What’s manuka essential oil good for exactly? Well, Manuka essential oil is a fantastic all-natural solution for several of your daily woes — from cleansing your acne-ridden skin and treating infections, to reducing odor in the stinkiest areas around your home.
Read on to discover what manuka essential oil is good for and the science behind these practical everyday uses.
Treating Swollen Insect Bites
The uses for manuka essential oil are widespread in skin treatments. The oil is anti-inflammatory,[1] making it ideal for subduing bites that are puffy and agitated. By reducing the skin’s initial response to inflame itself, the bite may calm down and become less noticeable and tempting to touch or scratch.
Additionally, this oil has a skin-cooling effect.[2] This enables it to soothe bites that are warm to the touch and cause pain or mild allergic reactions.
Eliminating Fungal Infections
Some common fungal infections, like candida or Athlete’s foot, can be combated by applying manuka essential oil to the problem area.[3] In short, the antifungal properties of this tree oil allow it to kill off most fungal bacteria and help cleanse your skin from any harmful overgrowths.
Using a quick DIY fungus cream created with some lotion and manuka oil can potentially resolve mild infections.
Treating a Root Cause of Acne
Acne may be caused by a few factors, including your sebum (oil) production or bacteria on the surface of your skin. Manuka essential oil benefits your acne-prone skin by killing the harmful microbes and bacteria that may infect your pores and cause pimples or blackheads.
One study tracked the antimicrobial impact of manuka oil and its tree oil cousins, finding it was useful for controlling acne.[4] Therefore, a manuka essential oil acne face mask is an easy weekly skincare regime to add to your list. Basically, it can help deep-clean your skin by targeting bacteria that may be lurking on its surface.
Soothing a Mild Skin Reaction
Your skin may become inflamed or sensitive for a variety of reasons, such as an animal allergy, stress reaction, or agitation from a new skincare product. In these instances, what is manuka oil good for? Well, the anti-inflammatory aspect of the oil can support in calming your skin,[5] while the skin-cooling properties can reduce feelings of sensitivity.[6]
Plus, it’s said that manuka oil may also be able to reduce your body’s production of histamine, although more research is needed to demonstrate this.
Reducing Signs of Aging
So, what is manuka essential oil good for in terms of anti-aging support? Well, manuka is actually full of antioxidant qualities,[7] which can help your skin regenerate healthy cells. In turn, this can reduce your skins susceptibility to wrinkles, dark spots, and sagging areas.
You can utilize these manuka essential oil benefits by adding it to your nightly face or neck moisturizer.
Cleaning Home Surfaces
Manuka oil is good for more than just personal use! In fact, it has such powerful antibacterial components that it’s a great ingredient for all-natural home cleaning supplies. It’s even able to kill harmful bacteria such as e.coli.[8] You can add it to water and vinegar, with some lemon essential oil, for a great smelling counter spray that will put your mind at ease.
Deodorizing Smelly Areas
Often times, foul smells stem from an underlying reason, such as bacteria lurking in the area. Luckily, manuka oil is a powerful antibacterial agent,[9] which can help to deodorize stubborn areas.
Try making a deodorizing spray with manuka essential oil and some water. You can also add in some floral oils, like lavender, to leave a fresh and flowery scent behind.
Easing Sunburned Skin
There are few things more uncomfortable than a sunburn. Your skin is puffy and sensitive, and perhaps a little painful too. If you remember what manuka essential oil is good for, you might already know how this oil can benefit a sunburn.
Essentially, the anti-inflammatory aspect of this oil can help soothe the reactive skin, while creating a cooling effect on the warm, sun-kissed area. In addition to these benefits, manuka essential oil can potentially reduce the sun damage on your skin cells by helping to repair the harmful UV ray damage done, according to some research done using mice.[10]
Try combining it with aloe vera for an extra moisturizing, cooling rub.
Calming and Grounding Your Mind
Now, you may be curious: what is manuka essential oil good for in terms of aromatherapy?
This essential oil has a mild-yet-noticeable aroma that is herbaceous and slightly spicy. Since it comes from trees, it’s known to be grounding for your senses and useful during meditation or when you want to feel closer to nature.
Try diffusing it during your meditation rituals or try adding it to a massage oil blend.
Making an All-Natural Soap
Sometimes, store-bought soap can dry out your skin, or even cause an adverse reaction due to unknown chemical ingredients. Instead, you can take advantage of the anti-bacterial and antimicrobial benefits of manuka essential oil.
To do this, make an all-natural soap to clean your body in a safe and pleasant way. Whether you decide to make a bar soap or liquid soap recipe, adding in some manuka oil will ensure your skin remains free from harmful bacteria and smells fresh in the process.
Tip: DIY soap-making is a fun weekend project for your entire family! Buy some fun soap molds and encourage your kids to get craftsy.
Protecting Your Skin from UV Damage
As noted above, manuka essential oil may actually help your skin reverse UV damage based on some tests done with mice.[11] It can also act as a preventative measure by minimally increasing your skin thickness.[12] In this way, it also increases your skin’s ability to protect itself from harmful damage.
You can use this oil to protect your skin by adding it to sunscreen. Or, simply use it with your daily body lotion on a regular basis.
Reducing Dandruff
Those white, flaky dandruff pieces might feel distracting or embarrassing. However, manuka oil can come in handy to help reduce them. One study looked at the antimicrobial properties of manuka and its family of tree oils. It found that manuka oil has strong enough effects to help with a variety of skin issues, including dandruff.[13]
Try adding some manuka oil to your shampoo or a hair mask to reap the scalp-cleansing benefits of this oil.
References
- [1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1684118213002466
- [2] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1684118213002466
- [3] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1684118213002466
- [4] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0962456298800799
- [5] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1684118213002466
- [6] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1684118213002466
- [7] https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c4bb/bb4945858e6aa25b77e4cfefc7ecf33b629d.pdf
- [8] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1684118213002466
- [9] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1684118213002466
- [10] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3677636/
- [11] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3677636/
- [12] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3677636/
- [13] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0962456298800799
