Magnolia champaca, or Michelia champaca, is a type of magnolia characterized by highly scented flowers. And is from the champaca’s flowers that essential oils rich in volatile compounds are extracted, used in the cosmetic industry to produce perfumes and in herbal field for aromatherapy.
Champaca essential oil, properties
Champaca essential oil has a warm and fascinating aroma, able to warm up the heart and to bring calm and serenity. In fact, this essential oil relaxes directly the nervous system. In addition to this, thanks to the substances contained, such as linalool and flavonoids, champaca essential oil is also anti inflammatory, painkiller and antispasmodic, useful in case of headache and migraines, rheumatism and abdominal cramps (Vimala et al, Indian J Exp Biol, 1997 - Dhandapani et al, BMC Genomics, 2017).
Champaca essential oils, uses and applications
Both to relax and to soothe headache you can diffuse the essential oil into the rooms with an oil burner, 2 drops of champaca essential oil are enough together with 2 drops of another essential oil such as rose, rosewood, vanilla, cedar wood, neroli or ylang ylang. In alternative, you can prepare a warm bath, relaxing and painkiller, by adding to the water 3 drops of champaca essential oil in a handful of sea salt. If it doesn’t cause allergies, as it is explained in the following paragraph, you can prepare a massage lotion, analgesic and anti inflammatory, by mixing 50 ml of a plant based oil, such as sweet almond oil or jojoba oil, and 3 drops of champaca essential oil.
Champaca essential oil, warnings
The linalool is one of the main constituents of champaca essential oil, it reaches indeed the amount of 70% (Abu Shah et al, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 2013). Linalool makes the essence anti inflammatory and analgesic, however, the linalool is considered also a possible allergen and a cause, in predisposed people, of contact allergies (Christensson JB et al, Contact dermatitis, 2012). For this reason, before having a bath scented with champaca or a massage with lotions prepared with champaca essential oil you should perform a patch test on a small area of the skin and test if there are any reactions.
