Geranium Essential Oil Smells Horrendous – So Is It Any Good?

Welcome! Well what can I say? I thought long and hard about how to title this post. I thought about being conservative and go with an easy “Geranium Oil Uses for Men” or a “Geranium Essential Oil, A Natural Alternative”. And, I am sorry, but I have always talked about how I would try and be as honest as I could about the use of essential oils and men. So I think I have it pretty much spot on. Geranium essential oil smells horrendous!

How do I describe it? The best way I can think of is to go to a supermarket and buy one of those pre-mixed bags of mixed lettuce leaves. Take the bag home, open it, fold the top over again and place in the back of the fridge. Pull it back out after about 3 weeks (or once the lettuce starts to liquefy), open the bag and take a whiff… and you are close – although Geranium does has a slight florally note lurking there somewhere (can you tell I also gave this a bit of thought?).

YL Geranium Essential Oil
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So why write about it then? And especially why expose us manly souls to such a poor aroma? Well, as it turns out it can be fairly useful. Let’s investigate the use of geranium essential oil within the world of men…

What is Geranium Essential Oil?

Geranium Essential Oil Smells Horrendous - header

Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens) essential oil is derived from the plant’s stems and leaves. It is often referred as the ‘poor man’s rose oil‘ due to its many shared compounds and benefits with its more expensive cousin. If you ask me I would say ‘extremely poor cousin’ but I think you all get the point…

Geranium oil contains about 67 compounds with the main components being:

  • Citronellol (26.7 percent) .
  • Geraniol (13.4 percent).
  • Nerol (8.7 percent).
  • Linalool (5.2 percent).

Geranium essential oil has historical use in ancient Egypt for such uses as skin care, hormone balance and mood management.

Scientific research into Geranium essential oil is limited and centers mainly around skin care, hormonal management within menstruation and as an anti-fungal.

Geranium Oil Uses for Men

As it turns out, there are some uses for this aromatic nightmare for us men. And, I have to say, that as I tested some of them, the aroma is actually not as bad once it is released from the bottle and diluted in a diffuser or with a carrier oil. Yes, I tested them – I wouldn’t dare subject my loyal manly readers to something like this without at least some mansperimentation. I even went to the local florist to see if I could smell the original. But it seems they are out this season so will keep you posted on that one.

To be honest, I actually noticed that it definitely gets sweeter once it has been on the skin for a while. I could smell it on my fingers after fiddling with the bottle whilst doing my research. So let’s have a look and see what we can get ourselves into…

Geranium Oil for Stress Relief

As with its ancient use, Geranium is supposedly an excellent stress reliever. Now I know that this is obviously something that you must use and test to see if it works for you. But I was more worried about the aroma in the oil diffuser. So I put some in it and turned it on in the office that I write in.

The aroma is interesting out of the bottle. Whilst I don’t love it, I can certainly see where it could be good for stress and calming. It is not a strong aroma and absolutely at the extreme bottom of the non-manly scent scale, but it sort of grows on you. So I tested it with some other calmers…

I won’t bore you with all of the testing but I can tell you what really hits the spot. I may be biased here, but good old Northern Lights Black Spruce, a soothing, calming match if ever I saw one. Who’d have thought that the manliest and unmanliest oils on the planet would mix so well. So, to mix Paul’s calmer recipe:

  • 3 drops Geranium.
  • 3 drops NLBS.

Efficient for Hair Care

Geranium Essential Oil Smells Horrendous - man hairAnother ancient use and another for the man-list. Geranium Oil has many of the same compounds as lemon, peppermint, bergamot and rosemary. All of which are good for the hair and beard. Geranium could be a good substitute if your skin is extra sensitive due to it’s gentle nature.

Apparently it is good for hair growth via its ability to balance the production of sebum and natural oils within the scalp and face. I have no proof of this but it has been tested in some other oils with the same compounds to I am happy to leave it in here. I would suggest finding a good aroma mix with a ‘woody’ type oil just to man up the mix a little. However, if you like it, then it could certainly work on its own with some jojoba or coconut oil.

Gentle Man Beard recipe:

A Natural Deodorant, Not So Manly

I actually can’t believe that I am writing this considering the mind bending smell of this oil. But, it is apparently extremely good as a natural deodorant. However, as I wrote earlier the scent definitely sweetens up once it is left on the skin for a little while so there is some positivity there. I haven’t tested this as a deodorant but oddly enough, the smell on my fingers at the moment is not really as feminine as I would have thought so. I can see how it could work in this capacity…. maybe…

Geranium Essential Oil Is A Good Insect Repellent

Now this one I CAN believe. I of course was thinking that it would be the smell that drove them away but in reality is does make sense. This is because Geranium shares its major compounds such as Linalool and Citronellol with lemon and citronella. Both of which I have tested and found to be effective.

So, in effect there are two ways you could try this:

1. Personal repellent

  • 5 drops geranium.
  • 2 tbs carrier oil.
  • Rub onto exposed skin.

The good thing here is that it can double as a natural deodorant as we discussed above (and it is a little ‘lighter’ than lemon or citronella)

2. Airborne repellent

  • Add 5 drops to the diffuser and place nearby.

Skin Toner: A Natural Alternative

Geranium Oil - muscle tone Natural Alternative

Hmmmm… Now obviously I don’t have the time to mansperiment this one (or the six-pack if I am being totally honest) but as this is the first oil I have found to be represented in this area, I thought I would add it here. And by represented, I mean I found this on a LOT of posts within my research. This either means that one person wrote it once and everyone else just copied it (plus me it seems) or there is some merit to it.

I found a bit of research covering the benefits of Geranium essential oil on the skin. Nothing to do with muscle tone so I suggest you take this on face value. However, as most muscle toning creams are chemically driven, then you could try this as a natural alternative before your next big date or trip to the beach.

To use, mix 5 drops of geranium essential oil with tbs of Jojoba oil and rub directly on the muscles. I would suggest a couple of times a day – oh, and in the interests of being thorough, you need to have some muscles first. This is a natural toning assistant, not a miracle cream.

Relief for period pain

Geranium Essential Oil Smells Horrendous - sick woman

Again, I obviously can’t test this one and it is definitely not a manly use. This is another ancient and modern use for this oil so I have added this in the interests of having a dude’s back. If your significant other is suffering, mix her up a little remedy of your natural deodorant mix to make her life just that little bit easier… (you might want to let her rub it on herself though).

And of course do this out of the goodness of your heart, and definitely NOT to make your life easier, get you brownie points or allow you a night at the pub… that is just ridiculous.

Conclusion

Ok, so there are some manly uses for the most unmanly, unpleasant and mankiest smelling oil ever invented. I tested what I could and there are some definite benefits there I think… Some other oils may work better, maybe not. But as I always say, if you are looking for chemical free and believe in the outcomes, then why not give it a try…

Have you tried Geranium? Do you agree on aroma? Are there any other uses for it in your world? If you answered yes to any other these questions, I would love to hear about it below. If not, comment anyway. haha.

Until next time

Have fun

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

5 thoughts on “Geranium Essential Oil Smells Horrendous – So Is It Any Good?”

  1. Ah, you don’t say! I think it smells gorgeous!
    Anyway, who knows, maybe you’ll learn to love it over time πŸ™‚
    Love your site, very helpful for the lads indeed!
    Patri

    Reply
  2. my aromatherapist friend said that Geranium is like marmite but some women love it at certain times in their cycle and hate it at others. My husband thinks it is horrible and it’s my favourite oil!

    Reply

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