Peppermint first appeared only in the seventeenth century, when it managed to self-hybridize. It now grows wild throughout Europe, North America, and Australia. The British Medical Journal noted in 1879 that peppermint’s menthol compound relieves headaches and neuralgia.

Extraction: Distilled from the leaves.

The scent is powerful and minty fresh. Peppermint is one of the few essential oil plants grown and distilled in the United States, where the light cloud cover over central Oregon and Michigan increases oil production, most of which is redistilled to produce a lighter mint flavor for candies, gum, toothpaste, and mouthwash. Several mints are also distilled for perfume.

Medicinal action: Inhaling peppermint steam clears sinus and lung congestion and infection. It alleviates nausea, ulcers, and is a specific remedy for irritable bowel syndrome, for which drugstores sell specially coated, enteric pills that don’t dissolve or release the essential oil until they reach the colon. Studies show it enhances digestion by stimulating digestive juices, making digestive tract activity slower and more rhythmical, and destroying viruses, parasites, and bacteria, including salmonella poisoning. In one study, an application of 10 percent peppermint oil on the temples of people suffering from tension headaches provided substantial relief (but take care to keep it out of the eyes). When researchers sponged a combination of peppermint and eucalyptus diluted in alcohol on volunteers’ foreheads, their headaches were greatly reduced. Peppermint oil’s dual hot and cold action accentuates the warming sensation in liniments and is an excellent remedy for pain.

Cosmetic/skin use: Peppermint stimulates the skin’s oil production, so small amounts are appropriate for use on a dry complexion and hair. It also relieves the discomfort of ringworm, herpes simplex, scabies, insect bites, and poison oak, and studies have found it defeats several types of viral and fungal skin infections. When tested against other oils, it proved to be one of the most effective essential oils to kill head lice (one study diluted 2 drops of essential oil in 100 milliliters of equal parts water and vinegar).

Emotional attributes: As a stimulant, the scent counters depression, anxiety, insomnia, shock, mental fogginess, and lack of focus, and unblocks “stuck” emotions. Research volunteers who inhaled a thirty-second puff of peppermint every five minutes found that they were better able to remember and identify complicated patterns on a computer monitor, and brain activity related to seeing and focusing attention was steadier. Considerations: Watch out—too much oil will burn skin. Do not use more than one or two drops in a bathtub..

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