Cinnamon Oil: Beauty Booster for Skin & Hair

Cinnamon oil not only smells wonderful, but can also care for skin and hair in a unique way. We explain why this is so and how to do it.

Who doesn’t like the smell of cinnamon? Most of us are most likely to associate it with the Christmas season. However, cinnamon is much more than just an aromatic spice for cookies etc. Cinnamon oil in particular has long been considered an effective remedy for body and mind. In addition, the correct use of cinnamon oil also has a beautifying effect on the skin and hair.

Cinnamon oil: Beauty booster for skin and hair

Cinnamon oil can support the natural functions of our body and thus also have a positive effect on the condition of skin and hair:

• The antioxidants contained in cinnamon oil protect the skin from free radicals, prevent rapid skin aging and thus have an anti-aging effect
• the oil strengthens the skin, hair and nails
• strengthens blood circulation, which allows it to stimulate hair growth (applied on the scalp) and cell renewal and regeneration of the skin
• supportive against hair loss
• gives a rosy, healthy complexion
• cinnamon oil has antifungal and antibacterial properties, which can make it effective against acne, blemishes, and rashes
• moisturizes dry skin

Cinnamon oil: The right use for skin and hair

Cinnamon oil can cause allergies

Since cinnamon oil can trigger allergic reactions, you should first test only on a small area of skin – for example in the crook of your arm – whether you can tolerate the oil. The skin may tingle after use, but if it burns, itches and reacts with severe redness, the oil must be removed immediately and no longer be used.

You should also make sure that the cinnamon oil does not get on the mucous membranes, as these are particularly sensitive. Pregnant women should not use cinnamon oil as it can cause uterine contractions.

Always mix cinnamon oil

Never use the oil neat but only ever with a carrier oil. To do this, mix a few drops of the oil in, for example, jojoba oil, almond oil or coconut oil.

It is also possible to mix the oil with your facial care products (cream or lotion) as well as your body cream. For hair use, just add a few drops of the cinnamon oil to your shampoo for daily use. A hair mask can also be refined by adding a few drops of cinnamon oil. Mixing with a carrier oil is recommended for treating the scalp. Here, too, the following applies: Never apply straight to the skin!

DIY beauty treatments with cinnamon oil

Instructions: Soothing head massage with cinnamon oil

• 100 ml of almond oil
• 1 drop of cinnamon oil

Warm the almond oil slightly in a water bath or in the microwave. If possible, it shouldn’t be much warmer than body temperature. Mix the oils together and massage the mixture gently into your scalp. Leave on for 20 minutes and then wash your hair with a gentle shampoo.

Instructions: Cinnamon oil hair treatment for dry hair

• 100 ml coconut oil
• 50 ml of almond oil or macadamia oil
• 5 drops of cinnamon oil
• 2 teaspoons of honey

Coconut oil is solid at room temperature and should first be warmed up in a water bath so that it becomes liquid. Mix it with two teaspoons of honey, the macadamia or almond oil and five drops of cinnamon oil. Spread the fragrant mixture on the hair and massage it into the scalp as well. The hair treatment should be absorbed for at least 45 minutes and then washed out with a gentle shampoo. You will achieve an even better effect if you wrap a towel around your head during the exposure time. Then you can look forward to shiny, soft hair.

Instructions: Honey-cinnamon oil mask for clear skin

• 1 drop of cinnamon oil
• 2 tbsp honey (preferably medically proven honey such as Manuka honey)

Mix the ingredients together and first test in the crook of your arm or on your wrist to see whether the mixture might trigger an allergic reaction in you. If this is not the case, you can spread the cinnamon oil mask on your previously cleansed face and let it soak in for 10 minutes. Then wash off with warm water.

If the mask is good for you, you can gradually increase the exposure time up to 30 minutes. The cinnamon oil facial can be used once or twice a week.

Cinnamon oil: Origin, varieties and production

Cinnamon oil can be obtained from different types of cinnamon: from the Ceylon cinnamon tree (Sri Lanka) and from the cinnamon cassia, the Chinese cinnamon tree. The cinnamon variety cassia usually contains a high proportion of the toxin coumarin. So it is better to use the harmless, but more expensive Ceylon oil.

The cinnamon oil of the Ceylon tree is obtained from the cinnamon bark by steam distillation. The cinnamon bark oil is initially almost colorless and rather thick. Only after a certain storage time does it take on a reddish-brown color and begin to smell of cinnamon.

There is also so-called cinnamon leaf oil, which is obtained from the leaves of the cinnamon tree. This smells strongly aromatic (reminiscent of the scent of cloves) and is darker than the cinnamon bark oil and also has a stronger antibacterial effect.