Lemon essential oil, a versatile and fragrant elixir, has a rich history, numerous applications, and unique advantages for dog parents and horse moms. In this blog, we will delve into the world of lemon essential oil, exploring its origins, aromatic attributes, common uses, and its potential to enhance focus in horses, while also addressing how it can benefit our canine companions. Join me as we uncover the zesty secrets of lemon essential oil and its relevance in the world of pet care and equestrian activities. But first, let's start at the very beginning—what is lemon essential oil?
What is Lemon Essential Oil?:
Lemon essential oil is a concentrated liquid extracted from the peel of the lemon fruit, scientifically known as Citrus limon. It's obtained through a process called cold-press extraction, resulting in a fragrant oil that encapsulates the zesty essence of fresh lemons.
Aroma and Characteristics:
The scent of lemon essential oil is a lively, citrusy delight. It's a refreshing burst of sunshine, reminiscent of freshly squeezed lemon juice. This aroma is known for its uplifting and invigorating qualities, often evoking a sense of clarity and energy, making it a favorite among pet parents and horse moms.
Fun Fact:
Here's a fun fact about lemon essential oil: it takes an incredible amount of lemons to produce a small bottle of this fragrant elixir. It typically takes around 75 lemons to produce just one 15 ml bottle of lemon essential oil. This astounding number highlights the concentration and potency of this citrus wonder. This also highlights why a little goes a long way and oftentimes just a drop can be used.
Common Uses:
Lemon essential oil finds its way into the homes and stables of pet parents and horse moms due to its versatility. Some popular uses include:
- Aromatherapy: Lemon essential oil is a staple in aromatherapy, promoting feelings of positivity and reducing stress for both humans and their animal companions. It's also very effective for promoting memory retention and helping with focus and clarity.
- Cleaning: As pet parents and horse moms, maintaining a clean environment isn't always easy. Lemon oil's natural properties make it perfect for odor control and for creating homemade cleaning solutions. For even more tips on making your own safe cleaning products, click HERE.
- Cooking: A drop or two of lemon essential oil can add a burst of citrus flavor to dishes and beverages, enhancing your culinary creations. Fore more tips on how to use essential oils in your food, click HERE.
- Skin Care: When diluted, lemon essential oil can support healthy skin, making it beneficial for both you and your pets.
Using Lemon Essential Oil with Horses:
If you're a horse enthusiast, you'll be pleased to know that lemon essential oil can also benefit your equine companion. Being herbivores, horses are known to react positively to essential oils and their aromas. Lemon oil can be a helpful tool for enhancing focus and relaxation. Inviting your horse to breathe in the scent before a training session can be particularly beneficial if your horse tends to struggle with maintaining attention or concentrating on specific tasks.
A simple and effective way to incorporate the benefits of lemon essential oil into your horse's routine is by inviting them to experience its aroma directly from the bottle. Gently hold the bottle near their nose, allowing them to inhale the invigorating scent. This practice proves especially valuable before training sessions or activities that demand heightened concentration.
Alternatively, you can apply a drop of lemon essential oil to your palm, rubbing your hands together to disperse the fragrance. Extend your open palm to your horse, letting them explore the scent. Afterward, any remaining oil on your hands can be massaged onto the back of your neck, offering you a boost in clarity and focus.
For riders seeking to enhance their cognitive abilities, incorporating lemon essential oil before a lesson can be advantageous. Inhaling the uplifting aroma of lemon can amplify mental alertness and concentration, making it an exceptional choice for riders aspiring to sharpen their skills.
Word About Photosensitivity:
Lemon essential oil is photosensitive, which means it can increase the skin's sensitivity to sunlight. If you plan to use lemon essential oil topically while you are outside, apply it under clothing or in an area that won't get direct sunlight. If you are using it in face creams apply it at night. This precaution will help prevent skin irritation and sunburn.
Practical Household Uses:
Beyond the barn and the riding arena, lemon essential oil is a versatile tool for maintaining a fresh and clean living space. Here are some practical household applications that are particularly well-suited for doggie households:
1. Trash Can Deodorizer: To combat odors in your trash can, place a few drops of lemon essential oil on a cotton ball and tuck it at the bottom of the can. This will keep unpleasant smells at bay. Fore a deep dive on eliminating doggie odor and keeping your household smelling fresh, click HERE.
2. Diffuser Delight: Enhance the ambiance of your home with a few drops of lemon essential oil in your diffuser. This not only brightens any room but also fosters a positive atmosphere. For doggie households, consider a blend of 3 drops of lemon and 3 drops of eucalyptus or lemongrass, which serves as a potent "odor buster," especially in the event of unexpected "doggie accidents." For even more recipes and ideas for diffusing Lemon essential oil, click HERE.
3. Natural Cleaner: Lemon oil's properties make it an excellent ingredient for creating natural cleaning solutions. Mix it with vinegar and water to clean countertops, sinks, and glass surfaces effectively. Or simply add it your natural cleaner to boost cleansing properties or for a natural pet-friendly fragrance. For more tips and recipes to help you easily replace unsafe household cleaners with safer choices, click HERE.
4. Laundry Freshener: Elevate the freshness of your laundry by adding a few drops of lemon essential oil to the washing machine before starting a load. This aromatic addition ensures that your clothes, linens, and pet bedding emerge with a delightful lemony scent, enhancing the overall cleanliness of your doggie household. You can also add several drops to wool dryer balls. To learn more about how you can replace toxic dryer sheets with this eco friendly alternative, click HERE.
And yes, lemon essential oil can be safe to use with your dog! For a more in depth look at lemon essential oil and safety for dogs, click HERE.
Lemon Essential Oil Blends:
For a delightful and invigorating scents, try combining lemon essential oil with other complementary oils. Here's a simple recipe to get you started:
**Lemon Mint Refreshment Blend:**
- 3 drops of Lemon Essential Oil
- 2 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil
- 1 drop of Rosemary Essential Oil
This blend creates a revitalizing aroma that can help clear your mind and boost your energy. Use it in your diffuser or make a room spray by tripling the recipe and adding to a 2 ounce spray bottle. Click HERE for a step by step guide to making a room spray.
Ready to enhance your pet-friendly home and barn with the refreshing power of lemon essential oil? Whether you have dogs, horses, or both, lemon essential oil is a versatile and refreshing addition to your holistic wellness toolkit. Whether you're using it to enhance your horse's focus, improve memory retention before riding, or simply freshen up your living space, its bright and invigorating aroma can elevate your daily routines.
Wondering where I source my oils? I purchase directly from Young Living, known for its 'Seed to Seal' quality assurance process, ensuring pure and premium products. When you use my affiliate link to make a purchase, it supports my small business without any additional cost to you. It's a win-win! Click HERE now to experience the Young Living difference and enjoy the benefits of lemon essential oil. Thank you for being a valued part of my community! As a token of appreciation, I'll personally reach out with something special just for you.
Click HERE to explore Young Living's range of premium, quality essential oils and discover more ways to enhance your living space. Don't miss out – grab your lemon essential oil today and transform your home into a haven for all your beloved animal companions!
Lemon essential oil has become increasingly popular in recent years, as people have begun to recognize its many uses for wellness and household applications. Have you been hearing about how lemon essential oil can benefit you? Not only does lemon essential oil smell fresh and uplifting, it can also support our bodies in staying above the wellness line. Lemon essential oil works well to cleanse air and eliminate odors, its aroma can also help reduce tension, and when taken internally lemon may provide immune and circulatory support. But is lemon oil safe for your dog? Read on to learn everything you need to know about using lemon essential oil with dogs.
Lemon essential oil has a rich and ancient history and is usually made from the cold-pressed peel of the lemon citrus fruit. Limonene is a main constituent and is what gives lemons their unmistakable scent. A study found on PubMed.gov suggests that lemon essential oil can be effective in combatting various bacteria and microbes. Lemon has also been studied for cognitive function and improvement as well as mood enhancement and for skin benefits.
Lemon essential oil can be safe to use with dogs if you are using a high quality, pure, and unadulterated lemon essential oil. You also need to dilute the lemon essential oil. Diluting and using lemon essential oil is easy. My 2 favorite ways to do this are by making a spritzer or by using lemon in a diffuser. An essential oil diffuser is an electronic device that disperses essential oils into the air.
I like to use ultrasonic diffusers which use a metal or ceramic plate that vibrates and disperses the essential oil in water, making a fine mist. This keeps the oil at a low and safe concentration and allows you to breathe in deeply and enjoy the scent and properties of the essential oils. Ultrasonic diffusers don't use heat which can lessen the benefits of an essential oil.
You can check out one of my favorite ultrasonic diffusers HERE!
If your dog has a medical condition, or is unhealthy, you should speak to your holistic veterinarian before using lemon essential oil or any essential oil with them. Again, it is of the utmost importance to make sure that any product you use contains pure essential oils and not adulterated additives or other chemicals. Also it's important to dig deep when googling 'oil poisoning' or 'are essential oils bad for dogs' and not let that scare you from using essential oils. Oftentimes, the whole story is lacking important facts such as quality of oil, amount, and the way it was used. Essential oils can be safe to use with dogs if they are pure and diluted!
Dogs have an incredible sense of smell and you don't actually need to apply essential oils topically to enjoy the many benefits from using them. You can simply let your dog smell from the bottle, use an essential oil diffuser, or simply make and wear a perfume of essential oils.
Since lemon is works so well for odor, I like to make a spray solution by adding 12 drops of lemon essential oil into a 2 ounce spray bottle and then filling the bottle up halfway with vodka and halfway with distilled water. Then spritz it around your dogs bedding for a refreshing natural fragrance (for a step by step guide to making a spritzer, click here). You can also add a few drops of lemon onto a cotton ball and stash in strategic places.
For odor control with a diffuser, simply add the amount of drops your diffuser calls for or try these essential oil blends with lemon:
For some calm plus focus
2 drops lemon
2 drops lavender
To cleanse and purify
2 drops lemon
2 drops eucalyptus
For happy time
2 drops lemon
2 drops orange
For odor
2 drops lemon
2 drops cinnamon
Remember to always give your dog an out when using a diffuser. Leave the door open and allow your dog to come and go. Keep in mind that our dogs may choose to be with us even if they are uncomfortable, so watch your dogs for any signs like watery eyes, itchiness, stupor, or general uncomfortableness. Also, some dogs may be sensitive to certain smells so always start slowly with a minimal number of drops and monitor their reactions closely as you continue using the diffuser around them.
Lemon also makes a great addition to natural cleaning products. You can make an effective cleaner that is much safer than other chemical cleaners on the market, simply by mixing half vinegar, half water and adding about 10 drops of Lemon essential oil per cup.
Your dog will benefit from lemon essential oil without topical application. If you choose to apply lemon directly to your dogs skin or fur, you'll want to first dilute it in a carrier oil like coconut oil, or olive oil (for more info on carrier oils, click HERE). This ensures that the concentration of oils is low enough so as not to irritate their skin. Lemon is a citrus oil and can cause photosensitivity with application. This simply means it can cause an exaggerated response to sunlight, resulting in sunburn and skin irritation. If you do choose to apply lemon oil topically, apply at night or to areas that won't receive direct sunlight for 12-24 hours.
There are many benefits associated with using lemon essential oil for our canine companions! Lemon essential oil works so well for cleaning and odor control and the aroma is uplifting and focusing. By using a high quality, pure, and premium essential oil and by diluting it, we can safely use lemon with our dogs. Using essential oils that contain additives is dangerous for us and our canine companions and can be toxic.
I use Young Living™ Essential Oils-the world leader in essential oils. With their Seed To Seal guarantee, you know you're getting pure and premium products for you and your pets health!
Essential oils can be a safe option for our pets health. To eliminate overwhelm and fear and learn more about how to use essential oils with your dog, download my free guide "Getting Started Using Essential Oils With Your Dog" HERE
*Statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and the information in this blog is not meant to provide medical advice nor be a substitute for veterinary care.*
