Benefits of Cedarwood Essential Oil | Uses for Cedarwood Oil

 

Cedarwood oil contains a distilled form of beneficial properties found naturally within cedarwood. Understanding these properties and their benefits will help you make informed and confident decisions about cedarwood oil. Benefits and uses fall into four categories: Anti-decay, aromatic, restoration, and cleaning.

This article is based on Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus Virginiana) cedarwood essential oil as that is the oil we extract.

Anti-Decay

Insecticidal - Fungicidal - Pesticidal

Laboratory tests have confirmed these properties in cedar oil, and it makes sense that plants of all kinds would have defenses against insects, fungi, and pests. The constant arms-race of nature creates these properties, and cedarwood is an extreme example of a wood with great defenses.

Fenceposts are made from cedarwood because of this, and many people rely on cedar chests and cedar closets to protect their belongings from decay (usually from being eaten by moths.) Moths and many other insects are repelled by the compounds found in cedarwood oil.

But what about cedarwood essential oil itself? The words distill and essence have more meaning than some people realize when it comes to essential oils. These words are based on the idea that properties (essences) can be distilled into something maximally potent and thus most essential. And it's true, because cedarwood essential oil has these essences of cedarwood in their most distilled form.

Aromatic

Pleasing - Relaxing - Clarifying

Ultimately, many people truly love cedarwood essential oil for its fantastic aroma and the feeling they get when experiencing it. The cedarwood scent itself feels like a distillation of nature. It's woody, it's spicy, it's sweet, and smelling it simply feels great.

Have you ever been out in nature on a beautiful day, took a deep breath and just felt relaxed and mentally clear? There's a purity and cleanliness to that experience that explains so many people's love for cedarwood essential oil. There's just something about the aroma of cedarwood oil that evokes that feeling.

That feeling and aroma are why cedarwood oil is used in diffusers, soap, candles, and perfumes. But it's not just a feeling, tests have confirmed the relaxing effects of cedarwood oil to be very real.

Restoration

Refresh - Restore - Renew

This benefit is a combination of the previous two. Cedarwood works to repel insects and pests at a distance because it constantly emits compounds they don't like. But that also means the cedar oil itself evaporates over time. Cedarwood closets and chests need to be regularly treated with cedarwood oil to fully maintain their insecticidal and pesticidal benefits.

Treating wood with cedarwood oil not only maintains its insect and pest deterring properties, but it also brings a fresh dose of wonderful cedarwood aroma to your house.

Cleaning

Penetrating - Solvent - Terpenes

Cedarwood oil has penetrating solvent properties due to the terpenes and wood alcohols it contains. It's powerful enough that some soft rubber materials will dissolve in cedarwood oil. There's a reason cleaning products contain essential oils like pine, orange, and lemon. They not only smell great, but they help dissolve organic materials safely. What many people don't know is that cedarwood essential oil can also be used in cleaning products for the same reason.

While it's safe to incorporate essential oils like cedarwood oil into cleaning, direct skin contact with undiluted oils should generally be avoided. Many essential oils will dissolve natural skin oils and then evaporate, potentially leaving skin dry and less protected.

Where to Buy?

Right Here

If you're interested in cedarwood essential oil, we hope you'll give ours a chance. We extract Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus Virgiana) essential oil from trees in our local area and offer it in a variety of quantities. We have hundreds of satisfied customers on Amazon and eBay who love our oil, so there's a great chance you will too.

 

Dilution

Diluting your essential oil can actually be crucial for maximizing some of these benefits. Read our article How to Dilute Essential Oil (5 Methods) + Pros & Cons for more information.