Table of Contents
What is Juniper?
Aside from being the main flavor in gin, juniper berry is an evergreen shrub/tree that is commonly found in North America, Europe, and Northern Asia. It takes three full years for a juniper bush to reach maturity.
Most people recognize the juniper bush by sight as it is a common ornamental shrub in the suburbs. If the shrubs are not pruned, the shrubs can actually grow quite tall into trees, approximately 25 feet tall.
We don’t hear much about juniper berry in the essential oil world as much as we do lavender, peppermint or frankincense.
With that in mind, our goal in this article is to provide you with the history, benefits, uses, and best ways to use juniper berry oil as well as our favorite juniper berry oils. You should walk away from this article feeling like you can answer all the basics of this beauty!
What to Know About Juniper Berry?
Well to start, you should know there are two different types of essential oils in regards to juniper berry. There is juniper essential oil and juniper berry essential oil (JBEO).
Juniper oil is made from steam-distilled needles, wood, sticks, and berries.
Juniper berry oil is made from, you guessed it, just the berries. This is considered a higher quality oil with high concentrated properties. The berries only grow on the female bushes so if you find a juniper bush with no berries, know that you are on the right track by finding its male counterpart.
Juniper Berry Essential Oil Benefits
According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, “Essential oils are also one of the most popular natural products, with one of their main applications being for their use in dermatology.”
U.S National Library of Medicine
Juniper Berry Essential Oil for Skin and Hair Care
Let’s take a look at what juniper berry essential oil can do for you and the largest organ of your body.
Berries for Bumps
Juniper berry oil works as an antiseptic, and as an astringent (when diluted properly). If you know anything about acne, you know it involves bacteria. And while half the battle of acne can be attributed to diet, the other part involves topical skincare.
This can be a huge benefit to someone with acne as a low dissolution of juniper berry used as an astringent can help with acne. It is also considered a rubefacient meaning it takes the redness out of the skin when applied topically.
In a research article from the National Library of Medicine, juniper berry was also found to be effective in use against acne, blocked pores, cellulite, dermatitis, eczema.
Your Berry Best Hair
There is not very much scientific research about this oil helping with any hair-related issues, but juniper berry is gaining in popularity in the DIY home remedy for hair loss among many essential oil users.
Juniper contains potassium, zinc, B vitamins, calcium, and beta-carotene, all of which your hair is thirsty for. With its anti-inflammatory properties, it is suggested this oil stimulates blood flow to the scalp.
Its antimicrobial properties are thought to help clean and clear the scalp allowing for new hair to come in.
Diminish Dimples
There is not very much scientific research surrounding juniper berry essential oil and cellulitis.
Juniper berry essential oil is a sudorific, which means it makes your body sweat out the excess fluids along with the toxins; this property is thought to be helpful in reducing cellulite
The buzz among my essential oil reps and frequent EO users all have something to say about using JBEO for reducing cellulite visibility. You will also find if you google it, there are plenty of websites that offer their own take on JBEO and cellulite along with a DIY recipe.
Juniper berry also acts as a diuretic and helps with fluid retention so it would make a natural go-to for reducing cellulite. For those of you who are fans of dry-brushing your skin, adding a DIY juniper berry rub or lotion would be a great addition to your routine.
Joy with Juniper
We have established juniper berry as a great addition to our skin and hair care but it is also a great addition to your aromatherapy needs and routines as well.
Juniper berry’s emotional support includes relaxing and grounding the mind. If anxiety, stress, or fatigue are something you experience, simply inhaling the scent of this essential oil can help re-center your focus. This essential oil can also help promote restful sleep in individuals who suffer from insomnia.
Best Juniper Berry Essential Oils
Here is a list of our top two juniper berry essential oils. This is a great way to start if you are new to the essential oil world, are on a budget, or just want to dip your toe in the juniper berry world.
Plant Therapy Juniper Berry Oil
The reason we love this oil is because it is a certified organic oil that is sold at an affordable price for great quality.
Many customers love the invigorating scent of this oil for diffusing in a diffuser and adding it to unscented massage oil.
Edens Garden Juniper Berry Oil
Edens Garden is known for its great customer service, good quality oils, and affordability.
Customers love to use this oil topically. Many use this oil for acne-reducing benefits that we mentioned above, and some are using this oil for pain relief by adding it to a rub or massage oil.
Essential Oil Safety
Research has shown that this oil is safe for most people. It is safest to use for diffusing and applying topically after properly diluting it with a carrier oil.
For topical use, dilute this oil with a high-quality carrier oil such as fractionated coconut oil. There are usually instructions on the essential oil bottle with the dilution ratio so refer to those instructions if you are unsure how much carrier oil to use.
Always perform a small patch test before applying the diluted oil all over the desired area. Especially if you have sensitive skin or if you are new to this oil.
Pregnancy and Fertility
Animal research that looked at Juniperus communis (Juniper extract) found that it is not safe for pregnant animals due to its anti-fertility and abortifacient effects.
This is why researchers do not recommend this oil or extract to pregnant women or to those that want to become pregnant.
Juniper Berry Essential Oil Uses
There are standard ways of using essential oils through diffusing and topical application. For the purposes of what we have highlighted with juniper berry essential oil, we are looking at just the external ways of best using JBEO.
Juniper Jump Starts the Air
Most people enjoy using juniper berry in their diffuser. Juniper berry has a crisp, clean, woodsy aroma that pairs well with clary sage, lavender, bergamot, cypress, geranium, and melaleuca as well as all citrus scents.
Because of these fresh, awakening-like scents, using this oil along with its complementary blends, makes a fantastic way to spring clean the air in your home after a long winter of being closed up.
Lengthening Locks
Juniper is mentioned frequently on websites and EO recipes for hair growth. How you go about applying the JBEO is up to you.
One way is to add about four-five drops of juniper berry oil per ¼ cup of shampoo.
Another way is to make a 1-3% blend of JBEO and a carrier oil, massage it into your scalp about 30-50 minutes prior to taking your shower, and shampoo as normal.
(1%-3% blend = 1-3 drops JBEO per 1 teaspoon of carrier oil)
Shedding Water Weight
Whether you are retaining water due to medications, pre-menstrual syndrome, or maybe you had too much salt the day before, doing 30-minute aromatherapy with juniper berry is suggested to be a pillar of assistance in pulling off the puffy.
Breathing in JBEO through a diffuser of your choice is a commonly suggested practice when looking to release the water. Again, this is due to this oil’s sudorific properties.
Does juniper berry help with arthritis?
There is some limited animal research on juniper extract being able to help with arthritis due to its known anti-inflammatory properties.
With that said, keep in mind that the extract was studied in this study, not the oil.
Does juniper berry help with stomach issues?
There is some research that shows that juniper extract can alleviate some stomach issues due to its ant-spasmodic, anti-bacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties.
With that said, keep in mind that the extract was studied in these studies, not the oil.
Jumping for Juniper Berry!
Overall, our research of juniper berry essential oil really surprised us! We always loved the invigorating scent of this oil but did not know about all of its incredible benefits.
We hope you try out this oil and let us know what you think in the comments!