Furocoumarin-free grapefruit essential oil: properties and uses

Guide to essential oils

Furocoumarin-free grapefruit essential oil is non-photosensitising. Draining grapefruit furocoumarin-free essential oil is helpful for combating the appearance of cellulite. This purifying oil is also recommended for toning combination to oily skin. It is also tonic and is reputed to stimulate the scalp.

All hair types

All hair types

How to use

Skin application and massage
Suitable
Cosmetic active ingredient
Suitable
Aromatherapy bath
Appropriate
Diffusion
Appropriate
Food grade
Suitable

Features

Properties and uses

Precautions

Find out more

Features

Production process

Cold pressed then complete distillation by steam distillation

Part of the plant used

Zest

Botanical name

Citrus paradisi

Warning

The properties, information and methods of use below are quotes from reference books or websites on aromatherapy, hydrolatherapy and phytotherapy. This general information is provided for informative purposes only and in no way constitutes medical guidance. Under no circumstances can this information be used as a substitute for a medical diagnosis, consultation or follow-up, nor can it incur our liability. We recommend that you consult the guide to essential oils before using them, so that you are aware of any precautions that need to be taken. If in doubt, consult a doctor before using essential oils.

Properties and uses

Furocoumarin-free grapefruit essential oil is traditionally used for: Hair loss, alopecia

Health

Wellness

Beauty

Kitchen

Find out more

For use in aromatherapy, it is advisable to use unrectified grapefruit essential oil. However, furocoumarin-free grapefruit essential oil has similar properties, and is excellent for diffusing to purify the air. Its invigorating fruity fragrance is also ideal for whetting the appetite.

Properties

Furocoumarin-free grapefruit essential oil is renowned for the following health benefits:

Detoxifying aperitif and digestive stimulant, promotes healthy liver function and aids by reducing the effects of overeating.
Aerial antiseptic
Refreshing, with a fruity aroma that pleasantly fragrances the atmosphere.

Uses

Furocoumarin-free grapefruit essential oil is traditionally used to improve the following conditions:

Slow or poor digestion, nausea, overeating, detox treatments
Lack of appetite
Water retention, obesity
Atmospheric diffusion, room sanitisation

Synergies

Digestion: Peppermint, ginger, and cumin essential oils
Helps stimulate appetite: Fennel, peppermint essential oils
Detox: Bog Labrador tea, rosemary verbenone, and carrot essential oils
Air sanitisers: Lemon, Scots pine, silver fir, psiadia, and fragonia essential oils

In practice

Air purification: for air diffusion, in synergy with other essential oils.

With its zingy, invigorating fragrance, grapefruit essential oil creates an ambiance of joy and good humour. Whether diffused or used as a fragrance, it promotes relaxation and helps you get a good night's sleep.

Properties

In wellness, furocoumarin-free grapefruit essential oil is recognised for the following properties:

Emotionally, grapefruit essential oil, like the majority of Rutaceae, symbolises childhood and its naiveté.
It enhances the sensitive sideof the child in us.
Promotes more open-heartedness for people who are withdrawn, and feel unable to open up (palliative care).
Relaxing, promotes sleep.
Positive vibes.
Like most citrus essential oils, grapefruit essential oil soothesor stimulates the nervous system depending on each individual's needsand surroundings. You should therefore appropriate this oil and really ‘feel’ it literally and figuratively, to work out whether it gives you more of a soothing or stimulating sensation.

Uses

Stress, anxiety
Doubts, uncertainties, hesitations
Palliative care
Freedom of speech

In practice

Relaxation: air-disperse at a time when you feel available and ready to accept the benefits of the essential oil (meditation, relaxation or just unwinding briefly). Repeat several times a week.

Relaxation and psycho-emotional effects: mix into your oil blend. Place a few drops of this blend on the inside of your wrists. Then join both hands together, covering the nose, and take 3 slow, deep breaths of the mixture. Repeat as needed. You can also apply a few drops of the mixture to the solar plexus.

Relaxation and a good mood: diffuse into the air, on its own or in synergy with other essential oils (lemon, sweet orange, etc.).

Grapefruit essential oil is non-photosensitising and furocoumarin-free, making it ideal for use in cosmetics. It is particularly recognised for purifying and toning the scalp, making it ideal for making fortifying, hair loss or balance-restoring treatments for oily hair. It is also a classic ingredient for slimming and cellulite products, and its fruity fragrance is very appealing when used in your various blends.

Properties

In skincare, furocoumarin-free grapefruit essential oil is recognised for the following properties:

Combats hair loss
Regulates sebum secretion
Helps eliminate cellulite
Astringent

Uses

Hair loss, greasy hair
Cellulite
Combination and oily skin, acne-prone skin

Synergies

Slimming: Lemon, geranium, cypress, sea fennel, and Eastern red cedar essential oils
To strengthen hair: Atlas cedar essential oils, clary sage, maca vital cosmetic active ingredients, Panthenol, rice or silk proteins, phytokeratin
Purifying effects on the skin: tea tree, and manuka, palmarosa essential oils, propolis extract, Jupiter's beard CO2 extract, Algo'zinc active ingredient
Mattifying effects: Algo'zinc active ingredient, arrow root, bamboo sap

In practice

Hair care: mix up to 2% in your hair cosmetic blend.

Toning, slimming: mix up to 2% in your oil blend. Apply your mixture locally, massaging firmly into the area concerned.

For use in cooking, we recommend that you use un-rectified grapefruit essential oil, but the furocoumarin-free version is also excellent. Grapefruit oil has a fine, fruity flavour that is very popular, making it a favourite in cooking. It is used mostly for:

Making an aromatic oil or syrup flavoured with citrus fruit
Flavouring raw fish tartars
Yoghurt sauces to accompany vegetables, such as button mushrooms
Desserts, especially those made with fresh fruit, such as strawberries or raspberries
To flavour gingerbread
Making meat dishes with a citrus accompaniment, especially pork
Making flavoured infusions or teas

Discover our article "Aromatherapy and cosmetics - How essential oils are used" to find out more about the symbols on our products and the different ways essential oils are used.

Precautions

May cause irritation, always dilute well for skin use.
Do not use during the first three months of pregnancy.
Furocoumarin-free grapefruit essential oil is very sensitive to oxidation: store in a cool place**(preferably in the fridge**) and away from light.
Certain natural compounds contained in this essential oil may present a risk of allergy for certain sensitive individuals when the essential oil is incorporated into a cosmetic composition (according to the 7th Amendment of the European Cosmetics Directive (2003/15/EC)): limonene and, to a lesser extent, linalool, citral (neral and geranial).
As a general rule, always test your product in the crease of the elbow at least 48 hours before use.
For use as a cosmetic ingredient, please refer to the specific precautions.

Download the general precautions and read before using essential oils

Specific precautions

Find out more

A beautiful tree with dense foliage, the grapefruit tree produces fruit in bunches, hence the origin of its English name "grapefruit". Its fruit, known as grapefruit in everyday life but botanically recognised as pomelo, belongs to the citrus fruit category. They have a yellow to pink rind, and their juicy pulp can be yellow, pink or red, and the sweetness or bitterness depends on the variety. Organic furocoumarin-free grapefruit essential oil is obtained by steam distillation of grapefruit essential oil that is initially obtained by cold pressing the fruit's zest.

Aromatherapy recipes from the bibliography

EO = Essential Oil VO = Carrier Oil or Macerated Oil

3 tablespoons grape seed oil
2 tablespoons sweet almond carrier oil
5 drops wheat germ carrier oil
20 drops rosemary camphor essential oil
20 drops fennel essential oil
15 drops juniper essential oil
15 drops grapefruit essential oil
5 drops rose geranium essential oil

Uses:

With a natural bristle brush, rub your skin dry, before bathing or showering (always rub in the direction of the heart, making small circular movements). Pour 2 teaspoons of product into the bath water, kneel down and splash onto yourself, massaging the droplets into your body.
For a body massage after a shower, put a little of the product in the palm of your hand and massage the still damp skin. The product can also be used for deep massages, kneading the flesh well.

50 g rhassoul powder
70 ml Orange blossom hydrosol
1 tablespoon jojoba carrier oil
15 drops grapefruit essential oil
5 drops rosewood essential oil
20 drops grapefruit seed extract
7 drops of vitamin E

Method: Gently whisk together the rhassoul powder and hydrosol. Leave for 5 minutes to swell. Then add the rest of the ingredients, mixing evenly, and pour into a jar.

Use: Apply this mask once or twice a month to wet hair, before shampooing.

600 g pork tenderloin
2 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon mustard
100 ml orange juice
1 tablespoon olive carrier oil
Salt, freshly ground pepper
2 drops of grapefruit essential oil
2 drops of orange essential oil
1 drop of rosemary essential oil
Vegetable confit: 2 medium courgettes, 1 fennel bulb, 1 red pepper, 1 aubergine, 2 onions, 15 black olives, 2 tablespoons olive carrier oil

Directions: Start by preparing the vegetable confit. In a frying pan, sauté the peeled and roughly chopped onions with the deseeded and chopped pepper in olive oil for 5 minutes. Add the washed and cubed aubergine and the fennel cut into chunks. Season with salt and pepper, cover and cook over a low heat for 30 minutes. Add the diced courgettes, rosemary essential oil and olives. Blend and leave to cook for a further 10 minutes.

In another casserole dish, fry the fillet mignon on all sides in olive oil. Add the peeled and chopped garlic, mustard and orange juice. Season with salt and pepper, cover and cook over a low heat for 15 minutes. Add the grapefruit and sweet orange essential oils, blend and leave to cook uncovered for 5 minutes.

Remove the fillet mignon from the casserole, keep warm and reduce the sauce until creamy. Serve with the vegetables on the side.

Equivalents

Essential Oils

1 ml = approximately 35 drops (with our Aroma-Zone dropper caps)

Carrier oils

1 pump (Aroma-Zone aluminium pump) = approx. 0.15 ml

Mass / Volume conversion (for a liquid)

Mass (g) = Density x Volume (ml) at 20°C

Further information

1 full teaspoon = between 3 and 4.5 ml

1 full tablespoon = between 7.5 and 10 ml

However, these spoon ratios depend on a number of factors (e.g. viscosity of the liquid, temperature, depth and size of the spoon, rheological behaviour of the liquid), and we strongly advise you to use precise measuring equipment, such as graduated test tubes, graduated pipettes, and precision scales.

Bibliography

Antifungal activity of lemon (Citrus lemon L.), mandarin (Citrus reticulata L.), grapefruit (Citrus paradisi L.) and orange (Citrus sinensis L.) essential oils. Food Control, 2008, 19(12), 1130-1138.

Viuda-Martosa M, Ruiz-Navajasa Y, Fernández-López J and Pérez-Álvareza J.

Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of Citrus essences on honeybee bacterial pathogen Paenibacillus larvae, the causal agent of American foulbrood. World journal of microbiology & biotechnology, 2008, 24(10), 2067-2072.

Fuselli S.R. ; Garcia De La Rosa S. B.; Eguaras M.J.; Fritz R.

Olfactory stimulation with scent of essential oil of grapefruit affects autonomic neurotransmission and blood pressure. Brain research, 2005, 1058(1-2), 44-55.

Tanida M, Niijima A, Shen J, Nakamura T, Nagai K.

Effects of fragrance inhalation on sympathetic activity in normal adults. Jpn J Pharmacol. 2002, 90(3), 247-53.

Haze S, Sakai K, Gozu Y.

Inhibition of acetylcholinesterase activity by essential oil from Citrus paradisi. Nat Prod Lett. 2001, 15(3), 205-10.

Miyazawa M, Tougo H, Ishihara M.

Mechanism of changes induced in plasma glycerol by scent stimulation with grapefruit and lavender essential oils. Neuroscience Letters, 2007, 416(3), 241-246.

Shen J, Niijima A, Tanida M, Horii Y, Nakamura T and Nagai K.

Olfactory stimulation with scent of grapefruit oil affects autonomic nerves, lipolysis and appetite in rats. Neuroscience Letters, 2005, 380(3), 289-294.

Shen J, Niijima A, Tanida M, Horii Y, Maeda K and Nagai K.

Grapefruit oil Attenuates Adipogenesis in Cultured Subcutaneous Adipocytes. Planta Med. 2010 Feb 8 [Epub ahead of print].

Haze S, Sakai K, Gozu Y, Moriyama M.

'Huiles essentielles - 2000 ans de découvertes aromathérapeutiques pour une médecine d'avenir'

Dominique Baudoux

'L'aromathérapie exactement'

P. Franchomme and Dr D. Pénoël

'La bible de l'aromathérapie'

Nerys Purchon

'L'ABC des huiles essentielles'

Dr Telphon

'Plantes, huiles et parfums de beauté'

Marie-Françoise Delarozière and Raymonde Trierweiler

'Votre beauté au naturel'

Chantal Clergeaud

'Cosmétiques naturels - Conseils et recettes plaisirs pour préserver sa santé au quotidien'

Tiphaine Chagnoux and Hélène Baron

'90 recettes de beauté bio à faire soi-même'

Sophie Macheteau and Vanina Guet

'Mes petits cadeaux cosmétiques BIO'

Marie Bousquet and Christie Vanbremeersch

'Cuisinons avec les huiles essentielles - des trésors de saveurs et de vitalités'

Odile Davy and Martine Fayolle

'Saveurs et bien-être - la cuisine aux huiles essentielles'

Nathalie Le Foll and Beatriz Da Costa

'La cuisine aux huiles essentielles - Des recettes saines et créatives'

Aymeric Pataud

'L'aromathérapie énergétique ; guérir avec l'âme des plantes'

L. Bosson

'Aromatherapy body and soul'

André Bitsas

'Cuisiner avec les huiles essentielles et les eaux florales'

Emmanuel and Valérie Cupillard

http://www.elle.fr/Elle-a-Table/Recettes-de-cuisine/Tartare-de-saumon-pomelo-exotique-a-l-huile-essentielle-de-pamplemousse-2345356

http://www.biogourmand.info/index.php/2009/07/13/198-confiture-de-framboise

http://www.rtbf.be/tv/emission/detail_un-gars-un-chef/actualites/article_les-regles-de-la-cuisine-aux-huiles-essentielles?id=8144748&emissionId=5931

http://www.plurielles.fr/recettes-cuisine/fiche-pratique/comment-utiliser-les-huiles-essentielles-en-cuisine-7361105-402.html

http://www.marmiton.org/magazine/tendances-gourmandes_cuisine-aux-huiles-essentielles_3.aspx

Essential oil of Furanocoumarin-free grapefruit

How to use

Features

Properties and uses

In practice

In practice

In practice

Precautions

Find out more

Aromatherapy recipes from the bibliography

Exhaustion and overwork - "targeted oil for overwork" (N. Purchon)
Health & wellbeingLow energy, fatigue

Skin improver oil for oily skin (C. Clergeaud)
BeautyFacial skincare

oily skin (T. Telphon)
BeautyFacial skincare

Grapefruit verbena slimming mist (S. Macheteau)
BeautyBody care

Anti-cellulite oil (N. Purchon)
BeautyBody care

Text list for "Aromatherapy Recipes from the Bibliography'

Cossack's vodka lotion for men's hair (M. Bousquet)
BeautyHair & nail care

Rhassoul lightness mask - oily hair (S. Macheteau)
BeautyHair & nail care

Citrus oils (A. Pataud)
KitchenKitchen

Pork fillet mignon with citrus and vegetable confit with rosemary (N. Le Foll and B. da Costa)
KitchenKitchen

White tea with grapefruit essence (E. and V. Cupillard)
KitchenKitchen

Equivalents

Bibliography

Essential oil of Furanocoumarin-free grapefruit

How to use

Features

Properties and uses

In practice

In practice

In practice

Precautions

Find out more

Aromatherapy recipes from the bibliography

Exhaustion and overwork - "targeted oil for overwork" (N. Purchon)Health & wellbeingLow energy, fatigue

Skin improver oil for oily skin (C. Clergeaud)BeautyFacial skincare

oily skin (T. Telphon)BeautyFacial skincare

Grapefruit verbena slimming mist (S. Macheteau)BeautyBody care

Anti-cellulite oil (N. Purchon)BeautyBody care

Text list for "Aromatherapy Recipes from the Bibliography'

Cossack's vodka lotion for men's hair (M. Bousquet)BeautyHair & nail care

Rhassoul lightness mask - oily hair (S. Macheteau)BeautyHair & nail care

Citrus oils (A. Pataud)KitchenKitchen

Pork fillet mignon with citrus and vegetable confit with rosemary (N. Le Foll and B. da Costa)KitchenKitchen

White tea with grapefruit essence (E. and V. Cupillard)KitchenKitchen

Equivalents

Bibliography

Exhaustion and overwork - "targeted oil for overwork" (N. Purchon)
Health & wellbeingLow energy, fatigue

Skin improver oil for oily skin (C. Clergeaud)
BeautyFacial skincare

oily skin (T. Telphon)
BeautyFacial skincare

Grapefruit verbena slimming mist (S. Macheteau)
BeautyBody care

Anti-cellulite oil (N. Purchon)
BeautyBody care

Cossack's vodka lotion for men's hair (M. Bousquet)
BeautyHair & nail care

Rhassoul lightness mask - oily hair (S. Macheteau)
BeautyHair & nail care

Citrus oils (A. Pataud)
KitchenKitchen

Pork fillet mignon with citrus and vegetable confit with rosemary (N. Le Foll and B. da Costa)
KitchenKitchen

White tea with grapefruit essence (E. and V. Cupillard)
KitchenKitchen