BENEFITS OF LAVENDER, VANILLA, GINGER, CITRUS, AND EUCALYPTUS ESSENTIAL OILS
Essential oils are natural liquids that are extracted from plants. These oils are stored in the stems, bark, leaves, seeds, roots and flowers of various plants around the world. At the appropriate time, they are extracted and made ready for use. Essential oil when not extracted well and at the right time will not be as effective or potent.
Essential oils have very therapeutic properties. Each component in these types of oils has health and beauty benefits when used. Organic essential oils proves more beneficial than the regular essential oils, this is because organic oils are derived from plants which are grown naturally without the use of any chemicals like fertilizers or pesticides.
Essential oil can be applied to the skin while bathing or having a massage. Inhaling these oils when steamed is quite invigorating as well as uplifting to the body and spirit. Although the price of essential oil is quite expensive the quality is worth every penny spent.
Some essential oils are lavender, vanilla, ginger, citrus, and eucalyptus essential oils and their benefits includes;
LAVENDER ESSENTIAL OIL
Lavender oils have been used for many years, in skincare and aromatherapy, for pain relief and sore healing, and for treating skin disorders. Essential oil made from Lavandula angustifolia contains the least amount of camphor after the distillation process and this gives the resulting oil a strong floral aroma that makes it extremely effective in aromatherapy.
BENEFITS
Lavender essential oil has antiseptic properties and when it is used as a natural soap 
ingredient, it helps in the treatment of fungal skin infections, acne, burns, and skin inflammation.
This oil also has antibacterial properties which are often used in herbal remedies for a variety of ailments.
It is added in homemade soaps, lotions, shampoos and massage oils and in natural deodorants, fungicides and insect repellents.
This natural oil when applied to dry hair can moisturize the hair and prevent lice from breeding.
VANILLA ESSENTIAL OIL
Vanilla essential oil is extracted from vanilla and is popularly grown in Mexico and throughout the tropics. Many people find the aroma of vanilla to be relaxing and soothing and it works well with many other fragrances, making this a popular companion oil for essential oil blends.
BENEFITS
This oil is mostly used for flavoring, in perfumes, other cosmetic and home made products.
Vanilla oil can be used in making homemade soap because of the delicate character of the vanilla smell.
It is used in lip balms, body lotions and massage oils. It is often used together with other essential oils to improve and compliment their scents.
Vanilla essential oil also has antioxidant properties, which neutralize free radicals inside our bodies. This helps promote more healthy cells inside our bodies.
GINGER ESSENTIAL OIL
Ginger is an herb with an irregularly jointed root with a pale yellow to dark amber color and a strong, or sharp, spicy-warm aroma. The ginger essential oil is obtained by distillation. It is found in tropical countries like China, India etc.
BENEFITS
Ginger helps reduce motion sickness, pain and inflammation of arthritis, nausea, diarrhea, indigestion, anxiety, depression, upset stomach, colds, headaches, menstrual cramps, coughs, asthma, bronchitis, flu, sore muscles etc.
This oil can be used in many homemade skin care products like handmade soaps, shampoos, balms, body scrubs, creams, lotions, bath oils, massage oils and more.
It has antiseptic and antibacterial, invigorating, energizing, and stimulating properties.
Ginger essential oil helps clear bruises, sores on the skin, relieve acne, lighten age spots, fight skin damaging free radicals, promote smoothness and evenness of skin, increase radiance to skin, and provide aromatherapy benefits.
CITRUS ESSENTIAL OIL
Citrus essential oils are extracted from citrus fruits by pressing or steam distillation method. They are one of the most beneficial groups of essential oils.
BENEFITS
The antioxidant and vitamin C properties contained in the citrus oils, makes it perfect to be used in making homemade soaps.
Citrus essential oil has a cleansing effect which improves digestion.
The essential oils from citrus such as lemons and organges help clean, act as a ntural bug repellent, and helps disenfect as well.
EUCALYPTUS ESSENTIAL OILS
This oil is obtained from distilled oil of the eucalyptus tree. Eucalyptus globules are a species of eucalypt which is popularly used in the production of eucalyptus essential oil. It has many, outstanding properties, and can be great natural product to use for health, beauty and for cleaning in the home.
BENEFITS
Eucalyptus Essential Oil is used in homemade soaps and other bath products, due to its antibacterial and antiseptic properties.
This oil can be used as an antiseptic solution for minor cuts and abrasions; it is also very helpful in easing the symptoms of allergies and asthma.
Amazing article! I read it from top to bottom. I used lavender soaps many times and also used ginger oil for diarrhea, cold and headache but don’t know about any other oil can benefits us this much. The pictures help to imagine the plant and their oil. I will give 10 out of 10 for this article 🙂
I loved this article and read it very carefully, trying to memorize all these benefits. I have used lavender soaps and oils many times especially after strenuous activities seeing as they soothed my skin and muscles, but never tried any of the others apart from Eucalyptus Oil. That one is a long time friend of mine in spring when I battle with my asthma and allergies. It is one of the few things that helps me breathe better alongside a special nose spray made from Aloe Vera, Lavender Oil and Mint. However, I had no idea how many benefits the other types of essential oils have.
I too love eucalyptus for my allergies and asthma- it really does help. And I have always found vanilla to be a very soothing and relaxing fragrance. it is my all time fave!
I love to see these types of things in homemade soap. I have been buying the soap that you have listed in your ETSY site.
Thanks for all of the info that you provide!
I like vanilla as a standalone fragrance, however for some reason whenever I find it added to a certain product: perfume, soap, shampoo, cream, etc., the scent seems overbearing for me. I’m not sure whether it has something to do with the fragrance itself, or perhaps I was merely unlucky and stumbled over the wrong products. Curiously enough, I love it when it’s added to food like ice-cream of cakes. One of my all-time favorite sweets uses vanilla as an ingredient. It’s lovely in hot chocolate as well.
Many of the scents you find in things like soaps and such are artificial and applied waaaaaaaay too heavily so as to make sure you can smell them forever and ever as you use the product. Essential oil is typically a very light scent that dissipates a lot easier but will still give you the benefits of the oil and such if used as a soap or something like that. That’s one of the big differences between homemade soaps and store bought is that people are surprised when they smell the homemade scents and they say “well this isn’t overpowering like brand X is” and the thing is for the soap to be good for you that’s how it should be a nice light essential oil scent, not the huge flowery scent of artificial perfume where who knows what all is in it!
You have a good post here with plenty of information to get started! . I would love to try my hand one day at making an actual usable soap and not just for a chemistry experiment.
Probably that is the reason why I find is so overbearing. On my birthday, during the summer, I received a pack of cosmetics from a friend and all of them were vanilla scented. I tried to at least give them a try and used the hand cream, but the scent was so strong and it kept lingering on my skin even though I kept washing my hands.
I thought I knew a little about some of the oils you talked about here but you talk about so many cool facts that I didn’t know – that lavender had antiseptic properties for instance. I’m really not a fan of the scent though, nor do I like eucalyptus or vanilla. I do love citrus scents though, I find them so uplifting and invigorating.