Don’t you just love the woodsy, herbaceous aroma of tree-based essential oils?
I know I do. It’s like stepping into a forest where you can be instantly invigorated by earthy, clean, all-natural scents and feelings. That’s because some of the wood derived essential oils are made from the branches, bark, or even the leaves of the tree.
There are at least a dozen of these sustainable and incredibly useful oils in popular demand, so maybe you’ve experimented with oils like sandalwood, cedarwood, or white fir.
But have you tried cypress essential oil?
That’s the oil I’d like to discuss with you today. Of all the wood/tree oils, it’s one of my absolute favorites because it has so many different uses and benefits. Plus, aromatically speaking, it really is the oil with that “classic” tree scent.
(Speaking of which, try putting a few drops on your car vent diffuser for the traditional automotive freshener smell. You know, minus the chemicals found in those little synthetic trees they sell at gas stations.)
Cypress oil has a ton of uses, so it’s always an oil I stay stocked up on. For example, I occasionally get muscle cramps after working out. Topically applied, cypress oil is an antispasmodic, which is a fancy way of saying it soothes cramps and helps to maintain healthy blood flow. We’ll explore a lot more of these awesome benefits below.
Are you excited about cypress oil yet?
Let’s begin by learning a little about the origins of this wonderful oil.
What is Cypress Oil?
Cypress essential oil is made from the leaves of the cypress tree, which is a quickly growing coniferous evergreen with a variety of species that thrive in many parts of the world, ranging from North America to Argentina to China. The species most commonly used to make essential oil is the Mediterranean cypress, Cupressus sempervirens. The method used is steam distillation rather than cold pressing.
Throughout history, the cypress tree and cypress oil have been used for everything from building houses to scenting bath water. It also played a major role in traditional Chinese medicine.
Cypress oil resonates at a very high frequency—which should come as no surprise considering that these trees can live to be 1,000 years old. In fact, the Latin word sempervirens used in the scientific naming of this tree means “lives forever.”
With all that in mind, let’s talk about how to harness the power of this amazing extract in your daily life:
The Benefits of Cypress Essential Oil
While this list isn’t exhaustive, we will be examining some of the primary uses for cypress oil. These common, effective uses include:
- Soothing muscle cramps and soreness after exercise
- Skin nourishment and tightening
- The best homemade hand soap you’ve ever tried
Let’s dig right into the first benefit:
Cypress Essential Oil for Muscle Cramps, Pulls, or Soreness Following Exercise
Exercise is good for us; we all know that. One of the things that tends to put people off from taking care of their body with exercise is the almost inevitable muscle cramps, pulls, or soreness you sometimes experience afterwards. Even if you’re extra careful and make sure to hydrate yourself throughout your workout, these things can still happen.
When you’re busy with work, parenting, and an otherwise active lifestyle, cramps and soreness can really put a damper on all your other activities.
If you can relate to this, make sure to check out my post Can Essential Oils Improve Your Workout Routine?
(Spoiler alert: yes, they can!)
One of my favorite post-workout essential oils is definitely cypress. As I mentioned earlier in this post, when used topically, this oil is an effective antispasmodic and helps to promote healthy circulation.
No fancy recipes needed here, simply dilute a few drops of cypress essential oil in your favorite carrier oil and gently massage it into the sore or cramped area. It’s that easy!
DIY Essential Oil Recipe for Firmer Skin With Cypress Oil
Cypress essential oil is an astringent, which means that it causes skin to contract when applied topically. Since it also maintains healthy blood flow, it really packs a powerful one-two punch for your skin: cypress oil can give it a vibrant look and a smoother feel. Add it to your regular moisturizing routine for noticeable effects.
While cypress oil by itself will do a fine job, you can mix it with other skin-nourishing essential oils from your collection to make a truly invigorating elixir. Let’s look at an easy skin firming recipe you can make yourself using cypress oil and a few others:
Blend the following in a glass roller bottle:
- 5 drops cypress essential oil
- 5 drops lavender essential oil
- 6 drops patchouli essential oil
- 2 drops sandalwood essential oil
- 4 tablespoons (roughly 2oz) of your preferred carrier oil
Every night before bed, apply the mixture to skin you’d like to tighten. Never use internally, but otherwise this concoction can be used anywhere, from legs to arms to under your eyes. Do this for a week or so and you’ll see a difference in skin firmness, plus this all-natural recipe is super cheap compared to store bought cosmetics.
Use Cypress Essential Oil to Make the Best-Smelling Foaming Hand Soap You’ve Ever Tried
Cypress oil smells so fresh and natural that once you’ve experienced it, it’s likely to quickly become one of your favorite oils. Since it has so many benefits when applied topically, using it in your hand soap gives you a great way to regularly get these benefits and defeat germs.
Making your own DIY hand soap with essential oil is surprisingly quick and easy. You only need the following:
- 15-20 drops of cypress essential oil
- 1 teaspoon of your carrier oil of choice
- 2 tablespoons of unscented liquid castile soap
- 1 cups filtered or distilled water
Fill your foaming soap dispenser with the water about three quarters of the way full and add the rest of the ingredients. Put the lid on and give it a gentle shake—you’re done! Put the container anywhere you’d regularly use hand soap. I like to keep mine in the kitchen.
Cypress Essential Oil Diffuser Recipes
Want to take a walk in a cypress forest to feel uplifted and energized for the whole day? Try out some of these favorite diffuser recipes:
Mental Energizer
- 3 drops cypress essential oil
- 2 drops lemon essential oil
- 2 drops rosemary essential oil
Relaxing Forest
- 2 drops cypress essential oil
- 2 drops white fir essential oil
- 3 drops cedarwood essential oil
Soothe & Invigorate
- 3 drops cypress essential oil
- 2 drops frankincense essential oil
- 1 drop peppermint essential oil
- 1 drop clove essential oil
Cypress Oil Safety Precautions
Perhaps the most important safety precaution to know about cypress essential oil is to never ingest it, not even if diluted. You’ll notice that none of the recipes here suggest internal use—if you ever come across a recipe like that, ignore it!
Cypress oil is generally safe to use topically when diluted with your favorite carrier oil, and you can also generally safely use it as an aromatic in your diffuser or direct inhalation from the bottle. As always, be sure to apply a small diluted amount of cypress on the back of your hand as a “test area” before using in topical recipes, just to be sure.
Since there sadly hasn’t been enough research on the effects of cypress essential oil, children and pregnant women should avoid it.
Learn More About Other Life-Changing Essential Oils
Enjoyed this post about cypress oil? Then you’ll be happy to know that we’ve been regularly publishing posts like this in our “Everything You Need to Know” series. Each post focuses on a specific essential oil so that you can learn all about it. In case you missed them, here’s what we’ve published so far:
- Everything You Need to Know About Lavender Essential Oil (This huge guide is available as a completely free eBook!)
- Everything You Need to Know About Bergamot Essential Oil
- Everything You Need to Know About Black Pepper Essential Oil
We hope you find these posts interesting and educational!
What oil would you like to see us spotlight next on the Aroma Outfitters blog? Let us know in the comments or drop us a line on Facebook.
See you next time!