Wintergreen essential oil is derived from the shrubby plant which is scientifically known as Gaultheria procumbens, and it is native to North America. In fact, the tribes of North America have used wintergreen for a very long time to combat various illnesses, such as fatigue, lung, sinus and respiratory diseases. Since it has been in use for such a long time, one can not deny that wintergreen essential oil has its fair share of benefits and uses!
The wintergreen essential oil is extracted from a process of steam distillation of the plant’s leaves. When this is being done, enzymes called methyl salicylates are released, which is also an active ingredient present in birch essential oil as well! Wintergreen essential oil has a very minty and fresh scent and it is an antioxidant as well as immune-boosting as it serves to offer pain relief and reduce inflammation. Read on to find out more about how you can use wintergreen essential oil and how you can derive many health benefits just by using this useful essential oil!
Health Benefits of Wintergreen Essential Oil:
- Offers Pain Relief
This is the most common and popular benefit of wintergreen essential oil. Wintergreen essential oil is an analgesic, meaning it serves to induce numbness and reduce swelling as well as irritation around aching muscles and joints. As such, wintergreen essential oil is commonly known as a “counterirritant”, same as peppermint essential oil. It is readily absorbed into the bloodstream. With that, wintergreen essential oil is helpful as it provides pain relief for aching, sore muscles and joints and improves blood circulation to these places. It facilitates unobstructed blood flow to the muscles and joints. As such, it can help to alleviate arthritis or rheumatism and it also helps to treat lower back pain as well as neck pain.
How to Use it: Simply add a few drops of wintergreen essential oil (that is mixed with a carrier oil beforehand) and massage onto the infected areas for pain relief.
- Can Kill off Bacteria
Wintergreen essential oil can be toxic and this feature makes wintergreen essential oil a powerful antiseptic. Bacteria and other harmful microbes are killed off when you apply wintergreen essential oil. Furthermore, it kills off the bacteria and fights infection that causes sepsis. As such, wintergreen essential oil is a good agent to combat various bacteria.
How to Use it: Simply add a few drops of wintergreen essential oil (that is mixed with a carrier oil beforehand) and apply it to the skin. However, you should never apply it on an open wound and avoid direct contact with blood as wintergreen essential oil can be toxic!
- For Skin and Hair Treatment
Wintergreen essential oil also contains astringents which serves to strengthen the muscles, blood vessels and hair roots. It induces firmness and seeks to lift the skin, maintaining the youthful and radiant glow! Also, since it strengthens the hair roots, it also helps to maintain a healthy condition of your hair, and prevent hair loss.
Coupled with its antiseptic benefits, wintergreen essential oil can also be a useful addition to your skincare regime as it helps to kill off bacteria festering on your skin. As such, it can certainly help to combat acne and fight off blemishes. Furthermore, its antiseptic benefits can also help to kill off any greasiness, dandruffs and bacteria on your hair too by adding it onto your scalp.
How to Use it: As a skincare routine, you can add 1-2 drops of wintergreen essential oil to your daily face wash or mix it with coconut/jojoba oil to apply topically onto the skin. As a hair treatment, mix wintergreen essential oil with a carrier oil and proceed to apply onto your scalp during shower time.
- Helps to Relieve Cold and Flu
Wintergreen essential oil can greatly help in clearing your nasal passageways and keep it free from congestion associated with fevers, coughs and flu. Because of its relaxing and stimulating properties, it helps to reduce spasms and obstructions along the respiratory tracts. This thus provides the much-needed relief from swelling or pain associated with such respiratory illnesses.
How to Use it: You can combine wintergreen essential oil with coconut oil and then gently rub it onto your chest and upper back. You can also try blending wintergreen oil with eucalyptus, peppermint and bergamot oils to achieve optimum results in preventing the common cold or flu!
- Offers Digestive Relief
With its carminative and diurectic properties, wintergreen essential oil can help to alleviate any digestive problems that you might encounter. This is because it can help to remove out excess and unwanted toxins, such as excess fats, salt and water from your body as it increases the frequency and the quantity of urination. This hence helps to cleanse the digestive tracts in your body and reduce bloating, ensuring smooth digestion in the process.
Furthermore, as it is also antispasmodic, wintergreen essential oil is able to soothe the gastric linings and the colon as it reduces muscle spasms along the digestive tracts. This hence offers a natural remedy for nausea!
How to Use it: When mixed with a carrier oil such as jojoba oil, you can rub the mixture over your abdominal, stomach and lower back area to promote smoother digestion and prevent cramping or pain arising from digestion problems.
- Offers Menstrual Relief
Wintergreen essential oil also contains emmenagogue properties. Women suffering from obstructed menstrual flow can use wintergreen essential oil to regulate their menstrual cycles and promote smoother blood flow. Also, it helps to combat the various discomforts that come with menstruation, such as nausea, fatigue and cramps. This is important because obstructed menstrual flow can lead to various complications such as increased pain, irritation and may even lead to a serious problem of uterine ulcers. Thus, it is important to ensure smooth and regulated menstrual flow, which wintergreen essential oil provides!
How to Use it: Simply blend 1-2 drops of wintergreen essential oil with equal amounts to a carrier oil to create a massage blend, and rub it gently to your abdominal area.
- Fights off Fatigue and Boosts Energy Levels
The Native Americans who first used wintergreen essential oil often used it to increase energy levels and boost their stamina, as well as to increase alertness. This makes wintergreen essential oil an excellent choice when exercising since it provides a boost to your energy and increases mental concentration. Furthermore, it seeks to increase respiratory capacity, reduce mucus buildup and inflammation and offers pain relief due to their aforementioned properties, hence helping you to deal with the effects of sore muscles and heavy breathing after a good workout session.
How to Use it: You can inhale a mixture of wintergreen and peppermint essential oil before and after exercising. Also, after exercising, you can choose to mix wintergreen oil with lavender oil to your warm bath to soak your aching muscles and relieve tension. Alternatively, you can also rub diluted wintergreen essential oil onto your neck, chest and wrists to fight off tiredness and chronic fatigue.
Safety Precautions:
- Always use small amounts of wintergreen essential oil for topical purposes (1-2 drops) as it is highly concentrated. Be sure to mix it with coconut, olive, almond or even jojoba essential oils before gently massaging it onto your skin and muscles.
- Ensure that you perform a skin patch test first to see if any allergic or sensitive reactions crop up.
- When diffusing wintergreen essential oil, ensure that you do not put huge quantities of it into your diffuser or vaporizer as well and do not diffuse it for more than 30 minutes.
- It is not at all recommended to ingest wintergreen essential oil because of its high methyl salicylate content levels, as this makes it toxic.
- Do not use when you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
- Some drug prescriptions can possibly react with wintergreen essential oil. Always consult your medical practitioner first before using wintergreen essential oil as a form of treatment, especially if you are taking any digestive or asthma medications, pain medications, anticoagulants or even blood thinners.
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