Jasmine has a wonderful, delicate and evocative scent. As a plant, it is beautiful and attractive.

The flowers themselves are wonderful in any garden, and jasmine oil is one of the essential aromatherapy massage oils.

Many aromatherapy products have jasmine oil as one of the main ingredients, and it is also used in wonderful skin-related blends such as jasmine soap, jasmine bath oil, and jasmine shampoo.

This article is about the history and origins, aromatherapy benefits, health properties and other uses of jasmine essential oil, together with some details of how to use it, and contra-indications.

From the common species Jasminum grandiflorum, jasmine is a popular essential oil known by many pseudonyms.

Derived from the Persian word “yasmin,” jasmine is also frequently known by names such as royal jasmine, Spanish jasmine, jati, or Catalonian jasmine.

Jasmine oil is extracted from solvent processes, which means jasmine oil must be separated with alcohol through a final steam distillation process.

Because of jasmine’s chemical composition, this oil extraction results in over 100 chemical constituents, including benzyl acetate, benzyl alcohol, indole, benzyl benzoate, geraniol, phytol, and so forth.

While many people use pure jasmine oil for an array of benefits, consumers can also take advantage of jasmine essential oil blends or aromatherapy products containing jasmine oil as a primary ingredient.

With a soft, relaxing, and intoxicating aroma, jasmine oil has been used for cosmetic benefits for many years.

For example, investigations suggest that ancient cultures used jasmine bath oil and jasmine soap both as a perfume and as a beauty treatment, believing that jasmine essential oil would improve one’s skin and hair appearance.

Historians have also found that jasmine is native to China and the northern regions of India.

Eventually, the Moors brought jasmine to Spain, where the use of jasmine essential oil then spread to France, Italy, Morocco, Egypt, Japan, and Turkey.

In addition to the aromatic and cosmetic uses, ancient cultures had many other uses for jasmine. For example, Arabs, Indians, and Chinese people used jasmine for medicinal benefits and also as an aphrodisiac.

Jasmine  was an important part of various ceremonial celebrations. In China, jasmine flowers were used for making jasmine tea, while Indonesians have used jasmine as a popular food garnish.

Regions of Turkey, on the other hand, were known to have made rope from the stems of jasmine, while building various tools and items with the plant's wood.

People around the world continue to benefit from the powers of jasmine oil today.

It is a common ingredient in aromatherapy products, and the wonderful scent is just the start of its properties. The benefits of jasmine essential oil include:

• Promotes relaxation

• Reduces stress / anxiety / tension

• Decreases depression while elevating feelings of happiness / contentment

• Boosts feelings of confidence

• Eases difficulty / pain / complications of childbirth

• Helps treat various sexual problems / concerns

• Reduces coughing

• Reduces appearance of scars and stretch marks

• Increases elasticity of skin

• Offers anti-spasmodic benefits

• Provides expectorant support

• May offer sedative effects

Jasmine blends well with lots of other aromatherapy massage oils, including sweet orange, rosemary, clary sage, rose, and sandelwood.

Jasmine essential oil’s ability to increase energy levels while boosting feelings of happiness can also provide advantages for women in childbirth.

Specifically, jasmine oil has been shown to increase the speed of child delivery, as it commonly strengthens a woman's contractions while simultaneously reducing feelings of pain.

In addition, jasmine essential oil also helps prevent and/or treat post-natal depression, while also stimulating the flow of a new mother's breast milk.

With its calming effects, many people use jasmine essential oil to treat various sexual issues and problems.

Specifically, the calming benefits of jasmine oil are often used to help decrease symptoms of premature ejaculation and impotence.

Some even use jasmine oil to increase the body's sexual response and feelings of desire. This is a traditional use, especially in India and the Middle East.

When used on the skin or in breathing treatments, jasmine essential oil can stimulate incredible health and well-being responses.

When used for the enhancement of respiratory health, jasmine oil can reduce coughs, hoarseness, and symptoms of laryngitis.

When applied to the skin, users will quickly notice a reduction in muscle pain and tension; jasmine oil can be used to reduce the pain associated with muscle stiffness, sprains, and other physical aches.

The oil is therefore particularly useful for people who enjoy exercise and physcial activities.

Furthermore, when applied to the skin, jasmine oil can be used to reduce greasy skin, while simultaneously soothing dry, sensitive, and irritated skin.

Jasmine essential oil improves skin elasticity, which helps to reduce the visibility of scars and stretch marks.

The benefits of jasmine can be obtained in various different ways, such as:

• Vapor therapy (adding jasmine oil to burners or vaporisers)

• Massaging jasmine oil into the skin

• Adding jasmine oil to a bath or shower

• Drinking jasmine tea
• Using pre-blended aromatherapy products such as jasmine soap, jasmine bath oil, or jasmine shampoo
• Adding the oil to standard soap, bath oil and shampoo to make your own jasmine products

Jasmine oil is all natural, and it is known to be non-toxic, non-sensitising, and non-irritating; however, some people with specific allergies or health issues may experience rare reactions.

Aside from people with specific allergies, most people can safely use jasmine essential oil without any side effects or concerns.

Pregnant women (unless they are in the process of child delivery), however, should not use jasmine essential oil, as the oil has emmenagogue properties. Emmenagogue properties, which result in an increased blood flow to the pelvis region, could cause complications for some women who are not yet ready to deliver.

Adding to this caution, people using jasmine oil should avoid using too much of the oil; an excess of jasmine essential oil can prompt the body to reject absorption of the oil’s properties.

So less is more with this oil, which is just as well, as it's among the most expensive of aromatherapy essential oils.