Geranium essential oil is a beautiful oil for skincare products. It has so many skin benefits. Last year I launched the wonderful Rose Clay and Aloe nurturing face mask, which has geranium bourbon essential oil in it, so I wanted to share with you why I think this essential oil is a beautiful, magical bottle of pure skin delight for any type of skin!

Geranium oil – historically great

Geranium oil comes from – you guessed it – the geranium flower. To be more accurate, it’s the ‘Pelargonium graveolens’ variety of geranium. The leaves and stem part of the flower are steam distilled to extract the floral, sweet-smelling essential oil.

It’s long been known that geranium oil has loads of great health benefits. Even the Ancient Egyptians were aware of this, and they used it as part of their skincare regime, as well as for their hormones and general mood. It’s an antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and astringent oil of gorgeousness!

What type of skin can Geranium oil benefit?

Geranium essential oil has so many great health benefits for you and your skin. It’s brilliant for mature skins, perfect for oily complexions and healing and calming for skin issues such as acne, dermatitis, psoriasis and eczema etc. In fact, I think it’s a welcome additional to any skincare product, due to the wide range of benefits it brings to your body, skin and general well-being.

So, why is it so great? Here’s a breakdown of the different things it brings to your aid.

Geranium oil is an astringent

An astringent is something that temporarily contracts and tightens the soft organic tissues in your skin. This helps minimise the pores in your skin, making your skin appear smoother and tighter. For those of us with mature skins, this also means a reduction in the appearance of wrinkles, less sagging and puffiness – in short, it can help to delay the effects of premature ageing.

It’s also a mild antibacterial substance

Geranium oil is perfect for skin that is prone to breakouts and acne, as well as skin infections and minor abrasions. Why? Because it’s a vulnerary product that has hemostatic, styptic, cytophylactic, cicatrizant,  antibacterial and antimicrobial properties.

What all these fancy words really mean are it’s a brilliant healing product. One that makes your skin less oily, helps to stop bleeding, reduces inflammation, calms pain and irritation down, whilst helping to prevent the development and spread of bacteria, speeding up skins own healing processes and working hard to reduce and minimise scarring!

An all over tonic for your skin

Geranium oil is a treat for your entire body, especially if used during a massage. Those astringent properties listed above also work well all over your body, encouraging your muscles to contract and helping to give your body a toned appearance. Elasticity is enhanced, as is the softness and smoothness of your skin, and even the appearance of cellulite is reduced.

Great for your hormones, emotions and well-being

For those women affected by the menopause, geranium oil can help bring a little balance back to those hormones and emotions that are playing havoc for you. It works hard to help reduce menopausal symptoms, such as dry skin, tiredness, stress and depression. Massaging a geranium based essential oil mixture into your stomach area, can also soothe the pain and discomfort associated with menstruation – as well as reducing your blood pressure.

Even the smell of geranium can have a positive effect

Not content with just helping us heal and have better skin, it’s smell can also positively help us. Its uplifting aroma enhances concentration, calms our emotions and relieves insomnia, whilst also relieving stress, tiredness, anxiety and depression. In short, it makes us all feel a little happier in ourselves and our daily lives.

Talking of smells, if you’ve used geranium oil on your skin, when you sweat you’ll release the smell of geranium oil! Why? Because it’s a circulatory oil that exits your body through your perspiration. This is actually good news, as not only is it a natural effective deodorant (due to those antibacterial and antimicrobial properties mentioned earlier), it also acts as a great insect repellent too!

Can anyone use geranium oil?

Now, I couldn’t end any post on essential oils without giving you a little heads up on any advisories around geranium oil.

Being a styptic, geranium oil causes blood vessels to contract and slow down (or even stop) the flow of blood. If you have diabetes, high blood pressure or are at risk of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks or strokes, hormone-related ailments, or are on prescription drugs, you need to check with a GP, before using geranium oil. It also influences hormones – so I wouldn’t advise pregnant women or those breastfeeding, to use it either. If you’re in any doubt about how it can affect your medication or medical condition, please consult your GP!

I love geranium oil and I’m hoping you do too, after this blog post! Now, I’d love you to try Rose Clay and Aloe Nurturing Face Mask. If you have and you love it, why not leave a review on the website. If you’d like to be notified about updates and the latest news from Maldon Soap, sign up to my VIP newsletter – you can enter your details here [LINK]