Special Winter Oil Look: Peppermint

The delightful scent of peppermint in Winter is an aromatic pleasure many of us look forward to. Be it candy canes placed in warm cups of cocoa or unwrapped on an icy day of skating, the scent is undoubtedly very unmistakable. Peppermint essential oil is in addition to being extremely delightful for scenting, highly healing and useful in the home. Unlike other mints which are poisonous in essential oil form, such as wintergreen, peppermint is non-toxic and non-irritating, when used in small amounts. Like all mints, it does contain menthol which can be sensitizing when in high amounts.

Peppermint has many actions including anti-inflammatory, nervine, antispasmodic, carminative, cephalic, antiviral, antimicrobial, analgesic, etc., and has been used for many skin problems including acne and dermatitis. It has also be used for digestive problems such as colic, cramps and nausea in addition to respiratory related problems such as bronchitis, asthma, colds, flu and fevers. Peppermint has the ability to help one de-stress too, which is something many people this time of year really need to do!

In addition to all it's healing qualities, peppermint makes for wonderful scenting of the home. Due to it's pungent nature, personal scents may be overcome by them, so it works better in arrangements such as wreaths and home decor. It can also be used in a steam-bath placed on your stove to fill your whole house with sweet minty aroma. Other essential oils that blend well with peppermint include lavender, rosemary, benzoin (fixative gum), lemon, eucalyptus and any of the other mint scents. Being that it is so pungent, use in small amounts and when blending use one drop at a time, stir, smell and add more if needed. It is very easy to ruin a blend with peppermint.

Today peppermint is grown worldwide and used commercially in the pharmaceutical industry, i.e. cold, cough and digestive, and in the food industry for flavoring our favorite peppermint candy. Soft drinks, chewing gum, hard liquor and tobacco as well. Perfumeries use it mostly in soaps, cosmetics and detergents because of it's strong aroma.

-MAM

For more on peppermint as a whole, check out the Botanical Topics article Peppermint: Not Just a Pretty Flavor.

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