Frankincense Essential Oil (Olibanum)
Frankincense is also known as Olibanum.
Frankincense is a tree resin that has been used and valued since ancient times for its medicinal, cosmetic, aromatic and spiritual applications. In Christianity, Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh were the gifts given to the baby Jesus by the three wise men.
Frankincense Essential Oil is used most often for spiritual, perfumery and incense /room fragrancing applications but is useful as an expectorant and sometimes is used in respiratory and cough formulations.
Frankincense Oil is steam distilled from frankincense resin. Frankincense Essential Oil smells sweeter, cleaner and fresher than the resin, and more people prefer the aroma of the essential oil to that of the resin.
I adore the aroma of Frankincense Essential Oil and include it in room fragrancing, incense and spiritual blends all year round.
Emotionally, I find the aroma to be grounding, calming and relaxing without being sedating. The aroma is woody, earthy and also has a slightly fruity/sweet, warm, spicy attitude to it. The country of origin and quality of the frankincense tears play a big part in the overall aroma of the essential oil.
 Frankincense Oil | Botanical Name: Boswellia carterii Common Method of Extraction: Steam Distilled Color: Light Yellow Consistency: Thin Perfumery Note: Base Strength of Initial Aroma: Mild – Medium |
Aromatic Description: Fresh, woody, balsamic, slightly spicy and fruity.
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| Frankincense Tears |
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Frankincense Oil Uses: Anxiety, asthma, bronchitis, extreme coughing, scars, stress, stretch marks. [Julia Lawless, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils (Rockport, MA: Element Books, 1995), 59-67.]
Constituents: Limonene, Pinene, Borneol, Farnesol, Phellandrene, Myrcene [Shirley Price, The Aromatherapy Workbook (Hammersmith, London: Thorsons, 1993), 54-5.]
Safety Information: Essential Oil Safety by Robert Tisserand does not indicate any special precautions when using Frankincense Oil. [Robert Tisserand, Essential Oil Safety (United Kingdom: Churchill Livingstone, 1995), 206.]
Important Note: The essential oil information provided within the Essential Oil Properties & Profiles area is intended for educational purposes only. This data is not considered complete and is not guaranteed to be accurate.
General Safety Information: Do not take any essential oils internally without consultation from a qualified aromatherapy practitioner. Do not apply undiluted essential oils, absolutes, CO2s or other concentrated essences onto the skin. If you are pregnant, epileptic, have liver damage, have cancer, or have any other medical problem, use essential oils only under the proper guidance of a qualified aromatherapy practitioner. Use extreme caution when using oils with children and give children only the gentlest oils at extremely low doses. It is safest to consult a qualified aromatherapy practitioner before using essential oils with children. A skin patch test should be conducted prior to using an essential oil that you’ve never used before. Instructions on conducting a skin patch test and more safety information can be found by visiting the Essential Oil Safety Information page. For very in-depth information on essential oil safety issues, read Essential Oil Safety by Robert Tisserand and Tony Balacs.