Thyme Essential Oil: 26 Uses and Benefits, & FAQ

Thyme essential oil is created through steam distilling the leaves, stems, and flowers of the thymus vulgaris plant (red thyme) from the lamiaceae family. It originates from the Mediterranean area, and has a middle note, minty-herbaceous aroma with a moderate (4) intensity.

Historically, thyme essential oil was used by Egyptians for embalming, and by the Ancient Greece for supporting immune functioning.

Thyme essential oil is greatly beneficial in supporting respiration, immune functioning, digestive wellness, and keeping gut flora in balance. It is also known for helping with naturally enhancing your energy and concentration levels, along with uplifting your mood.

Table Of Contents

Thyme Essential Oil Constituents
Best Uses and Benefits for Thyme Essential Oil
Frequently Asked Questions about Thyme Essential Oil
Where to Buy Quality Thyme Essential Oil
- Warning: DO NOT purchase your oils through Amazon or similar websites!

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Thyme Essential Oil Constituents

Thyme essential oil consists of:

Phenols: thymol and carvacrol
Monoterpenes: p-cymene, y-terpinene, terpinolene; α-pinene, and mycrene
Oxides: 1,8 cinole
Alcohols: linalol, borneol, thujanol, and geraniol
Sesquiterpenes: ß-caryophylene
Carboxylic acids: rosmaric acid, triterpenic acids
Ethers: methyl thymol, methyl carvacrol
Ketone” camphor
And trace elements of menthone

Best Uses and Benefits for Thyme Essential Oil

Thyme Vitality Essential Oil is packed full with antioxidant benefits when used in cooking or in supplement form
Supports your immune functioning
Supports your digestive functioning and natural detoxifying processes
Add to your favorite skincare products to support healthy, youthful looking skin
Reduce blemishes by diluting with grapeseed oil and applying thyme essential oil to your face
Support healthy hair growth
Supports your breathing
Great to deter and repel pests in your garden: ticks, beetles
Sore, Tight Muscle Soother: Mix 5 drops each: thyme, helichrysum, lavender, chamomile, and cardamom essential oils and add to a 10ml roller bottle filled the rest of the way with your favorite carrier oil – apply topically to soothe tight, sore muscles
Helps naturally increase energy, especially in times of physical weakness
Helps support your body when battling a candida imbalance

**** PLEASE NOTE ****** Thyme essential oil is a HOT oil. This means you MUST dilute thyme essential oil before applying it to your skin.

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.

Best Essential Oils To Blend With Thyme Essential Oil

Thyme essential oil blends well with:

Bergamot Oil
Cedarwood Essential Oil
Juniper Essential Oil
Oregano Essential Oil
Rosemary Essential Oil
Tea Tree Essential Oil

DIY Diffuser Blends Featuring Thyme Essential Oil

Anger Buster – 3 drops each thyme and bergamot with 1 drop ylang ylang essential oil
Fresh Air Diffuser Blend – 3 drops each lime and thyme with 2 drops eucalyptus essential oil
Herb Garden Diffuser Blend – 3 drops each: thyme, rosemary, spearmint, and lemongrass essential oils
Italia Diffuser Blend – 4 drops lemon, 3 drops lavender, 1 drop thyme
Let Good Thymes Roll – 2 drops thyme, 4 drops lemon essential oil
Never Enough Thyme – 5 drops thyme, 4 drops grapefruit, 3 drops lemongrass essential oils
Night on the Patio – 3 drops lemongrass, 3 drops citronella, 2 drops peppermint, and 2 drops thyme essential oils
Stop The Throat Tickle – 4 drops eucalyptus, 3 drops lime, 2 drops thyme essential oils
Summer Herb Garden Diffuser Blend – 3 drops rosemary, 2 drops thyme, 1 drop oregano, 1 drop black pepper
Thyme to Breathe – 2 drops each of tea tree, lavender, peppermint, and 1 drop of thyme essential oil
Thyme to Uplift – 1 drop thyme, 2 drops eucalyptus, 3 drops lime essential oils

Best Recipes Featuring Thyme Vitality Essential Oil

Thyme Vitality essential oil is a great alternative to the dried or fresh herb in many flavorful dishes that you will LOVE!

Roast Chicken with Lemon and Thyme Recipe (pictured below)
Ultimate Gravy Recipe (pictured below)
Southern Cornbread Recipe (pictured below)
Turkey Injection Sauce (pictured below)
Dipping Oil – (great for Italian bread) – 1/2 cup virgin olive oil, 1-3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 drop Taste of Italy essential oil blend, 1 drop each of Thyme, Clove, and Rosemary Vitality essential oils, 1 clove of crushed garlic, and optional red pepper flakes. Garnish with 1 Tbsp of parmesan cheese.
Thyme Garlic Butter – 1 garlic clove, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 cup softened butter, 3 drops thyme vitality essential oil, 4 drops lemon vitality essential oil, opt 1/2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest, 2 drops black pepper vitality essential oil
Add 3 drops to a veggie capsule to take internally filled the rest of the way with olive oil and take to support your digestive system
Make a thyme infused oil by adding a 5ml bottle of thyme vitality essential oil to a 16+oz bottle of avocado oil or olive oil for marinades, salads, scrambled eggs, or for some kitchen fun with new recipes.

Personally, I love replacing thyme dried and fresh herbs in recipes for the vitality essential oil version (especially when my family is out traveling in the RV). It offers the same bright flavors as the herb counterpart, but flavors dishes in a manner that the “green stuff” my picky eating kids will still eat. We do have a conversion chart to help you see how to swap herbs and spices for their vitality essential oil counterparts too.

Frequently Asked Questions about Thyme Essential Oil

What is the difference between Thyme and Thyme Vitality essential oils?

Absolutely nothing aside from the label printed. They are 100% the exact same oil the may be used in the exact same ways interchangeably. Young Living adopted the Vitality label in 2015 to remain legal with the FDA and FTC's marketing requirements that state a supplement cannot be labeled as topical and oral at the same time.

This means legally, you cannot publicly discuss using an essential oil in your cooking, baking, drinks, or any oral supplement form if it is the same bottle you're discussing using in your diffuser or topically on your skin.

To reduce confusion and stay in the eyes in the law, Young Living separated their labels to compliantly discuss all the benefits essential oils can provide in all use capacities.

Is thyme essential oil safe to use while pregnant?

No. Generally thyme essential oil is not considered safe to use while you're pregnant.

If you're using oils while pregnant, I highly recommend this reference guide. It contains some great advice for using essential oils while pregnant, plus some DIY Recipes you'll love too.

Is thyme essential oil safe for kids and babies?

Thyme essential oil should be avoided by children under 6. If you use thyme oil topically, be sure to dilute more than normal.

While essential oils may be safe for kids to use, please do not have your child use an essential oil internally without being under the direct guidance of a naturopathic doctor.

Can you be allergic to thyme essential oil?

There are a few reasons why you would experience an allergy-like reaction to essential oils. Usually, this is caused by not diluting the oil you're applying (or not diluting it enough). Please refer to our essential oils and allergies article for more in-depth information.

Is thyme essential oil safe for dogs and cats?

Thyme essential oil is safe to use with your dogs. Cats should avoid thyme essential oil.

If you're using essential oils around your family pets, be sure to allow them access out of the room and into a room where you're not diffusing. This way they're able to escape when they feel they've had enough. Please also consider picking up a reference guide specific to using essential oils with animals. Our favorite resources are available below the FAQ section.

Should you use thyme essential oil if you're taking medication?

This is a very personal question, and really depend on which medications you're taking. I have an entire article dedicated to known medication contraindications that I highly recommend you check out… in addition to having a lengthy conversation with your local aromatherapist or pharmacist.

How often should you use thyme essential oil?

This is also a personal question. This depends on what you're using it for and how experienced you are using it. For beginners, I recommend only diffusing for 30 minutes at a time, then giving your body an hour break. If you diffuse too much, you could end up light headed. Personally, I have a diffuser running most of the day intermittently (using the intermittent setting on our diffuser). Or I'll wear a piece of diffusing jewelry with 3 drops of oil on it throughout the day (those 3 drops usually last a few days). Check out our article about diffusing essential oils safely for more info.

Don't see an answer to the question you have about thyme essential oil?

Have a question you don't see? You're welcome to ask in the comments or fill out this form to ask anonymously.

References if you decide to use thyme essential oil with or around animals:

If you're using essential oils around your family pets, be sure to allow them access out of the room and into a room where you're not diffusing. This way they're able to escape when they feel they've had enough. Please also consider picking up a reference guide specific to using essential oils with animals.

If you’re using essential oils around your family pets, be sure to allow them to access out of the room and into a room where you’re not diffusing. This way they’re able to escape when they feel they’ve had enough.

Please also consider picking up a reference guide specific to using essential oils with animals. There are also reference guides specific to Young Living’s oils too.

Where to Buy Quality Thyme Essential Oil

We purchase our thyme and thyme vitality essential 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.

Non-DIY Essential Oil Blends Featuring Thyme:

Longevity Essential Oil Blend
Essential Beauty Serum (great for acne-prone skin)

Products Featuring Thyme Essential Oil

Ortho Ease Massage Oil
Ortho Sport Massage Oil

Supplements Featuring Thyme Vitality Essential Oil

Inner Defense
Longevity
ParaFree
Thieves Dentarome Ultra Toothpaste

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Nicole

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