Plant/Part: Orange Tree/Petals (Source China, France, Portugal and Italy)

Latin Name: Citrus Aurantium

Family: Rutaceae

Extraction: Enfleurage /Distillation

AROMA: Slightly sweet, clear and penetrating.

PROPERTIES: Beautiful floral oils soothes, relaxes, uplifts the spirit and helps maintain confidence. Exquisite aroma. Excellent skin care oil, perfect for aging, dry sensitive skin and on scars and stretch marks. Sensual properties. Is an aid to improve sluggish circulation, relieves tension, stress and anxiety, useful for apprehension like stage fright. Its tranquillising action on the sympathetic nervous system makes a good remedy in cases of insomnia, especially where sleep is disturbed due to depression. Also helpful with neuralgia (nerve pain), headaches and vertigo. Its antispasmodic action promotes a calming effect on the intestines and can be helpful with colitis and diarrhoea. Soothes palpitations of the heart and cleanses the blood, improving circulation - generally a very good tonic.

CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS: Linalol, Linalyl acetate, Limonene, Pinene, Nerolidol, Geraniol, Nerol, Indole, Citral, Jasmone.

PRECAUTIONS: Very relaxing but not suitable when a clear head and concentration are needed.

BLENDS: Benzoin, Bergamot, Coriander, Geranium, Jasmine, Lavender, Lemon, Lime, Orange, Palmarosa, Petitgrain, Rose, Rosemary, Sandalwood , Ylang Ylang. For a really luxurious blend mix with Rose Absolute and Jasmine Absolute oils.

Digestive: antispasmodic, stimulates the flow of gastric juices (carminative), dispels gas. used for chronic diarrhoea, colic, flatulence, spasm, nervous dyspepsia.

Circulatory: improves circulation, tones the heart, used for palpitations.

Muscles/Joints: soothes muscle spasm.

Skin/Hair: stimulates circulation and new cell growth, can prevent scarring and stretch marks. particularly good for dry, irritated or sentitive skin. antiseptic, regulates the oilines of the skin, minimizes enlarged pored, used for acne. acc. to r. wilson it can "reduce the appearance of broken capillaries and varicose veins".

Emotions/Mind: soothing, calming, even mildly hypnotic. comforting and uplifting, used to relieve anxiety attacks, emotional upsets, panic attacks, shock; it can also ease grief and sadness. helpful in insomnia. "calms and slows down the mind" (tisserand)

Oil of Neroli is obtained from the flowers of the bitter orange (Citrus Vulgaris), the Seville orange, and it takes its name from that of an Italian princess who used it as her favourite perfume. The active principles of the oil include nerol, geraniol, indol, j.ismone, and anthranilic, enzoic and phenylacetic esters.

The essential oil is usually produced by the ENFLEURAGE method, though sometimes steam distillation is used, and it is thick and deep brown in colour. The scent is of a bitter-sweet nature, as one might expect from its origins, and is not always liked in the concentrated form of the essential oil. However, once it has been suitably diluted as a massage oil, bath oil or in skin creams, etc., it is one of the most hauntingly beautiful of all those used in aromatherapy. It is widely used in commercial perfumery, and is another of the ingredients of true eau de cologne.

It is antidepressant, antiseptic, antispasmodic and aphrodisiac and a gentle sedative. It has one or two very important physical uses, though I find that by far the most important uses of Neroli are in helping with problems of emotional origin. It is especially valuable for states of anxiety. On a fairly simplistic level, it can be used effectively to reduce anxiety before any stressful event, such as an interview, examination, driving test or public appearance, though obviously its greatest value lies in treating more serious and long-term anxiety states.

It is also valuable in the treatment of shock and - theoretically at least - hysteria. It is a very valuable oil for insomnia, particularly when the sleeplessness arises from anxiety. It is best used as a bath essence before bedtime.

Neroli is particularly valuable in skin care for it has the special property of stimulating the growth of healthy new cells, and has therefore certain rejuvenating effects. It can be used for all skin types, but is perhaps most useful for dry or sensitive skins. The delicate perfume makes it highly acceptable in all skin and toilet preparations.

One of the physical actions of Neroli is to relieve spasm in the smooth muscle, especially that of the intestines. It is extremely helpful in chronic diarrhoea, especially where this arises from nervous tension. Neroli blends well with almost any other floral oil, especially Rose, and for the ultimate in luxury you might try mixing it with both ROSE and JASMINE.

The reputed aphrodisiac quality of Neroli stems not from a directly hormonal or stimulant effect, as with some oils, but rather from its ability to calm any nervous apprehension that may be felt before a sexual encounter; and as many sexual difficulties arise from a state of tension and anxiety, and in turn give rise to further anxiety and depression, Neroli can be one of the means of overcoming them. The traditional use of orange blossom in bridal wreaths arose from this property of the perfume, though this has long been forgotten now that the fresh flowers have been replaced, first by fabric and later by plastic imitations.