricting – It shrinks swollen blood vessels. As a result, it helps in hemorrhoids and edema.
- Antioxidant – It is a mild antioxidant when compared with other essential oil.
- Decongestant – It reduces congestion in the lymphatic system. This has immense health benefits.
- Antispasmodic – It prevents spasms.
- Anti-edema – It drives fluid retention away.
- Styptic – It stops bleeding in open wounds, cuts, scrapes. Also known as hemostatic.
- Diuretic – It makes the kidneys excrete more urine and thus detoxifies the blood in this process.
- Sedative – It has a mild tranquilizing effect.
- Sudorific – It promotes sweating and thus detoxifies the body even more.
- Circulant – It improves blood circulation and tones blood capillaries.
- Analgesic – It has a pain-relieving effect, although mild.
- Mucolytic – It makes the phlegm less dense. When used in combination with an expectorant, it helps us remove all the phlegm (mucus )
- Anti-Lice – It strongly kills lice that infect humans.
- Antiviral – It is effective against some virus species, like herpes simplex virus type 1. [1]
- Antibacterial – It kills several species of bacteria.
- Hepatic – It helps the liver, the most important organ in our bodies.
- Nootropic – It improves memory function.
- Emmenagogue – It alleviates heavy periods.
Color and Aroma
This essential oil is a very pale yellow, almost not noticeable. There are some species of the Cupressaceae family of trees that produce oils of other colors. A significant one is Blue Cypress essential oil, which is a deep azure blue. Its aroma is a woody, sharp aroma which freshening. It has a mild balsamic aroma as well.
Health Benefits
Cypress essential oil is a regularly used oil in aromatherapy. It boasts of a vast number of health benefits.
Varicose veins and Hemorrhoids
Take about 4 – 5 drops of cypress essential oil. Add equal drops of water. Scoop this liquid in a cotton ball and apply it to the hemorrhoids. In varicose veins, rub the cotton ball on the skin towards the heart in clean strokes. Let the essential oil get absorbed into the skin. It constricts the swollen veins, and its anti-inflammatory activity reduces local inflammation. It hemorrhoids, it reduces itching and pain. Since it is styptic, it cleans off any cut or lesion leaking blood. It also exerts its antiseptic property and minimizes the risk of infection.
Edema
Swelling and fluid retention characterize edema. This condition can be alleviated by massaging cypress essential oil onto the area affected. Dilute cypress essential oil by putting ten drops in about 90 ml of base oil like olive oil. Massage it firmly onto the swollen region and massage it towards the heart. Also, massage over the lower abdomen. This stimulates the diuretic effect, and excess water is driven out in the form of urine.
Pain and Injuries
Cypress essential oil helps deal with injuries that are bleeding. However, it can only help with mild bleeding. If you injure any part of your body and bleeding, wash it off with an aqueous solution of cypress essential oil. Add 8-10 drops of Cypress essential oil to about two tablespoons of clean water. Use a clean cotton ball to cleanse the wound. It quickly shrinks the skin and promotes blood clotting. Within a few minutes, bleeding should stop completely. This is helpful in cuts, scrapes, embedded material like glass, and ruptures. One can also use this essential oil to control nosebleeds. Its pain-relieving action is useful in injuries that are not bleeding, like sprains, strains, muscle pulls, joint pain, and chronic pain like back pain.
Fatigue and Toxins
If you feel that your blood circulation is suffering due to toxins accumulating in the body, then one can get great relief by using cypress essential oil. Perform a steam bath with a few drops of cypress essential oil. Its aroma stimulates the lymphatic system. It begins to circulate better and thus transport toxins to the place where they will be excreted.
Our lymphatic system and its circulation is an essential aspect of health. The lymphatic system is a part of the circulatory system; however, this system provides nutrients to the cells and removes toxins from them.
Emotional Effects
Inhaling the aroma of cypress essential oil helps one who is emotionally unstable and weak. It is used to inspire grounding feelings in a person. He or she may come to terms with the situation and accept reality in its true form.
Oily Skin and Acne
If acne is due to excessively oily skin, cypress essential oil helps. Mix a few drops of cypress essential oil in aloe vera and apply it to the skin. Wash it off after about 5 minutes. This hydrates the skin but takes away the excess sebum deposited on the skin. This way, it helps to curb acne.
Because of its astringent activity, it is used to remove greasiness and excess oil from the hair to give them a less glossier look.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
This is a very painful condition of the wrist in which there is sharp, searing pain. It is caused by compression of the carpal nerve because of repetitive movements or some injury. Apply cypress essential oil directly to the wrist. This skin area generally does not sensitize to the essential oils, so one may use essential oils undiluted. Apply regularly two times a day. It provides some relief from the intense pain.
Raynaud’s Disease
This is a condition in which hands and feet start to turn pale in extreme cold. The local blood capillaries constrict too much and reduce blood flow. Massage the hands and feet with olive oil, in which few drops of cypress essential oil have been added. It strengthens blood capillaries in this region and prevents Raynaud’s condition from occurring.
Bursitis
It is a painful condition of the joints. It causes difficulty in moving that joint, and there is sharp, burning pain. It is caused by irritation of the bursa. These are fluid-filled sacs at the joints. Apply diluted cypress essential oil and massage gently at the location. Avoid moving that body part for a few hours. This provides relief from bursitis.
Phlegm
In any condition that leads to excess phlegm production, the person experiences congestion in the nose, sinus, or chest. Inhale steam from cypress essential oil and eucalyptus essential oil. When used in combination, they detach the phlegm, loosen it, and prompt it to come out. This provides relief from productive cough in conditions like cold, bronchitis, and other respiratory tract infections.
Muscle Spasms
If a particular muscle has become prone to cramping or spasms, cypress essential oil helps a lot. Prepare a warm water bath and add 20 drops of cypress essential oil. Add 1 cup of Epsom salt. Lie in this bath and massage the region. It prevents further spasms in that muscle. This is also helpful in heavy menstruation and menstrual cramps because of the emmenagogue property of cypress essential oil.
Other Health Benefits
Cypress essential oil is also helpful in concussions, local swelling, prostatitis, pleurisy, arthritis, and strokes. It also reduces bags under the eyes, but one should use it very cautiously near the eyes.
Uses
Cypress essential oil is used in aromatherapy products like scented candles, soaps, incense, and other such products. It is also used in antibacterial formulations for the body. Cypress essential oil is added to anti-lice herbal shampoo.
Side Effects, Safe Dosage, and Toxicity Issues
There is not much information about the safety or safe dosage of cypress essential oil. It does not seem to be toxic in low concentrations that we use in aromatherapy. It may, however, have interactions with medications. So, one should consult the doctor about this before using this essential oil during medical treatment.
Nutritional and Medicinal Information
Let us look at the nutrition facts of cypress essential oil. It contains many volatile organic compounds which are present in small quantities. Their health benefits are not subtle, even if their concentration in the essential oil is low.
Nutritional profile and chemical composition of Cypress essential oil
| Nutrient | Percentage |
| Cedrol | 8.3 % |
| ß – Pinene | 2.9 % |
| Camphene | 0.5 % |
| a – pinene | 60.5 % |
| α – Thujene | 0.4 % |
| Linalool | – % |
| Borneol | – % |
| Limonene | 4.6 % |
| Myrcene | 3.9 % |
| Sabinene | 1.3 % |
| Citronellol | – % |
| Thymol | – % |
Source : 2
Most of the essential oil is composed of alpha-pinene. These are the salient nutrition facts about major chemical constituents of cypress essential oil.
- Alpha Pinene – It is anti-inflammatory and a nootropic ( improves memory function ). It is also a bronchodilator and decongestant. [3]
- Cedrol – It is also found in cedarwood essential oil. It is a sedative and improves sleep. [4]
- Limonene – This cyclic terpene is used to create that citrus aroma. It is helpful in heartburn [5]
- Myrcene – It is strongly anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and a mild sedative. [6]
Antioxidant capacity of Cypress essential oil
Cypress oil has an ORAC value of 24,300 μ TE / 100 gm. Since we use a few drops of essential oil in formulations, the free radical scavenging power we get is relatively less.
Buying and Storage
One can get cypress essential oil from an essential oils store. Make sure that you get pure, therapeutic grade essential oil made entirely from the plant you desire. It is often adulterated with other wood oils or essential oil of some other species. One should store it in a dark place.
References
1. The Inhibitory Effect of Essential Oils on Herpes Simplex Virus Type-1 Replication In Vitro. Masato Minami, Masakazu Kita, Takaaki Nakaya, Toshiro Yamamoto, Hiroko
Kuriyama andJiro Imanishi. Microbiology and Immunology
2. Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of essential oils isolated from Algerian Juniperus phoenicea L. and Cupressus sempervirens L. Khadidja Mazari et al. Journal
of Medicinal Plants Research Vol. 4(10), pp. 959-964, 18 May 2010
3. Characterization and antimicrobial activity of essential oils of industrial hemp varieties (Cannabis sativa L.). Fitoterapia. Nissen L, Zatta A, Stefanini I, Grandi S, Sgorbati B, Biavati B et al.
4. The sedative effects and mechanism of action of cedrol inhalation with behavioral, pharmacological evaluation. Kagawa D1, Jokura H, Ochiai R, Tokimitsu I, Tsubone H. Planta Med. 2003 Jul;69(7):637-41.
5. D-Limonene: safety and clinical applications”. Alternative medicine review: a journal of clinical therapeutic. Sun, J
6. Myrcene mimics the peripheral analgesic activity of lemongrass tea. Lorenzetti, B. B.; Souza, G. R. E. P.; Sarti, S. L. J.; Santos Filho, D.; Ferreira, S. R. H. Journal of Ethnopharmacology.