Essential Oils: Clove Bud

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

04 Sep 2006 09:38 AM

You probably know clove as a traditional holiday scent. But when distilled into essential oil form, you have one of the world's most powerful natural antiseptics on your hands! You can use the essential oil from both clove buds and clove leaves.

Yes, these are the same clove buds used in cooking. They come from evergreen trees found mainly in Indonesia and Zanzibar; the tree can bear cloves for a century or more.

Clove bud essential oil has a component called eugenol that is often found in dental products. Both clove essential oil and eugenol alone are used for numbing toothaches and teething pain. As an added benefit, both the essential oil and the eugenol help your body fight infection.

In the early days of medicine, doctors breathed through masks filled with cloves to protect themselves from infection. Clove bud essential oil is a powerful germ-fighter and antifungal. Use the essential oil (diluted) to fight off athlete's foot.

Clove bud essential oil has warming properties. Adding clove bud to a liniment, muscle rub, or massage oil can help warm the area and stimulate circulation. The warming power of clove bud makes it a great addition to arthritis remedies. However, clove bud is VERY strong and should not be used undiluted. Add a few drops of the oil to a carrier oil like jojoba or an unscented lotion or cream.

Research shows that smelling spicy scents like clove bud can help reduce drowsiness and improve alertness. The scent can also help relieve headache by stimulating circulation in and around the face.

Do not use clove bud essential oil undiluted on the skin or mucous membranes. Clove leaf contains more eugenol than clove bud, but both are far too strong to be used directly on the skin. Clove bud oil is traditionally suggested for relieving the pain of teething in babies, but the undiluted oil can be highly irritating and causes a sensation of nearly unbearable heat.

For further reading:

• An Aromatherapy Starter Kit
• Essential Oils: Frequently Asked Questions
• Aromatherapy Safety Basics

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Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

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