Like fresh ginger, ginger oil is often used as a remedy for a wide variety of ailments. The essential oil promotes health and wellbeing and can also be used for various beauty rituals for skin and hair.
Ginger has always been considered a reliable remedy and has been used in traditional medicine for a long time, especially in Asia. The rhizome, i.e., the ginger root, is used for this. Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is mainly used fresh and in powder form or as an essential oil.
Ginger is used for various ailments as a home remedy, especially against nausea, colds, muscle tension, and mild headaches. Ginger essential oil, when used correctly, provides health, wellbeing, and beauty.
In studies, the effectiveness of ginger against travel sickness or pregnancy illness has long been proven. The substances contained in ginger, zingiber, essential oils, and aromatic substances like gingerol have other health-promoting properties.
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How Does Ginger Oil Work?
As a remedy, ginger has many positive and beneficial properties. The medicinal plant has warmed, stimulating, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and mood-enhancing effects. These properties also apply to essential ginger oil, which, like fresh ginger, is recommended for the relief of, for example, these complaints:
- Nausea
- Cold ( cough, runny nose, sore throat )
- respiratory symptoms
- Indigestion
- migraine
- Muscle pain (sore muscles, rheumatism)
- Cold feet
How Is Ginger Oil Used?
Ginger oil can be used both internally and externally.
Ginger Oil As A Room Fragrance: essential ginger oil can also be used as a room fragrance in a fragrance lamp or the aroma diffuser . The lemony-spicy ginger aroma is a natural good mood and wake-up maker and is also used in aromatherapy.
Also Read: Against The Common Cold: This Is How You Can Make Healthy Ginger Shots Yourself!
External Use Of Ginger Oil
- Massage With Ginger Oil: You can rub the affected area with ginger oil against sore muscles or joint pain. Mix 5 drops of ginger oil with 20 drops of base oil (e.g., olive oil or almond oil) and rub the oil gently on the affected area.
- Warm Wraps With Ginger Oil Against Coughs: You can use a kitchen towel for this. Fill a bowl with warm water and add about five drops of ginger oil. Immerse the cloth, wring it out and place it on your chest. Then place a dry cloth on top and secure it with a scarf. Dress warmly and rest on the couch or in bed for 30 minutes. If you are cold, you can also put a hot water bottle on the wrap. The wrap also works well for back pain, then place the wrap on your back.
- Ginger Oil As A Bath Additive: A pleasantly warm bath with ginger oil is particularly worthwhile in winter. Add a few drops of ginger oil to your usual bath additive. If you don’t have a bathtub, you can at least warm up with a footbath. Do the same here and add a few drops of ginger oil to the warm water.
- Ginger Oil For Beautiful Skin: Ginger oil has an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effect similar to tea tree oil and can therefore also be used against skin blemishes. However, it is essential that the essential oil is not applied to the skin in its pure form and that a tolerance test is carried out on a small area before it is spread over a large area. If you want to treat skin prone to blemishes with it, you should use a non-comedogenic carrier oil, such as argan oil, hemp oil, jojoba oil , or shea butter.
- Ginger oil for beautiful hair and hair growth: Since ginger oil has a stimulating effect, there are some suggestions online that you mix the scalp with a mixture of ginger oil and a carrier oil and massage it in during a head massage.
Apply Ginger Oil Internally
The safest way to use ginger oil internally is to obtain ginger oil from the pharmacy for this purpose and to make sure that it is suitable for consumption. Alternatively, you can also make ginger oil yourself. However, since obtaining essential oil is rather complex, it makes more sense to prepare the oil for household use. You can easily do this yourself with fresh ginger and good olive oil.
For nausea, bloating, and period pain, you can mix a teaspoon of honey with 2 drops of homemade ginger oil and take it.
Having a ready-made ginger tea mixture at home is, of course, practical and also tastes good when you are healthy.
Make Ginger Oil Yourself
Make ginger oil yourself: For 100 ml of ginger oil, you need 30 g of organic ginger and 100 ml of organic olive oil. With organic ginger, the peel can stay on because it contains many valuable ingredients. Cut it into small pieces or press individual components with the garlic press. Mix the ginger with the oil, put everything together in a sealable jar or bottle, and put it in a dark place.
Let the mixture steep for 2 to 3 weeks. Then you filter the ginger from the oil and fill the oil into a dark bottle. So it can be kept for about 6 months.
When Should Ginger Oil Not Be Used?
Like other essential oils, ginger oil is also highly concentrated and should not be applied to the skin undiluted, as this can cause skin irritation.
Children under the age of six should not be treated with ginger oil or other essential oils. Pregnant women should also be careful with ginger and only take or use it after consulting a doctor. In the third trimester, it is best to avoid ginger entirely, as ginger has a stimulating effect and can promote labor.
Since ginger has a stimulating effect on the digestive tract and thus produces more saliva and gastric juice, people who have heartburn or are sensitive to spiciness may also rather avoid taking ginger.
You can buy essential ginger oil in pharmacies, health food stores, or online . However, primarily fats can be found here that have been rated well but are only approved for external use. You can use these for aromatherapy or DIY cosmetics such as massage oil. Make sure you use high-quality essential oil, preferably with an organic seal.
The content of this article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for a doctor’s diagnosis. Home remedies and natural remedies can also cause side effects. If you have any uncertainties, urgent questions, or complaints, contact your doctor or pharmacist.