成分

西西里檸檬精油

Citrus Limonum

Bright yellow, sharply scented and bursting with benefits, lemons are happy fruits, and their essential oil gives even more reasons to smile! Here's the juicy lowdown on why lemon oil should be part of your routine.

If you’re unfamiliar with lemons and want to know more about the fruit and its many byproducts, head to this dedicated page. If you're all set, let’s talk about the essential oil! 

What are the benefits of lemon oil for the body and mind?

From head to toe and brain to nose, lemon essential oil is a general tonic and a staple of aromatherapy. Its benefits, documented through a long history of use, are increasingly confirmed by modern clinical studies.  

• Mood-boosting: when inhaled, this zingy oil has an uplifting, thought-focusing effect that is said to improve alertness. It’s all thanks to limonene: an active aromatic compound that makes up around 70% of the essential oil.

• Antimicrobial:  traditionally used to tackle all sorts of bacteria and fungi, thus helping prevent infections, dandruff, body odour, acne and breakouts, among others.

• Astringent: contains the active compound citral, which tightens skin tissue and pores, thus giving the skin a smoother, matte appearance.

• Antioxidant-rich: thought to prevent premature ageing by supporting skin cells in fighting free radicals.

• Soothing: used to calm redness and soothe insect bites, and in massage to ease joint pain. Some people also use it to alleviate migraine symptoms. Fancy a sharpener, anyone?

On a more anecdotal note, but still worth mentioning, lemon oil is sometimes used in massage oils designed to stimulate blood circulation and promote lymphatic drainage. It may also help strengthen nails and improve the appearance of scars.

What are the benefits of lemon oil as a fragrance?

No one puts it better than Lush Perfumer Alina Gliwinska: “Lemon essential oil has those characteristic zesty, freshly peeled citrus notes, clean and sharp. It has a light, bright, sparkling top note, with a juicy, just-a-touch-sweet citrus character, but it’s not overly sweet.”

It also blends well with almost any other oil, explains Alina. “Lemon oil is incredibly versatile when blending. It works beautifully with other citrus oils, of course, but it can also brighten florals, herbs and woods. It really adds freshness and lift to warmer or heavier compositions.”

“Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed”

We’ve been partnering with our lemon oil supplier since 2005, a family business spanning three generations. They grow lemons and mandarins in Sicily, as well as bergamot in the very south of Italy, and extract high-quality oils from them. We purchase them all! 

The lemons are grown without pesticides and are mainly hand-picked. Those that don’t meet the strict aesthetic standard of the fresh fruit market (about 30%), are happily kept for essential oil production. Harvest can happen in the winter and the summer. At Lush, we purchase essential oil produced from the winter crops, as it is all the zestier. 

It takes approximately 250 to 300 kilograms of lemons to produce 1 kilogram of oil. Only the fruit’s peel contains essential oil, but fear not! The pulp, juice and even the pressed peels aren't wasted: they're simply sold to other industries.