If you are bothered by varicose veins, hemorrhoids, or sweaty feet, you’ll want to make friends with today’s awesome essential oil. She can also be an ally in times of grief or difficult transition.
Essential Oil of Cypress
Cupressus sempervirens
My personal relationship with Cypress:
The Cypress tree, and by default the essential oil, will always represent Italy in my heart. This tall, graceful stoic tree is a quintessential symbol of the Tuscan countryside. In 1990 I had the privilege to spend a week in Tuscany touring wineries with my sister and brother-in-law who worked for a large wine import company in Maryland. We stayed in spectacular multi-million dollar villas owned by the Tuscan vintners. We enjoyed sumptuous meals on balconies overlooking stunning panoramas of the rolling Tuscan countryside, and everywhere stood the statuesque Cypress trees lining roads and surrounding graveyards. I can no longer pick up a bottle of Cypress essential oil without returning to Italy, even if just for a moment.
Note: Middle-Base
Geographical Source: Spain, France, Italy, and Morocco
Plant Part: The essential oil is expressed by steam distillation of the cones, twigs and leaves
Oil Characteristics: Cypress essential oil has a fresh, woody, somewhat masculine aroma. The oil is colorless to very pale yellow in color. Viscosity is watery.
Chemical Families: Monoterpenes, Monoterpenols, Esters
Therapeutic Properties:
- Alleviates inflammation
- Diuretic
- It’s astringent action helps tighten tissue
- A wonderful deodorizer
- Offers relief for chronic rheumatic pain
- Decongestant – reduces nasal mucus production and swellingGreat for calming spasms, especially coughing
Some Suggested Applications:
- Leg Cream: 3% blend (15 d to 1 oz carrier) to help relieve the swelling and pain of varicose veins, especially with a little Lemon and Geranium essential oils added to the blend. Also good for restless leg syndrome
- Skincare: Try making a clay mask for oily skin
- Foot Bath: Add 3 drops in a foot bath with one drop of Peppermint to little to help control perspiration and foot odor.
- Massage or Bath: Cypress oil can be used as a massage oil (10 drops of eo to 1 oz carrier oil) or diluted in the bath (10-15 drops) for arthritis, asthma, menstrual cramps, varicose veins and hemmorhoids.
Blends well with: Floral and Citrus essential oils. I love to use Cypress in a room diffuser with Sweet Orange.
A Recipe Using Cypress:
For Spastic Cough
5 drops Cypress
5 drops Frankincense
Add to a blank nasal inhaler. Inhale deeply as often as needed to calm the cough. This may also help with sleep due to coughing.
Subtle Properties: (vibrational and energetic): Cypress is an ancient symbol of solace and can be very soothing in times of transition whether moving your home or changing career. It is particularly strengthening and comforting at the end of a relationship or during bereavement.
Fun Facts:
- Cypress wood was used for the doors of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, Rome.
- Cypress is used as a fragrance component in colognes, aftershaves and perfumes.
- Cypress is ruled by the planet Saturn
Two Personal Stories about Cypress
1. While I was living in Rome, a friend from New York came for a visit. On the drive home from the airport, she complained of discomfort during her flight. I asked what she meant and she finally admitted that she had inflamed hemorrhoids that were painful and the long flight aggravated the condition. As soon as we returned to my apartment, I ran a sitz bath for her and added about 20 drops of Cypress essential oil in about a 1/2 C of olive oil. I instructed her to get in and quietly relax in the tub for half an hour. After 30 minutes she emerged and declared, “Liz! You are a witch! I feel 100% better!” As much as I’d like to take credit for the “witchcraft”, it was the vaso-constricting properties of the oil that did the magic.
2. Several years ago, my friend Colleen lost her 23-year-old son. The first thing I did was make a blend of cypress and bergamot in the form of a spray for her home. I also made a blend of cypress and rose oil and gave her, and her three daughters, massages in their home in the first days after his unexpected death.
Safety Information: Non-toxic, non-irritating. If oxidized it may cause skin irritation or sensitization. Some books say to avoid this essential oil during pregnancy, but there is no research to support this statement.
My 
Aromatic Wisdom SoulCollage Card for Cypress:
I empathize with suffering and sorrow.
I offer a transitional bridge between the physical and the spiritual.
I help you let go and move on.
I offer strength and energetic protection when you feel you’ve lost your purpose
Ready to take a Deep Dive into Cypress Essential Oil?
You’ll love my Cypress Deep Dive online course!
What you will get when you enroll in the
Cypress Deep Dive course:
I am in Florida staying in a residential park called Cypress Creek surrounded by cypress trees at the moment, what a serendipitous post!
Wow…sounds like Cypress has a powerful message for you Gretchen! You might want to pick up some oil while you’re there.
I absolutely love cypress. I use a bit in my shaving soap, and I also add it to blends I make for its energetic qualities. Such a beautiful oil!