Megan: Hi, My Oil Lab. Today is cedarwood. I am Megan; this is Dr. Jeff Styba.
Dr. Jeff: So much respect in this family. Cedarwood essential oil is the most potent when it's sourced from the cedar tree that grows in the United States, so this is one of the three oils that we actually do source from the U.S.
And this is the red cedar that we're talking about. This tree is extraordinary. It can live for over 900 years and grow anywhere from 16 to 100 feet tall.
The chemistry is amazing. There's about 42 molecules that make up this essential oil. The majority of the chemistry lies in three main molecules. There's 35% alpha-Cedrene, 21% Cedrol, and then about 18% cis-Thujopsene, making this oil incredibly complex, very unique in what it actually does in our body.
Megan: So it's super-interesting, 'cause it sounds so complicated, but it's yet so easy. Any time you're talking about a wood essential oil, it's very grounding. You can guarantee to get a relaxation when you apply it topically and/or diffuse it.
Now cedarwood essential oil is a great essential oil when it comes to emotionally balancing both our mind and our body, so diffusing it in your office space, diffusing if you had a stressful day, diffusing it at night time is a wonderful way to use it, and especially in your children's room at night time.
If they are having a hard time keeping peaceful thoughts going as they sleep, add a couple drops of cedarwood to their diffuser, or you can apply it topically right on them, bottoms of the feet is a great spot, and it's gonna help their mind just stay at ease and stay at peace. Now one of my favorite ways of using cedarwood is for my skin. This is a pick-me-up essential oil, I like to say.
Couple drops directly in your moisturizer, and it's gonna help any imperfections you have in your skin. It's gonna help bring a new appearance to your skin. I just love using cedarwood as part of my skin regimen.
Dr. Jeff: When you have a fresh skin blemish or irritation, if you apply one or two drops of cedarwood directly on that irritation, it immediately improves the appearance. A little fun fact with wood oils, wood oils are very good at helping repair the deep layers of our skin.
Floral oils are great at the top layers of our skin, so if we have any type of chronic type skin condition, the best protocol to use is a wood oil for the deep layers, and then your favorite floral oil for the more upper layers of the skin.
But cedarwood is also, like Megan said, a very grounding, very calming essential oil. However, not calming to go to sleep, so one of the reasons why I love diffusing this oil when I'm cycling, we have a Peloton, so we cycle in the room, but we diffuse in that room. I love diffusing cedarwood there because it keeps my body and tissues relaxed while I'm working out, so that's one of my favorite ways to use cedarwood.
Megan: Cedarwood's also a wonderful oil. We tend to use it more in the summer time when we're struggling with a lot of bugs. We live on the river, so we'll use it as a natural insect repellent. We'll just apply it topically, kind of pour it around all over the place, and it keeps the bugs at bay.