Cedarwood essential oil comes from the Atlas cedarwood tree which is native to Morocco. Using steam-distillation with the wood produces the essential oil, which has a rich hue and balsamic, warm, sweet and woody scent.
Cedarwood essential oil is good for emotional strength, confidence and focus. It also helps restore a sense of spiritual certainty.
Use of Cedarwood Essential Oil for the Body
Atlas cedarwood essential oil is antibacterial, antiseptic and astringent. It is often used for treating dry skin and eczema. It has many benefits for the hair and the scalp and is a natural remedy for treating dandruff and preventing hair loss. It also stimulates the circulation and it is used in massage blends to treat fluid retention.
Cedarwood oil is popular in men’s aftershaves for its scent and its astringent and antiseptic properties. It’s often used in perfumes and in soap and skin care products.
Use of Cedarwood Oil for the Mind
Cedarwood essential oil is known in many spiritual traditions around the world. It is often burnt as incense and used during meditation. Cedarwood oil has a balancing, calming and grounding effect on the mind and the emotions. It is a good anti–stress oil. It is also believed to be an aphrodisiac.
Cedarwood Essential Oil Relieves Depression and Insomnia Caused By:
- General lethargy
- Moodiness and grumpiness
Cedarwood in Ancient History
The Bible mentioned cedar trees several times. It is said that King Solomon built his temple from the cedarwood grove that still grows on Mount Lebanon.
The Ancient Egyptians used cedar oil in embalming, beauty products and in perfumes.
Robert B. Tisserand in his writes in The Art of Aromatherapy:
“Cedarwood oil was possibly the first essential oil to be extracted from a plant, and was used by the Egyptians in the mummification process. They also valued it highly as an ingredient for cosmetics, and impregnated papyrus leaves with it.”
Cedarwood has been a popular building material, and the wood and the oil are natural insect repellents. In ancient Greece cedar oil was also used to preserve bodies.
In the East, cedar oil was used as an incense as well as a remedy for bronchial and urinary tract infections. In Tibet cedarwood essential oil is burnt as incense and often included in traditional Tibetan medicines.
Cedarwood in Modern History
Dioscorides and Galen mention cedrium in the first and second centuries and write how bodies were preserved with the resin of the cedarwood tree. The Greek and the Romans also burned the wood for its fragrance.
The 17th century French chemist Nicolas Lemery mentioned the resin from cedarwood as an antiseptic for the pulmonary system and the urinary tract.
Many cultures and traditions still use cedarwood essential oil today.
Cedarwood Essential Oil Cautions
There are other oils commonly sold as cedarwood oil, such as Texas cedarwood (Juniperus ashei) or Virginian cedarwood (Juniperus virginiana), but they have different properties and should not be confused with the Atlas cedar oil. Atlas is the only cedarwood oil that should be used for therapeutic purposes in aromatherapy.
Pregnant women and young children should avoid using cedarwood essential oil
