Steam-distilled from the leaves of Cinnamomum zeylanicum — not the bark. Warm, sweet and spicy with a clove-like depth underneath.
Leaf and bark are two different oils — this is the leaf
This distinction is worth understanding because it changes both the smell and the safety, and shops rarely explain it.
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Cinnamon bark oil is dominated by cinnamaldehyde. It smells exactly like the spice in your cupboard — sweet, hot, unmistakably cinnamon. It is also among the most aggressive sensitisers in aromatherapy, with a recommended maximum dermal use of around a tenth of one per cent.
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Cinnamon leaf oil — this bottle — is dominated by eugenol, the same compound that dominates clove. It smells warmer, deeper and more clove-like, with the cinnamon note further back. It is meaningfully gentler than bark oil, which is why leaf oil is the one usually sold for home use.
Gentler than bark oil is not the same as gentle. Eugenol is a phenol and a well-documented skin sensitiser.
Using it on skin
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Keep dermal use at or below about half a per cent — roughly 3 drops in 30 ml of carrier oil. Never neat.
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Never in a bath — oil floats and arrives on skin undiluted.
- Never on mucous membranes, in the mouth or near the eyes.
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Patch test at your intended dilution and wait 24 hours. Sensitisation is cumulative: the reaction that matters is the one you have not had yet.
Not in pregnancy or breastfeeding, and not on children. Avoid if you take anticoagulant or antiplatelet medication — eugenol inhibits platelet aggregation — and avoid before surgery.
What an essential oil may and may not claim
Cinnamon leaf oil is commonly described as "purifying" and as "a powerful natural cleanser". That wording does not appear here. No health claim is authorised in the EU for any essential oil, and "purifying" in this context implies an antimicrobial effect on a person, which is a medicinal claim. Eugenol does have genuine antimicrobial activity in laboratory conditions — that is real chemistry, and it does not transfer to a diffuser in a living room.
What it is genuinely good for
It is one of the great winter scents, and a single drop goes a long way. Blend it with sweet orange, mandarin, clove, ginger, vanilla or cedarwood. It is excellent in a homemade surface spray, and it is what you want in the house in December.
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Diffusion: one or two drops, ventilated room, short session. Not around children, pregnant women or pets — cats and birds especially.
- Keep it off unsealed wood and painted surfaces.
Safety — the essentials
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Never swallow essential oils without the direct supervision of a qualified health professional.
- Keep out of reach of children, in the original bottle with the child-resistant cap.
- In eyes: flush with plain vegetable oil rather than water.
- Accident or swallowing: in Portugal call CIAV on 800 250 250 — free, 24 hours. In an emergency, 112.
Storage: cool, dark, tightly closed, upright. It will darken with age and it stains.
Propos'Nature
Propos'Nature
Propos'Nature
