Lift a bottle of lemongrass essential oil to your nose and give it a smell and chances are it’ll trigger a memory of a spa or a yoga studio. In the last 10 years, lemongrass has been a popular choice in North America in Spa’s and Yoga studios for good reason. Lemongrass is not just a tasty Asian spice or a great mosquito repellent, it’s amazing for keeping germs at bay, for muscles aches and for energy balancing.
Lemongrass is an extremely effective antibacterial, antimicrobial and anti-fungal essential oil. In at 2009 study, Lemongrass was found to kill MRSA when sprayed into a room with geranium essential oil(1). Even though many people associate the smell of Lemon with clean, Lemongrass is actually even more effective than lemon! A controlled 2012 study showed Lemongrass essential oil was able to kill a form of Staph bacteria that was resistant to antibiotics and Lemon essential oil (2). Diffusing Lemongrass or using it in a DIY spray can help to keep germs in the air and on surfaces at bay. It’s for this reason, Lemongrass is beneficial to use in mat sprays and to diffuse it in rooms with high traffic.
One of therapeutic properties of Lemongrass essential oil is that it is analgesic. This means that it contains pain relieving properties. When we typically think about essential oils for muscle pain, Peppermint tend to come to mind. Not many people know that there are other oils that are great for pain relief like Frankincense, Palmarosa, Lavender and Lemongrass. Adding a few drops of Lemongrass into massage butters can have a strong anti-inflammatory effect (4). This means it can be effective on all sort of aches, pain, period cramps and even headaches. You can try using our Rise Up Body Butter to see if Lemongrass works for you.
Not all Spa’s and Yoga studios know about the pain relieving and germ killing benefits of Lemongrass, all they know is that it smells great and is super relaxing to almost all of their patrons. That’s because Lemongrass from an Ayurvedic perspective is great at balancing all Dosha’s and Lemongrass hold anti-depressive qualities. This means that walking into a spa and smelling Lemongrass can help decrease stress, ease symptoms of anxiety and put you in a happier mood. I also find that it’s an oil that most children like the smell of making it a great oil to diffuse in homes (avoid topical use with children under 2).
Lemongrass is an awesome inexpensive oil to have around. It’s sweet full bodied scent make it smell great on it’s own. Many other oils smell better when combined with one or two others but that’s not really the case for Lemongrass. If you don’t already have a bottle, you should get one now and keep it on hand for headaches, muscle pain, general daily relaxation, and for powerful disinfecting. It’s no wonder why it’s such a popular oil for placed that promote relaxation and need to keep their place squeaky clean and their patrons healthy!
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19292822
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22862808
3. https://draxe.com/lemongrass-essential-oil/
4. http://articles.mercola.com/herbal-oils/lemongrass-oil.aspx
