Peppermint Essential Oil

Cooling, energizing and minty-fresh!

Try using peppermint oil to help relieve migraines and headaches - some days it works for me, some days not. Dilute a drop or two in a tablespoon of carrier oil and massage gently into the back of your neck and your temples (do not get it in your eyes - ow!)

For nausea, opening the bottle and taking a sniff may be all you need to settle your stomach.

For a more portable option, put a few drops on a tissue and carry it with you. This is great for kids who get car sick, as well as for morning sickness and hangovers. You can also put a few drops in a aromatherapy diffuser for stomach flu.

For minty-fresh breath, add one drop of peppermint to a cup of water and use it as a mouthwash.

Peppermint can help relieve the itching pain of shingles. Click here for a good peppermint lotion recipe.

Click to buy peppermint essential oil or read on to learn more...

Botanical Name and Characteristics

Peppermint is a perennial, summer-growing flowering herb that grows between one to three feet (30cm to 90cm) high and has pale violet flowers.

The essential oil is extracted by steam distillation from fresh or partly dried plants.

Strong, fresh, sharp, clean minty scent.

Therapeutic Action

• lifts mood; antidepressant
• stimulates physical and mental energy
• increases alertness, memory, concentration and mental clarity
• sharpens the senses
• increases physical strength and endurance
• relieves pain by reducing inflammation
• helps breathing when used as an inhalation
• relieves nausea, improves digestion and increases appetite
• relieves bad breath
• reduces lactation in nursing mothers
• soothes itching skin
• disinfectant
• repels insects

Blending

Cautions

Do not use on skin during pregnancy or as a skin application for children under seven.

What Next?

Looking for More?

Simply type in "peppermint" (without the quotes) and hit Search. Every page on this website that includes the word Peppermint will pop up. Poke through them and decide what recipe to try next.