Y is for Ylang-ylang Essential Oil

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Y is Ylang-ylang Essential Oil

The Ylang-ylang tree, (Cananga odorata from the Annonaceae Family), grows and is cultivated in the Comores, Java, Madagascar, Philippines, Reunion, and Sumatra. The Ylang-ylang tree has deep yellow flowers with thick petals. Ylang-ylang means ‘flower of flowers’. They are picked early in the morning and steam distilled to obtain the essential oil.

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Ylang-ylang Essential Oil carries an exotically sweet scent. The essential oil was used to perfume the hair in Indonesia. It was mixed with coconut oil to form a concoction that was sold during the Victorian Era, ‘Macassar Hair Oil’. The jasmine like scent of Ylang-ylang Essential Oil adds a wonderful lift to perfumes and blends. It is used in ‘Dilys’ by Laura Ashley, and ‘Jardins de Bagatelle’ by Guerlain and Jean-Paul Gaultier.

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Essential Oil of Ylang-ylang combines well with bergamot, chamomile, clary sage, jasmine, lemon, palmarosa, patchouli, and sandalwood essential oils for an intensely sweet floral aroma. Add your chosen oils to a carrier oil or base to make aromatic blends, lotions, and massage oils. Usually no more than three essential oils are used per blend. Blends can be used in an aroma lamp, as a bath oil or lotion applied directly to the skin, massage, or as a body perfume.

Ylang-ylang Essential Oil contains antiseptic, antidepressant, calmative, euphoric, hypotensive, and sedative healing properties. It can help reduce high blood pressure, reduce stress-related disorders, and pacifies the mind. Essential Oil of Ylang-ylang can help with awakening, bring calm, enthusiasm, and joy to the soul, and encourage self-confidence.

Spiritually, Ylang-ylang essential oil helps to open our hearts to the pleasures Creator has provided for us. It softens hardened hearts and allows the spirit to roam among the angelic realms.

Following are some recipes you might like to try.

To help reduce blood pressure:
Mix 5 drops Ylang-ylang essential oil, 3 drops Roman Chamomile essential oil, and 2 drops Lavender essential oil to 1 ounce of your chosen carrier oil, (Almond, Jojoba, Sesame, Olive, etc…). Add 10-15 drops of blend into your bath water, use as a massage oil, and/or wear 4-5 drops as a body perfume.

To soothe your nerves:
Mix 5 drops Ylang-ylang essential oil, 3 drops Rose essential oil, and 2 drops Lavender essential oil to 1 ounce of your chosen carrier oil and use as above.

References:
Aromatherapy Blends and Remedies by Franzesca Watson
Perfumes, Splashes and Colognes by Nancy M. Booth
The Fragrant Heavens by Valerie Ann Worwood