Geranium

Pelargonium graveolens and/or subspecies

Geraniaceae family

Grown and distilled in Egypt from certified organic plants.

Bittersweet thoughts of
iced tea and geraniums.
First chill of winter.

Sonny Rainshine

Geranium should be called the balancing oil, as that is how it manifests itself.

Geranium (Pelargonium geranium) is one of the most important essential oils for both aromatherapy and perfumery. The essential oil comes from the leaves and flowers and all oils come from cultivated plants.

Geranium oil is distilled around the world and the epicenter has changed as the years pass, economies fluctuate, and politics come into play. The French island of La Réunion was long the centre for geranium production. Algeria, Morocco, Congo, France, Egypt, Central America, both East and West Africa, southern Europe, India, Russia, Japan, these localities have all flirted with big time geranium production. Perhaps we can infer geranium is the flower of dreams. Our geranium is from Egypt.

I’d better say it before we go on: Geraniums are not geraniums. Geranium is actually a different plant entirely (zdravetz) and the aromatic leaves and flowers of what we love as geranium, is actually a pelargonium. There’s tons of controversy about this. If you don't already know this, it's nothing to worry about--it will probably only come up if you're stocking your garden, as geranium is still the common name for the oil.

Originally from South Africa, and brought to Europe for cultivation in the 17^th century, geraniums have been a ubiquitous part of gardens ever since. They are easy to grow, and thrive in window boxes and tiny apartment gardens; they are hardy, beautiful and they smell great. There’s a variety of different geranium scents, depending on the subspecies, like pineapple, chocolate mint, and lemon. The aroma of geranium will vary depending on geographical location as well as type. Most of these exotics are what you’ll find in a nursery, or garden shop, and most likely your essential oil will be from rose geranium, which is a hybrid of P. graveolens, P. capititum, and P. radens. If you’re really interested in the cultivation of geranium, the subspecies, the variety of scents, etc, and why not, as it’s very large and interesting botanical world, there is plenty of information surrounding geraniums. The books listed here, by Gabriel Mojay and Salvatore Battaglia are a great place to start.

Arctander has plenty to say about the various geranium oils but at the time of writing (1960,) Egyptian geranium has been discontinued in the preceding years, and therefore, considering the precision with which he writes about each and every geranium, with the differences in their terroirs, I'll just leave it out rather than risk mislabeling.

Battaglia says

Egyptian geranium is yellow to yellow-greenish in color, with a sweet, rosy, herbaceous odor somewhat similar to Reunion Geranium.

Pharmacology and Clinical Studies

1. Geranium oil has been reported to exhibit antifungal and antibacterial activities in vitro.

2. A study found that geranium oil has an anti-nuero-inflammatory effect on microglial cells, which ads important immune cells in the brain. and their activation is involved in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

 3. Clinical studies have shown that inhalation of geranium oil is very effective in reducing anxiety.

 4. A study involving massage with a blend of essential oils containing geranium found that aromatherapy massage was very effective in reducing menstrual pain.

The Complete Guide to Aromatherapy lists many clinical studies.

In general, geranium is considered to be aroma-therapeutically useful as an astringent, an anti-depressant, anti-inflammatory, anti-septic, cicatrisant, deodorant, diuretic, hemostatic, stimulant, tonic, vermifuge and vulnerary.

It’s also known to be beneficial in skin care—against acne, eczema, impetigo, athlete’s foot, wounds, and bruises.

Battaglia lists the most effective use of geranium in aromatherapy as being the influence on our psyche. According to Gabriel Mojay, geranium is beneficial for both chronic and acute anxiety and nervous exhaustion due to stress and overwork.

Peter Holmes states that geranium is a key oil for balancing emotional stability and calm and that is can be helpful for moodiness and mood swings. It’s also recommended for emotional despondency associated with low s and self-esteem, insecurity, mood swings, chronic anxiety, irritability and feeling emotionally withdrawn.

In skin care, geranium is balancing the production of sebum, making it valuable for dry, oily, or combination skin.

The Complete Guide to Aromatherapy

By Salvatore Battaglia

Aromatherapy for Healing the Spirit

By Gabriel Mojay

Geranium blends with so many oils! Try bergamot, cypress, laurel, lavender, lemon, may chang, myrtle, rose, ylang ylang

Safety Warning

As with most essential oils, dilute before using on skin. Perform a patch test before use if essential oil sensitivity is suspected. Do not take essential oils internally. Do not use on children or pets. Seek advice from a trained aromatherapist before using on people with compromised immune systems. Keep away from eyes and mucus membranes.
Enfleurage makes no medical claims relating to any products, essential oils or otherwise, on our website or through social media. We are an essential oil company, not doctors, The FDA has not evaluated the statements on this website. We present our information in order to educate our customers on traditional and general uses of essential oils; in no way do we diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any disease or condition.
You the customer are responsible for understanding the safe use of any and all of our products, including essential oils, and use them accordingly.