A constant companion to large meals and to travelling. A warm aroma of anise and fennel that people either love outright or not at all.
This one is also available as a pre-diluted roll-on. For getting started and for carrying in a bag that is the simplest form: there is no carrier oil to mix, and it cannot spill.
What it smells like
Aroma notes: warm and spicy: ginger, fennel, coriander, anise, peppermint.
If you are meeting it for the first time, do not sniff straight into the bottle. Hold it a few centimetres from your nose and waft the aroma towards you — that way the stronger oils will not hit you, and you will pick up the finer notes too.
How people use it
- Diluted on the abdomen, in circular movements, after eating.
- One drop on the wrist before a car journey or a flight.
- In the roll-on form, in a bag.
- In the diffuser with lemon.
Recipes
The ratios are worked out, and one drop is roughly five hundredths of a millilitre. Where a companion oil is listed, feel free to swap it for whatever you have at home — the drop counts stay the same.
Abdominal massage oil
What you get: 30 ml, lasts weeks.
- Measure fractionated coconut oil into a 30 ml bottle.
- Add 9 drops of dōTERRA ZenGest — one and a half per cent, deliberately mild.
- After a meal, put some in your palm.
- Massage your abdomen clockwise for five minutes.
The direction is not superstition: it follows the path of the large intestine.
Outdoor spray for clothing
What you get: 100 ml.
- Put a teaspoon of alcohol into a 100 ml spray bottle.
- Add 20 drops of dōTERRA ZenGest and 10 drops of Juniper Berry.
- Top up with water and shake.
- Mist your clothes, the tops of your boots and the brim of your hat before setting off.
On skin, only diluted and after a patch test. On light fabrics, try a hidden corner first in case it marks.
What to pair it with
These suit the same situations, so they sit well together in a blend:
- Juniper Berry — shared topic: Time outdoors
- Cypress — shared topic: Time outdoors
- Lemon Eucalyptus — shared topic: Time outdoors
Safety and storage
Always patch test a new oil on a small area of skin, diluted, and wait a day. Keep it away from eyes and mucous membranes. In pregnancy, while breastfeeding, with a chronic condition or while taking regular medication, seek professional advice first.
In dark glass, somewhere cool, tightly closed. Heat, light and air all age it: citrus oils keep for roughly one to two years, woods and resins for years. It does not need to go in the fridge, but the bathroom windowsill is the worst place for it.
Questions
How much should I use?
For adults, daily whole-body use usually works out at around two per cent: that is roughly twelve drops in thirty millilitres of carrier oil. For sensitive skin and for children, considerably less. The dilution helper on the home page works out the number of drops for your bottle.
What should I dilute it with?
Fractionated coconut oil is the easiest, because it stays liquid, has no scent of its own and does not go rancid. Sweet almond, jojoba and grapeseed oil are good choices too. Essential oil does not mix with water, so for a bath always disperse it in something fatty or in salt first.
What should I watch out for?
Always patch test a new oil on a small area of skin, diluted, and wait a day. Keep it away from eyes and mucous membranes. In pregnancy, while breastfeeding, with a chronic condition or while taking regular medication, seek professional advice first.
How long does it keep?
In dark glass, somewhere cool, tightly closed. Heat, light and air all age it: citrus oils keep for roughly one to two years, woods and resins for years. It does not need to go in the fridge, but the bathroom windowsill is the worst place for it.
