Citrus oils are fantastic!

Just smelling the aroma of citrus oils opens your mind and awakens your spirit, and it just so happens they are great for mood elevation and can also help alleviate stress.

On top of that, citrus oils have properties that can be used to help inflammation, depression, sepsis, and act as an aphrodisiac.

So many studies have been done on the different reactions people have to various smells by measuring vital signs and mental stimulation. When people were exposed to citrus oils, the participants showed immediate signs of lowered anxiety and stress and more relaxing readings.

Some other incredible benefits of citrus oils include improved digestion and reduced nausea. It is also effective to add these oils to your cleaning materials or make your own cleaning materials with them. They have a disinfecting quality and make your home smell great.

I always have a spray bottle with a citrus oil and water on the kitchen counter to disinfect and keep the kitchen sparkling!

When you are trying to lift your mood or just brighten your mind and day, use citrus oil directly on your skin (diluted with fractionated coconut oil), diffused into the air, or put them into a relaxing bath.

One of my favorite afternoon pick-me-ups is to diffuse peppermint and wild orange. The peppermint peps me up and the wild orange helps me stay in my mellow groove. If you don’t have a diffuser handy just put a drop of each in the palm of your hand, cup them and sniff away! 🙂

What’s your favorite citrus oil? For me it’s hard to pick a favorite. Lemon, lime, grapefruit, tangerine, wild orange, bergamot…oh my! That’s why I have one of each on hand at all times, but I always make sure it is 100% pure. Yes, you really can smell the difference.  😉

An important word of caution: Some oils, especially the citrus oils, are photosensitive. When using a photo sensitizing oil, wait a minimum of six hours before exposing skin to UV rays. The stronger and more lengthy the UV ray, the longer the wait should be.