A blow to any part of your body may break blood vessels underneath the skin and leave you with bruised skin. Bruises cause purple, blue, or black discolorations on the skin. Your injury heals over time and your bruises turn brown/yellow before receding completely. While you can try different remedies, you may get amazing results using essential oil. Let's find out more about some of the best essential oils to help treat your bruises.
Essential Oil for Bruises
Essential oils have medicinal properties and can work great to fade your bruises. Be sure to dilute essential oils with some carrier oil before applying to your skin. It is also a good idea to perform a patch test to ensure you are not allergic to the oil.
1. Lavender Essential Oil
Lavender oil helps constrict blood flow, which is why you should apply it immediately after you notice a bruise.
How to Use: First, apply an ice pack to the affected area for 15 minutes. Then, mix lavender oil and some carrier oil, and apply it to the bruise. Be sure to massage the area for a few minutes. Repeat the procedure every couple of hours until you notice some improvement.
2. Cypress Essential Oil
It helps relieve inflammation and proves effective against cellulite, varicose veins, and stretch marks. It works by stimulating blood circulation and keeping the blood from pooling underneath skin. Apply it immediately after you get an injury to treat a bruise.
How to Use: Start by applying an ice pack for 15 minutes. Combine cypress oil with carrier oil and massage it into the affected area for a few minutes. Repeat several times a day for good results.
3. Helichrysum Essential Oil
It is yet another effective essential oil for bruises – it is equally effective in the treatment of abrasions, scarring, and sun damage. You should start using it about six hour after you sustain an injury; you can also make use of it a day after the injury. It improves blood circulation and reduces swelling.
How to Use: Combine helichrysum oil with another carrier oil and apply directly on to the affected area. Continue to apply it every couple of hours until you notice improvement.
4. Lemongrass Essential Oil
You can resort to lemongrass essential oil to reduce pain, bruise and inflammation. It also helps soothe your achy muscles and reduce swelling at the same time.
How to Use: Dilute lemongrass essential oil using some carrier oil and apply it to the affected area. Rub it gently to help repair your damaged tissue, which in turn will reduce bruising and accelerate the healing process.
5. Geranium Essential Oil
Just like lemongrass essential oil, geranium oil helps repair damaged tissue and reduce bruising and swelling. It also has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.
How to Use: Mix geranium oil with carrier oil and apply this diluted mixture to the affected area. Continue with this remedy until you feel better.
6. Roman Chamomile Essential Oil
This is another effective essential oil for bruises mainly because it has anti-inflammatory and cicatrisant properties. Regular application works great to reduce the appearance of spots, scars, and bruises.
How to Use: Take some carrier oil and dilute chamomile oil. Now, apply it to your affected area of the body and rub gently. Not only does it reduce the appearance of your bruise, but it also lowers risk of infection from broken skin.
7. Frankincense Essential Oil
The presence of a compound called boswellia makes frankincense essential oil effective against bruises.
How to Use: Combine frankincense oil with a base oil and then apply to your bruise thrice a day. Continue its use until your bruise goes away completely.
Other Ways to Use Essential Oils for Bruises
You can always use a single essential oil for bruises, but there are other ways to make essential oil a lot more effective. Here are some other options:
Essential Oil Blends Compress
To make a compress, simply add a drop of geranium oil, 3 drops of rosemary oil, and 2 drops of lavender oil to cold water. Soak a cloth in this mixture and apply it to the injured area for 10 minutes at a time. Do it twice a day for good results.
If you have already developed a bruise, you may benefit from both cold and hot compresses. You can switch between the two. You can make a heating compress by adding the same three oils as the cold compress to hot water.
Arnica Ointment and Essential Oil Mix
You can use arnica ointment to help reduce the appearance of bruises. You can mix arnica ointment with a couple of drops of essential oil such as tea tree, lavender, chamomile, lemongrass, fennel, geranium, cypress, yarrow, and helichrysum essential oils.
Other Natural Remedies for Bruises
Along with using essential oil for bruises, you can try some other natural remedies as well. For instance:
- Margarine: You can apply it to the bruise to help reduce the swelling.
- Witch Hazel: It can help reduce the swelling and accelerate the healing process at the same time.
- Onion: You can apply onion to reduce bruising and swelling if your skin is intact at the wound.
- Lemon: Placing a piece of lemon over the affected area for a few minutes may help accelerate the healing process and treat internal hemorrhaging as well.
- Turmeric: Add turmeric powder to a cup of warm milk and have it in the morning to recover quickly.
- Herbal Tea: You can make herbal tea from comfrey, hops, or white oak bark and apply it to the affected area for relief.
When to Seek Medical Attention
Bruises are not serious in most cases, but they sometimes indicate a more serious underlying damage. Be sure to call your doctor in the following situations:
- You get a bruise for no apparent reason.
- You believe your bruise is the outcome of a broken bone.
- You have a bruise with severe pain and swelling.
- You have a bruise underneath your toenail or fingernail and experience severe pain.
- Your bruise does not get better in a couple of weeks.