Cedarwood oil is an essential oil steam-distilled from the wood of several tree species commonly called “cedar.” It has a warm, woody scent and is one of the oldest essential oils in use, found today in perfumes, soaps, insect repellents, and aromatherapy products. Despite the single name, cedarwood oil actually comes from trees in two completely different botanical families, which means the oil’s chemistry and aroma vary depending on the source.
Four Main Types of Cedarwood Oil
Not all cedarwood oil is the same. The trees that produce it fall into two plant families, and each yields an oil with a distinct chemical profile.
From the pine family (Pinaceae), the two main species are Atlas cedar, native to the Atlas and Rif Mountains of Morocco and Algeria, and Himalayan cedar (also called Deodar cedar), which grows across the western Himalayas from Afghanistan through northern India and into Nepal. These two oils share a signature group of compounds called himachalenes and atlantones that give them a deep, grounding aroma and notable insecticidal properties.
From the cypress family (Cupressaceae), the two primary species are Virginia cedar (eastern red cedar), found across the eastern United States from Michigan to Florida, and Texas cedar, concentrated in central Texas with smaller populations in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and northern Mexico. These oils are richer in cedrol, cedrene, and thujopsene. Texas and Virginia cedarwood oils contain roughly 19% and 16% cedrol respectively. Texas cedarwood oil is especially popular in perfumery.
When you buy a bottle labeled “cedarwood oil,” checking the Latin name on the label tells you which type you’re getting. Atlas cedarwood (Cedrus atlantica) and Virginia cedarwood (Juniperus virginiana) are the two most commonly sold varieties.
How the Oil Is Extracted
Cedarwood oil is typically steam-distilled from sawdust, wood chips, or shavings rather than from whole logs. Steam passes through the wood material, vaporizes the oil compounds, and the vapor is then cooled and collected. A newer method called supercritical fluid extraction uses pressurized carbon dioxide instead of steam. Because CO₂ diffuses in and out of wood more easily than steam, this process pulls out more oil and can triple the concentration of cedrol, the compound responsible for many of the oil’s biological effects.
What It Does in the Body
The most studied effect of cedarwood oil is relaxation. In a controlled human study, inhaling cedrol (the oil’s primary active compound) significantly lowered heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure compared to breathing plain air. The mechanism is straightforward: cedrol shifts the nervous system toward its “rest and digest” mode by increasing parasympathetic activity and dialing down the sympathetic fight-or-flight response. This is consistent with the long-standing use of cedarwood oil as a calming agent.
A 2021 systematic review of aromatherapy research found that essential oil inhalation, including cedarwood, was associated with better sleep quality, reduced pain perception, lower stress levels, and less fatigue. The reviewers noted it can be difficult to separate the direct biological effects of the oil from the general relaxation that comes with the aromatherapy ritual itself, but the nervous system data on cedrol suggests the compound has real physiological activity beyond placebo.
Insect and Tick Repellent
Cedarwood oil is a legitimate insect repellent, not just a folk remedy. Research from the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service found it repels ticks, fire ants, and other biting insects. In laboratory tests, cedarwood oil applied to surfaces repelled 80 to 94 percent of black-legged tick nymphs (the species that carries Lyme disease). Against that species, cedarwood oil performed as well as DEET.
The effect does fade. In the same experiments, 94 percent of ticks were repelled at the 30-minute mark, dropping to 80 percent after 60 minutes. DEET outperformed cedarwood oil against most other tick species, including the brown dog tick, American dog tick, and lone star tick. So cedarwood oil works best as a short-duration, natural option rather than a full replacement for synthetic repellents on long hikes.
Hair and Skin Uses
Cedarwood oil is one of four essential oils tested in a randomized clinical trial on alopecia areata, a condition where the immune system attacks hair follicles and causes patchy hair loss. Patients who massaged a blend of cedarwood, thyme, rosemary, and lavender oils (in jojoba and grapeseed carrier oils) into their scalps daily saw a 44% improvement rate, compared to just 15% in the group using carrier oils alone. The difference was statistically significant. Because the oils were used together, it’s not possible to isolate cedarwood’s individual contribution, but the blend as a whole clearly outperformed the control.
The oil’s active compounds also have documented antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, astringent, and antifungal properties. These make it a common ingredient in skincare products aimed at oily or blemish-prone skin, though most of the evidence for those uses comes from laboratory studies rather than clinical trials on human skin.
How to Use It Safely
Cedarwood oil alcohols hold FDA “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) status as a food flavoring ingredient, which speaks to its low toxicity profile. That said, essential oils are highly concentrated and should never be applied undiluted to skin.
For topical use, dilution guidelines from the Tisserand Institute recommend the following ranges:
- Facial products: 0.5 to 1.2% essential oil in a carrier oil (roughly 3 to 7 drops per ounce)
- Body oils and lotions: 1 to 3%
- Bath products: 2 to 4%
- Spot treatments for acne or minor wounds: 2 to 10%
Common carrier oils include jojoba, sweet almond, grapeseed, and fractionated coconut oil. For aromatherapy, you can add a few drops to a diffuser, inhale directly from the bottle, or place a drop on a cloth near your pillow. Keeping diffusion sessions to 30 to 60 minutes at a time is a reasonable approach, since prolonged exposure hasn’t been well studied. If you have sensitive skin, test a diluted patch on your inner forearm before applying it more broadly.