When the weather cools, the first thing we tend to do is to reach for something warm. Hot cider, hot chocolate, cozy sweaters, heavy blankets, soups, and stews are cold weather classics. Tactile warmth isn’t the only sort of warmth we tend to gravitate towards though. Warm scents are also categorized as cold weather classics. And the one we’d like to highlight has heat unlike any other. Cinnamon.
Brings Back Memories
Smell is strongly linked to memory. That’s why when you pick up a familiar scent you are often transported back in time and experience a memory in a way that feels visceral. The more senses you involve, the more powerful the memory is likely to be. Cinnamon is both a popular spice and scent. Scents of cinnamon can be found in drinks like hot spiced cider and wassail, baked goods like cinnamony apple pies, cinnamon spiced pumpkin pies, snickerdoodle cookies, cinnamon rolls, and even candies like chocolate covered cinnamon bears. All of these treats tend to go hand in hand with happy memories that are a joy to revisit. Cinnamon Bark essential oil has a similar scent to the spice. It’s warm and spicy, with a strong bite and a protective and powerfully uplifting scent.
Bringing Warmth
Bringing back memories isn’t the only thing Cinnamon Bark essential oil is known for. It’s also pretty well known for its ability to bring warmth. But what is it that makes Cinnamon such a warming essential oil? The answer lies in its chemical makeup. One of the organic compounds that make up cinnamon is a compound called cinnamaldehyde. Cinnamaldehyde is where the spice and fragrance of Cinnamon comes from. Cinnamon Bark essential oil has a topical warming effect that’s also attributed to the cinnamaldehyde.
It’s not the only warming oil out there though. Other warming oils include Anise, Birch, Black Pepper, Cardamom, Clove, Nutmeg, and Wintergreen. All of them offer warm scents and some are topically warming as well, similarly to Cinnamon Bark. That means that you have a lot of different options when it comes to warm scents. Some of them, like Clove, Nutmeg, and Wintergreen are also classic cold weather scents. Clove and Nutmeg in particular tend to feature in plenty of happy memories that get made in the colder months of the year. You can blend some of them together to create unique scents. Create a sexy cinnamon clove blend that lets you bring on the heat in more ways than one.
Uses
So clearly Cinnamon Bark essential oil is a great essential oil to have in your arsenal. How do you go about using it though? Cinnamon essential oil is excellent for topical warming as well as being included in protective and cleansing blends. This warm, spicy essential oil can be included in a massage blend if you want to make use of its topical warming and powerfully uplifting effects. You could create your own massage blend with Cinnamon Bark, Lavender, Cedarwood, and Lemon for a relaxing, yet uplifting and stress relieving effect. Because of how powerful Cinnamon Bark essential oil is, it doesn’t take very much at all for you to feel its effects. It can be applied as a part of a blend or as a single oil diluted in a carrier oil. The dilution should be quite small. As little as 0.2% dilution is plenty – don’t go any higher. You can achieve a 0.2% solution by putting 1 drop of Cinnamon Bark essential oil into 5 teaspoons of your chosen carrier oil. You also have the option of diffusing it. Be aware that because of how powerful it is, you should diffuse it as a part of a blend. Cinnamon Bark blends really well with oils like Frankincense, Lavender, Cedarwood, Orange, Lemon, Neroli, and Ylang ylang.
Cinnamon is one of the classic fall and winter scents. It’s a great essential oil to mix with other pure essential oils to create your own warming blends that smell as good as they make you feel. Whether you want to take advantage of its ability to bring back delicious memories or its capacity to create warmth, it is a great essential oil to have in your collection.
