50+ Uses Lemon Essential Oil – plus FAQs

Lemon essential oil is cold-pressed from the rinds of lemons, giving its aroma all the brightness of the freshly picked fruit. Cheerful, sweet, and nostalgic, Lemon oil can eliminate odors and infuse your whole home with its clean, lemon-drop scent when diffused.

With its bright and joyful aroma, Lemon oil benefits skin and hair as much as its aroma benefits your environment. Your teens can add a drop to their evening moisturizer to reduce the appearance of blemishes, while you can add it to your conditioner for an aromatic treat that smoothes and shines the look of your hair. Because some citrus oils like Lemon can cause photosensitivity, avoid applying to exposed skin before spending time outside.

Lemon naturally contains constituents including d-limonene, b-pinenes, gamma-terpinene, ,a-terpineol, a-pinene, and geranial. (If you're a little nerdy like me, you won't want to miss out on seeing the health benefits those constituents have… some may surprise you!)

50+ Uses and Benefits of Lemon Essential Oil

Lemon essential oil has a mellow, yet refreshingly invigorating and uplifting aroma. Lemon helps to promote overall health, healing, and boosts physical energy.

** PLEASE NOTE ** Don't be fooled by clever marketing. Not all essential oils are created equally. Make sure you're not wasting your money on fake or altered essential oils (even if they're labeled as “pure essential oil”). Don't miss our explosive report outlining the dirty little secrets of the essential oil industry to ensure you're not wasting your money on brands of oils that legally mislead you through deceitful marketing practices.

Using Lemon Essential Oil To Enhance Your Focus

Japanese research scientists who conducted a study about the effect of lemon essential oil on the ability to focus reported that diffusing lemon essential oil into an office environment dramatically improved mental accuracy and concentration. The research results showed that the typical mistakes were reduced by 54% when lemon oil was diffused into the office or workroom.

Use Lemon Essential Oil To Purify Your Air

• Diffuse to cleanse and purify the air
• Add to water to purify the water

Use Lemon Essential Oil To Enhance Your Oral Health

• Add to coconut oil to enhance oil pulling
• may help whiten your teeth
• Use lemon oil in your favorite DIY Toothpaste recipe

Support Digestion Using Lemon Essential Oil

• Dilute and rub over your abdomen to support your digestive tract and related organs
• Supports your immune system
• Calms your stomach
• Drink 4 oz apple cider vinegar, 2 drops lemon vitality essential oil, and 3 oz of water to help curb morning sickness (this was a lifesaver for me during my second pregnancy)

Support Your Hair, Skin, and Nail Health with Lemon Essential Oil

• Nourishes your skin, reducing breakouts
• Helps remove dead skin cells, making your skin look brighter
• Add to a homemade sugar scrub to help refresh dry, winter skin
• Tightens hair follicles and supports the skin surrounding the hair, reducing the greasy look
• Strengthens nail beds
• Dilute lemon with some sweet almond oil (or your favorite carrier oil) and place on dark spots on your skin to brighten them up.

** Lemon is a photosensitive oil, which means you should avoid allowing direct sunlight shine on the area you've applied lemon essential oil to for at least 12 hours. Direct sunlight exposure within 12 hours of application can produce skin irritation similar to a sunburn.

A carrier oil can be any cold-pressed, seed-based oil (ideally organic and unrefined). This includes most cooking oil, like coconut oil, avocado oil, and olive oil. Personally, we LOVE using sweet almond oil, grapeseed oil, and the V6 Carrier oil (made by Young Living). This is the best way to dilute your essential oils for topical use.

Cleaning with Lemon Essential Oil

• Add a few drops to your favorite household cleaner
• Add 16 drops to a 16 oz glass spray bottle filled with vinegar or hydrogen peroxide to use as a homemade cleaner
• Use to polish silver
• Add a few drops of lemon oil to olive oil to polish wood furniture, kitchen cabinets, or sculptures
• Use to remove wood stains
• Removes sticky glue residue
• Clean grease from your hands or household items using lemon essential oil (works great for automotive hobbyists)
• Clean leather using lemon essential oil
• Polish and clean your guitar or other wood instruments using our wood polish recipe (linked above)

Feel Good and Enhance Your Wellness with Lemon Essential Oil

• Makes you feel happier and lighter
• Helps you be able able to think more clearly
• Cleanses and drains the lymphatic system
• Supports your respiratory system
• Aids in supporting the creation of red blood cells
• Can assist you in losing weight
• Helps reduce your body's response to stress
• Promotes an overall feeling of wellbeing
• Enhances effects of oils its blended with
• May help with tumors, according to this study
• Diffusing lemon essential oil may help you kick alcoholism
• Diffuse lemon, lavender, and peppermint to help with seasonal sinus discomfort

Keep in mind, essential oils are not medicine. One use may have noticeable effects, but more often you will need to incorporate them into your lifestyle to maximize the benefits you receive from them.

Member Favorite DIY Diffuser Blends Featuring Lemon Essential Oil

• Focus, Energize, and Be More Productive: 3 drops lemon, 2 drops peppermint in the diffuser
• Deep Breath Diffuser Blend: 3 drops each: lemon, lavender, peppermint when pollen outside becomes too much to bear (replace peppermint with goldenrod for obnoxious ragweed attacks)
• Clean Home Diffuser Blend: 6 drops lemon, 4 drops lavender, 2 drops lime
• Homemade Thieves Diffuser Blend: 2 drops each rosemary, cinnamon, lemon, eucalyptus, and clove essential oils
• Germs Be Gone Diffuser Blend: 2 drops each peppermint, lavender, lemon, and tea tree essential oils
• Immune Bomb Diffuser Blend: 2 drops each of Thieves and frankincense, 1 drop each lemon and tea tree essential oils
• Clean and Fresh Diffuser Blend: 3 drops of each peppermint, lemon, and tea tree essential oil blend
• April Showers Diffuser Blend: 3 drops of lemongrass and eucalyptus essential oils with 2 drops each lavender and lemon essential oils
• Key Lime Pie Diffuser Blend: 3 drops lime essential oil, 4 drops Stress Away essential oil blend, and 1 drop lemon essential oil
• Energize! Diffuser Blend: 3 drops lemon, 2 drops rosemary, 1 drop Motivation essential oils
• Sleeping Beauty Diffuser Blend: 3 drops each lemon and lavender essential oils
• Fresh Air Diffuser Blend: 2 drops each of tea tree, lemon, and lime essential oils
• Kicking Coughs Diffuser Blend: 3 drops each lemon, rosemary, tea tree, peppermint, and eucalyptus essential oils
• Night Time Wind Down Diffuser Blend: 4 drops lavender, 2 drops each of rosemary and lemon essential oils
• Fresh Start Diffuser Blend: 3 drops lemon essential oil with 2 drops each of eucalyptus and sage essential oils
• Renew and Refresh Diffuser Blend: 3 drops of lemon essential oil with 2 drops each of eucalyptus and lime essential oils
• Memory Booster Diffuser Blend: 2 drops lemon essential oil with 1 drop of basil essential oil
• Perk up Essential Oil Blend: 2 drops each of lemon, orange, peppermint, and rosemary essential oils
• Floral Fresh Essential Oil Blend: 3 drops lemon essential oil, 2 drops lavender essential oil, and 1 drop geranium essential oil
• Spring Rain Diffuser Blend: 3 drops of each vetiver and lemon essential oils
• Tension Melt Diffuser Blend: 4 drops lavender essential oil with 2 drops each of lemongrass, lemon, and peppermint essential oils
• Good Vibes Diffuser Blend: 1 drop of lavender essential oil with 2 drops each of orange, cinnamon bark, and lemon essential oils
• Ocean Breeze Diffuser Blend: 4 drops lemon essential oil with 3 drops ylang ylang essential oil
• Lemonade Stand Diffuser Blend: 4 drops lemon essential oil with 1 drop each of spearmint and basil essential oils
• Orchard Walk Diffuser Blend: 4 drops of each bergamot, lemon, and black spruce essential oils
• Inner Peace Diffuser Blend: 4 drops of lavender essential oil with 2 drops each of lemon and ylang ylang essential oils

Recipe Ideas Using Lemon Vitality Essential Oil

• Add a few drops to your frosting recipe for a lovely lemon flavor (an excellent replacement for lemon extract, which is just made with lemon essential oil diluted in alcohol)
• Use approximately 1 drop per 5 ml of olive oil to infuse your olive oil with lemon. This is lovely to use as a salad dressing or to dress up fish and other veggies.
• Add 5 drops to your favorite blueberry muffin or pancake recipe, and add some fresh fruit on top too!
• Use lemon vitality essential oil in your homemade pickles
• Add a few drops to a TBS of honey or stevia, then mix with water for a lovely lemon-flavored water
• Create custom vinaigrettes or marinades to add a bright taste to summer salads and grilling.
• Use a drop of lemon vitality essential oil in your tea (like this Thieves Tea)… just dilute it in honey before adding your water
• Use a drop of lemon vitality in your favorite baked goods, homemade preserves, and other treats.
• Add some lemon oil to your blueberry lavender ice cream to brighten it up
• Add 1 drop in plain or vanilla yogurt. Top with fresh berries.
• Combine a drop of lemon vitality with savory foods such as chicken, fish, shrimp, and vegetables and with sides such as noodles, rice, or pasta salad.
• Use 2 drops of lemon essential oil with a bunch of broccoli, a minced clove of garlic, a pinch of salt, and 1.5 Tbsp of olive oil for a delicious side dish, lunch, or snack.
• Herb-Goat Cheese and Yogurt Dip
• Add to rice when making Indian dishes
• Add to your favorite pancake or waffle mix
• Lavender Lemonade to keep you calm and cool

Yes, you can add lemon oil to your water… just be sure to do it in a safe manner. Remember, oil and water doesn't mix.

Drinks & Appetizers

Main Dishes

Side Dishes

Where To Find Lemon Essential Oil

We purchase our oils through Young Living because they set a higher standard for essential oils than what the rest of the industry expects.

I STRONGLY suggest you know the company that makes your oils, how the plants are cared for, what they do for distilling, how and how many times each batch is tested (and when), and their bottling processes. Many companies throw out fancy language for marketing purposes, but actually have no clue how their oils are made because the oils come from a broker (which are almost always diluted in solvents). Transparency is key.

I highly encourage you to check out our How To Find Quality Essential Oils post for in-depth information about why quality matters, and what to look for.

And don't forget to check out our membership page, where we show you how to get lemon essential oil with a 24% discount on all future essential oil and essential oil-infused product purchases through our membership program.

Products Containing Lemon Essential Oil​

This oil is a key ingredient in many hair and skin care products, Thieves cleaning products, and essential oil blends such as Thieves, Citrus Fresh, Clarity, Joy, and Harmony.

Be sure to check out more of our articles that feature Lemon essential oil!