The essential oil of pine is extracted from the needles of the Pinus sylvestris tree, through a process of steam distillation. It has a very woodsy and strong smell, much like the smell of forests and balsamic vinegar.

The use of pine and its oil indeed has a long historical record, as it is believed to be used in ancient Greek civilisations, including Hippocrates himself! It has been used for providing pain relief, increasing energy levels and to reduce stress. The oil undoubtedly has numerous beneficial compounds that can be used for healing a variety of ailments. Read on to find out more!

Health Benefits of Pine Essential Oil:

1. To Promote Skin Health

One of the most popular and valuable benefits of pine oil is its ability to counteract and treat skin conditions like acne, itching, psoriasis, eczema, warts and boils. In fact, it can also help treat skin fungal infections such as athlete’s foot. It helps to promote a smoother and much healthier complexion.

With the presence of antioxidants, pine oil also helps fight off free radical damage, thus preventing the onset of premature ageing such as sagging skin and wrinkles. This helps your skin maintain the healthy, radiant and youthful glow that everyone desires!

How to Use it: Dilute with a carrier oil (such as coconut, jojoba or rosehip oil) in a 1:1 ratio and apply onto the affected areas of your skin. Alternatively, you can add 1-2 drops of pine oil into your daily skincare products.

2. Supports Mental and Emotional Health

Like many essential oils out there that provides a boost to your mental and emotional health, pine oil is also no different! It is effective for reducing stress and anxiety. Instead, it promotes improved alertness, increased memory levels and mental clarity, thus helping you to focus and concentrate.

So the next time you need to concentrate on an important exam or while driving, try using pine oil.

How to Use it: To get rid of anxiety, try diffusing pine oil with lemon, bergamot or frankincense essential oils to increase spiritual awareness and relaxation. Place it next to your bedside or on your work desk if you need to do some important work.

3. Offers Pain Relief

Pine essential oil also contains lots of anti-inflammatory compounds, which makes it a natural analgesic for conditions associated with swelling or pain. This is good for those suffering from sore joints that leads to pain, arthritis and rheumatism. It soothes the inflamed muscles and helps to offer pain relief.

Additionally, you can use pine oil to help get rid of throbbing headaches due to this property of pine oil. It reduces the pressure in your head and reduces stress levels, thus alleviating the pain from headaches.

Moreover, it helps to soothe pain caused by burns. A 2014 research study conducted by researchers from the Medical College of Georgia notes how pine oil helped to counteract dermal inflammation in the ears of the mice test subjects and a second degree scald burn to the paws of the mice test subjects. This proves how pine oil can actually be used to offer pain relief from second degree burns.

How to Use it: Mix pine oil with equal parts of coconut oil and massage gently onto your temples and chest when you have a headache. For stiff joints and aching muscles, rub this mixture onto affected parts. You can also try diffusing pine oil in the air for about 20 minutes if a headache hits.

4. Has Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant Capabilities

It has been mentioned above that pine oil contains much anti-inflammatory compounds that makes it a natural analgesic which provides a remedy for various ailments that lead to pain. However, not only can it provide pain relief and comfort, but it also helps prevent major chronic diseases that are brought about by inflammatory conditions and helps prevent the growth as well as spread of cancerous cells, thus possibly serving as natural cancer treatments.

A 2004 study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry studied the anti-inflammatory properties of the pine bark extract and found that the compounds from pine bark inhibited the production of proinflammatory mediators which could lead to diabetes, arthritis, cancer and other cognitive disorders.

Another 2014 study found in PubMed studied the polyphenol-rich extract from the pine tree’s bark (through which the essential oil is derived from) and they found that it exhibited antitumor effects against HeLA cells, which can possibly lead to cervical cancer. Furthermore, it was able to reduce viability and induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) in these cells, thus suggesting its antitumoral and anti-cancer activities.

Of course, further research still needs to be done to find out how exactly to incorporate pine essential oil into anticancer treatments but these initial experiments undoubtedly shows promising results!

5. Offers Respiratory Relief

The essential oil of pine is also an expectorant and decongestant. This means that it helps to provide a freer and unobstructed breathing passage as it clears excess mucus and phlegm out from your respiratory and nasal passageways. It also helps to offer relief from a sore throat, as it helps to fight off infections faster, thus facilitating a speedier recovery time.

How to Use it: You can diffuse both pine oil and eucalyptus oil and breathe in for no more than 20 minutes. You can also combine these 2 oils and equal parts of coconut oil and rub it onto your chest, neck and upper back areas to provide some respiratory relief.

6. As an All-Purpose Household Cleansing Agent

Pine essential oil also makes for an excellent household cleansing agent as it has antibacterial compounds which helps to eradicate airborne bacteria as well as bacteria found on your countertops, appliances and even in bathrooms. You can even use pine oil to scrub your kitchen pots and pans and you can add it to clean your floors, glass and mirrors. This gives your households a nice, clean and antiseptic environment.

In fact, it is a multi-purpose cleaning agent because not only can it clean all the abovementioned places, it is also a good natural carpet cleaner, and because it is non-toxic, you do not need to remove the oil from the carpets after you have used it on them since it will continue to kill the odor-causing bacteria, while ensuring that it does not damage the carpet material in the process.

And there is actually scientific research to back this up. A 2004 research study done by researchers from Vilnius Pedagogical University located in Lithuania found that pine extracts demonstrated significant fungicidal activity against all the species of airborne fungi that were being tested in the experiment. These fungicidal and bacterial strains are known to cause difficulties in breathing and produce allergic symptoms, headaches and even flu-like symptoms.

How to Use it: Simply add several drops of pine oil to a spray bottle containing water and spray down on any surfaces in your house before wiping with a clean cloth. You can also diffuse a few drops of the oil in a diffuser or vaporizer to get rid of any airborne bacteria.

To make a natural scrub for your pots and pans, mix several drops of pine oil with baking soda and stir to form a thick paste. Subsequently, use a sponge to scrub away the mold, grease, stains and any other residue from these appliances. As a floor cleaner, add 10 drops of pine oil and ½ cup of vinegar to the mop bucket containing water and mop onto wood surfaces before rinsing it off.

As a natural carpet cleaner, simply add about 15-20 drops of pine oil into a bucket of water and scrub it onto stains on your carpets/rugs. You can do this by hand, or by using a carpet-cleaning device.

Safety Precautions:

Pine oil is non-toxic and generally is safe to be used, but like many essential oils out there, there are some safety precautions to take note of so that you can use it safely and reap its benefits.

• Always dilute pine essential oil with a carrier oil (such as coconut, jojoba or rosehip oil) in a 1:1 ratio before topical application onto the skin, as some people have experienced skin irritations from using pine oil.

• Always perform a skin patch test to ensure you do not suffer from any allergic or sensitive reactions

• If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, it is wise to avoid using pine oil, especially without the consent of your doctor.

References:

Clark SP, et al., “Pine oil effects on chemical and thermal injury in mice and cultured mouse dorsal root ganglion neurons”, Phytotherapy Research (2014); 28(2)

Karonen M, et al., “Phenolic extractives from the bark of Pinus sylvestris L. and their effects on inflammatory mediators nitric oxide and prostaglandin E2”, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2004); 52(25)

Amalinei RL, et al., “Polyphenol-rich extract from Pinus sylvestris L. bark -- chemical and antitumor studies”, PubMed (2014); 118(2)

Motiejunaite O, Peciulyte D, “Fungicidal properties of Pinus sylvestris L. for improvement of air quality”, PubMed (2004); 40(8)