In our last post we talked about one of the most commonly used essential oils, Peppermint, and today we will talk about a personal favorite of mine – Patchouli, also known as Pogostemon Cablin.
Patchouli essential oil has a rather sweet, earthy and almost musky aroma.
The very fragrant herb this essential oil is distilled from, is native to Malaysia and India. There it is commonly known as ‘puchaput’, a word that is derived from the Hindustan word ‘patch’, which means ‘green’ and the word ‘ilai’ meaning ‘leaf’.
If you’ve ever purchased Patchouli oil, you may have noticed that the color can vary. This is because this particular oil is affected by the distillation machine. When Patchouli is distilled in a stainless steel distiller, the color will be rather light. However, when it is distilled in an iron distiller, the color will be a lot darker.
Traditionally, in India, the herb used to be placed between Indian cashmere shawls on their way to Victorian England. This was done to help protect the shawls from moths, and it soon came to be, that without this signature smell, the merchandise could not be sold for fear that they weren’t true Indian cashmere shawls.
Among several other traditional uses, this herb has also been used extensively in Chinese medicine to help treat colds, nausea, abdominal pain and headaches to name just a few.
Thanks to it’s exotic and rather long lasting fragrance, Patchouli is quite commonly used in fragrances and perfumes.
In Aromatherapy, Patchouli essential oil is often used to help heal the skin. It can be used to treat a number of things, such as acne, eczema, skin inflammations, bruises, and psoriasis.
And for those that deal with high blood pressure, it can help to lower it naturally.
Besides it’s lovely smell, this is one of my favorite oils because it is fantastic for reducing stress, tension and anxiety, and it can help regulate hormone balance hormone production
If you’ve ever used Patchouli essential oil before, what did you use it for?
There are no known precautions for this oil, however orally it can inhibit blood clotting. Please note, that I never recommend taking any essential oil orally.