Lemongrass Essential Oil: The Daytime Oil for Kitchens and Workspaces

Lemongrass does not get written about much, which is odd, because it is probably the essential oil an ordinary Indian household gets the most use out of.

It is also not a skincare oil, and trying to make it one is the main way people waste a bottle.

What it is

Cymbopogon, steam distilled from the grass. Sharp, citrus, slightly grassy. High in citral, which is what you are smelling and what does most of the work.

It is not lemon oil, it is not citronella, though it is related to the latter and shares some of its reputation around insects.

The uses

Clearing a room

Five to six drops in a diffuser. The one thing it does better than anything else in a standard essential oil set. It cuts cooking smells, damp smells and the staleness of a room that has been shut all day.

Kitchens, bathrooms, a room after illness, a workspace in the afternoon.

Insects

Lemongrass is traditionally used across India to keep insects out of kitchens, and citral does have repellent activity. Treat it as a mild deterrent in a room rather than protection on your skin — it is not a substitute for a proper repellent where mosquito-borne disease is a concern.

Six drops in a diffuser, or a few drops on a cotton ball near a window.

Cleaning

Ten drops in a bucket of water for floors, or in a spray bottle with water for counters. It smells like a clean room rather than like a cleaning product.

Tired legs and muscles after exertion

Four drops in 10ml of carrier oil, massaged in. Cooling and sharp, and it pairs well with peppermint.

Oily skin on the body

Two drops in 10ml of carrier, on the back or shoulders. Useful in summer. Not for the face.

Why not on the face

Citral is a known skin sensitiser. It does not mean everybody reacts, but lemongrass is at the irritating end of the common essential oils, and facial skin is thinner and gets a daily dose rather than an occasional one.

There are gentler oils for the face. Rose and lavender both sit in the same set and both are better suited.

The rules

Never neat on skin. Two to four drops in 10ml of carrier oil is the range, and lower than you would use for lavender.

Patch test, properly. Inner arm, twenty-four hours. Worth doing with this one specifically.

Not for the face, as above.

Not around cats. Leave the door open when diffusing.

Avoid in pregnancy without medical advice.

Storage

Citral oxidises faster than most essential oil constituents, and an oxidised oil is more irritating than a fresh one. Keep the cap tight, keep it dark and cool, and if a bottle has been open two years and smells sharper and less sweet than it did, use it for cleaning rather than on skin.

Lemongrass is in The Essential Oil Collection with lavender, rose and peppermint — chosen so that between them they cover the evening, the face, the headache and the room.