Bruises can be a real pain – not to mention colourful!
From accidentally banging your knee against a table to a more serious sporting injury, bruises emerge quickly and are the bodies’ way of showing us there is some damage. While they do go away in time, some people want to see the back of them quickly and need a treatment that can help.
Luckily, essential oils are known to help a versatile range of ailments in the body and in some circumstances, they have been seen to heal bruises. In this article, we’re sharing our top four essential oils to treat bruises fast and repair the body back to wellness.
What Happens When You Bruise?
We’ve all had bruises—those dark violet, blue, yellow, brown, and green patches that result from bumping, colliding, or damaging the skin. Never mind the rainbow of colour they leave behind—they can feel really sore, too!
What causes a bruise to appear? After a fall or bump, extreme pressure or trauma forces the blood vessels underneath the skin to rupture and clot. In essence, a bruise means that blood is bleeding under the skin rather than out of an open wound.
Bruises can either be mild or severe and may take anywhere from several days to several weeks to completely heal. As the bruise begins to repair, the colour will change, eventually getting lighter and going away completely.
Benefits Of Essential Oils For Bruises
Fans of essential oils know how effective they are at helping certain health problems based on their natural constituents, and it’s no different with bruises.
Many essential oils are highly valued in medicinal practices for their anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antioxidant properties, making them a popular home remedy for relieving nasty bruises. Here's how the right essential oils can help:
- Promoting wound healing
- Reducing inflammation
- Calming swelling
- Fighting against infection
- Increasing collagen production
- Relieving pain
Best Essential Oils For Bruises
Among the hundreds of essential oils on the market, there are several containing natural compounds said to help heal bruises.
Here are four of our favourite essential oils that can help heal the body of bruises naturally.
Frankincense Essential Oil
Fans of Frankincense Essential Oil know it’s one of the best essential oils for skincare, boosting complexion and reducing the appearance of wrinkles, scars and blemishes. Yet it can also make a great natural home remedy for bruises.
The powerful anti-inflammatory properties in Frankincense can help reduce the size of bruises and encourage the skin’s natural healing process to work quickly. It’s also known to help with pain relief, making it the perfect essential oil for helping bruises.
Helichrysum Essential Oil
Helichrysum Essential Oil is one of the most popular essential oils for skincare, with powerful restorative properties that reduce the appearance of blemishes, scarring, and signs of ageing. And you’ll be pleased to hear Helichrysum oil is good for bruises, too.
The healing and anti-inflammatory abilities in Helichrysum Oil boost cell regeneration, increase circulation and encourage the healing of minor wounds. It has also been seen to reduce the pain associated with sore muscles and makes an excellent bruise treatment at home.
Lavender Essential Oil
Known as one of the most versatile in its league, Lavender Essential Oil is perfect for alleviating bruises. It has natural cleansing properties and has been seen to reduce pain and enhance blood circulation while being great for reducing the appearance of blemishes and scars.
It’s also believed to increase collagen production for tissue regeneration to speed up healing – which is great news when there's a rainbow-coloured patch on your skin, and you want it gone!
Rosemary Essential Oil
Rosemary Essential Oil is another all-natural essential oil for bruising and swelling.
Rosemary contains a powerful anti-inflammatory agent, Cineole, which is believed to inhibit the body’s pain receptors. This not only reduces inflammation but also helps fight infections and enhances the healing process. It also contains multiple antioxidant acids, which are good for fighting inflammation and pain.
Dilution Guidelines
Due to their high concentration, we always recommend diluting essential oils with a carrier oil. Here are some of our favourite carrier oils that may assist with treating bruises:
For safe dilution, please refer to the following guidelines:
We recommend doing a skin patch before your first application to test for any potential allergic reactions. If you experience any reactions within 24 hours, we recommend that you discontinue.
If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, please consult with your doctor or healthcare professional before using essential oils for bruises.
Other Tips To Treat Bruises Naturally
Bruises are often painful, although they do go away on their own eventually. However, if you want to speed up the bruise healing process, several home remedies are said to help reduce pain, drain fluid away from the area, and increase blood flow.
In addition to essential oils, here are some other natural remedies for bruises:
- Ice therapy: Placing ice against a bruise reduces swelling and numbs the area to ease pain.
- Heat: Applying heat to a bruise helps improve the blood flow and relaxes the muscles, aiding in healing.
- Compression: Wrapping the bruised area with an elastic bandage reduces swelling and provides support.
- Elevation: Keeping the bruised area elevated above heart level helps to reduce the blood flow to the area and decreases any swelling.
- Arnica: Applying Arnica cream or gel (produced from a natural herb) can reduce inflammation and promote bruise healing.
- Vitamin K cream: Rubbing vitamin K cream on a bruise can help speed up healing by minimising blood clotting.
- Vitamin C: Taking vitamin C supplements or eating vitamin C-rich foods helps strengthen blood vessels and aids in skin repair.
- Aloe vera: Applying aloe vera gel soothes the skin and reduces inflammation.
- Comfrey cream: Comfrey cream (made from a natural herb) can promote rapid healing of bruises due to its anti-inflammatory properties.
Where To Buy Essential Oils For Bruises
While essential oils are generally available to purchase at health, wellness and retail stores, it is important to understand that the purity and quality of these essential oils will vary. That is why we recommend buying your oils from a reputable supplier.
Here at AWO, we have a wide selection of 100% pure essential oils and organic essential oils that are sold at reasonable prices. Because our stock is purchased in bulk, our costs are significantly lower, allowing us to offer our high-quality products at affordable prices. And we are based right here in Australia!
Essential Oil Safety
Whilst essential oils are natural products, they are extremely potent and can cause serious harm if used incorrectly. For this reason, we recommend the following:
- In line with the Therapeutic Goods Act, we do not recommend ingesting essential oils without the guidance of a registered Aromatherapist or Naturopath.
- Avoid using Essential Oils during pregnancy and whilst breastfeeding.
- We recommend storing your Essential Oils in a cool, dry place at room temperature, ensuring that they are not directly exposed to sunlight and are out of reach of children or pets.
- Essential Oils can be very concentrated and are likely to cause irritation or reactions if applied directly to the skin. For this reason, it is important to first dilute your essential oils before using topically (on the skin). Our recommended dilution percentages can be found under the ‘Best Essential Oils For Bruises’ section.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any illness.