The health benefits of cypress essential oil can be attributed to its properties as an astringent, antiseptic, antispasmodic, deodorant, diuretic, hemostatic, hepatic, styptic, sudorific, vasodilator, respiratory tonic, and a sedative substance.
What is Cypress Essential Oil?
Cypress essential oil is obtained through steam distillation of young cypress twigs, stems, and needles. Cypress is a needle bearing tree of coniferous and deciduous regions, which bears the scientific name Cupressus sempervirens. [1]
The essential oils extracted from cypress may contain components like alpha pinene, beta pinene, alpha-terpinene, bornyl acetate, carene, camphene, cedrol, cadinene, sabinene, myrcene, terpinolene, and linalool, which contribute to its medicinal properties. [2]
Cypress Essential Oil Health Benefits
Although the cypress tree may often be linked with death and is commonly found in and around cemeteries, the essential oil obtained from this tree can save you from many illnesses. Let’s explore the various health benefits of cypress essential oil.
May Tighten Skin & Muscles
Cypress essential oil may help strengthen your gums and tighten your muscles throughout the body. The main function associated with astringency is a contraction, so cypress oil may make your gums, skin, muscles, and hair follicles contract and prevent teeth and hair from falling out. It may also tightens up loose skin and muscles.
May Heal Wounds
The antiseptic properties of cypress oil may make it a good choice for treating both external and internal wounds. It is a common ingredient in antiseptic lotions and creams. This quality is specifically due to the presence of camphene in the essential oil.
Cypress oil supports the health of the skin and hair. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
May Treat Spasms
Cypress oil may be helpful in curing all types of spasms and the problems associated with it. It might efficiently relieve spasms in the respiratory system and intestines as well as muscular spasms in the limbs. It may also help reduce convulsions, muscle pulls, cramps, and spasmodic cholera which can be dangerous.
May Increase Urination
Cypress oil may stimulate urination, both in frequency and in quantity. This is highly beneficial for health. When you urinate, fats make up almost 4% of the volume of urine. Therefore, the more you urinate, the more fat you lose.
The most important role played by urine is that it removes excess water and toxins from the body. Furthermore, it may also reduce blood pressure and help clean out the kidneys. Many of the mainstream medications for lowering blood pressure are based on this aspect of urination.
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May Regulate Blood Flow
Cypress oil may be both a hemostatic and a styptic agent. Although the following two properties are similar in meaning, they differ slightly. While hemostatic means an agent that can stop blood flow and promote its clotting, styptic primarily means having the properties of an astringent, while also preventing excessive loss of blood through contraction of the blood vessels. Both of these properties are very important in their own areas of application.
If someone is bleeding profusely, they might need a hemostatic agent to speed up the clotting of blood and stop its flow to save their life. Likewise, being an astringent/styptic may help in a different way. It might promote the contraction of gums, hair follicles, muscles, skin, and blood vessels, thereby stimulating the flow of blood through the blood vessels. Both of these properties can be life-saving.
May Tone Respiratory System
Cypress oil might tone up the respiratory system and increase the efficiency of the lungs. It may help eliminate the phlegm accumulated in the respiratory tracts and lungs. In this way, it may clear up congestion and make breathing easier when one is suffering from cough and cold.
May Promote Sweating
Cypress oil may be considered to be a very powerful sudorific substance. A sudorific substance is something which can cause sweating or perspiration. Periodic sweating may make you feel lighter, fitter and may help remove toxins, excess salt, and water from the body. This might help clean the skin pores as well as the openings of the sweat and sebum glands while keeping away acne and other skin diseases.
May Eliminate Odor
Cypress oil may have a spicy and masculine fragrance that can easily replace synthetic deodorants which boast a similar natural and distinct aroma.
May Maintain Liver Health
Cypress oil may be good for the liver and ensures its optimal health by regulating a proper discharge of bile from that organ. It might also protect the liver from contracting various infections.
May Relieve Stress
It may induce a calming, relaxing, and sedative effect on both the mind and body by relieving nervous stress and anxiety. It might also stimulate a happy feeling in case of anger or sadness. This property can be helpful in pacifying people who have suffered a serious shock, trauma, or major setback in life. [3]
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May Prevent Excess Bleeding
Cypress oil may cause blood vessels to contract. This can be beneficial in cases of excess bleeding.
Other Benefits
In addition to stimulating perspiration, it may also curb excessive sweating, heavy menstruation and bleeding. It is anti-rheumatic and anti-arthritic, so it can also be used in the treatment of varicose veins, cellulite, asthma, bronchitis, and diarrhea.
Word of Caution: There is no active warning for using cypress essential oil, except that it should be avoided during pregnancy.
Blending: Cypress oil forms great blends with essential oils of all citrus fruits such as Lime, Lemon, and Orange as well as with Bergamot, Clary Sage, Frankincense, Juniper, Lavender, Marjoram, Pine, Rosemary, and Sandalwood essential oils.
— Update: 10-02-2023 — cohaitungchi.com found an additional article Cypress Oil: What You Need to Know from the website www.healthline.com for the keyword benefits of cypress essential oil.
According to a 2014 study on Cupressus sempervirens, cypress has antimicrobial and antibacterial benefits. A 2013 paper also found that cypress oil may have antifungal properties.
Following are some of the reported uses of cypress essential oil.
Cough
Many people use essential oils to treat coughing.
Cypress oil contains camphene, a molecule which is often found in herbal cough suppressants. However, cypress essential oil hasn’t directly been studied for its effects on coughing.
You could inhale cypress oil by using it in a diffuser. Try adding a few drops of the essential oil diluted with a carrier oil to a warm bath, and then breathing in deeply.
Hemorrhoids
Hemorrhoids, which are swollen veins around the rectum and anus, can be treated with certain essential oils.
When added to a carrier oil and applied to hemorrhoids, cypress oil may soothe the area and kill certain bacteria.
Warts
Cypress oil is a common treatment for warts, which can be caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV).
The antibacterial properties of cypress oil make it an excellent treatment for many skin conditions. Since it’s also an antiviral, it may help control warts.
A 2009 paper found that cypress oils were effective against the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). Also known as oral herpes, this virus can cause warts and cold sores.
If you have warts and aren’t sure of the cause, it’s best to speak to a doctor. You might need medical attention.
Cuts, wounds, and infections
Because cypress essential oil is antimicrobial and antibacterial, it can help clean and heal cuts and wounds. Be sure to dilute the oil in a carrier oil before applying it to a wound.
Pimples and acne
Pimples and acne are often caused or worsened by bacteria.
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According to a 2017 review on essential oils, cypress oil is commonly recommended for treating acne because it’s antimicrobial. This means that applying cypress oil topically can reduce the severity of acne by killing bacteria.
Remember that essential oil is extremely concentrated. It should be diluted in a carrier oil if you plan on using it on your skin, especially if your skin is sensitive.
Varicose veins
Many people use essential oils to treat varicose veins.
Varicose veins are usually caused by poor circulation, weak veins, and blood pooling.
So it’s often recommended that massage be used to soothe the pain and swelling associated with varicose veins. This could include aromatherapy massage using diluted cypress oil.
However, there is no evidence that proves that cypress oil is an effective treatment for varicose veins.
Muscle pain
If you experience muscle soreness, essential oils may help you find some relief.
According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), massage therapy can be an effective way to relieve pain, especially back and neck pain.
Cypress oil is one of the many essential oils used to relieve muscle pain. While it’s often called an antispasmodic, meaning it can reduce muscle pain and cramps, studies have yet to confirm that cypress oil is particularly good at soothing muscle pain.
Always dilute essential oils in a carrier oil before applying to the skin.
Cellulite
Essential oils are often recommended to reduce the appearance of cellulite.
A 2017 review article published in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine indicates that cypress is one of the most commonly recommended essential oils for treating cellulite.
However, there is no scientific evidence showing that cypress oil reduces cellulite.
Body odor
Because cypress essential oil has a pleasant aroma, it’s often added to natural deodorant because it can reduce unpleasant body odor.
Before using any new deodorant on the sensitive skin under your arms, do a patch test on your inner forearm.
Anxiety and stress
A widely cited 2005 study on the benefits of aromatherapy massage looked at the effects of massage that involved lavender, cypress, and sweet marjoram oil mixed with sweet almond oil.
It found that massage had significant psychological and physical benefits on the test subjects. In particular, it reduced self-reported anxiety and depression levels. That said, there were only 11 participants in the study.
Beyond that, there is very little research on whether cypress oil alone reduces anxiety.
However, if you find the smell relaxing or enjoyable, there’s no harm in adding cypress oil, or a massage oil that contains it, to a diffuser .
