Steam Cream – Simple Quality Skincare

Origins

Neroli Oil belongs to the plant family Rutaceae The oil is extracted from the blossoms of the bitter orange tree. The tree is the hardiest of all the citrus plants and is often used to graft other citrus trees into harsher conditions. It has a distinctive 'double leaf', which has a small bulge at the base of the main leaf. The bitter orange tree is an evergreen tree that can grow up to 20 feet in the wild but usually in cultivation, will only grow to half this height and last up to 35-40 years.

Its fruit is used to flavour liqueurs such as Grand Mariner and Triple sec and its leaves and twigs provide the petitgrain oil bigrade, another aromatic ingredient we use. Neroli originates from Asia but is produced all over the world in places such as the Mediterranean, North Africa and China, although that produced in France and Tunisia is believed to be the finest of them all. We prefer to use the Tunisian quality as we believe this is the best available.

 

What it can do for you

Neroli is used by aromatherapists for its antidepressant and balancing properties when treating the emotions and anxiety. In The Directory of Essential oils Wanda Sellars describes the effect on the skin as having pronounced cytophalactic properties, helping with regeneration of skin cells and improving skin elasticity?. The main constituents are a-terpineol and linalool and it has a bitter/sweet fruity aroma.