Understanding of Lime Essential Oil

Compared with other citrus essential oils, people may not have a high awareness and usage rate of Lime. I don't want to label Lime Essential Oil as "Elderly Oil" in advance. Although it can play a good auxiliary conditioning role for some common diseases of the elderly, such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high blood lipids, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer's disease, it is also very suitable for respiratory tract, gastrointestinal digestion conditioning and skin care. Its chemical composition and application range are similar to grapefruit essential oil. The oil control and brightening effect can be comparable to lemon. The fresh and sweet aroma can relieve stress and anxiety, boost spirits and retain the effect of natural calming nerves.

Lime (Citrus aurantifolia)

Common name: lime, lime, green lemon, sour orange.

Main origin: Mexico, India, the United States

Extraction method: pressing, distillation/peel. The essential oil obtained by the pressing method is yellow to yellow-green, has strong photosensitivity, and the oil yield is 0.1%. The lime essential oil extracted by distillation is colorless and transparent, does not contain furanocoumarin components, and therefore has no photosensitivity.

Main effects: antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, promotes body fluid circulation, stimulates the immune system, strengthens nerves, anti-spasmodic, stomach-strengthening and digestive aids, reduces the three highs (high blood sugar, high blood pressure, high blood lipids), anti-inflammatory, and anti-depression.

Suggestions for use:

Skin system (acne, oily skin, whitening and brightening)

Emotional psychology (stress relief, anxiety relief, spirit boosting, refreshing)

Digestive system (digestion aid, appetite promotion, anti-spasmodic)

Respiratory system (cold, sinusitis, sore throat, mucositis, cough)

Benefits of lime essential oil

1. Skin care

In skin care, the effect of lime is similar to that of grapefruit. It is suitable for oily skin care. It has a good oil control and purification effect. It can accelerate the metabolism of epidermal keratinocytes and improve acne, dermatitis and eczema. It can be used with lavender, frankincense, rosewood, geranium, palm grass, rose, carrot seed, orange blossom, sandalwood, ylang-ylang and other essential oils to restore skin elasticity and transparency.

2. Emotional psychology

Lime essential oil has the effect of calming nerves, relieving stress and invigorating emotions. It is suitable for people whose emotions are often in drastic fluctuations and instability. When you feel tired, anxious and depressed, the fresh fruity scent can revitalize you, refresh your tired mind and bring you an optimistic and cheerful mood. Dilute it with rose and apply it to the heart chakra to help you open your heart.

For stress, tension and anxiety, you can consider using lime essential oil with ylang-ylang, Japanese pomelo, sweet orange, grapefruit, vetiver, frankincense, sandalwood, etc. When your body is tight and stiff due to stress, you can use lime with sweet marjoram, cedar, sandalwood and other essential oils to make a body massage oil, which helps adjust your breathing, get rid of tension, and help your body return to a relaxed state.

3. Body care

Like most citrus essential oils, lime can stimulate the digestive system and help anorexia patients improve their symptoms because it can stimulate the secretion of digestive juices, thereby increasing appetite, but don't worry about weight gain because lime essential oil can also help speed up lipid metabolism, similar to grapefruit. It is often used with Atlantic cedar essential oil and is a commonly used oil in weight loss formulas.

When it comes to accelerating lipid metabolism, we have to mention the three highs effect of lime. Studies have shown that lime can help lower blood sugar, blood pressure, and blood lipids, and is suitable for auxiliary treatment of diabetes, hypertension, atherosclerosis and other diseases. In addition, lime essential oil has the function of anti-oxidation and inhibiting the activity of acetylcholinesterase, which can help prevent Alzheimer's disease and is very suitable for daily physical health care for the elderly (massage, incense inhalation).

With colds, sore throats and fevers caused by influenza, lime essential oil can be used to lower body temperature. You can consider using it with lavender and tea tree essential oils as a body massage oil after dilution. For the conditioning of the respiratory system, lime essential oil can relieve coughs, chest congestion, mucosal inflammation and sinusitis. It is also a tonic for the immune system, reducing the chance of infection with bacteria, shortening the weak state after illness, and quickly regaining energy.

Suggestions on use:

Lime essential oil contains a higher proportion of monoterpenes than lemon essential oil. The safe dose for healthy skin is 1.5%. If used in high doses, it will cause irritation to the skin. Sensitive skin, the elderly, and children need to carefully control the concentration when using it. It is not suitable for bathing in high doses. In addition, cold-pressed lime essential oil has a higher intensity of photosensitivity. It is not suitable for sun exposure within 12 hours after using the oil. There is no concern about photosensitivity when distilled. Citrus essential oils are relatively safe and can be used at low concentrations during pregnancy and lactation.

In addition, no matter which method is used to extract lime essential oil, it contains a high proportion of limonene (about 60%). This component is very easy to oxidize. After oxidation, it will become para-cymene. If the oxidation time is long, it will continue to become thymol or carvacrol. At this time, it has a strong skin irritation and is easy to make the skin red and hot and itchy. Therefore, the lime essential oil should be carefully stored after opening (tighten the bottle cap, avoid light and moisture) and should be used up within 6-8 months as much as possible.