Birch Oil: How to Use This Essential Oil to Treat Pain

Birch oil or birch essential oil may have properties to help with skin, hair, and muscle pain, but use with caution.

May 24 2023, Published 1:45 p.m. ET

For those who use essential oils regularly, the potential benefits of birch oil may be obvious. However, if you have not tried essential oils for various health and wellness reasons, take a look at birch oil for the ways it can help you. Birch essential oil may have anti-inflammatory properties and analgesic properties, among other possible benefits.

According to Stillpoint Aromatics, birch oil comes from birch trees, as you'd probably expect. Essential oils are made by distilling aromatic leaves, flowers, bark, and roots of plants, per Medical News Today. Using birch oil may help people with muscle and joint pain, but who should not use birch oil and why?

Pure Pro Massage Products explains some of the benefits of using birch essential oil. According to the company website, birch oil can be used in very small amounts to increase blood flow, reduce inflammation, and ease pain. You may be able to use it topically (on the skin) to treat gout and sciatica.

Birch oil also has numerous benefits when inhaled using an essential oil diffuser. Inhalation of birch oil can help ease congestion, improve breathing, clear out sinuses, and soothe coughs. Pure Pro recommends that people only use birch oil via diffusion into the air, although if it is properly diluted into carrier oils or lotions, topical application may be appropriate.

Whenever you're considering using a new essential oil, you should find out what the risks may be. For example, Stillpoint Aromatics notes that these people should not use birch oil:

Be sure to follow safety guidelines for birch oil or any other essential oils. There is a lot of risk if you do not dilute essential oils properly, as WebMD explains. It's best to talk to your doctor prior to beginning to use birch oil or other oils. Find out whether the essential oil is best to inhale, add to a bath, or mix with other oils.

First of all, you should not ingest birch oil or other essential oils. Some people promoting essential oils have claimed that you can safely consume or ingest essential oils, but it has not been proven safe.

If using birch oil, be sure to dilute it properly using a carrier oil, lotion, or cream (even if using in a bath, do not add undiluted birch oil). Check the manufacturer's label for recommendations on the best dilution ratios and what is safe to use with birch oil. The safe dermal dilution, according to Alywillow and Stillpoint Aromatics, is 2.5 percent.

Alywillow offers guidelines for birch oil dilution: first change the 2.5 percent to a decimal, which would be 0.025. Then, multiply that number by the number of drops of carrier oil you use. For example, if using 20 drops of carrier oil, multiply 20 by 0.025, and you could use 0.5 drops of birch oil safely.