Lime essential oil has historically been used in skin care, supports normal breathing, and strengthening the immune system.
With a bright and refreshing citrus scent, Lime essential oil smells just like freshly sliced limes. When diffused this bright aroma can uplift your space. It is delicious to smell in the diffuser!
Lime essential oil is made by cold-pressed from the peel of fresh limes (citrus auranifolia).
Due to its high limonene content, Lime provides internal cleansing benefits.. It’s also an effective and natural surface cleaner. Lime is known for its ability to help you uplift your mood, balance your mind, and energize your body.
16 benefits to using Lime Essential Oil (and how to use it)
- Diffuse lime essential oil to cleanse the air and lift your mood.
- Drip some lime essential oil on a cotton pad and use to help remove grease spots and sticker residue.
- Dilute and rub over your legs to help reduce the appearance of varicose veins
- Add a drop of lime to your drinking water (just be sure to dilute it first with something like honey) for enhanced flavor.
- Add one drop of lime essential oil to your facial cleanser or shampoo for added cleansing properties
- If you’re feeling uninspired, diffusing lime essential oil may clear a path to greater creativity
- Diffusing lime essential oil has a very calming effect when you're spun up with nerve tension and feeling anxious
- Smelling lime essential oil may help give you an energetic boost when you're feeling sluggish
- Lime essential oil works very well (as does lemon) at removing stuck gum, wood stain, oil, and grease spots
- When applied (diluted) to your skin, lime essential oil may help tighten your skin and connective tissue.
- DIY your own Cedar and Lime Beard Oil
- DIY your own Ginger and Lime Beard Oil
- Make your own Lime Massage Oil by adding 1 drop of Lime oil per ml (tsp) of your favorite carrier oil. My personal favorites are sweet almond and grapeseed oils.
- Use lime essential oil in your favorite sugar scrub recipe
- Create your own Spring Fling DIY Room Spray – Combine 20 drops each of Lemon, Grapefruit, and Lime essential oils with distilled water into a glass spray bottle and a pinch of salt or 1 oz of witchazel. Shake and spray into the air, on your linens, on your carpet, and/or on your drapes and curtains to use in place of toxic air fresheners or sprays and create an uplifting environment.
- DIY your own rejuvenating foot bath: 4 drops each of ginger, lime, geranium, and spearmint essential oils in a TBSP of sweet almond oil poured over a cup of Epsom salts. Pour into a warm bath or foot bath.
For more benefits of Lime Essential Oil that I am not legally allowed to discuss in this post (because I'm not your health professional), please consider picking up a reference guide. (I have a few recommendations below under the Safety Info headline)
Lime Essential Oil Safety Info
** Because cold-pressed lime is a citrus oil, it may cause photosensitivity, so be sure to avoid applying it to exposed skin before spending time in the sun. If you dilute it to under .7% you should be fine. You should avoid using cold-pressed lime essential oil topically on your skin if that part of your skin will be exposed to sunlight within 12 hours of application.
Lime oil created through steam distillation is not photosensitive.
Please use caution with using lime essential oil around children. Lime essential oil should be avoided by children under 6 years old.
The Essential Oils Desk Reference Guide – I love this one because it's comprehensive, yet simple to flip through and understand. This reference guide is exclusive to including Young Living branded pre-made blends in addition to single oils information, uses, how they're created, and what they're good for. They also make a smaller version without supplement info.
Another reference guide I love that is not brand-specific is The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy. This is a fantastic book, especially for beginners. It's easy to read and understand, and filled with excellent information.

12 of our favorite DIY Diffuser Blends featuring Lime Essential Oil:
- Mojito Diffuser Recipe: 3 drops of lime to 2 drops of peppermint
- Fresh Air Diffuser Recipe: 2 drops of lime to 2 drops of tea tree and 2 drops of lemon
- Morning Start Diffuser Recipe: 3 drops of lime and 2 drops each of orange and peppermint
- Fresh Garden Diffuser Recipe: 2 drops of lime with a drop each of peppermint and basil (can also add a drop or two of grapefruit too)
- Sea Breeze Diffuser Recipe: 3 drops of lime with 1 drop of spearmint and 3 drops of lavender
- Calm Down Diffuser Recipe: 2 drops of lime to 2 drops each of lavender and mandarin
- Brighten Your Mood Diffuser Blend: 2 drops of lime, bergamot, and ylang ylang with 3 drops of tangerine and 3 drops of petitgrain
- Bright and Happy Day Diffuser Blend: one drop Spearmint, and two drops each of Tangerine and Lime
- DIY Motivation Diffuser Blend: 2 drops each of black pepper, lime, orange, and frankincense essential oils
- Mind Meeting Diffuser Blend: 3 drops of cedarwood, lemon, and lime essential oils with 2 drops of patchouli essential oil
- Supporting your parasympathetic nerves: 2 drops each of clove and lime essential oils
- Patchouli-Lime: 1 drop of lime essential oil with 2 drops of patchouli essential oil
Best essential oils to blend with lime
Lime oil has a versatile scent that complements most other citrus essential oils such as Lemon, Bergamot, Grapefruit, Orange, and Tangerine.
Other essential oils that blend well with lime include: citronella, clary sage, lavandin, lavender, neroli, and rosemary.
Lime is considered a top note when blending essential oils (5-20%) with a sweet, tart, intense, and lively aroma. Intensity is a level 3.
12 Recipes featuring Lime Vitality Essential Oil
Yes! You can use lime essential oil as a flavoring agent in your culinary creation endeavors. I love how it provides a whole new flavor profile, and livens up some of our older recipes when we are looking for something new and different than normal ones.
PLEASE keep in mind that essential oils can be 70 times stronger than their dried and fresh plant counterparts. Dried herbs retain only about 3 – 5% of the essential oils from the original plant.
It pairs beautifully with many recipes including:
- Add a drop to 2 oz of Ningxia Red (a wolf berry supplement drink), Sulferzyme (a prebiotic supplement), and 20 oz of water for a gut-nourishing drink.
- Create your own limeade by adding a drop or two of Lime Vitality essential oil to your favorite lemonade recipe
- Use one drop of Lime Vitality essential oil in place of 1 TBS of grated lime peel in your baking or cooking recipes
- Freshen up your cupcakes by adding a drop of lime essential oil to your favorite cupcake frosting recipe
- Add a drop of Lime essential oil to your favorite homemade salsa recipe
- Lime oil is also a delicious addition to corn, especially grilled corn.
- Use lime essential oil in this Spicy Sweet Potato Fries with Avocado Lime Dip
- Add a drop of lime to your favorite guacamole recipe to brighten it up
- Infused your olive oil with Lime Vitality essential oil. We recommend only needing 1-2 drops of Lime Vitality per 8 ounces of olive oil. (great to use as a marinade)
- Use 1-2 drops of Lime Vitality essential oil in your favorite margarita recipe
These unique essential oil recipe is the perfect addition to help brighten up your next movie night, birthday party, or family gathering.




Frequently Asked Questions about Lime Essential Oil
Is lime oil safe for dogs?
If you have animals at home, I highly recommend picking up an animal reference guide
This ADR II (Animal Desk Reference) is my favorite animal reference guide that is not brand-specific. I also often use this Essential Oils Animal Desk Reference too that is Young Living branded with their blends, single oils, and supplements. Both books have information about dogs, cats, reptiles, birds, horses, and other livestock.
Is lime essential oil safe for cats?
No. I highly recommend NOT using any citrus oils around cats. They don't have the enzymes needed to properly metabolize citrus oils, whether topically applied or diffused.
If you're going to use lime essential oil and have cats, please make sure they have somewhere in your home to escape to that doesn't have a diffuser on. They need to be able to leave any room at any time to avoid a diffuser.
Lime vs Lemon Essential Oil?
Lemon essential oil is much more tart than lime essential oil is. They are largely interchangeable when it comes to uses and benefits. So if you don't have lemon, you most often can use lime without any issue. Same goes for if you're out of lemon, you can use lime as a substitute.
Just keep in mind, if you use lime essential oil to replace lemon that the aroma change will be much milder yet a bit stronger. I've found lime to be much more potent, but much more sweet and rounded.
How many drops of lime essential oil should you use to replace lime juice and zest?
Lime essential oil is highly concentrated. A little bit goes a very long way.
1 drop of Lime Vitality essential oil can substitute for 1 tsp. of lime peel zest. If the recipe calls for the zest from 1 citrus fruit, you can use 8 drops of the Lime Vitality essential oil instead. I generally use the same rule when it comes to the juice.
What is a good substitute for lime essential oil?
I personally feel Grapefruit essential oil would be the best substitute, but realistically you should be fine using any citrus essential oil as a good substitute for lime essential oil
Where do you find high quality lime 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. Their Seed to Seal guarantee is unmatched, and shows their dedication to a farm-to-table type of approach.
Warning: DO NOT purchase your oils through Amazon or similar websites!
Any website that allows anyone to sell on, such as Amazon, eBay, Walmart… etc… are terrible places to purchase essential oils. While you may get a “good deal,” knowing who you're purchasing from is difficult. There are many counterfeit essential oils being sold that are causing health ailments, major skin reactions, and a lot of misery. These are NOT high quality essential oils. They are fakes being sold purely for profit.
I also do NOT recommend purchasing from grocery stores, Walmart, Target, department stores, or drug stores. Many of the brands found at those stores have been proven to not actually contain any essential oil (which is perfectly legal to do).
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.
Where we purchase our essential oils, and why
We purchase our oils through Young Living because they set a higher standard for essential oils than what the rest of the industry expects. Their Seed to Seal guarantee is unmatched, and shows their dedication to a farm-to-table type of approach. This company has proven to me time and time again to be the closest thing out there to buying from your local farmer. They are totally transparent in their processes, and even open their farms so you can see for yourself (or involve yourself in the process).
Lime is an important ingredient in Thieves® Fruit & Veggie Wash and Common Sense™ and Stress Away™ essential oil blends.
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Nicole
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