Orange essential oil is one of the most basic, but useful of all essential oils. Whether you want a sweet smelling green home or an all-natural beauty routine, these ways to use orange essential oil are just what the doctor ordered!
Essential oils have been used for centuries. Of course, that was long before they called them essential oils. I’m not sure they would have called them anything other than “oil of whatever plant it came from,” but they sure knew how to use them.
Oil of orange or as we know it, orange essential oil is one of my favorite essential oils. This is partly because of the bright aroma of orange but also because orange oil has so many uses.
It is one of the most popular anti-inflammatory oils. Sweet orange oil may help fight the symptoms of depression in a natural way. You may also find that it helps to improve cognitive function, fight bad breath and help handle mouth ulcers.
Why Use Orange Oil?
Citrus oils can disinfect your home the same way as lemon oil since all citrus fruits have disinfecting properties. A few drops of orange oil may even help strengthen your immune system!
It really is a well rounded oil and as these uses for orange oil will show; anyone who loves the scent of orange will benefit from having their favorite orange essential oil blends hanging around.
How is Orange Essential Oil Made?
Like most essential oils, orange oil is made from the plant the oil is named after.
That’s oranges (citrus sinensis) in case we’re not on the same page here.
Some essential oils are steamed from the plant they represent. However, orange essential oil is made with a process called cold pressing. This essentially means that the peels of an orange are pressed causing cells within the rinds of oranges to collapse.
When the cell collapses, it releases both the pleasant smell we’re all used to as well as the oil trapped within the rind. This oil is collected and filtered leaving you with a pure essential oil.
Does It Matter Which Orange Oil I Use?
Yes. While I wish I could tell you that it is safe to use any bottle labeled orange oil, the truth is that it is not. Since essential oils are not regulated by the FDA (United States) or any other governing body, literally anyone can bottle orange colored liquid and call it orange oil. You could even bottle orange flavor and call it an EO.
This is why I and others who use essential oils, highly recommend you use caution when buying any essential oils. There are a variety of reasons why, but the largest is impurities that could cause significant issues.
As an example, some sellers will “cut” their oil products with alcohol or another carrier oil. While this is not inherently harmful, it is dishonest since the customer is not receiving the pure product they desire.
Are There Different Varieties of Orange Essential Oil?
Yes. Just as there are different varieties of the orange plant, there are different types of orange essential oil produced by them. Some oranges will give you a sweet orange essential oil. These come from the peels of sweet oranges. Bitter oranges such as the blood orange produce a bitter orange essential oil.
This can also happen if any pith was pressed into the oil and was not properly filtered out as the pith of any orange is bitter.
Which Essential Oils Do You Recommend for Everyday Use?
I make most of what we use in my home and have since 2015. In that time, I have gone through several different essential oil brands searching for one that was both affordable and had the purity that I wanted. I started with the more expensive and well known MLM oils.
While those are both great oil companies and I have nothing truly bad to say about them, they are very, very expensive. I don’t like expensive and I really did not – and still do not – believe that expensive = purity when it comes to essential oils.
Finally, after several years of searching, I found Simply Earth Essential Oils and I have never looked back.
Simply Earth oils are not only 100% pure essential oils, but they are extremely affordable. In fact, their purity is triple verified by GCMS testing done in a third-party lab. I have been using them three years and I have never gotten a bad bottle. In fact, with the new essential oil blends they keep coming up with, they just keep getting better an better!
With Simply Earth, I receive my monthly recipe box each month that often introduces me to new blends and new DIY’s to use around my home. I normally hate getting the mail because – well, bills, but my Simply Earth box is my favorite mail day each month!
The best part about ordering from Simply Earth though is that 13% of each order goes to help fight human trafficking. Frankly, I can’t think of a higher cause for a company to work toward. Each month Simply Earth chooses a new organization to donate that month’s 13% to.
Since I adore Simply Earth so much, I have a deal just for my readers so they can try my favorite essential oils too.
Six Dollar Family readers who visit the Simply Earth website and use coupon code 6DOLLARFAMFREE you will find an amazing deal!
With coupon code 6DOLLARFAMFREE, you receive:
- The Monthly Simply Earth recipe box. Each box comes with 4 oils, 6 new recipe cards and everything you need to make each recipe once.
- A FREE Bonus box of essential oil supplies ($44 value)
- A FREE $40 Simply Earth Gift Card good on your next order
- Access to the Essential Oil Hero course (a $250 value)
- and so much more!
All for $39.00! The gift card alone makes your order free! So you’ll get an amazing deal and you’ll get to try my favorite essential oils at the same time!
Medicinal Uses for Orange Essential Oil
Like most essential oils, there are several reported health benefits to using orange oil. Because citrus oils are both anti-viral and anti-bacterial, it has antiseptic properties and may help heal bacterial infections. Orange essential oil also has antioxidant properties which can help remove free radicals from the body, help ease the symptoms of liver damage and improve your overall health. It is also thought that oranges have anti-inflammatory properties which may help relieve joint pain.
However, like anything that you are new to, please seek professional medical advice before adding anything to your routine, especially if you have a pre-existing medical condition such as high blood pressure. Essential oils are generally harmless but could potentially react badly in some people. As such, we are not doctors here at Six Dollar Family and as such will not be held responsible if you do not seek a doctors advice before hand.
Orange essential oil can lift your mood.
Aromatherapy practitioners often use orange oil for its therapeutic benefits in improving the symptoms of anxiety and depression.
To begin, studies have shown stress hormones and pulse rate to drop on test subjects when orange oil is used for aromatherapy before a dental hygiene procedure. This shows the value of using orange essential oil for helping to reduce anxiety and help make managing stress easier leaving you in a more positive mood.
For those suffering from anxiety or depression, you can use a few drops of sweet orange oil in your favorite diffuser or in a diffuser necklace to help improve overall mood. You can make a stress relieving bath soak with sweet orange essential oil to help relax at the end of a rough day.
Energize Yourself in the Morning with Orange Essential Oil
Orange essential oil doesn’t just lift the moot it can help give your a boost of energy to deal with the day. Most people associate the smell of oranges with sweet orange juice served with breakfast. Using a few drops of orange essential oil at the start of your day can trigger blood flow to the brain to wake up and feel more energized even if you don’t partake in the fruit itself.
Simply smelling sweets can increase insulin levels to help increase your body’s use of blood sugar helping to give your muscles and organs a boost of energy for a physical energy boost along with the mental one.
Use orange essential oil to help reduce pain.
Several studies on the effects of orange oil have proven that this powerful essential oil can be a major asset to helping reduce pain levels for short-term pain relief.
Inhaling orange essential oil has been shown to help reduce pain for those with bone fractures helping this study show promising results in the use of orange oil in pain management.
Another study showed that combining ginger essential oil and orange oil in a carrier oil for topical application can help reduce short-term knee pain. Adding orange oil to an arthritis salve or muscle and joint relief balm is a great way to make use of this benefit when used liberally on the affected areas.
Orange Oil Can Help Increase Focus
Because essential oil of orange can help increase blood flow to the brain, it can also help to increase focus. When your brain struggles to get the blood flow and oxygen it needs, concentration can be cut off. This can lead to attention issues, confusion and more.
Smelling orange oil in a diffuser or even straight from the bottle can help to relieve these symptoms and help you get your focus back on track where it needs to be.
Household Uses for Orange Essential Oil
While I love using essential oils holistically, my favorite uses are how they help me to keep my home clean, disinfected and smelling amazing. I am not big on unnecessary chemicals in my home and often find that a few drops of essential oils in a small spray bottle will do the same job in a much more sustainable and budget friendly way.
Make a DIY Orange Disinfectant
Walk down any cleaning aisle and you will find many different products made with orange oil and orange scent. Making a homemade orange disinfectant can make a great addition to your homemade cleaning supplies as well.
Several studies have found orange oil to have antimicrobial properties including those that can ward off e-coli and staphylococcus, the bacteria that causes staph infection. This makes orange oil a great addition to homemade disinfectants that can use used around your home to help prevent illness.
Make a Homemade Orange Oil Wood polish
One of the most popular cleaners that uses orange oil is wood polish. Orange oil not only helps kill germs but it leaves your wood furnishings looking good as new.
To make a homemade orange wood polish, mix a few drops of the oil into 1/2 cup mineral oil. Then, using a microfiber cloth, polish your hardwood furnishings. You can even use the mixture to polish and hydrate your hardwood floors.
Help Your Home Smell Great with DIY Orange Candles
I adore candles of any type but I especially love the homemade candles I make. Making DIY orange candles is a great way to reap the benefits of oranges in a non-toxic candle form. Normally I make these cinnamon vanilla candles, but the process is the exact same for making homemade orange candles.
Make a DIY Stovetop Potpourri
When fall rolls around, I almost always have a simmering potpourri on the stove. My house smells amazing and I get to enjoy the smells of fall anytime I want. The best part about making a simmering fall potpourri is that I can customize how much orange scent I want. My recipe uses fresh oranges, but a few drops of the essential oil can help strengthen the scent.
DIY Window cleaner
One of the first products I learned to make was my own window cleaner. Using orange or lemon essential oil in it makes for a great scent that helps to kill germs on my glass surfaces and even helps keep spiders at bay.
After you have cleaned the windows, be sure to spray the window frame while you wash your windows to help keep spiders out of your home.
Make an Easy Homemade Laundry detergent
Making your own laundry detergent tablets is a great way to make it easy to do your laundry and save money at the same time. Adding orange oil to your laundry detergent makes it smell amazing, kill germs, and even refreshes your washer.
Using small amounts of orange oil your detergent or even alone in your washer can also help to stunt the growth of mold which tends to be a common problem with front load washers.
Make a Homemade Dish Detergent
Because citrus fruits have anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties, they are great for using when you make a homemade dish detergent. After all, no one wants to eat or drink from dishes that haven’t been properly cleaned and disinfected. I use orange oil to make my homemade liquid dishwasher detergent. It works great in the dishwasher but also amazingly when used to hand wash!
Refresh your garbage disposal
A garbage disposal is a germy place that often takes on unpleasant odors. To refresh your garbage disposal, add a few drops of orange essential, 2 tablespoons of coarse salt, and a few ice cubes to your disposal.
Run the disposal for 30 seconds. This will refresh and disinfect your garbage disposal while helping sharpen the blades to keep it in tip-top shape.
Bath and body uses for orange essential oil
As a note when using orange essential oil or any other citrus oil for bath and body you should avoid direct sunlight for a minimum of one-hour after. Citrus oils have a natural bleaching effect when exposed to uv rays that can damage your skin and make you much more sensitive to the sun.
Also, never use citrus oils undiluted on your skin. Because citrus oils are so acidic, they are considered a hot oil and can cause skin irritation and even burns if they are not used with a carrier oil. Common carrier oils are coconut oil, sweet almond oil, jojoba oil, or vitamin E oil.
Make a Relaxing and Energizing Bath Soak
Orange oil makes a great addition to Epsom salt to make a relaxing stress relief bath soak. This can help you relax at the end of the day and even help reduce pain levels to help aid in a speedy recovery from a hard workout or long day at work.
For a more calming effect, adding a bit of bergamot oil or lavender oil to help calm and help you to get a much better sleep.
Create DIY Sugar Scrubs
Want an invigorating morning wake-up call? Try this DIY orange sugar scrub in the shower to help wake you up and get your day going. Add a couple of drops of peppermint essential oil to your sugar scrub for a bit of a kick. If you do decide to add the peppermint to your scrub, be sure to avoid going overboard on how much you add as it can be a bit rough on sensitive areas.
Fight Acne
Orange essential oil is great for killing off the bacteria on your skin that can cause oily skin and acne. To take advantage of the acne-reducing benefits of orange essential oil you can make your own lotion bars that can soothe your skin and help keep it looking great at the same time.
For those that may not like bar forms of lotion, this acne mask with essential oils may work better.
Heal Dry Skin with Orange Oil
Dry skin is one of the worst things that can happen to your hands, elbows or feet in the winter. That’s why I love to add orange oil to my DIY Healing Lotion for Dry Skin. My skin gets hydrated from the lotion, but I also get to enjoy the sweet smell of the oranges at the same time.
As a side note, this healing lotion recipe also doubles as a DIY wrinkle cream. The ingredients help to hydrate your skin and can reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Make DIY Lip Balms
Using a stress-reliving and invigorating essential oil like orange oil near your nose where you can take advantage of the aromatherapy benefits is a useful way to make use of aromatherapy on the go.
To make this super easy on yourself, try making your own lip balm using orange essential oil so you can enjoy the benefits anywhere while leaving your lips smooth, soft, and hydrated. This use for orange essential oil can be particularly useful for people that tend to get dry lips when stressed out.
Make Energizing Orange Soap
Homemade soap recipes are usually pretty amazing. That’s why making a homemade orange soap is a great way to help your body wake up. Just like smelling orange can help increase blood flow to the brain, using it in the shower can as well. Plus, you’ll also get the skin benefits as well! My favorite orange soap recipe is this orange clove soap I make each fall.
Use Orange Oil in Homemade Deodorant
Not too long ago, I began making this homemade deodorant recipe. While I normally make it with lavender, it is also amazing when made with orange oil. I personally love to wear it on a spring or summer day. Orange is one of the scents that make me instantly think of warmer weather.
Improve Your Skin with DIY Shave Cream
Finally, my favorite DIY shave cream recipe is easily customized with any scent that you want. Since orange oil has so many skin benefits, it just makes sense to use it in your next batch! You’ll have silky smooth legs or faces while nourishing your skin and energizing your body at the same time.
What is your favorite way to use orange essential oil? I’ would love to hear if it’s not mentioned on this list!