lemongrassLemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) is one of just a couple of essential oils that I take with me when I travel by air. That spicy-citrus scent unique to Lemongrass is now embedded in my brain as a smell associated with travel and I get excited to pack my bags when I get a whiff of it!

It’s the perfect travel companion: refreshing, toning, uplifting, and balancing. Who doesn’t want ALL of that when they’re jet-lagged, in a place very far from home and can’t make the oral acrobatics of a new language?! Yeah, exactly. 

Lemongrass is high in aldehydes (citral, neral, and geranial) and in terpenes (myrcene) which makes it a champ as an antibacterial, analgesic, fungicidal, insecticidal powerhouse. It also makes it a skin sensitizer, a drug interactor, and teratogenic so do your homework on this one!

Here’s what I’ve used Lemongrass for while traveling:

  • Cleaning a sketchy hotel bathroom.
  • Combating mold and mildew in the hotel room.
  • As a bug repellent – I use strips of toilet paper hung from the ceiling or window.
  • For jet lag – a drop or two on the shower wall is a delight to the senses when waking up a half-dozen time zones away from “home”.
  • In a personal inhaler (aromastick) or on a hankie when touring malodorous places like the fish market.
  • Diluted in massage oil for muscle pain from sharing a bus row with two goats and three chickens.
  • In a personal inhaler in closed spaces during an infectious outbreak, lovely paired with Basil and hung around the neck in a locket!

Is Lemongrass a good travel companion for you? Perhaps! If you can be careful about dilution (keep it at or below 0.7% in your topical blend), aren’t pregnant or trying to conceive, don’t use nicotine products, and aren’t on opiod analgesics or cancer drugs you might enjoy this essential oil in your travel case.

Got questions on how to use aromatherapy in a holistic way? Drop me a note! I offer in-person consults at my practice here in Austin, Texas and I do phone and Skype consults with fragrant friends around the globe.