The Benefits of Manuka and Litsea Essential Oils

The Source Plants

Manuka essential oil hails from New Zealand, the perfect environment for the manuka plant (Leptospermum scoparium). It comes from the myrtle family of plants, the same family as tea tree and eucalyptus plants. Though it starts out a shrub, it can sometimes grow into a tree reaching around 49 feet. Every part of the manuka plant has been used in traditional health practices by the Maori. You may already recognize the word “manuka” because of Manuka honey, which is from the hives of bees that pollinate the manuka tree’s flowers.

For hundreds of years, Litsea, a plant native to East Asia, has been used by the indigenous people of Taiwan in traditional health practices. It is also known by the name “mountain pepper” in Mandarin. Like Manuka oil, Litsea oil’s source plant is a tree; it bears pale lemon-scented flowers and small fruits that look like little peppers, hence the nickname.
 

Manuka Touch Uses and Benefits

Available as a 10 mL like the oils in the doTERRA Touch^® Kit, Manuka Touch can be easily applied directly to your skin to obtain the topical and aromatic benefits.

1. Roll onto your neck before or during meditation or yoga, to help ground and center your energies and emotions.  
2. Manuka blends well with Peppermint and Bergamot as a personal fragrance. Layer them onto your skin one at a time, first by rolling on Manuka, then roll on some Peppermint Touch and a drop of Bergamot to the desired area.  
3. Change is inevitable. Whether we choose the next path or not, all you need is a few minutes of courage to get to that next step. Roll Manuka into your palms, cup your hands over your nose, and inhale to promote courage and inner strength.
4. Add it to your skin care routine to help keep your skin clean and clear.
5. Blemishes can sometimes happen in spite of our best efforts. Fortunately, Manuka helps to reduce the appearances of blemishes.
    

Litsea Uses and Benefits

The first thing you will notice upon opening the bottle is Litsea’s beautiful aroma. Its long-lasting fragrance contains hints of spice and notes of citrus.

1. Incorporate Litsea into your daily supplement routine for the antioxidant support your cells need to maintain health.* But, this isn’t the only reason to use Litsea oil as a supplement.  This fragrant oil also promotes the health of the cardiovascular, immune, nervous, and respiratory systems.*
2. Aside from using it internally, you can also use Litsea oil topically on daily basis. Adding this one extra step to your skin care routine will help keep your skin clean and clear. 
3. Use as a spot treatment during the day or at night to help reduce the appearance of blemishes. 
4. Litsea is great for blending with Lavender, Sandalwood, Frankincense, or Cedarwood when you need to feel more balance in your life.

What benefits are you most excited about with either Manuka oil or Litsea oil?