Geranium oil and skin care … wut? You’re probably thinking geraniums are those beautiful candy-coloured flowers. You’re probably also aware that geranium oil is popularly used as an element in aromatherapy as a holistic treatment to improve your physical, mental, and emotional health.
Did you also know that already the ancient Egyptians used it for improving skin health so that they’d get beautiful and radiant skin? And they were on to something because geranium oil is now used to balance skin, control oil, reduce inflammation as well as signs of ageing. It’s far more than just a beautiful scent to be added into deos and or to fragrant other products.
Geranium oil
Geranium oil is an essential oil. It’s made by steam-distilling the stems, leaves, and flowers of the geranium plant. The yield is quite small and most of it comes from the leaves. Geranium is a shrub with delicate, candy-coloured flowers and pointy leaves.
Under the name of geranium, there are many different types. They grow throughout temperate regions. They’re commonly called geranium or cranesbills.
The name geranium comes from the Greek word geranos for crane. Hence the English name cranesbill.
Geranium has 422 varieties. What you see growing in gardens and baskets on porches is most likely Pelargonium × hortorum. But it’s not the same thing. The most popular variety to make into the essential oil is Pelargonium graveolens. This plant is indigenous to South Africa and is a valued for its medicinal properties since the times of Hottentots and Zulus. It flowers from August to January.
Geranium oil is considered nontoxic, nonirritant, and generally non-sensitising. It’s said that the Egyptians were the first to use it not only for skin care but for many other purposes. It’s not surprising that Egypt is still the worlds largest producer of geranium oil.
Other countries that produce geranium oil including the Republic of South Africa (as you’d expect), Morocco, China, Reunion, and several European countries.
Geranium oil, geranium essential oil, or rose geranium oil
Geranium oil and rose geranium oil are essential oils. Rose geranium is a variant of plain geranium. My understanding is that it’s especially nurtured to have a rosier aroma. It has the full botanical name Pelargonium graveolens var. Roseum. Plain geranium goes under the name of Pelargonium graveolens.
Both are colourless to greenish brown. They also have similar components so it’s no wonder they have similar benefits and are used for skin and hair care as well as aromatherapy. Both have beautiful, floral, heavy, sweet fragrances as well as notes of rose that’s why they’re both used to extend and add more depth to fragrances with roses.
Geranium oil has also nuances of other scents, for example, tobacco aroma is more pronounced. It also has green and earthy undertones. Rose geranium oil has more “pure” rose notes.
There’s also geranium Bourbon. It’s usually cultivated in Reunion, the island was formerly called Bourbon by the French. Originally, “rose geranium” was applied to the essential oil extracted from plants originating in Reunion.
Content and properties
Geranium oil contains over 50 different phytochemicals with the major constituents
- Eugenol
- Geranic
- Citronellol
- Geraniol
- Linalool
- Citronellyl formate
- citral
- Myrtenol
- Terpineol
These very chemical-y sounding organic compounds are what give geranium oil its beautiful and complex aroma.
Other oil components are carotenoids and it also has an abundance of flavonoids including quercetin.
History and traditional uses
Geranium (oil) was also valued in other parts of the world. When it was brought to Europe in the late 17th century, people liked to use fresh geranium leaves in finger bowls.
It was used to ward off evil in the past and is still in some cultures today: Geraniums are placed around the house to keep evil from entering. Talk about evil: The plant also found its uses as an insect repellent.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, geranium is indicated when people want to tonify yin, clear heat, and promote qi circulation.
Why is it such an allrounder in skin care?
First off, geranium oil is an abundant source of flavonoids. This means it has anti-oxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and soothing properties.
Although it’s not fully researched how it works when applied to the skin. When applied topically there are 3 ways how it’s delivered into your skin:
- The intracellular route
- The intercellular route
- The shunt route
As you can see from its name “essential oil”, it’s a fat-loving, fat-soluble, or with its scientific term lipophilic. To prevent water from evaporating from your skin, it’s a relatively lipophilic barrier. The fat-soluble properties of both the essential oil and your skin as well as the small molecular size make it so that the essential oil can penetrate more easily into your skin. Once it’s in the deeper layers of your skin, it can do its job.
Reduce signs of ageing
Geranium oil lessens the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles by firming and tightening your skin but without reducing moisture and suppleness. Thanks to the abundance of flavonoids including quercetin, it also has antioxidant effects and slows down ageing helping you look younger for longer.
Calm
The flavonoids have a secondary effect: They make geranium oil anti-inflammatory and soothing. Sounds like a reliable ally in battling skin issues like blemishes. Geranium oil is great in providing a beautiful scent to products and moonlights as an anti-inflammatory so that it’s a popular ingredient.
It’s known to effectively eliminate dead cells and to promote the regeneration of newer, healthier skin. Being calming and exfoliating helps you cleanse your skin of the dirt and bacteria that can clog your pores and ultimately trigger those pesky blemishes. And if those pimples do appear, it also decreases the inflammation.
Balance
If you want to control shine, you looking to balance the oil production of your skin. Regardless of whether your skin leans towards dry or oily, geranium oil effectively regulates sebum production. Even better for people with combination skin, who struggle to find the right skin care that takes care of dry and oily patches at the same go.
Closing words
The European were onto something when they added geranium leaves to their finger bowl. But geranium can do so much more than just give a nice scent to the finger bowl water. Its essential oil reduces the appearance of fine lines, has potent anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and cellular regeneration properties.
And it still has more to give: The leaves and flowers are edible and are often used in desserts, cakes, jellies, and teas. It’s no wonder then that the essential oil is used as a flavouring item in foods, candies, and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
In closing I’ll leave you with a word of caution: As with all essential oils, always dilute it with a carrier oil.
