Fun fact about Rosemary, it belongs in the Mint family! Who’d a thunk it?! So does basil, lavender, myrtle and sage, while we’re talking about it. All of which are absolutely delicious in anything! But we’re here to go beyond what our recipes call for. I would have to say that Rosemary is one of my EO staples. I use it quite a bit in many of my blends. It’s what’s considered an enhancer. Not only does it have its own healthful properties, but it amplifies the effects of any other EO it’s paired with. Copaiba does the same thing. Both are prominent in a blend I mix for pain.

You know what else I love Rosemary EO for, we talked about this last week with Roman Chamomile,. I love it for helping me with my brain fog and ADD. Because it’s part of the mint family, it has the ability to help your memory and recall ability, as well as, helping you to focus and giving you clarity of thought. Rosemary would be a good substitute for peppermint for those of you whom don’t want to be so obvious with your oil usage or when applying on your children before school. It’s much more subtle in the scent department. And for those of you that are cramming at study time, not only does it help your memory recall but it also helps with mental fatigue. You could literally just wave the open bottle under your nose and it will give you a brain boost.

And speaking of Rosemary EO and your head, I have a number of friends that use Rosemary and Lavender EO on their scalp to help stimulate hair growth. They wash and condition as usual and then rub a couple drops of each in their hands and rub as needed on the thinner areas of their hair. And no, it won’t leave your hair greasy because it absorbs so quickly. Now if you use it with a carrier oil, then yes, if you’re not careful, it could make your hair a little greasy with residue, but my girlfriends just use it straight because both of those oils are so gentle. It’s also great for dandruff. Its anti-fungal properties help to relieve your scalp of the bacteria and fungus that sometimes causes dandruff. You can literally just add a few drops to you shampoo and conditioner and notice a difference in no time.

Another very cool use for Rosemary is for stress relief. It’s been proven to help reduce the buildup of cortisol, one of the main stress hormones, in you system. Chronic exposure to increased cortisol levels can lead to all kinds of health problems. Hormonal imbalances, slowed metabolism, heart problems, etc. Studies show that just inhaling rosemary and lavender for 5 mins can significantly lower your stress levels. Pardon me while I go hover over my diffuser for a few!

Rosemary is also excellent for helping relieve pain. It’s quite effective for muscle aches and pains, headaches, arthritis, inflammation of any kind. Rub a couple drops in a nickel size pool of carrier oil together in your hands and just rub wherever needed. Add a drop of peppermint and you’ve got an all-natural alternative to Ben-Gay, and the like. The German Commission E, the German version of the FDA, has approved Rosemary EO for treating arthritis and muscle pain. Come on FDA! Jump on the oily bandwagon!

Now let’s visit a few uses for in your home! I know it’s late in the season, but Rosemary EO is great to use in the garden instead of those chemical based insecticides. Try mixing 10 drops each of rosemary, peppermint, thyme, and clove in a spray bottle with water, shake well and spritz all over in your garden. Not only will it kill pests, and stop fungus on your plants, it won’t hurt the bees! Bees are so important to our environment and food supply. They say if the bee population dramatically reduced, our food supply would be gone in 3 to 5 years. Extinct. That’s no exaggeration. And you know what rosemary does attract to your yard and garden? Butterflies!!

Rosemary EO also works as a fantastic mosquito repellant. Just rosemary and a spray bottle of water are effective enough to keep those nasties off of you. Try around 10 drops of EO per 1 ounce of water.

I hope you’ve enjoyed discovering how multi-faceted Rosemary EO is! Happy Oiling!