You love natural remedies and swear by essential oils. But do you know what people say about grapefruit essential oil when it comes to cellulite? Here’s everything you need to know about its uses and what it’s reputed to do, plus a few DIY recipes to try at home!
What is grapefruit essential oil?
An essential oil is a concentrated liquid plant essence, typically obtained by distilling the aromatic compounds of a plant. In the case of grapefruit and other citrus fruits, the essential oil is extracted by cold-pressing the fruit’s peel.
The aromatic compounds found in essential oils form a complex and highly potent blend of chemical molecules with a wide range of properties. Grapefruit essential oil is mainly used for well-being and beauty, particularly for its fragrance.
How can you use grapefruit essential oil?
Grapefruit essential oil has plenty of uses.
First of all, you can diffuse it at home for its citrusy fragrance, which many people love:
- Its fresh, zesty scent
- Its fragrance, which brings sunshine to mind
Grapefruit essential oil can also be used as a beauty treatment. For example:
- It can be added to a toner for oily skin, thanks to its astringent properties.
- It also features in some scalp care products.
Finally, on the well-being side, grapefruit essential oil also crops up in articles about:
- Detox, a word best taken with a pinch of salt: your liver and kidneys already do this job naturally.
- Digestion or bloating, although no effect has been established.
- Lipolysis, again with no proof to back it up.
How to add it to your anti-cellulite routine
Applied to the skin, grapefruit essential oil fits easily into a massage routine designed to tackle the look of cellulite. It is often associated with two of the main factors behind cellulite:
- Water retention, which is directly linked to water-retention cellulite.
- Fat-laden adipocytes, which give cellulite its characteristic ‘orange peel’ look – the bumpy skin texture typical of adipose cellulite and fibrous cellulite.
Bothered by your cellulite and keen to use grapefruit essential oil every day to care for those stubborn dimples? Here are a few recipes to get you started! For these DIY blends, it’s best to use furocoumarin-free grapefruit essential oil, as citrus essential oils are naturally photosensitising. If yours isn’t, avoid sun exposure while using them.
Why choose furocoumarin-free grapefruit essential oil?
Furocoumarins are compounds found naturally in citrus peel. They’re what make grapefruit essential oil photosensitising: applied to the skin, it can make it more reactive to the sun. For recipes you’ll be using on your body, furocoumarin-free grapefruit essential oil is therefore the more comfortable choice. Just check for this wording on the bottle’s label.
If your bottle doesn’t carry it, make a habit of staying out of the sun for as long as you’re using it. If in any doubt, or if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding or taking any medication, ask a doctor or pharmacist for advice before using essential oils.
1- Grapefruit massage oil
To make this homemade recipe, you will need:
- 35 drops of grapefruit essential oil
- 35 drops of menthol eucalyptus essential oil
- 35 drops of Virginia cedarwood essential oil
- 30 ml of your choice of carrier oil (jojoba for quick absorption and a dry finish, borage, or sesame if you enjoy a pinch-and-roll massage!)
Want to know more about water retention? Take a look at our dedicated article.
Simply pour all the liquids into your chosen bottle (a pump bottle is the best option!), shake well, and apply your massage oil every day to the areas you’d like to focus on – buttocks, hips, thighs, knees…
2- Grapefruit body scrub
Grapefruit essential oil can also be used to make a body scrub. You can use it several times a week before showering, to tackle the look of cellulite, whatever its type. To make it, you will need:
- 4 tbsp of coffee grounds
- 4 tbsp of your choice of carrier oil — whatever you have in your kitchen will work perfectly!
- 2 tbsp of brown sugar
- A few drops of grapefruit essential oil
To make your scrub, simply mix all the ingredients together until you get a smooth, slightly grainy paste. Before your shower, massage each area you’d like to focus on with a little of the mixture, using circular and smoothing movements. Start from the lower body and work upwards towards the heart. Then rinse off. An exfoliating ritual you’ll also find in our tips for smooth skin!
3- What about taking it orally?
Some essential oils are sometimes described as suitable for oral use, grapefruit essential oil among them. But essential oils are extremely potent ingredients: never swallow any without advice from a doctor or pharmacist, who can tell you whether it’s right for you.
You’ll sometimes come across recipes for an oral course made with juniper and grapefruit essential oils. We won’t be sharing instructions: taking essential oils orally should always be supervised by a healthcare professional.
4- Our massage oil
Not much of a DIY fan but still keen to enjoy grapefruit essential oil? We have the solution! Our Anti-Cellulite Massage Oil contains natural grapefruit extracts! It also contains ivy extracts.
The oil that visibly smooths the look of your skin
- Complete formula: 4 powerful actives for a targeted massage of cellulite-prone areas
- Smoother-looking skin: actives designed to complement the palper-rouler technique
- Sensorial massage : rich texture and Monoï scent for a gentle, feel-good ritual
It can be used daily on stubborn areas, whatever your cellulite type. Apply it by hand for a relaxing massage, or use it with our cupping tools (the manual or the electric version) for an invigorating pinch-and-roll style massage!
The cupping tool that replicates pinching and rolling, 3 minutes per zone
- The professionals' technique, at home: you lift, glide, and release, and the tool grips the skin fold like a manual pinching and rolling
- Soft silicone that fits thighs, buttocks, stomach, and arms
- 3 minutes per zone, every day, always with a massage oil so the tool glides
Professional anti-cellulite technology at home
- Designed to smooth the look of dimpling & tone the skin in depth
- Visibly smooths the appearance of orange-peel skin
