What Does Rosemary Essential Oil Help With?
Rosemary is admittedly an underappreciated oil in the Miller home. Before looking into it, I really only ever used rosemary when it was listed in a user manual for a specific ailment. While it may not have been a go-to oil for me in the past, it certainly is on its way to becoming one.
I’m not the only one who has a growing curiosity about the benefits of rosemary essential oil. In fact, there is a worldwide interest in the active constituents of this plant.
“There has been an increasing interest in the therapeutic properties of this plant [rosemary], regarding carnosic acid, carnosol, rosmarinic acid, and the essential oil.”
Future Science AO [1]
Most of the health benefits of rosemary are attributed to the high antioxidant activity of its main chemical constituents. [2, 3]
How to Use Rosemary Oil?
One of the reasons why Chris and I went with doTerra is because they actually recommend using essential oils internally. We understand that this is a hot topic for some, and I’m not trying to push any buttons. But if you are buying oils from a company that tells you not to ingesting basic essential oils like lemon, rosemary, or lavender, then it may be a good idea to make a switch. With that said, not all essential oils are safe to ingest. Chris and I do rely on doTerra’s published recommendations for each oil. [4]
Rosemary is actually safe to use aromatically, topically, and internally. You can also use it neat, which means you can safely use rosemary without diluting it with a carrier oil.
While you can apply rosemary essential oil neat, it is still possible to experience skin sensitivity. If you don’t know how your body responds to this particular oil, it may make sense to go ahead and dilute the rosemary with a carrier oil.
Health Benefits of Rosemary Essential Oil
Benefit #1: Stress Reducer
Stress management is key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. In an earlier post, we discuss how the gut-brain connection is a two-way street. While the integrity of our gut health has a direct impact on our mental health, the reverse is also true. The state of our mental health has a direct impact on the health of our microbiome.
Recommended Reading:
- Stress and Gut Health – Learn how stress can directly impact your gastrointestinal health and what steps you can take to improve this area of your wellbeing.
- The Importance of Gut Health – Research has uncovered that gastrointestinal health directly impacts every other area of health in the body. Continue reading to learn how the balance of your microbiome affects your mental, metabolic, and immune health.
The evidence is clear that learning to manage your stress is vitally important to your overall health.
How does rosemary essential oil fit in all of this?
In addition to the positive effect on stress management, the research also shows that rosemary essential oil has the ability to improve the state of your mood. [5, 6]
Using lavender and rosemary in tandem seem to be the winning combination.
In one study, 22 healthy subjects sniffed the aroma of these two essential oils for five minutes. After the five minutes, their saliva was immediately collected and examined. The findings concluded that using both lavender and rosemary essential oil improved the removal of free-radicals and decreased cortisol levels. In other words, lavender and rosemary can help protect the body from oxidative stress. [7]
In a different study, the stress-reducing benefits of lavender and rosemary oil were tested on nursing students. The researchers conclude that,
“In this study, the use of lavender and rosemary essential oil sachets reduced test-taking stress in graduate nursing students as evidenced by lower scores on test anxiety measure, personal statements, and pulse rates.”
Florida Atlantic University [8]
Based on how both studies were conducted, we would recommend diffusing lavender and rosemary together in order to help manage stress and improve your mood.
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Benefit #2: Improved Brain Function
If I’m being perfectly honest with you, I have the memory of a goldfish. It’s interesting because there is a direct correlation between how well I take care of myself (i.e. diet, sleep, exercise) and my ability to remember things.
It would also seem that rosemary essential oil also has a direct impact on memory and brain function. [9, 10]
In a study of 53 secondary students (ages 13-15 years old), researchers sprayed rosemary essential oil on the experimental group and then tested both groups for memory capacity.
Their findings?
“The essential oil of rosemary has significantly increased the image memory compared to the control. Inhalation of the rosemary essential oil increased the memorization of numbers as well.”
National University of Pharmacy [11]
Additionally, aromatherapy of essential oil can improve the cognitive function of dementia patients, especially those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. In the mornings, elderly patients were given aromatherapy using rosemary and lemon essential oils. Then in the evenings, the same patients were given aromatherapy using lavender and orange essential oils. [12]
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Benefit #3: Hair Growth Aid
In an earlier blog post, we explored the hair growth potential of lavender. While it certainly won’t hurt anything to put lavender in your hair, the research on rosemary as a hair growth aid seems more compelling.
Male pattern baldness (MPB) is testosterone-related hair loss. This type of hair loss can affect both men and women, but because men produce more testosterone it is more prominent in men.
Rosemary leaf extract has been shown to promote hair regrowth in mice with testosterone treatment-induced hair loss. [13]
Simply put…
“RO-ext is a promising crude drug for hair growth.”
Kinki University
If you are experiencing hair loss, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to add a few drops of rosemary essential oil to your shampoo routine.
Benefit #4: Helps with Pain Management
Typically, peppermint essential oil is my go-to oil for pain management, but the research would suggest that adding rosemary to that regiment would be a good inclusion.
One study that clearly exemplifies how rosemary is able to improve a person’s pain tolerance was conducted at the University of Novi Sad.
While admittedly a bit barbaric, researchers would individually place the mice on a hot plate in order to assess their response to a thermal stimulus (a.k.a. they inflicted pain using heat).
The results?
“Administration of investigated essential oil increased significantly the latency time of animal response to heat-induced pain between 20th and 50th minute of the test, when compared to saline-treated group.”
University of Novi Sad [14]
In a randomized, controlled trial, researchers at Wonkwang University studied thirty stroke patients with hemiplegic shoulder pain.
Half of the patients were randomly assigned to the acupressure group and the other half were assigned to the aromatherapy acupressure group. In this study, the oils that were used for the aromatherapy group included lavender, rosemary, and peppermint.
In order to assess the results, the researchers evaluated the pain scores of each patient before and after treatment. Additionally, they assessed each patient’s motor power pre and post-treatment.
The study concludes,
“These results suggest that aromatherapy acupressure exerts positive effects on hemiplegic shoulder pain, compared to acupressure alone, in stroke patients.”
Wonkwang University [15]
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Ready to Include Rosemary to Your Oil Routine?
We have only started to scratch the surface when it comes to the many benefits of rosemary essential oil. Since starting the research for this blog, Chris and I have certainly “up-ed our game” when it comes to using rosemary essential oil in our day-to-day routines. Not only has it become an integral part of our shampoo, but we also regularly diffusing it throughout the house.
If you have any questions regarding the use of this oil or would like to discuss a different oil-related question, please, do not hesitate to shoot us a message or leave a comment below!
Magnificent web site. Plenty of useful info here. I’m sending it to a few buddies.
And of course, thanks to your sweat!