Eucalyptus oil is the distilled essence of the leaves and small twigs of the eucalyptus tree, native to Australia but now grown in India and other hot climates. The dominance of this tree is amazing; there’s over 600 species, and members of the family make up over 75% of Australia’s trees and forests.
However, only a handful have the correct chemical composition and fragrance used to make eucalyptus oil, an oil which is a promising skincare treatment.
Firstly, eucalyptus oil significantly and unexpectedly improved oily skin in one study. Applying Eucalyptus globulus oil to rat skin shrank their sebaceous glands and reduced the amount of oil they pumped out. If combined with sea buckthorn oil or argan oil, you could have a seriously powerful weapon against oily skin.
Secondly, eucalyptus oil has natural antibacterial properties, able to wipe out the p.acnes bacteria responsible for so many pimples. It matches tea tree oil and easily beats juniper berry oil or clary sage oil. Eucalyptus oil even has natural insecticide properties (it was officially registered back in 1948) and is an experimental way to reject toxic pesticides in your home garden.
These powers combine with eucalyptus oil’s classic mild, woody aroma, which is perfect for homemade perfumery and soaps. But which is the best brand?
Like tea tree or lavender oil, the market is a minefield, with potential fakes everywhere, using synthetic lab ingredients to cut costs. Therefore, the 6 brands on this list are not just analysed for purity using GC/MS testing, but have those results freely available on their website, for your viewing pleasure. Only a small handful meet these strict requirements.
Remember that eucalyptus oil is not particularly harsh for an essential oil, but you should always conduct a patch test on your skin before applying it your face. Never ingest eucalyptus oil either.
Let’s get started:
One – Plant Therapy
An unbeatable eucalyptus oil. Firstly, Plant Therapy is made from eucalyptus tree leaves, as is the ideal. It’s made from the Eucalyptus globulus subspecies, the most popular variety, also known as blue gum eucalyptus.
Plant Therapy is also steam-distilled, rather than extracted using chemical solvents, the superior method for preserving the nutrition. Plant Therapy is a prestigious skincare oil company overall, with their tea tree oil being perfect. They’re obsessed with purity, so if there’s ever an essential oil you need which we haven’t reviewed here, just pay Plant Therapy a visit and your job will probably be done.
The oil is sourced from India, China, Australia or Portugal. Plant Therapy is certified organic, and gets an excellent smell report, being described as “clean”, “fresh”, and “earthy”. This eucalyptus oil was even analysed in a laboratory by the essential oil expert Dr Robert Tisserand, who confirmed its authenticity and commented that the oil has “a very herbaceous scent with soft woody undertones“.
Unlike many popular brands, Plant Therapy is not only tested for purity using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS) tests, but these results are available for anyone to view on their website. The most recent report revealed an alpha pinene content of 5.94%, and 1,8 cineole content of 80.62%, within the natural range for unadulterated eucalyptus oil.
The possible Chinese origin is no downside for once, as it’s completely nullified here, by the GC/MS report and organic certification. According to Plant Therapy, every single batch undergoes lab tests for purity.
Plant Therapy has no flaws, and is the perfect eucalyptus oil for skincare.
Amazon link: Plant Therapy Organic Eucalyptus Oil.
Two – SimplyEarth
Simply Earth comes in a dark, amber bottle for UV radiation protection. It’s sourced from India, and completely pure, containing only eucalyptus oil. This brand is also great value for money, with a 15ml bottle which will last for weeks if you add a couple of drops to a carrier oil each day.
Overall, Simply Earth is closely aligned with Plant Therapy, once more being sourced from Eucalyptus globulus leaves. Eucalyptus globulus accounts for the vast majority of eucalyptus oils made today. The tree has dark green, glossy, leathery leaves and grows to be 50 metres high on average.
Importantly, it contains 60-85% cineole, defeating the milder E.radiata subspecies, and thus having guaranteed antibacterial properties. E. globulus can be found in mouthwash, natural pesticides, bath salts, and even toothpaste. E. globulus is also the subspecies which was found to reduce oily skin in the promising study above, and Simply Earth contains it.
Simply Earth has even been analysed in a laboratory using GC/MS testing, and found to contain 80.02% cineole, and 6.67% alpha pinene, another antibacterial compound which is proven to suppress p.acnes. Again, these reports are available for viewing on their website. According to Simply Earth, the eucalyptus oil’s consistency is thin and the colour is clear. The only slight downside is having zero reviews on Amazon, but their website has plenty of reviews, mostly positive.
If eucalyptus oil is indeed an obscure way to reduce oily skin, Simply Earth will succeed with ease.
Amazon link: Eucalyptus Essential Oil by Simply Earth.
Three – Eden’s Garden
The first great feature of Eden’s Garden is being grown in Australia, rather than the grey industrial wastelands of China. It comes in a 1oz bottle, made from a dark amber glass. Eden’s Garden is a steam distilled eucalyptus oil, with Eucalyptus globulus oil being the only ingredient.
The smell, meanwhile, is described as minty, vibrant and invigorating. How should eucalyptus oil smell? It has a unique scent like any essential oil. Tea tree oil should smell sharp and spicy. Clary sage oil should smell nutty, herbaceous and mildly intoxicating, while lavender oil should be lighter, floral, and fresh…
…but experts generally advise that eucalyptus oil should smell pungent, sharp and woody, and according to its dozens of positive reviews, Eden’s Garden fulfills this requirement. Another advantage is a GC/MS report displayed clearly on its website. As of April 2024, this report reveals a breakdown of 5.16% alpha pinene, and 81.26% 1,8-cineole, all within line for unadulterated eucalyptus oil. Eden’s Garden is a trustworthy company which gains points for complete transparency. Their tea tree and lavender oils are also among the best of their kind.
Finally, Eden’s Garden recommends to always perform a patch test on your arm before applying further eucalyptus oil, which is strong advice. They care about their customers as well.
Eden’s Garden is ultra trustworthy and is leagues above most eucalyptus oil brands.
Amazon link: Eden’s Garden Eucalyptus Oil.
Four – Rocky Mountain Oils
It maintains this purity with its steam distillation method, and is derived from the leaves as it should be (leaves and twigs is also OK). Rocky Mountain Oils is sourced from South Africa or Australia and contains 15ml, for an estimated 250 servings per bottle.
The big difference compared to Plant Therapy is that Rocky Mountain Oils contains Eucalyptus radiata oil. E.radiata is perhaps the second most common subspecies, and easily the mildest one. The oil contains much less 1,8- cineole and alphe-pinene, making it less pungent and less aggressive in its properties. Compared to E. globulus, its aroma is fruitier, sweeter, and with a citrus tang.
E. radiata is less powerful than E. globulus, and wasn’t tested in the oily skin study, but its mildness makes it ideal for people with sensitive skin, who want to be cautious. Rocky Mountain Oils also comes in a glass amber bottle, the superior colour for deflecting destabilising UV radiation, and the product will stay doubly fresh should you store it in a dark cupboard.
Rocky Mountain Oils is perfect for an experimental eucalyptus oil, with unrivalled purity.
Amazon link: Rocky Mountain Oils Eucalyptus Radiata.
Five – Essential Depot
Like Rocky Mountains, Essential Depot contains Eucalyptus radiata essential oil, sourced from the tree’s leaves and small twigs. This is a brand which flies under the radar on Amazon, yet is quietly one of the most trustworthy. All their oils are subjected to GC/MS testing to guarantee that the terpenes are within normal parameters, and these are available for any inquiring customer to view on their website. Several companies boast of GC/MS testing, but suspiciously won’t allow people to view the results. This isn’t one of them.
Some signs of a fraudulent company include 1) bland packaging which could have been created in five minutes, indicating a pop-up company dedicated to exploiting short term market demand with no interest in quality and longevity, and 2) a bottle with no botanical name. If your eucalyptus oil doesn’t say E. globulus, E. radiata, or another specific Latin name, simply reading eucalyptus oil, then you’re dealing with a company that lacks expertise.
Essential Depot bears the E. radiata label clearly on the bottle. Like Rocky Mountains, this is ideal for a milder eucalyptus oil, to get your feet wet before plunging into the deep end with E. globulus.
The only downside is its small number of reviews, but Essential Depot is so transparent in its techniques that I recommend this eucalyptus oil without hesitation.
Amazon link: Essential Depot Eucalyptus Oil.
Six – Aromatics International
Aromatics International contains exactly what it should: the distilled essence of the leaves of the natural eucalyptus tree, a plant millions of years in the making which is now readily available across all kinds of hot climates to clear people’s acne, if only people knew the secret.
With this brand we return to a Eucalyptus globulus oil, to provide the most studied benefits. Aromatics International is also exceptionally good value for money, in sizes ranging from 5ml to 100ml, while not being so cheap that it raises suspicion of fraud.
The bottle is made with a protective dark amber colour, and reportedly has a shelf life of 3 years if stored carefully. You can combine this eucalyptus oil with whatever carrier oil you choose with no difficulty. What would a good choice be? Possibly sea buckthorn oil, since it too reduces oily skin, using its beta-sitosterol steroids which bind to the sebaceous glands. To double eucalyptus oil’s antibacterial benefits, you could mix it with some tamanu oil.
As with every member of this list, every batch of Aromatics International is tested for purity using GC/MS methods, with reports viewable on their website, even different reports for different batches.
Aromatics International is a standard eucalyptus oil for this list, but an exceptional one in the wide scheme of things.
Link: visit their website to buy this brand.
More strategic info
How important is safe storage with eucalyptus oil? The predominant compound is easily cineole, at 55-85%, which isn’t too vulnerable to oxidation. The two essential oil compounds which consistently mutate into irritating by-products when exposed to sunlight are linalyl acetate and limonene, predominantly found in lavender oil and citrus oils respectively.
However, according to many analyses, eucalyptus oil also contains a small 7% concentration of limonene (study). That’s dramatically lower than lime oil or citrus oil, but still sufficient reason to store eucalyptus oil in a dark cupboard. That said, I wouldn’t repeat my lavender oil recommendation that you should avoid wearing eucalyptus oil during sunny weather.
Overall, eucalyptus oil is fairly stable, particularly if it’s in a dark amber bottle like these brands.
Interestingly, out of the 600 species of eucalyptus trees grown around the world, only 20 are suitable for making oil from. The oil species tend to be poor trees for making timber, whereas the weak oil source species tend to be perfect for making timber from. Eucalyptus oil was first discovered back in 1778 when the British surgeon general John White distilled a mere quart from a tree, dubbing it “Sydney Peppermint” due to its similar aroma.
Tests in England concluded that eucalyptus oil was superior to peppermint oil for wound healing, and Aboriginal communities had used it for that purpose for years. However, the commercial eucalyptus oil industry didn’t truly kick off until 1852, which brings us today, when traditional steam distillation methods are perfected and we have great brands like Plant Therapy and Eden’s Garden.
Conclusion
Remember that eucalyptus oil isn’t proven to clear acne, but has plenty of promise. As for the overall market, fake and synthetic oils are likely everywhere, as with tea tree and lavender oil.
You should avoid suspiciously cloned packaging, brands which don’t list the botanical name, oils with synthetic smells and angry user reviews, brands which won’t let you view their GC/MS tests, or companies with so many artificial batches discovered by essential oil experts that something other than an isolated dodgy batch must be occurring. Stick to the brands here and your work is done.
NEXT: the ultimate diet for clearing acne permanently
Thanks for reading!
This tıme I am the eucalyptus globalus oıl distiller in Rwanda and. I can make 10000 liters in one month, I look for buyers! Can you help to find them?
No Christian, I’m not the man to speak to. This article is simply reviewing the best products. I’m not involved in the eucalyptus oil industry.
What would be the best way to apply it if we have oily skin and don’t have sea buckthorn or argan oil available as you mention?