Oil Origins: Learning the Leaves

Let’s talk leaves for a moment. While essential oils are sources from some of the most interesting and exotic in the world, sometimes it the ones that seem most simple that provide some of the most profound benefits. So leaf the introductions to us, and together we’ll learn everything there is to love about the leaf essential oils.

What Are Leaf Essential Oils?

This group of essential oils come from the leaves of the trees, shrubs, and herbs from which they are sourced. They come in all different shapes, shades, and sizes form all over the globe, but they all share a common quality: they yield fragrant and beautifully diverse essential oil from their boughs. You’re sure to recognize some all-time favorites among their ranks!
 

Meet Eucalyptus oil, Lemon Eucalyptus oil, Patchouli oil, Peppermint oil, Petitgrain oil, Tea Tree oil, Spearmint oil, and Wintergreen oil. We’ve gathered them all together in a single post so you can get to know each one better and better understand the differences between them. While their related origins give them some similarities, each leaf essential oil offers a distinct aroma and collection of incredible benefits.

Eucalyptus Oil

Eucalyptus essential oil is steam distilled from the leaves of a tall evergreen variety native to Australia. This tree has long, thin, deeply green leaves, which serve as a primary food source for the Australian koala! These leaves also produce a rich essential oil with a cool, green, invigorating aroma.
 

Eucalyptus oil possesses topical benefits to the skin and home. It can be diffused or applied to skin for a fresh, relaxing aroma, or used in massage for a cooling and soothing effect on the skin. Eucalyptus oil can also be added to any naturally sourced or DIY surface cleaning spray for boosted cleaning properties and an energizing, clean aroma.

Why choose Eucalyptus oil?

Of all the leaf oils with similar topical properties, Eucalyptus essential oil is perhaps the best suited for use in person hygiene. Because it is soothing to the skin, Eucalyptus oil can expertly enhance your regular moisturizing habits, and makes a refreshing addition to a naturally-sourced deodorant.

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Lemon Eucalyptus Oil

A relative of the plant that produces Eucalyptus essential oil, Lemon Eucalyptus essential oil is sourced form a specific species of eucalyptus known as the lemon-scented gum, or the spotted gum tree. It is native to Northern Australia and has long, spear-shaped leaves with a distinctive lemon-like fragrance. This lemony, herbal aroma is captured through steam distillation in the brightly scented Lemon Eucalyptus essential oil.
 

With a revitalizing aroma and topical cleansing properties, Lemon Eucalyptus essential oil can be used in small amounts to cleans the skin, hair, and surfaces, all while being incredibly pleasing to the senses. Its bright, uplifting aroma is ideal for diffusion to promote a positive environment or in homemade scented candles to satisfy all your ambient indoor and outdoor needs.

Why choose Lemon Eucalyptus Oil?

Because of its similarities in chemical makeup to Eucalyptus oil, Lemon Eucalyptus shares effective skin and surface cleansing properties with its cousin. However, its unique citrusy aromatic notes specifically make Lemon Eucalyptus oil useful as a personal fragrance, especially to keep you smelling fresh during vigorous outdoor activity.

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Patchouli Oil

Patchouli essential oil comes from the short, jagged leaves of the patchouli plant, a short, bush-like herb that also sports tiny pink and white flowers. Though patchouli is a member of the mint family, the aroma of Patchouli essential oil hardly resembles that of its relatives. This essential oil provides a scent with a pleasant musk and sweet, herbaceous notes.   

The rich, musky aroma of Patchouli essential oil makes it desirable for a long list of aromatic applications, including as a naturally sourced deodorant or an earthy personal fragrance. This essential oil can also be used topically in a personal care routine to keep the skin and hair looking healthy.

Why choose Patchouli oil?

While the musky and sweet aroma of Patchouli oil makes it one of the most unique fragrances among the leaf essential oils, Patchouli oil also has profound applications in aromatherapy. Patchouli essential oil can be used in aromatherapy as a nervine and calmative; for symptomatic relief of acne and boils; to relieve minor skin irritation, cuts, bruises, and burns; and as a carminative and antispasmodic for symptomatic relief of digestive discomfort.*

*NPN: 80060989

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Peppermint Oil

Peppermint essential oil is a product from the leaves of the peppermint plant, one you probably already know very well. Peppermint is characterized by its thin, square stem and dark green leaves, and grows small bunches of light-lavender flowers. Peppermint essential oil is one of the premiere essential oils in the doTERRA catalogue, as well as one of the most popular and versatile.

With its unmistakable cool and minty aroma, Peppermint essential oil can be diffused or combined with steam or massage to take advantage of its positively energizing scent.  Naturally high contents of the chemical component menthol make Peppermint essential oil a prime choice for oral care, such as in a homemade breath freshener or refreshing mouth rinse.

Why choose Peppermint Oil?

In addition to its seemingly endless topical and household uses, Peppermint essential oil is also a powerful tool to use in aromatherapy. It can be used in aromatherapy as a nervine and calmative, as a carminative and antispasmodic to relieve symptoms of digestive discomfort, to help relieve colds and coughs, and to help relieve joint and muscle pain associated with sprains, strains, and rheumatoid arthritis. It is used traditionally in herbal medicine practices to help relieve nausea and vomiting.*

*NPN: 80061370

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Petitgrain Oil

Petitgrain essential oil comes from the trembling leaves of the bitter orange tree, the same species of tree that produces Neroli essential oil from its sweet, delicate blossoms. The green boughs of the tree—both leaf and twig—are steam distilled to produce an essential oil with fresh, green, and subtly floral aroma.
 

Petitgrain essential oil has a long history or aromatic use, especially in perfumes. With an aroma that is both herbaceous and slightly floral, Petitgrain is an ideal essential oil to use in diffuser blends, air freshening sprays, and homemade essential oil pure-fumes.

Why choose Petitgrain Oil?

In much the same way as Patchouli oil, Petitgrain essential oil has a one-of-a-kind aroma that makes it an ideal personal fragrance. It also has unique applications in aromatherapy. Petitgrain essential oil can be used in aromatherapy as a nervine and calmative, and to help relieve joint/muscle pain associated with sprain, strain, and rheumatoid arthritis.

*NPN: 80072499

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Tea Tree Oil

Tea Tree essential oil is derived from the Australian melaleuca plant, a vast family of almost 300 species with bright clusters of green, brush-like leaves. These leaves are rich in innate volatile compounds, giving them a strong, distinct aroma even when rubbed gently between the fingers. When steam distilled, the resulting Tea Tree essential oil is one of the most potent and popular of all the leaf oils. 

A true powerhouse among leaves, Tea Tree essential oil offers a myriad of powerful topical and aromatic benefits. Use Tea Tree essential oil to support the clean, healthy look of skin, scalp, and nails, or use for a cooling and soothing skin sensation for either targeting or general application.

Why choose Tea Tree Oil?

Of all the leaf essential oils, Tea Tree oil has some of the most significant skin-cleansing and skin-soothing properties, making it the most ideal choice for using in personal care and hygiene. This famed essential oil is yet another with significant applications in aromatherapy. Most notably, Tea Tree essential oil can be used in aromatherapy to help relieve colds and cough.

*NPN: 80060950

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Spearmint Oil

The namesake plant of Spearmint essential oil is another perennial herb belonging to the mint, or mentha, genus. The leaves are ovular with rough edges and a pointed tip. Like other common varieties of mint, these leaves are notably fragrant and flavorful even before they are steam distilled to produce Spearmint essential oil.
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Spearmint essential oil has a sweet, energizing, minty aroma, and can lend a refreshing taste to any number of beverages and recipes. Distinctly cooling to the skin, Spearmint oil also makes a great companion oil to use in a soothing massage, while the sweetness of its aroma can be pleasant to diffuse or inhale from the palms after meals.

Why choose Spearmint Oil?

Rich in the chemical component limonene, Spearmint essential oil can act as an effective cleaning agent when used topically or on surfaces. The trademark mint flavor also lends itself exceptionally well to use in oral care, especially thanks to Spearmint oil’s topical cleansing properties. 

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Wintergreen Oil

Wintergreen essential oil is extracted from a shrub-like herb found in the Himalayan foothills of Nepal. Its leaves are rich green in color, glossy, and have a prominent central vein. Extracting the essential oil from these leaves is incredibly intensive and particularly low-yield and requires hand-harvesting in very remote locations. Through the doTERRA Co-Impact Sourcing™ initiative, harvesters in rural Nepal are fairly compensated for their invaluable role in producing and procuring this valuable essential oil.
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Wintergreen essential oil has a cool, minty, and positively invigorating aroma. It can be diffused to create an energizing and positive atmosphere or enjoyed as a particularly effective option for deodorizing spaces using cotton balls for passive diffusers.

Why choose Wintergreen Oil?

Wintergreen oil offers a warming and cooling sensation that can feel soothing to the skin when used topically, especially in massage. As with its other minty relatives, Wintergreen essential oil can greatly elevate your oral care routine thanks to its strong aroma and taste.

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Whether you are already familiar with these leaf essential oils or this was your first introduction, we hope we’ve given you more reasons than ever to love this diverse group of essential oils. There’s so much to learn and love about the leaves, so let them into your life and discover how each one can love you back!