Essential Oil Profile:  Geranium - pelargonium graveolens 

Geranium continues to be one of our top essential oils, with it's gorgeous sweet, floral aroma it's great for home fragrancing but it has wonderful aromatherapy uses too. It has a reputation for being a balancing essential oil - emotionally, hormonally and in skincare.  The essential oil comes from steam distillation of pelargonium graveolens - this is a shrubby variety of geranium with small flowers, not the common garden variety of geranium we see in the UK.

Fragrance Note:  Middle  note - sweet, floral and long lasting

Method of extraction:   Steam distillation of flowers and leaves

Country of origin:  Egypt, China, Reunion

Botanical family: Geraniaceae

Primary components:  Geraniol, citronellol, linalool

Aromatherapy properties:  Antiseptic, antibacterial, anti-fungal, skin calming, balances sebum, detoxifying, emotionally calming and uplifting, hormonally balancing. 

Common aromatherapy uses:  Good quality geranium is a very pale green colour and has a sweet, quite heady aroma that people tend to either love or hate.  Like all essential oils it needs to be diluted into a carrier oil for skin application, and it's a lovely versatile essential oil which blends beautifully with many others.  Geranium is useful to use during aromatherapy body massage, where it supports the emotions and the lymphatic system reducing edema and improving circulation.  It is often used for cellulite massage. Geranium is also used to balance out excess oil production in the skin, and for minor skin irritations where it's skin-calming properties help wounds to heal.  Geranium (sometimes in combination with lemongrass) is currently being studied, for its effectiveness in combatting skin infections (antibacterial and yeast driven) and MRSA.

Our aromatherapy suggestions:  We always think of geranium as being particularly suited for use by women, because it is so hormonally balancing. It's a good choice when there are menstrual problems, such as coping with pms and the symptoms of peri-menopause and menopause.  We often recommend that it is blended with one of the citrus essential oils (perhaps grapefruit or mandarin) when you'd like to feel uplifted, but it also works well with calming oils like lavender or bergamot. Geranium is lovely to use during times of stress or when emotions need to be lifted.  This makes it a good choice when you need a sweet uplifting essential oil to create a fragrant, calming environment to balance out feelings of frustration or annoyance.

Contraindications:  Geranium essential oil is considered to be a safe essential oil, but discontinue skin application if there are any adverse reaction.  Generally geranium is considered to be safe to use during pregnancy, but seek additional advice from your doctor or midwife where there are any pre-existing health issues or the pregnancy is considered high-risk.

General safety considerations:  Essential oils are highly concentrated and must be used with understanding and care.  Never take internally.  Seek additional medical advice before use when pregnant or where there are any serious underlying health conditions.  Use extra caution when using essential oils with children, and only select the mildest essential oils and use at a lower dose than for an adult.   Store cool and dark, away from animals and children.  Always purchase aromatherapy grade essential oils in glass (amber or darker coloured, never clear)  dropper bottles with a safety dispenser (dropper) attachment.  Dilute into a suitable carrier oil before skin application.  Read and follow contraindication advice on the bottle.