Lemon essential oil for skin

Lemon essential oil is the oil obtained from the Citrus limon tree. This oil has been used as a remedy to treat human ailments before the discovery of vitamin C.

Benefits of using Lemon essential oil:

• Anticancer activity: It has anticancer properties that decreases colon cancer cells.

• Antioxidant activity: lemon essential oil contains antioxidants like flavonoids, phenolic acids, and vitamins.

• It helps with the digestive system: it increased gastric motility and reduction of nausea (D-limonene), neutralization of stomach acids (D-limonene), relief of gastric reflux (D-limonene), increased bile flow.

• Anti-inflammatory activity: It helps in inhibiting cell migration, inhibition of cytokine production, inhibition of inflammation mediator, inhibition of leukocyte chemotaxis.

• Anti-fungal activity: it showed inhibiting activity against various strains of fungi.

• It helps to prevent diabetes: lemon oil essential decreased glycolized haemoglobin (D-limonene), decreased gluconeogenesis enzymes: glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose-1,6-biphosphatase (D-limonene), decreased blood glucose

• May help with acne: lemon essential oil may help with acne by killing the bacteria. It is also a non-comedogenic essential oil.

• Anti-bacterial activity: inhibiting activity against Gram-positive bacteria: Staphylococcus capitis, Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus subtilis, inhibiting activity against Gram-negative bacteria: Pseudomonas fluorescens, Escherichia coli.

• Anti-viral activity: it helped in the inhibition of the virus Herpes simplex.

• It can help with obesity: It helped in lowering cholesterol and preventing fat deposits (D-limonene), equalization of blood sugar (D-limonene), regeneration of pathological changes in the liver and pancreas.

• Antiparasitic activity: It helped in the treatment of schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma mansoni (D-limonene), inhibitory effect on Sarcoptes scabiei development.

• Helps the nervous system.

• Anticaries activity: it helps in preventting tooth decays.

• Lower cholesterol: It helped in reducing the level of triglycerides, LDL and increasing the level of HDL cholesterol in the blood, lowering cholesterol and arachidonic acid levels by stimulating liver enzymes and cytochromes, lipolytic effect (γ-terpinene and p-cymene).

• It may help in promoting hair growth.

The lemon essential oil has a lot of properties but more research is needed to prove these properties.

Who all can use Lemon essential oil?

Lemon essential oil is suitable for people with normal skin, but it is not suitable for sensitive skin or skin of colour. Lemon oil can cause irritation and it can increase your skin’s sensitivity to the skin leading to sunburns.

How to use lemon essential oil in my skincare routine?

Night routine:

• Cleanser
• Toner (optional).
• AHA/BHA/PHA’s
• Apply your actives or serums
• Moisturer, and
• Finish it off with lemon essential oil mixed with any carrier oils like rosehip oil, argon oil, or jojoba oil.

How to buy and take care of Lemon essential oil?

When buying lemon essential oil, look for cold-pressed and unrefined lemon essential oil, but pure lemon oil can cause irritation to the skin, so diluting it with carrier oils such as argan oil, jojoba oil, or rosehip can reduce the chances of you getting an irritation.

The oil is colourless or yellow and has a strong lemon scent.

What all carrier and essential oils can I mix with Lemon essential oil?

Carrier oils:

Blackseed oil, rosehip oil, jojoba oil, argan oil, sunflower oil, almond oil, and other carrier oils.

Essential oils:

Lavender, frankincense oil, and sandalwood (these oils are non-irritating, but make sure to conduct a patch test).