Grapefruit essential oil’s Latin name is Citrus paradisi. It’s a citrus fruit and the oils are extracted from its peels. As many people already know that the benefits of using grapefruit are long and it’s been used to help with inflammation, weight gain, sugar cravings, etc. for years.
Grapefruit essential oil has a lot of properties in it which make it acts as a disinfectant, stimulant, stress-fighter, diuretic, antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, aperitif, antiseptic, and a tonic.
Grapefruit essential oils are one of the cheaper essential oils and I do use it regularly. Therefore, since I use so much grapefruit essential oil I buy it from NOW because you can get a lot of the essential oil for cheap.
10 Health Benefits of Grapefruit Essential Oil
Down below I am going to show you the many ways you can use grapefruit essential oil. This is an ongoing list and I will try to update it frequently as I can.
Grapefruit essential oral is a dermal irritant. Like other citrus essential oils, it’s phototoxic. Make sure that you avoid exposure to the sunlight for 12 to 24 hours after applying it to your skin.
Grapefruit mixes well with bergamot, frankincense, geranium, lavender, ylang ylang, rosemary, lime, orange, peppermint, and lemon.
Depression & Mood Enhancer
Many people struggle with depression and I have written about essential oils and depression already.
Grapefruit essential oil is my top recommendation for dealing with depression symptoms.
It’s one of the more popular essential oils used in aromatherapy. But, grapefruit essential oil acts as a natural “pick-me-up”. It stimulating so it can reduce brain fog, mental fatigue, and yes depression.
There have been numerous studies on grapefruit essential oil and time after time they prove that this citrus essential oil makes people more reactive and alert. Researches do believe that it helps with depression and can help reduce the dosage of antidepressants needed.
Diffuse. Add 5-9 drops of grapefruit essential oil to your electronic diffuser and diffuse it throughout the day.
Inhale. Use an inhaler and inhale it for 1-2 minutes, throughout the day.
Topically. Mix it with a carrier oil like coconut and apply it to your neck, wrist, chest, temples 3-5 times a day.
I’m not stating that you should discontinue taking antidepressants. You should certainly check with your doctor if you do whish to quit antidepressants or minimize your dosage.
Weight Loss
Have you ever heard of the grapefruit diet? It was a fad diet that was supposed to help you in losing weight.
There is some truth to grapefruit essential oil and losing weight, though.
The biggest reason why grapefruit essential oil can help boost weight loss is that the compounds in it actually boost your metabolism, which is what helps you with weight loss. It helps by jumpstarting your lymphatic system. In a study on rats, grapefruit and lemon were inhaled. It showed it helped reduce their body weight.
Grapefruit essential oil helps to suppress your appetite, much like peppermint essential oil does.
Inhale. Try inhaling grapefruit with an inhaler throughout the day (see my Plant Therapy’s inhaler review).
Diffuse. Put 4-7 drops of grapefruit in your diffuser and diffuse it throughout the day.
Antibacterial Agent
Grapefruit is one of my favorite essential oils to make homemade cleaning sprays with. Please check out my article on essential oils and cleaning.
The properties in grapefruit essential oil kill bacteria strains.
These strains are usually the ones that come from bad food, bad water, or parasites. In addition, studies have shown that the properties in this oil can fight off various bacteria that cause food-borne illnesses, like e-coli and salmonella. Additionally, grapefruit essential oil has shown to kill mold growth and disinfect water. In fact, when the oil was tested against over 60 types of bacteria, it worked to fight every one of them.
Soaps. Add a couple drops in your homemade soaps or store bought soaps to add even more antibacterial properties.
Diffuse. Diffuse it throughout the day to help kill any airborne germs that might be in the air.
Reduces Stress
Stress is something we all have to deal with. I’ve already written an article on stress and anxiety, which grapefruit essential oil is great for helping with.
Grapefruit essential oil is an uplifting and calming scent, like a lot of citrus essential oil.
The scent of grapefruit oil has been used for many years to help calm and relieve stress. It’s actually my “go to” essential oil when I’m really stressed out.
The reason is that it turns on the parts of your brain responsible for being calm and reducing stress. There was a study conducted in 2002 which showed that when grapefruit essential oil was inhaled along with peppermint, fennel, and rose it significantly affected the brains chemistry which allows you to relax.
It can even help lower your blood pressure in natural ways.
Inhale. Use an inhaler throughout the day and inhale it for 1-2 minutes during the day.
Diffuse. Diffuse grapefruit throughout the day with other citrus essential oils to help relax your mind from your day to day stress.
Topically. Add 12-15 drops of grapefruit to your carrier oil like grapeseed and apply it to your neck, under your feet, and wrist 3-5 times a day. Also, you can add a couple drops to your lotion before applying them to your skin.
Relieves Hangovers
We have all experienced the unpleasant effects of a hangover.
Grapefruit essential oil is one of the best essential oils to help you bounce back from a hangover.
Since grapefruit oil is a very powerful stimulant for the liver and gallbladder, it can help the symptoms of a night of heavy drinking, such as: headaches, cravings, and tiredness.
It helps detoxify your body and make you urinate more, which will flush all that out. At the same time, it blocks the cravings for sugar that alcohol usually makes people have.
Diffuse. Add it to your diffuser and inhale it throughout the day.
Topically. Add it with a carrier oil and apply it to your temples throughout the day.
Also, make sure you drink plenty of water and eat lots of fruit and vegetables, throughout the day.
Reduces Sugar Cravings
Sugar is bad and I have been stating for years that I really limit my consumption of sugar. Furthermore, here is an article which points out what to much sugar can do to your body: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/too-much-sugar
Not only can this oil help stop cravings for sugar, but it can also help you kick a sugar addiction. One of the ingredients of grapefruit oil, limonene, has been tested and proved to help balance out blood sugar levels and help reduce your appetite. These studies also show that the oil affects the autonomic nervous system. This system is responsible for helping regulate the bodily functions that happen when someone is unconscious.
Diffuse. Add 3-5 drops of grapefruit essential oil to your diffuser. Personally, I use the InnoGear 150 ml and URPOWER 500 ml electronic diffuser.
Topically. Make a 3-5% dilution with a carrier oil and apply it to your wrist and chest when you have sugar cravings.
Ingest. Again, make sure the essential oil is pure. Two brands I recommend are Aura Cacia and Plant Therapy. Add 1-2 drops to raw organic honey and drink 8 oz of water after ingesting it.
Circulation & Inflammation
It’s a fact that citrus essential oils help with circulation and inflammation, according to Dr. Axe.
The biggest reason why grapefruit oil does this is that it helps to dilate the blood vessels and let the blood flow through easier. This increased in circulation can help with things like PMS cramps, headaches, bloating, muscle pains and fatigue.
Research has shown that limonene helps reduce inflammation and helps regulate your bodies cytokine production. This can be proved by this study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4835072/
Bath. Add 3-4 drops to your bath and soak for 20 minutes.
Topically. Apply it to your neck or wrist with 3-5% dilution 2-3 times a day.
Improves Digestion
Grapefruit essential oil is great for improving digestion because it increases the flow of blood to the organs responsible for digestion, such as the kidneys and liver.
As I have mentioned earlier it’s a diuretic, which makes you urinate more frequently. It can help get rid of any water retention and fights bacteria in the stomach.
Diffuse. The best way to use this safely for digestion is diffuse it throughout the day.
Topically. Mix it with a carrier oil and rub it on your abdomen. Use 3-5% dilution.
Ingestion. People commonly drink grapefruit juice, but I can’t stress the importance of using essential oils that are pure if you are going to ingest it. Put 1-2 drops of grapefruit essential oil with raw organic honey and consume it that way. Make sure you drink a full 8 oz glass of water after ingesting it. Again, make sure the essential oil is pure if you are going to ingest it.
Skin Health
There are a lot of acne and skin products that have citrus oils in them. In fact, many lotions and soaps include grapefruit because of these properties.
Grapefruit oil has many properties for the skin, including anti-aging. Not only does it help fight off bacteria that lives in the grease of the face, but it also helps heal wounds and prevent skin infections. People have even used grapefruit essential oil to reduce cellulite. Grapefruit essential oil can even be used to reduce acne. Please see my article on essential oils and acne.
Topically. You can apply grapefruit essential oil to minor wounds, and bites to help reduce the risk of infections. Also, you can add a couple drops to your lotion.
Hair Health
Earlier I mentioned that grapefruit essential oil has many antibacterial properties in it.
Grapefruit is good for your hair.
It can help kill the bacteria that stays on your scalp. In addition, you can use it to get rid of greasy hair and add shine and volume to your hair. Also, grapefruit essential oil can help with your hair color if it’s dull from sunlight exposer.
Topically. Add 3-4 drops to your shampoo or conditioner. Please see my homemade essential oil article for more information on making your own shampoos with essential oils.
Have you used grapefruit essential oil in the past? Do you have any questions that are not addressed in this article? Please leave a comment down below.
17 thoughts on “10 Great Grapefruit Essential Oil Benefits”
This is a very informative article on grapefruit EO! I knew about half the benefits from your list but I didn’t know it could aid hangovers and reduce sugar cravings. I’m in complete agreement with you about sugars. They are incredibly bad for you. I try to limit my sugar intake to mostly natural sugars like fruit and even limit those.
I have a question though. Do you know if it’d be safe to topically use this while breastfeeding?
Hey Tina,
You should always be cautious when using essential oils when pregnant and nursing. I would say it’s ok when breastfeeding, but make sure you do a simple patch test to make sure you don’t have any reactions to grapefruit essential oil.
I would highly advise you to check with your doctor, too. Might want to do 1-2% dilution rather than 3% when nursing, though. It’s always better to play it safe.
I really love grapefruit and actually, the smell is nice. I really didn’t know there were this many benefits, and I like the idea of using the essential oil for so many different benefits, including weight loss!
Hey Matts Mom,
Yeah weight loss is just one of the many benefits to using grapefruit essential oil. Not only does it speed up your metabolism, but it also suppresses your appetite, which is a double whammy.
But, improving your digestion is another great health benefit from using grapefruit essential oil. I like to diffuse it with lemon essential oil which also great for digestion.
Really, any citrus blend mixes good with grapefruit, though.
Hi, thanks for sharing this list.
I’ve been looking for a natural way to help with my depression and deal with some of the stress that’s going on at the moment, and I happened to come across your site.
This has been really interesting to read, I didn’t realise Grapefruit juice can have such an impact on those who are depressed.
I stopped taking my antidepressants a few years back, but the depressive symptoms still show up from time to time, so I think I may give grapefruit oil a try and see how it goes.
Thanks again, I’m really glad I came across this page.
Hey Stephanie,
Depression is something that millions of people struggle with. It’s really hard to keep pressing on when times are hard and your mind is keeping you from doing things. It’s such a complex problem.
You might want to consider taking fish oils, too. At the end of the day, I take 2,500 mg of fish oil.
But, really I have found grapefruit and lime seem to really help me when I am feeling down.
Wow, this was so informative. Specifically the fact that Grapefruit Essential Oil helps reduce sugar cravings. This is music to my ears.. I already have some essential oils, including Grapefruit but I never knew that it helps reduce sugar cravings. I have quite the sweet tooth and have been refining my diet during the past several months. I learned all about sugar (See “Sugarcoated,” a Documentary on Netflix) and have really been riding the struggle bus. I love that I can use this topically as well, thanks for explaining a safe way to do this!
I had known of Grapefruit solving healthy issues like digestion and skin healthy, little did I knew it can help with stress and depression problems, your article has a great deal of information. Quick question, though. How long should you diffuse grapefruit, throughout the day? All day long?
Hey Ngonidzashe,
Yeah, there really are a lot of health benefits to grapefruit essential oil. It’s really one of the most uplifting essential oils you can use.
But, to answer your question it’s recommended that you diffuse it for 30 minutes and then shut it off. It’s recommended that you use it 3 times a day. Leaving it on to long can actually cause headaches. To much of a good thing isn’t recommend in the aromatherapy world.
Mountain Rose Herbs actually wrote about it here:
https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/learn/essential-oils-warning
Hi!
I’ve been using essential oils for just about everything for years. I’ve never been a big fan of ingesting essential oils though but I love diffusing them. I found grapefruit along with lemon and orange essential oils make a really good all-purpose cleaner too. I really like using natural homemade cleaners since I’ve got a very young child and I don’t want her eating or breathing toxins from store-bought ones.
I do have a question for you regarding using grapefruit for the skin. I noticed that you mentioned this can help reduce cellulite. Do you have any personal experience with this working or can you point me to an article that talks about it? I’m also assuming that you use it topically for this instead of consuming it?
Thanks so much for sharing this great information!
I started buying Young Living essential oils a few months ago. What is great is I use grapefruit throughout the day. It helps keep my mood positive and I really didn’t know it had all those other health benefits too. I am certainly going to have to find some more uses for grapefruit essential oil. I always just diffused it, but I guess you can use it a lot of other ways, too.
However, I do have a question about Young Living. Their prices are pretty high. Are there any other similar companies that sell good quality essential oils, too? I am happy with Young Living, but their prices are kind of expensive!
Thank you for your answer beforehand!
Been using doTERRA grapefruit essential oil for a while now. It helps uplift my mood and I diffuse it throughout the day. That and I like to mix it with lemon. That combination is one of the best mood enhancing blends I have ever used.
There are so many different uses for grapefruit essential oil, though. My girlfriend uses it in her hand soap and also an air spritzer that she uses to spray the room with. It makes our apartment smell really good!
I have already experienced some of the wonderful benefits of grapefruit essential oils as mentioned in this article. Especially it is a good mood enhancer and particularly useful in dealing with depression.
May I add one more uses of grapefruit EO?
Grapefruit oil can be used to naturally add a touch of citrus flavor to your meals, shakes and water. This helps increase your satiety after eating, reduces cravings for carbohydrates and sweets and improves digestion after a meal.
Gee Ess
Hey Gee,
You are correct that grapefruit can uplift your mood. That is why it’s so commonly used to combat the side effects of depression. Many people use a spritz spray or diffuse it to help ward off feelings of depression.
It’s not recommended by NAHA (National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy) to use essential oils internally. However, brands like doTERRA and Young Living have developed brands that encourage internal use of their essential oils.
Very insightful post on using Grapefruit essential oils for depression , I did know it was beneficial for weight loss and sugar cravings but had never heard of the mental healing properties . When talking about applying essential oils Topically you mention coconut oil as a carrier , I was wondering if there you could recommend any other oils you could use in place of coconut oil ?
I am so glad I read your article. As a child I have always had that natural fat body and it took me years to have a full understanding on how to get to the weight that best fits me with increasing my self esteem. Through out the years aside from having to do regular exercise I was always looking for natural ways to reduce body fat such as drinking green tea, eating less carbs and of course drinking or eating grape fruit. I always thought it helped because it burned fat not because it reduced my appetite. This fruit is always one that I am on a look out for because considering the country I live in it is very hard to find. I even recommended it to a friend of mine who is having difficulty lowering his body fat.
I had no idea that the fruit also assisted in lower depression if used in oil form or that it reduces stress. I have to say the most appealing fact that I learned from reading your article was the fact that this grapefruit oil helps in curing hangovers.
I’m really pleased to come across your site as I’ve started using lemon oil and am curious about orange oil and other citrus oils as they seem to be great benefits for the cost.Can you compare the health benefits of lemon oil versus grapefruit oil in a simple way – like what does one have that the other doesn’t etc.
I am mainly taking lemon oil to reduce inflammation from job stress.Also this is a biggie for me, I’ve received heavy promotion from my naturopath who has done a lot of research and claims that Young Living are without peer in terms of purity, manufacturing etc.
How can I know for sure that the Young Living is better (or not) than Plant Therapy? I’d really appreciate your explanation or links and will await your comments with interest! Thank you