Cedarwood Essential Oil Benefits and Uses

Steam-distilled from native cedar trees in Texas, cedarwood essential oil is long-admired for its many benefits and balsamic, woody aroma. Ancient civilisations loved it for its durability and antiseptic qualities, and perhaps they also enjoyed a wellbeing boost, too. Let’s break it down and discover why cedarwood essential oil is still so sought-after.

Six Cedarwood Essential Oil Benefits

1. Sleep

Inhaling cedarwood triggers your happy hormone serotonin, which converts to melatonin, that’s the sleepy hormone! Similar to lavender, it also slows your heart rate and breathing, putting your body in that perfectly primed, about-to-drop-off state. We love cedarwood so much for sleep that we put it in our Bedtime Hero Essential Oil Blend, and a few drops in your essential oil diffuser come bedtime will have you dropping off, fast. It’s a natural sedative, and if you prefer its woody scent to floral lavender, you can’t go far wrong with cedarwood essential oil for sleep.

2. Calming

Cedarwood is one of a family of calming essential oils that contains sesquiterpenes, which is a scientific way of saying it’s incredibly grounding and soothing. This is what gives it its antioxidant power, but also promotes contentment and confidence when inhaled or used in aromatherapy. It hasn’t been as vigorously tested as some other essential oils (like lavender and chamomile) but studies do show a link between cedarwood oil for aromatherapy, a calm, clear mind and a reduction in hyperactivity. Its warm scent is super comforting, and its ability to detoxify the air and ease breathing is also super calming. Which leads us to...

3. Promotes easy breathing (and, well, easy everything)

You might not know it as the most obvious, but one of the most effective cedarwood essential oil uses is as an antispasmodic. Meaning, it promotes the quick release of tension in wound-up muscles including those that make you cough, or cramping due to exercise and other general stress on the body (laptop neck, anyone?) Easing this tightness helps you breathe better if you have chest congestion, and melts away tension from your body, in turn soothing the mind and encouraging effective relaxation. It also detoxifies the air, improving your atmosphere when used in your aromatherapy diffuser.

4. Hair and scalp

A study in 1998 by the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary showed seriously impressive results when cedarwood essential oil was used as part of treatment for alopecia. Those experiencing hair loss may want to try it (with a carrier oil) as a scalp treatment, to balance the oil production there and promote healthy hair growth.

5. Skincare and breakouts

The natural antimicrobial qualities in cedarwood essential oil make it a great addition to your skincare collection if acne and breakouts are a worry. The same action that balances your scalp also works in facial skincare, balancing your sebum production. YES it’s an oil, NO it won’t make you oily! Mix it with a non-comedogenic (non-pore blocking) carrier oil like sweet almond oil for a natural treatment that will balance you, clear up skin and leave you matte and nourished.

6. Soothe dry skin

When mixed with a rich carrier oil like coconut oil, cedarwood is great for soothing flaky skin, even in more intense conditions like eczema. Its anti inflammatory properties will soothe the area too, providing irritated skin with relief, and effective treatment.

Quick tips

As well as the above, cedar essential oil is a natural insect repellent. A few drops in your clothes (make sure to discreetly test first!) or a perfume or cologne containing this ingredient could see you swatting away a few less pesky bugs this summer.

Kids got a cough? Try a few drops of Bedtime Hero in your Wellbeing Pod or on their pillows to help relieve the congestion, and have them sleeping easier.

Cedarwood in NEOM

The cedarwood essential oil we use in NEOM products is steam distilled in Texas, where the small evergreen trees grow natively. They can also be found in New Mexico, Arizona, Mexico and Central America. The relatively thin oil blends brilliantly with a wide range of other oils and ingredients, and its warm, woody scent is great at balancing out floral notes, so it’s super popular in the fragrance world.