Mandarin essential oil comes from the mandarin tree, which can reach up to 25 feet. The mandarin tree is indigenous to Southeastern Asia, namely China and the Philippines. However, in 1805, it made its way to the Western world and were cultivated in the Mediterranean region. By 1850, they were already quite established in Italy. Today, Italy remains one of the top producers of the Mandarin essential oil.

Like most citrus essential oils, the essential oil of mandarin is extracted by the cold compression of the outer rinds of the mandarin fruits and has a very fresh, citrus-like fragrance. Since very early on, the various parts of mandarin tree have been used for its medicinal purposes and important nutrients. For example, the Chinese made use of the dried rind of the mandarin fruits to regulate their “Qi”, or life force, in the traditional Chinese medicine.

Today, mandarin essential oil contains numerous properties and compounds that can be utilized to address a variety of complaints and ailments. Read on to find out more!

Health Benefits of Mandarin Essential Oil:

1. Improves Skin Health

Mandarin essential oil has antiseptic, antimicrobial and antibacterial properties, which means that it can combat acne and even stretch marks as well as scars. It clears out bacteria and prevents them from lingering on your skin, thus inhibiting the growth and spread of pimples, blackheads, boils. It seeks to purify the skin.

Moreover, it can help to manage the appearance of scars. It actively promotes cell growth and cell regeneration of the skin tissues, thus helping to speed up the healing process. As such, it helps to reduce the appearance of most wounds, acne scars, marks, dark spots and stretch marks.

Therefore, mandarin essential oil is such an effective natural remedy to zap away your pimples and scars to promote a smoother and better complexion. You no longer need to spend thousands of dollars on laser treatments!

How to Use it: You can create a blend of one drop of lavender, mandarin and neroli essential oils each, combined with almond oil and apply directly onto the affected areas. Alternatively, you can also add around 3 drops of mandarin oil to your daily skin care products.

2. Provides Nausea Relief

Mandarin essential oil is also great for treating nausea spells. It has calming and soothing properties which helps to decrease anxiety levels and therefore results in the reduced tendency to vomit. Moreover, its stomachic and digestive properties ensure that there is proper secretion of digestive enzymes and bile, thus protecting the stomach. As such, it greatly helps in preventing vomiting.

Research has backed this up. For example, a 2016 research carried out in hospitals in Minnesota and western Wisconsin found that when different essential oils, including mandarin essential oil, were administered in 10 different hospitals located in the abovementioned places, they found that nausea and anxiety levels in the patients were significantly reduced.

How to Use it: Simply add 2-3 drops of mandarin oil to your warm bathing water at night to relieve any nausea feelings. This also greatly helps to relieve excess gas, flatulence and indigestion.

3. Soothes the Mind

Mandarin essential oil is ultimately a nervous relaxant and a sedative, meaning it helps to promote feelings of relaxation and calm. This helps you to overcome any nervous afflictions and can prevent bouts of hysteria, epilepsy, mental disturbances or convulsions. It soothes and calm tense nerves.

Moreover, it undoubtedly helps to decrease stress, tension and anxiety levels. After a tiring and exhausting day of work or school, you can unwind and relax by aromatherapy treatment using mandarin oil. Also, it helps to lift your spirits and emotional mood as it induces confidence, calmness and tranquility within your soul.

How to Use it: You can add about 2 drops of mandarin essential oil to your warm water bath before bed to unwind and relax. This also helps to promote a restful and peaceful sleep that you so deserve. Alternatively, you can add about 3 drops of the oil to your vaporizer or diffuser and let the fresh, citrus-like aroma engulf you to promote relaxation and tranquility.

4. Provides Cancer Protection

Due to the presence of limonene, mandarin essential oil possibly has anti-cancer and anti-tumor effects which can help to prevent and treat cancer. A 2013 study found in Pubmed investigated the efficacy of the mandarin peel essential oil and limonene on two human tumor cell lines growth. They found that both these compounds showed a strong inhibition on the growth of these cell lines.

Even though more research needs to be done in this area, this initial research testing shows how mandarin essential oil is an anti-tumor agent that can possibly be incorporated in alternative medicines for the treatment of cancer.

5. Detoxifies the Body

Being a depurative and a diuretic, mandarin essential oil is an excellent agent to facilitate a detoxification of your body and purification of the blood. Through increased sweating and urination, it actively seeks to remove unwanted and toxic substances within your body, such as excess fats, salt, water, urea and uric acid.

This thus helps to protect your vital organs as they are cleansed and prevents the onset of diseases such as acne, gout, boils and arthritis as toxic substances get flushed out.

How to Use it: By adding 3 drops of mandarin oil to a warm bath, you can reap the detoxification benefits in your body. Alternatively, you can also create a massage blend by mixing 5 drops of the oil with 2ml of coconut oil and gently massaging it over your body.

6. Promotes Proper Circulation and Boosts Immune System

Mandarin essential oil is also great for improving blood circulation, thus helping to relieve most ailments such as varicose veins, blood clots, rheumatism and arthritis. Furthermore, as a tonic, this oil is very potent in toning up the overall health of our body, while boosting our immune system.

It ensures the smooth and proper functioning of our vital organs and various bodily systems, including the respiratory, digestive, cardiovascular, circulatory, neurotic, endocrine and excretory as well as nervous systems. Thus, it is a useful agent for increasing our overall physical health and preventing the onset of diseases.

How to Use it: You can create a massage blend of 5 drops of mandarin oil mixed with 2ml of sesame oil to improve blood circulation. Alternatively, you can add 2 drops of the oil to a vaporizer, distiller or diffuser to improve your immune system during the day or night time for revitalization!

Safety Precautions:

• Be sure to dilute mandarin essential oil with a carrier oil first before topical application onto the skin.

• Perform a skin patch test first to determine for any allergic or sensitive reactions.

• If you are pregnant or have other medical problems that requires prescribed medications, it is always safer to seek the advice of a medical expert or your doctor before using such essential oils as a form of treatment.

• Mandarin oil can also increase the risks of sun damage to the skin, hence it is best to avoid going out into the sun directly after topical application of the oil onto your skin.

• Never ingest mandarin essential oil.

References:

Johnson JR, et al., “The effectiveness of nurse-delivered aromatherapy in an acute care setting”, Complementary Therapies in Medicine (2016)

Manassero CA, et al., “In vitro comparative analysis of antiproliferative activity of essential oil from mandarin peel and its principal component limonene”, Natural Product Research (2013); 27(16)