Detox has been a hot topic in the blogosphere for years with good reason. People want to get healthier, they want to rid themselves of metabolic wastes, and ultimately, they want to lose weight.

While essential oils can’t shed the pounds for you, they can certainly support and cleanse your various detox and elimination pathways while you work on healthy lifestyle changes. These changes may include, eating a whole foods plant based diet, getting better and more meaningful sleep, moving your body every day, or working on self-love practices. Whatever it is you’re focusing on, detoxifying essential oils are here to support your journey.

Detoxifying Essential Oils and How to Use Them

Essential oils that are known to help cleanse and purify the blood and promote detoxification are called alteratives or depuratives. They assist the body’s natural elimination response by stimulating the liver, kidneys, lungs, lymphatic system, bowels, or sweat glands in order to restore healthier functioning.

If your body has a lot of toxicity within it, it can cause symptoms like:

• Aches and pains
• Acne
• Dry skin
• Eczema
• Excess mucus
• Fatigue
• Food allergies
• Hormonal imbalances
• Inflammation and joint pain
• PMS
• Psoriasis
• Sluggish digestion

And a whole lot more!

Most essential oils will to some degree stimulate our white blood cells to devour and clean up microbes and toxins in the body. Using essential oils with specific detox qualities will help improve the function of major elimination pathways will allow the body to cleanse tissues, reduce inflammation, and better eliminate excess waste.

Essential oils with any of the following properties are classified as detoxifying:

Diaphoretic – promotes sweating and detox through the skin.

Essential oils that promote sweating include angelica, cinnamon, cardamom, clove, eucalyptus, ginger, rosemary, thyme, peppermint, spearmint, yarrow, helichrysum, and German chamomile.

Diuretic – promotes urination and elimination through the kidneys.

Essential oils that have diuretic qualities include grapefruit, sweet fennel, juniper berry, lemon, mandarin, black pepper, geranium, and sweet orange.

Emmenagogue – promotes healthy menstruation and uterine detox.

Essential oils that encourage menstruation include angelica, basil, clary sage, German and Roman chamomile, cinnamon, ginger, jasmine, juniper berry, lavender, myrrh, peppermint, rose, rosemary, sweet fennel, and marjoram.

Expectorant – promotes the expulsion of mucus which supports respiratory detox.

Essential oils that support respiratory detox include: eucalyptus, Roman chamomile, cedarwood, cypress, hyssop, pine, myrtle, clary sage, myrrh, sandalwood, frankincense, rosemary, marjoram, and basil.

Hepatic – enhances liver detox. This is the detox quality most people will benefit from.

Essential oils that tone and stimulate the liver include carrot seed, German and Roman chamomile, helichrysum, lemon, grapefruit, rosemary, juniper berry, ginger, cypress, spearmint, turmeric, and peppermint.

Laxative – encourages bowl movements which promotes detoxification of the large intestines.

While some essential oils can be effective in the management of constipation, this does not imply that these oils have laxative effects. Oils that stimulate the large intestines include sweet fennel, ginger, petitgrain, rosemary, spearmint, basil, and peppermint.

Lymphatic – promotes the tissue-cleansing action of the lymphatic system.

Essential oils that support and encourage lymph flow include angelica, carrot seed, cypress, grapefruit, sweet fennel, geranium, juniper berry, lemon, mandarin, and rosemary.

I also want to add in a few essential oils that are good for emotional detox as I think many of us overlook this important aspect of healing. Whether you are dealing with stress, grief, anger, depression, or sadness, there are essential oils that help you process and release these emotions like lavender, basil, cedarwood, bergamot, lemon, sweet orange, rose, frankincense, and valerian.

Recipes Using Detoxifying Essential Oils

So now that we know the different types of elimination pathways there are and which oils resonate best with those pathways, let’s look at how to actually use detoxifying essential oils.

One of the easiest, most convenient, and effective ways to use essential oils for detoxification is to make a simple roll-on. This way you can easily apply the oil where it needed using an already diluted recipe that you can take with you wherever you go.

If you have read through the list above of the various detox pathways in the body, then you may have an idea of which pathways you would like to focus on. The most common and most influential pathway to start with is the liver as it’s the body’s detox powerhouse. Without an optimally functioning liver, you cannot hope to heal the other pathways completely.

With that said, I will be teaching you how to make a liver detox roll-on using essential oils (among two others) to help jumpstart your journey to a healthier you.

I’ll be going more in depth into each pathway in the coming weeks so keep an eye out!

Liver Detox Essential Oil Roll-On Recipe

To better assist your liver in the processing and elimination of toxins, make this simple roll-on recipe and apply it over the midsection of the body, focusing over the liver twice a day.

You will need:

• 4 drops cypress essential oil
• 6 drops carrot seed essential oil
• 10 drops rosemary essential oil
• 14 drops juniper berry essential oil
• 18 drops ginger essential oil
• 2 tsp of carrier oil like sweet almond, fractionated coconut oil, grapeseed oil, etc.
• 10ml roll-on bottle

Lymph Detox Essential Oil Dry Brushing Recipe

The next area of detox that will give you great overall results is the lymphatic system. I like to use a dropper bottle for this recipe since you will need to use a dry brush in order to apply it. This is because the lymphatic system has no pump mechanism to move wastes and stagnation on its own. You need to physically stimulate the flow of lymphatic fluid. The easiest way to do this, is to use a dry brush, apply a drop or two of diluted essential oil to the bristles, and then brush your whole body towards the heart beginning with the feet, and working your way up.

For this recipe, you will need:

• 18 drops German chamomile essential oil
• 18 drops lavender essential oil
• 9 drops juniper berry essential oil
• 1oz of carrier oil
• 1oz dropper bottle

Intestinal Detox Roll-On Recipe

The third most effective detox pathway to get functioning optimally is of course the digestive system. Even though there aren’t technically any essential oils with laxative properties, you can still help your intestines move things along. Apply this roll-on over the intestines twice a day to encourage regularity.

For this recipe, you will need:

• 1 drops ginger essential oil
• 2 drops cardamom essential oil
• 3 drops coriander seed essential oil
• 3 drops grapefruit or sweet orange essential oil
• 2 tsp carrier oil
• 10ml roll-on bottle

For more on detoxifying essential oils and how to use them, check out the articles below:

How to Detox the Lymphatic System Using Essential Oils
How to Detox the Liver Using Essential Oils
Essential Oils for Detox
Detoxifying with Essential Oils
Essential Oils and the “Detox” Theory
Liver Cleanse Recipe and How to do a Liver Flush

More on detox in general:

Skin Detox Tea Recipe
Energizing and Detoxifying Charcoal Lemonade
How to Take an Epsom Salt Detox Bath
How to Detox your Liver for the New Year with Herbs!
How to Use Detoxifying Herbs for Spring Cleansing
Acne and Detox after the Holidays
Liver Cleanse Recipe and How to do a Liver Flush
Could Herbs be Your Answer for Stress Relief?

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