Oil Origins: Get to Know the Grasses

When nature offers such a variety of beautiful plants and botanicals, each with their own host of precious benefits, it can be easy to overlook something as simple as grass. But rest assured, the essential oils derived from the lush grasses of the world stand as tall and proud as any. And with good reason! Get ready, get set, and get to know Citronella essential oil and Lemongrass essential oil.

What Are Grass Essential Oils?

These essential oils come from fragrant blades of tall, richly fragrant grasses that hail from the continent of Asia. These grasses yield essential oils that contain some of the most familiar and potent innate volatile compounds, which give them their trademark aromas and an array of powerful benefits. Grass essential oils are most often characterized by their refreshing, citrusy, and herbal aromas and topical soothing properties.

Here in this post, get to know Citronella oil and Lemongrass oil and better understand the differences between them. While their related origins give them some similarities, each grass essential oil offers a distinct aroma and collection of incredible benefits.

Citronella Oil

Citronella essential oil is extracted from a tall, green grass that grows in many regions across Asia. The grass grows naturally in large, firework-like bushels and can be a meter or more in height. The highly fragrant stalks of grass are harvested and treated through steam distillation to produce an unadulterated essential oil that is prized for its powerful aromatic compounds.
 

The aroma of Citronella essential oil is crisp and slightly sweet, with mixed citrusy and herbal notes. When used topically it provides a soothing sensation to the skin, as well as cleansing properties, and serves as an invigorating personal aroma. The herbaceous scent gives an especially pleasant and lasting aroma during vigorous activities like hiking or spending time outside with family and friends.

Why choose Citronella oil?

Though Citronella oil shares some common characteristics with its relative, Lemongrass, Citronella oil is especially suited to aromatic use via topical application. Citronella essential oil’s chemical components include citronellol and geraniol, the powerful aromatic compounds found in favourites like Rose oil and Palmarosa oil. Both citronellol and geraniol are also excellent naturally sourced compounds for cleansing indoor and outdoor surfaces.

Learn More About Citronella Oil Buy Citronella Oil

Lemongrass Oil

Sourced in Southern India, the lemongrass plant is a tall, yellow-green grass with long leaves that grow in tight bunches. Through an intensive harvesting process, local growers complete a five-mile hike to cut the crop by hand and return with bushels of the harvested crop on their backs. doTERRA is proud to partner with these hard-working individuals to support their livelihoods while also obtaining the highest-quality Lemongrass essential oil to share with the world.
 

Lemongrass essential oil provides a poignant, skin-soothing sensation when diluted properly and used topically, and together with the energizing freshness of the oil’s aroma, Lemongrass essential oil is a favourite for use in massage. Rich in topical cleansing properties, Lemongrass essential oil can be used to support healthy-looking skin and nails and makes an excellent ingredient in naturally sourced surface cleaners.

Why choose Lemongrass oil?

Lemongrass essential oil is high in the compounds geraniol and neral, both of which contribute to its powerful aromatic and surface cleaning properties. While, like its cousin Citronella, Lemongrass is primarily used for its lemony-fresh scent, Lemongrass has extensive applications that benefit the skin. Unlike Citronella oil, Lemongrass oil can also be enjoyed internally to take advantage of its delicious lemon-like flavor in cooking.

Learn More About Lemongrass Oil Buy Lemongrass Oil

Whether you are already familiar with these grass essential oils or this was your first introduction, we hope we’ve given you more reasons than ever to love this unique group of essential oils. Whether you’re in need of a fresh aroma, skin-soothing, or a naturally sourced clean, the grass essential oils have your back.