Steam-distilled from the small pepper-like fruits of Litsea cubeba, a tree of southern China and Southeast Asia. Brilliant, sweet and lemony — brighter and rounder than lemongrass, and one of the loveliest citrus-type smells that does not come from a citrus at all.
About the name — a correction worth making
May chang is often sold as "exotic verbena" or verveine exotique. It is not a verbena. True lemon verbena is Aloysia citrodora (formerly Lippia citriodora), a completely different plant from South America whose oil is expensive, scarce and subject to its own restrictions.
The names got tangled because the two smell alike. But if a recipe or a practitioner specifies lemon verbena, may chang is not a substitute — and if you are being sold "verbena oil" at a low price, this is very likely what it is. Better to know.
Citral — the reason to dilute it properly
May chang is around 70 to 75 per cent citral, the same compound that dominates lemongrass, and citral is a well-documented skin sensitiser.
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Keep dermal use below one per cent — around 4 to 5 drops in 30 ml of carrier oil. Never neat, never in a bath.
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Patch test at your intended dilution and wait 24 hours, and repeat after a break.
- Not on broken, sensitive or irritated skin.
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Glaucoma: citral-rich oils carry a standard caution based on animal data about intraocular pressure. Ask your ophthalmologist first.
- Not for young children; avoid in pregnancy and breastfeeding unless advised otherwise; not around pets, cats especially.
What an essential oil may and may not claim
May chang is often sold on the promise that its aroma is "wonderfully uplifting and calming at once — so much so that it is often called the 'oil of tranquillity'", and that diluted it is "a lovely purifying, balancing oil for the skin". That wording does not appear here. Claims about emotional state and about treating skin are health claims, and none is authorised in the EU for any essential oil. A nickname is still a claim when it is doing the work of one.
What it is genuinely good for
Its scent, which is genuinely special — it has the lift of lemon with a sweetness and a slight floral roundness that no true citrus quite manages, and unlike expressed citrus oils it is distilled, so it keeps far better. It is also considerably cheaper than most oils of comparable beauty.
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Diffusion: one or two drops — it is strong. Ventilated room, short sessions. Beautiful with lavender, petitgrain, cedarwood, ginger, geranium and basil.
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Household: excellent in a surface spray. 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 — oxidised citral-rich oil is markedly more sensitising than fresh.
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