Orange Essential Oil for Natural Lip Care

Citrus sinensis

Sweet orange essential oil is pressed from the peel of the fruit, and people have used oranges for a very long time. It has always been valued more for its scent than anything else, and in lip balm that bright citrus note is the main reason it's there.

Historical context

The sweet orange isn't a wild fruit. It started as a cross between the pomelo and the mandarin, and it traces back to China and Southeast Asia, where it was grown and selected over thousands of years. From there it spread west along trade routes and reached the Mediterranean and later the Americas. The oil itself is usually pressed from the peel, and it was mostly prized for an aroma that people found cheerful.

What does orange oil do for your lips?

• Flavor and scent: this is the main reason orange oil goes into a balm. The citrus smell is pleasant to wear, and a few small studies suggest the aroma can lift your mood a little.
• Antioxidants: the oil is mostly limonene, usually well over 90 percent of it, and limonene has shown antioxidant activity in lab work.
• Antibacterial in the lab: orange oil and limonene can slow the growth of some bacteria and fungi in test conditions. That's a lab finding, not a treatment for chapped or cracked lips.

The softening you feel from a balm comes from its butters and carrier oils, not the orange oil, which is there for flavor and aroma. Ours is cold-pressed from the rind of sweet oranges grown in North America, so the citrus comes through without heat or solvents.

In short

Orange essential oil mostly brings flavor and scent, plus a bit of antioxidant activity from its limonene. Like any essential oil, it should be properly diluted before it goes on the lips. One thing worth knowing: some citrus oils are phototoxic and can react with sunlight, but cold-pressed sweet orange is generally not considered one of them, unlike bitter orange, lemon, and bergamot.