Yes, it’s true: Helichrysum essential oil provides fast-acting, effective pain relief for a great many physical ailments. Aromatherapy companies are, by law, prevented from advertising this fact directly along with their products, but it’s true. Many, many individuals are regularly using this very healing oil to both reduce pain and, depending on the injury or ailment, to actually speed healing. As noted by Dr. Kurt Schnaubelt, America’s leading medical aromatherapist, the effects of this oil are “so convincing that it has never met with any kind of criticism.” So what’s special about Helichrysum, where do you get it and how do you use it?

Helichrysum is a totally unique pain reliever and wound healer — not only just in the world of aromatherapy, but in the big picture of the entire world of medicine. It rates exceptionally highly in the two most important criteria, safety and efficacy. In terms of safety, it is sometimes prescribed for direct application to the skin at 100% strength (unlike some other pain relieving oils such as Wintergreen). Very conservative therapists do not recommend the oil to be used during pregnancy or by children under 12. It would be a shame however to discard the use of the oil for young children with injuries — like any essential oil, it should be used with respect as a medicine, only using as much as needed to produce the desired healing effect. The classic and important aromatherapy text ‘Essential Oil Safety’, lists the oil as non-toxic, non-irritating and non-sensitizing.

It’s the efficacy — the ability to reduce pain and heal that is most remarkable about Helichrysum. Nearly every form of pain seems to respond positively to Helichrysum essential oil application. Joint pain, back pain, muscular and connective tissue pain, nerve pain, and pain resulting from injury, surgery and trauma can all be helped. The most common usage of the essential oil is a dilution in Jojoba oil, massaged into the affected areas a few times a day. The oil can also be used completely undiluted if desired for the most severe or immediate situations.

Mixing your own topical preparation is very simple: just mix one part Helichrysum to nine parts ‘carrier oil’ in a separate bottle. This makes a 10% concentration. Some users create formulas as strong as 20% Helichrysum, others with as little as 5%. Using the lowest concentration necessary is more a question of cost than anything else — the pure essential oil is relatively costly, particularly the highest quality, rarest varieties. The pure essential oil applied ‘neat’ or undiluted is called for when a trauma has just occurred. For example, if one has just twisted an ankle, or really any serious injury where bruising will occur, several drops of the essential oil should be applied immediately and then again every hour or so until the potential for hematoma is eliminated.

In addition to its pain-relieving action, the pure essential oil includes natural constituents which actually speed wound healing. It is thought that this is a result of the oil quenching free radicals in the injured area, and signaling tissues to regenerate. For these reasons, Helichrysum is also found in many formulas for healing and anti-aging of the skin. Helichrysum is also excellent for burns, and just a little bit of oil on small burns can provide immediate relief. (If using for injuries with broken skin, avoid use if excessive bleeding is an issue, as the oil acts as an anticoagulant. Use only once bleeding has stopped completely, and is not likely to be of concern again in these cases).

The most potently-healing Helichrysum essential oil is considered to be the ’serotinum’ sub-species grown on the island of Corsica, France. The oil is often distilled from wild growing plants, which can be the strongest healers due to their synergistic relationship with their natural environment. The oil is also distilled from Helichrysum italicum flowers grown around Europe; one may try more than one source to find the oil that works best for them.

Helichrysum essential oil is one of nature’s most profound healers. It works for a great many symptoms of pain, safely and effectively. It is simple to use and readily available through internet sources (it is, as of yet, difficult to find in local health food stores, though this may be changing soon). Whatever your needs for this type of therapy, Helichrysum italicum essential oil is worth investigating.