5 Manly Uses for Lemon Essential Oils.

Sliced lemon

Welcome back men of oil! Today I am going to introduce you to another essential oil that the MVO household use a lot: lemon essential oils. I have touched on this type before in my barbecue cleaning mansperiment and its uses are long and varied, usually centered around cleaning, repelling insects and some skin care. As usual however, I don’t just want to clean the kitchen and make my hair fairer- I want to do manly stuff with them. So I have done a little bit of research and a little more testing and found my top 5 manly uses for lemon essential oils.

There are also some supposed culinary advantages to them but again, this old skeptic hasn’t quite got his head around the ‘eating’ of essential oils just yet so I am going to leave that alone for now.

What is lemon essential oil?

Lemons (Citrus limon), being a member of the citrus family are well-known for their acidic cleaning qualities, high levels of vitamin C and are often recommended by nutritionists for digestive issues, weight loss and skin quality. They are also especially effective when jammed into the top of your favorite Mexican cerveza or – when no one is looking – into a cheeky G&T.

Lemon essential oils are produced when the peels are cold pressed and hold many of the same qualities and uses as plain lemons.

What are the risks of lemon essential oil?

Before we start, there are just a couple of things to be aware of when using these oils. As we discuss our uses, please keep the following in mind in regards to this particular oil:

  • It is quite strong and can irritate the skin – it is not recommended placing this oil directly onto the skin. Always mix it with a carrier oil (coconut, jojoba etc.) when applying to the skin.
  • It is subject to photosensitivity –  meaning it can burn you skin if exposed to the sun after application.
  • Lemons are sometimes used as a natural bleach in the hair – and have you ever seen the effects of cutting lemons on a marble bench top? Always test on a small, inconspicuous area of whatever it is that you are using a mix containing lemon essential oils on. Oh, and I won’t ever be testing this on my car bonnet!

Five manly uses for lemon essential oils

Ok, now that we have all of that out of the way… lets get into the good stuff. My 5 manly uses are as follows:

1. Insect Repellent

I have touched on this in the past in my post about essential oils and camping. I left the use of lemon out of that mix due to its issues with photosensitivity. However, if you are at home, or it is nighttime, then the following is an extremely effective insect repellent.

Into your diffuser add

  • 3 drop Lemon essential oil
  • 2 drop Peppermint essential oil
  • 2 drop Eucalyptus essential oil

Or add one drop of each tablespoon coconut oil for an on-man solution.

Tested by me? Not in the diffuser but definitely the paste – I can safely report no bites.

2. Goo cleaner

Lemon essential oils are fantastic at cleaning all types of goo. And by goo I mean tree sap, grease, sticker/tape residue, bat poo – you get the picture. It is also good for removing crayon from walls.

  • For harsh surfaces – simply add a few drops of lemon essential oil to a cloth and rub away
  • For softer surfaces – dilute in soapy water

Tested by me? Yes – removed tree sap from the cement beautifully

dirty hands

3. Cleansing and treatment of man hands

Because we are men, our hands are always totally dirty and covered in callouses, bunions and cuts. Find yourself a good natural soap and add a couple of drops to it prior to washing your hands. It will cut through the grease and dirt that the soap alone will not get and help to soothe those sore mits as well.

For those of us who are just as manly but work in slightly cleaner environments, add 2 drops of lemon and 2 drops of lavender oils to some grapeseed oil to keep those hands nice and smooth. Lemon essential oils also have some anti-bacterial qualities so it also doubles as a hand sanitizer.

Test by me? Yes – I can’t account for the hand sanitizer approach but when added to some natural honey soap my delicate office worker hands felt pretty good and definitely less sore after some serious mower fixing.

4. Cleaning the fishing stuff

fishing boatLemon essential oils are extremely good at reducing those nasty fishing odors. When you get home from your trip, keep that fish smell that your better half loves so much at bay with a mixture of:

  • 1 cup vinegar
  • 1 cup water
  • 5 drops lemon essential oil

Spray and wipe your bait trays, buckets, eskies and anything else that has been covered in fish for a chemical and odor free clean.

Note: If your bait tray is out in the direct sun when the boat is not in use, it might be worth covering to stop the sun affecting the lemon and fading the plastic. Also, as we are using natural ingredients, simply rinse all cleansed items in water and they will not taint the bait when the tray is next used.

Tested by me? Sadly not yet… but I have in the esky that I use to rest my smoked pork shoulders in… odor free and ready for drinks in no time!

5. Protecting the man-plants

There is nothing worse than planting your favorite man herb seeds only to see the seedlings annihilated by those pesky garden pests. Simply mix 10 drops of lemon essential oil with a cup of water and spray around the garden bed or at the base of bigger plants to keep them pest free and only eaten by those intended.

Tested by me? Yes – this is actually what motivated me to look into the uses of lemon essential oils in the first place. My baby rocket and basil remain untouched – my pre-lemon attempts not so much.

Conclusion

So there you have it. I have tried 4 out of the 5 uses myself with one variation. Keep an eye on this space though as I will update as I do some more testing and find some more manly uses for lemon essential oils.

In the meantime.. Have fun and chat soon

Paul

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My name is Paul and I live on the east coast of Australia with my wife and six year old son. I also have 19 and 23 year old daughters. I am an ex government and bank worker who took a bit of a sea change and opened my own business by the beach with my amazing wife. If you can do it, try it. You will never look back. You want to know more about me, read my About Me page

17 thoughts on “5 Manly Uses for Lemon Essential Oils.”

  1. Thank you for this post. Lemon is not only useful for men but also for women.I have been having spots on my face and a friend told me that lemon juice can help me to remove those spots.I tried it and i got a positive feedback from my face.In only 2 days my face was excellent.

    Its juice can restore cells too.I like to know other benefits of lemons.

    Thanks

    Reply
  2. You have made an educative and excellent post on lemon essential oil. Your point 3 caught my attention “Cleansing and treatment of man hands” because my uncle is working in cleaner environment and i will offer him the advice i gained from your post. This can also safe many people from cought bactarial as well. Nice to check your blog

    Reply
  3. Hi

    Thank you for this really detailed article on Lemon essential oil.

    I love this oil for the reasons that you have mentioned in this article.  I would like to add that the insect repellent is really good and I have proved this to myself many times when I have gone on holiday.

    It is also a really good cleaning product for de-greasing as an oil or the lemon fruit itself.

    Thank you for this article I will be sharing this.

    Jennifer

    Reply
  4. Nice to know that the lemon i am having at home is a succulent.. Is it possible to use the raw fruit as a succulent or only the oil?  We really do not need to always buy fruits to have vitamin C. As for me i love sour mill so i just use the lemon juice to make it bitter so it is nice for me to eat, in that way i have vitamin C

    I also know and i have seen that lemons do clean , it really does a great job.

    Reply
    • Hi Nkhosingiphile, a lot of people do use friut and leaves directly rather than oils.  It really depends on what you are using it for and how much you have.  Oils are a lot ore concentrated which can be a good and a bad thing.  Leave it with me and I will do some research.

      Thanks for your comments.

      Paul

      Reply
  5. Being a male I have always had a bit of stick for using essential oils on my skin but I would not change that for the world.

    I have always stuck with non-fragrant, not-scented oils for my tough face skin but recently turned that around and was going to try something different, that change scared me a bit if I’m honest, I want sure if the Lemon Scented Oils would be ok for my skin but after using it for a month or so it could see a huge difference in the softness of my face, not to mention the sweet smell that came with it.

    It saved me loads of money not wearing aftershave so I strongly suggest that people try it even if they are not sure.

    I noticed that the Lemon fragrance would last about 2 hours without reapplying the oil, do you think that it is overkill if I put it on again during a night out?

    Reply
    • HI Matthew, smell wise I think it would be fine to reapply – I have a little roller vial that I take with me if I am going to be out for a while.  The only thing to be aware of with constant reapplication is if it becomes too intense for the skin.  If this is not an issue then I would say go for it!

      Paul

      Reply
  6. When I saw the subject of your post, I started to take a pass at commenting, but then i thought what the heck…and I’m really glad I did read it.

    It’s an intriguing subject, one that I hadn’t thought much about.  After reading your post, I intend to give them a try, although I haven’t fished in years, so not sure when I’ll get around to that one.  Living in Florida, I’ll definitely give the Insect Repellent version a try.  I’m growing an avocado seed in the window above the kitchen sink, so protection from pests will probably be next.

    Thank you for an enjoyable read, will look forward to more.

    Best wishes,

    Joe

    Reply
  7. Hi Paul – love the topic for your post, this is great.  Who knew there were so many manly uses for lemon essential oils.  Very creative ideas.  So, which one haven’t you tried yet?  Even though I am not a man, I think I may just have to give a few of these a try.

    Thanks for the information.

    Michele 

    Reply
    • Hi Michele, I have to admit to not having tried the plant one as yet.  I was about to as I had a major snail issue who seemed to like my basil and corriander (cilantro) even more than I did but my wife put the kybosh on that as Lemon is apparently not good for cats – of which we have 100000 – well only two but it seems lilke that.

      I have a friend who is willing to give it a go so will let you know.  Keep me posted on any ideas you come up with on the less manly side of things.

      Thanks for your comments

      Paul

      Reply
  8. I love this article! I think essential oils can totally be manly! In fact, I use Lemon Essential Oil nearly every day and it’s awesome. My family uses it in hand soap and as part of a household cleaner. Interestingly enough, I also use it in the making of homemade deodorant, which is by far my favorite use! I will never go back to store-bought, fake deodorant after discovering how to make it myself. Lemon is part of a summer citrus blend that, as a man, I am not ashamed to use and smell like. Thanks so much for the great article!

    Reply
    • Hi Steve, Deodorant?  interesting!  I hadn’t thought about going down that path as yet, which is odd due to the large amounts of chemicals in these products.  Thanks for the inspiration.  I smell another mansperiment on the horizon (no pun intended haha).

      Paul

      Reply
  9. Nice information there! I never though that lemon essential oil can be used for various things. Aside from grooming, I think it is very useful as insect repellent. I should try this for my car diffuser.

    Just to be safe, this is not for oral consumption right? I love mixing lemon with mineral water because it feels so good. Need to be careful to not mix lemon essential oil to my mineral water jar 🙂

    Reply
    • Hey there, I have had a look and the websites of both large companies (Young Living and doTERRA) both promote recipes for the use of Lemon Essential Oil in food/drinks.  I personally am not convinced on them for ingestion and do not use them in cooking etc.  I kow they are considered safe by the authorities in the US (FDA) and Australian (TGA) however I would certianly strngly suggest you do your own research prior to using them in this manner.

      Hope this helps

      Paul

      Reply

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