The liver is one of the most crucial detoxifying organs in the body and keeping it healthy and working optimally is an amazing way to support your overall health. One of my favorite ways to support it is by using essential oils to not only detox the liver, but also to strengthen, stimulate, and regenerate it.
How to Detox the Liver using Essential Oils for Optimum Health
The liver carries out over 500 crucial bodily functions each and every day and has a remarkable capacity for regeneration; an important ability to have considering all the liver does to keep us healthy. Every single minute, the liver processes and filters 2 ½ pints of blood. Harmful wastes and toxins are sent off for excretion while other elements are converted into useful components for use elsewhere in the body.
The liver is responsible for the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, cholesterol, and the growth of bone and muscle. It produces the hormone thrombopoietin which regulates blood cell and platelet production, it stores vitamins A, B12, and D, and also synthesizes glucose and amino acids.
So, as you can see, this unassuming organ does much more than just cleanse the blood. Everything you inhale, apply topically, eat, drink – basically everything that touches or goes into the body – is in some way processed by the liver. Certain medications, environmental toxins, alcohol, and processed foods are particularly burdensome on the liver and an overabundance of these substances can start to cause issues.
One of the reasons it can be hard to identify any problems with the liver is that it lacks pain receptors. This can make it difficult to know when it’s struggling and needs support. Since the liver is involved in so many functions of the body, it will usually manifest symptoms elsewhere.
A dull ache under the ribs on the right side of the body, right shoulder or back pain, itchy skin, fatigue, yellowing of the skin, dark urine, and light colored stools can all indicate a distressed liver but those aren’t the only signs of a toxic liver.
How to Cleanse and Detox the Liver Using Essential Oils
There are many things you can do to start supporting the liver which include doing things like eating high quality and preferably organic foods, especially fresh fruits and vegetables. You can also take raw apple cider vinegar daily and drink high quality green tea, dandelion root tea, or fresh carrot juice to help support detox.
Dry brushing the skin, sweating it out at the gym or in a sauna, and getting good lymphatic drainage will also help support a healthy liver.
Essential oils are also a great addition to your liver support routine as they are quick and simple to apply and are very potent and effective remedies.
Some of the best essential oils for detoxifying the liver include:
• Cardamom
• Carrot Seed
• Celery Seed
• Cypress
• Geranium
• German Chamomile
• Ginger
• Grapefruit
• Helichrysum
• Juniper Berry
• Lavender
• Ledum
• Lemon
• Patchouli
• Peppermint
• Roman Chamomile
• Rosemary
• Spearmint
• Sweet Orange
• Turmeric
Many of the essential oils listed above are hepatic in nature which means that they stimulate, strengthen, and tone the liver helping increase bile flow and detoxification. Others are great for emotional detox, gallbladder support, are anti-inflammatory, or aid in lymph circulation which all support a healthy liver.
Liver Support Essential Oil Blend
To make an effective liver support blend, combine the following oils in an empty 1oz dropper bottle:
• 3 drops carrot seed essential oil – aides in the repair, regeneration and detoxification of liver cells.
• 3 drops German chamomile essential oil – stimulates bile secretions and supports liver detox.
• 4 drops cypress essential oil – stimulates and regulates liver secretions and supports cleansing and detoxification.
• 4 drops juniper berry essential oil – a blood purifying essential oil that aides the liver by relieving some of its burden.
• 5 drops geranium essential oil – aides the liver by expanding the liver’s bile ducts which helps with detox. Geranium is considered to be a powerful liver tonic.
• 5 drops rosemary essential oil – enhances bile flow and reduces excess plasma liver enzymes. It also prevents toxic overload.
• 6 drops ginger essential oil – helps reverse a fatty liver and stimulates liver secretions.
Next, fill the dropper bottle to the shoulder with a carrier oil like sweet almond or fractionated coconut oil.
Cap closed and roll between your palms.
To Use
Apply one dropperful of liver support blend under your right ribcage. You can spread it over the abdomen and middle of the back as well.
Use upon waking and before bedtime for best results.
Emotional Liver Support Essential Oil Blend
Did you know that the liver can become toxic with emotions? As crazy as it might sound, the liver hangs onto negativity, hate, grief, anger, and number of other unpleasant emotions. In order to help the liver, release its emotional burden, you need to include daily practices like exercise, meditation, yoga, and other emotional release activities along with using emotionally supportive essential oils.
To make an effective emotional liver support blend, combine the following essential oils in an empty 1oz dropper bottle:
• 2 drops ylang ylang essential oil – relieves mental fatigue and calms the mind and feelings of anxiety.
• 3 drops German chamomile essential oil – an incredibly relaxing oil. Reduces stress, and nervous tension.
• 3 drops helichrysum essential oil – one of the top oils for liver regeneration.
• 4 drops cypress essential oil – calms the nervous system and decreases nervous tension and stress.
• 4 drops geranium essential oil – creates a sense of security, safety, and deep relaxation. Supports depression and decreases fear, feelings of hurt, and extreme turbulent emotions.
• 4 drops sweet orange essential oil – uplifts the mood and stimulates feelings of joy and cheerfulness.
• 5 drops grapefruit essential oil – stimulates the liver, gallbladder, and lymphatic system and improves self-acceptance.
• 5 drops lavender essential oil – uplifts the mood, balances mood swings, normalizes emotions, and relaxes the mind. Supports the release of irritability, fear, insecurity, restlessness, depression, nervousness, and stress.
Next, fill the dropper bottle to the shoulder with carrier oil.
Cap closed and roll between the palms to mix.
To Use
Apply one dropperful beneath the right rib cage and behind the ears. Cup the remaining oil over your nose and inhale slowly for three breaths. Use this blend when emotions are turbulent.
You may also enjoy these other detox articles:
How to Detox the Lymphatic System Using Essential Oils
Pre-Bath Body Oil Recipe for Detox
Detoxifying Essential Oils and How to Use Them
Essential Oils for Detox
Super Detoxifying Bath Salt Recipe
How to Take an Epsom Salt Detox Bath
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Josefina says
June 5, 2019 at 7:13 amHow about diffusing these oils would one get the same benefit as apply them? Or is applying best?
Tash says
June 6, 2019 at 12:33 pmDiffusing will also work well! However, in this case, applying them topically will have a stronger effect.
Marilou Madrigal says
March 31, 2019 at 1:55 pmThanks for sharing your knowledge and experience to us. Great help for essential oils users.
Karen says
March 29, 2019 at 7:15 amI love your posts and blog. Thanks for helping others like myself learn to use essential oils for health. They’re doing me a world of goodness
Tash says
March 29, 2019 at 10:11 amYou’re welcome, Karen! 🙂
Karen says
April 4, 2019 at 8:08 amHave you tried the brand revive essential oils? I am using Edens Garden and love their oils, but I am seeing many posts about this possibly newer company?
Tash says
June 6, 2019 at 1:12 pmI haven’t! But I’ll look into them 🙂
Tash says
June 6, 2019 at 1:12 pmI haven’t! But I’ll look into them 🙂
Deborah says
March 8, 2019 at 8:58 pmAny suggestions on where to buy the essential oils? There are so many now, now sure which one name brand would be good.
Tash says
March 23, 2019 at 11:24 amI really like Plant Therapy, Eden Botanicals, Aura Cacia, Simplers Botanicals, and yes, even Young Living and Doterra.
Siobhan says
April 9, 2019 at 6:42 amDo you know anything about young living brand of oil. Im researcing at the moment.
Joselyn says
April 12, 2019 at 6:00 pmHopewell Essential Oils
Julie Buchanan says
March 2, 2019 at 11:25 pmHi Tash
What are the most important oils for emotional damage to the liver?
Courtney says
February 23, 2019 at 7:08 amI have a fatty liver. I don’t really want to buy all of these. So is there a top 2 or 3 that would work well together?
Tash says
February 28, 2019 at 8:30 pmginger and geranium!
Billie Rose says
February 1, 2019 at 8:06 pmHello,
I have had a fatty liver quite a long time. But my numbers now are of concern and I am going to have a liver biopsy later this month. I bought all the ingredients and made the mixture exactly like you said too. Is there any precautions that should be looked out for before taking this mix? Like for example if you are on this med, Do Not use it etc. like what is important to know before using it? I am new to EO’s and want to try every venue possible to help my situation. Any word of advice you have would be soo appreciated. I Love your helpful blog. Thank You for your time and sharing this recipe!
~Hugs~
Lynn says
January 27, 2019 at 2:27 amHi Tash – I have fatty liver and planning to try to liver detox but don’t have carrot seed, juniper and geranium. Should I simply leave them out of the recipe? Thanks!
Jim says
January 16, 2019 at 10:01 amTash I am curious if you know of a possible remedy to help solve my problem with erectile disfunctionand also with my wifes diagnosis with vagional cancer Thank you Jim
Tash says
January 21, 2019 at 2:45 pmHi Jim!
Do you know of any root cause?
jake says
January 10, 2019 at 12:38 amthanks
Nick says
January 3, 2019 at 12:40 amHi Tash,
I’m just wondering what your qualifications are to make some of these claims. Do you have a background in an area of the medical field? I feel like it’s important to note that the FDA doesn’t recognize EO as an effective treatment for any ailment, and therefore statements that imply direct cause and effect are actually illegal to publish or use to inform the general public
e.g.:
1.) Juniper is a blood purifying essential oil that aides the liver by relieving some of its burden
Vs
2.) Juniper is thought to play a role in blood purification and may aid the liver by possibly relieving some of it’s burden
These ambiguous terms like “might” and “maybe” are actually really important to use as most associations of EO are based on pseudoscience, which also brings me to my next point in that the emotional role of the liver is based on chinese medicine, a pseudoscience. It’s also important to point out the functions of the liver that are known scientific facts versus the ones that are folk tales and/or non-scientific.
This totally sounds like I’m just trying to rip you apart, I really am not! I think this post is super cool because I’ve been looking for a good liver roller recipe to make.I just want to get an idea of your experience with medicine before I put anything into/on my body that potentially can cause harm without proper information or guidlines.
Thanks for the post!
Nick
BSc (Honours) Medical Physiology
Neil says
May 20, 2019 at 11:29 amNick,
Really? You want to know if she is medically trained?
This is the exact question we all ask and don’t get an answer before our MD prescribes a drug that does more damage than good.
Experience of success with users of EO far outweighs biased drug companies studies. I would, and do, much rather use EO than drugs. After all, most liver problems are caused by drugs.
Karen says
January 2, 2019 at 3:56 amIs it important to use German chamomile oil vs Roman chamomile oil for this blend?
Tash says
January 21, 2019 at 3:13 pmYes! The German chamomile has more of the detoxifying properties.
Janet says
December 25, 2018 at 1:25 pmI have an interesting question. If I were to make a salve instead of the liquid detox EO recipe, how many more drops of ea EO would I need for 8oz of oil? Should I double or triple the recipe, would you suggest?
Jessi says
December 17, 2018 at 2:21 pmHi! Thank you for this article. What would you say the top 3 most effective ones would be?
Tash says
December 18, 2018 at 3:15 pmHi Jessi!
I would say lemon, rosemary, and ledum.
Cecilia says
January 3, 2019 at 11:08 amHi! do you know if these oils are good for fatty liver? Can you recommend me some for that? Thanks in advance.
Janet says
December 13, 2018 at 12:31 pmI’m curious why you went with another brand of Geranium EO instead of one from Plant Therapy? Is the one you chose more effective on the liver than those other ones?
Tash says
December 14, 2018 at 9:59 amHi Janet!
Both of these companies are great and very high quality 🙂
Diana Rosage Riley says
April 19, 2019 at 6:40 amDo you take the Ginger and Geranium internally or use topically?
Tash says
June 6, 2019 at 1:08 pmOnly use them topically.
vyie says
December 4, 2018 at 7:59 pmHi Tash do need all of those? what if I use only the ginger and perhaps geranium, as i am trying it for my fatty liver. How do you combine both? How do you use the ginger on its own, is it gonna be as effective?
Tash says
December 8, 2018 at 8:56 amHi Vyie!
You don’t need all the oils, but they are helpful! For the ginger and geranium, mix 3 drops of each in 1 oz of carrier oil and apply it over the liver 1-2 times daily. It should help!
Sunny says
November 23, 2018 at 8:23 pmHi, can I replace juniper berry oil with juniper essential oil? Thank you !
Tash says
December 8, 2018 at 8:41 amHi Sunny!
Yes! Those should be the same thing 🙂
Nasa says
November 16, 2018 at 7:53 pmShould you use the liver detox blend every day continuously, or is there some sort of break in routine – like use for 2 weeks, stop 2 weeks, then repeat? Thanks!
Tash says
November 18, 2018 at 5:56 pmHi Nasa!
I would recommend taking a break as you say – two weeks on and two weeks off 🙂 It isn’t terrible if you go a bit longer, but it is good to give the body a rest no matter what natural protocol you may be using.
Joyce P. says
October 22, 2018 at 7:18 pmIf I don’t have all the oils for the liver detox (some are just way too expensive on my limited disability income) can I leave them out of substitute or add more of the oils that I do have to total the same amount of drops? I have non-alcoholic cirrhosis, it’s from using cancer fighting drugs and radiation therapy treatments.
Tash says
October 25, 2018 at 7:09 pmHi Joyce!
Which oils do you currently have for the blend?
Charlene King says
October 13, 2018 at 4:48 pmHi, I started using essential oils about 6 months ago but not so informed about using them
Tash says
October 14, 2018 at 10:51 amWell, you’ve come to the right place Charlene! 🙂
Rebecca says
September 28, 2018 at 5:27 pmJust found out I have slightly elevated liver enzymes, so I am looking forward to trying this blend. I already have some empty roller bottles. Is it okay to roll this on instead of using a dropper? Thank you for the help!
Tash says
September 29, 2018 at 11:10 amHi Rebecca!
Since both liver recipes contain 30 drops total of essential oil, I would divide all the number of drops by 3 as best as you can. This will make a dilution of about 5% (the same as adding 30 drops of essential oil to 1 oz of carrier oil) which is a therapeutic dilution. If you add the whole recipe as is (30 drops total of essential oil) the dilution you would get in a 10ml bottle would be too high to use comfortably on the skin.
I actually prefer to make a “master blend” by just adding all of the essential oils in the recipe to its own 5ml bottle. This makes it VERY easy to use the right dilution for any sized vessel you choose.
jo says
September 27, 2018 at 5:43 amHi I was reading the comment about liver distress. I too can have days where toxins can be overwhelming to my liver. A good diet of course is critical. But for transdermal therapy on the liver, castor bean oil is great. If the monks –back during the days of the Black Plague had –had cell phones there would have been fewer deaths. Those monks were so impressed with the lives saved that they renamed the castor bean oil to Palma de Cristo. Healing Hands of Christ. I’ll use that one day and an essential oil– usually with an aloe vera the next — kinda rotate between the two till my liver does a happy hum. Gee I wish we had Kloss Clinics today.
Tash says
September 28, 2018 at 1:28 pmYes! Castor oil packs are amazing for giving your liver a bit more support!
Crystal Brown says
October 30, 2018 at 7:12 amSo castor oil would be a great carrier oil to use with these blends? Is that correct?
Tash says
October 30, 2018 at 4:16 pmYep! 🙂
barry jo says
November 15, 2018 at 8:42 amjo, how did the monks us the castor oil? externally or internally or both?
Annie says
June 16, 2018 at 11:18 amHello Tash,
I am new to using essential oils and my doTerra coach sold me my initial product then that’s the end of that journey. I still purchase my own oils from them but have no support.
I have many medical issues and liver disease is one. I am wondering if I could ingest this blend with tea or a drop under the tongue for more support?
LIVER SUPPORT ESSENTIAL OIL BLEND
To make an effective liver support blend, combine the following oils in an empty 1oz dropper bottle:
• 3 drops carrot seed essential oil – aides in the repair, regeneration and detoxification of liver cells.
• 3 drops German chamomile essential oil – stimulates bile secretions and supports liver detox.
• 4 drops cypress essential oil – stimulates and regulates liver secretions and supports cleansing and detoxification.
• 4 drops juniper berry essential oil – a blood purifying essential oil that aides the liver by relieving some of its burden.
• 5 drops geranium essential oil – aides the liver by expanding the liver’s bile ducts which helps with detox. Geranium is considered to be a powerful liver tonic.
• 5 drops rosemary essential oil – enhances bile flow and reduces excess plasma liver enzymes. It also prevents toxic overload.
• 6 drops ginger essential oil – helps reverse a fatty liver and stimulates liver secretions.
Next, fill the dropper bottle to the shoulder with a carrier oil like sweet almond or fractionated coconut oil.
Cap closed and roll between your palms.
To Use
Apply one dropperful of liver support blend under your right ribcage. You can spread it over the abdomen and middle of the back as well.
Tash says
June 30, 2018 at 9:22 pmHi Annie!
I would not recommend ingesting this blend or putting it under the tongue. Many of the people who sell DoTerra or YL encourage people to ingest essential oils, but it is actually a practice that can be quite harmful to the body if you aren’t under the guidance of a certified aromatherapist. Almost all of the people who sell those oils are NOT trained in the proper oral use of essential oils, so I just want to express caution. Don’t get me wrong, I love those oils, but their improper use is why I started this blog in the first place.
This blend is actually quite effective when used topically because essential oils enter the bloodstream through the skin. 🙂
Rachel says
September 26, 2018 at 5:44 pmHi Tash, is it ok too use joba oil if you don’t have the others? I don’t have ginger oil but I have everything else. Thank you
Tash says
September 28, 2018 at 1:30 pmHi Rachel! Do you mean jojoba oil? If so, yes you can definitely just use that 🙂 It’s okay if you don’t have the ginger essential oil, the blend is still effective!
Jordan Rudolph says
September 15, 2018 at 5:56 pmHi Annie. I would love to help you with your journey. I am a health and wellness coach and a Emergency Room nurse. I’m very passionate about health and would love to help. I use different approaches including the use of essential oils. If you feel inclined, you may email me at BalancedLifestyle@hotmail.com. To you and yours in health and wellness, Jordan
DEni says
February 21, 2019 at 5:22 pmCan you use Roman Chamomile if you don’t have German Chamomile for the liver master blend? Thanks for the information.
Amber Coats says
September 9, 2017 at 5:00 pmFor the liver detox do you use all the oils at one time?
Tash says
September 11, 2017 at 12:00 pmHi Amber!
You can make a master formula using all of the essential oils. I recommend getting an empty 10 ml essential oil bottle like this one, and then follow the maximum dilutions for each oil which you can find here. Add all the oils to the bottle and allow to “cure” for a few days before use to allow them to synergize. You can then make the dilution you need using a carrier oil (some examples might be a body oil, roll-on, lotion, etc.)
sarah davis says
June 3, 2018 at 11:28 pmWanting to know how helpful Epsom salt baths are? Or THC oils for a unhealthy liver.
Tash says
June 11, 2018 at 11:50 amHi Sarah!
Epsom salts are fantastic for eliminating toxins from the body and lightening the liver’s load. I’m not sure about THC oils though 🙁
Belen Stolar says
June 29, 2017 at 1:24 pmDo you sell the oils already blended together? Is so how much
Tash says
June 30, 2017 at 12:14 pmHi Belen!
I don’t, but I am considering it! 🙂
Amanda says
November 7, 2018 at 12:09 amWould be great if you sold blended formulas!
Tash says
November 8, 2018 at 9:24 amI’ve thought of it! Perhaps in the future when I finally get moved in and settled into my new house! 🙂