Clove Oil: The Complete Guide to Its Effects, Benefits & Use

Clove oil is a powerful essential oil with a warm, spicy, and slightly sweet scent. The oil is extracted from the flower buds of the clove tree, Syzygium aromaticum, and has long been used in fragrance experiences, natural care, and aromatic applications.

What makes clove oil especially unique is its high eugenol content. This natural aromatic compound largely determines the recognizable scent of cloves and has been extensively researched for its various interesting properties.

In this complete guide, you will discover exactly what clove oil is, how it is made, what its properties are, and how you can use clove essential oil for skin, hair, scalp, massage, and aromatherapy.

What is clove oil?

Clove oil is an essential oil derived from the clove tree (Syzygium aromaticum). This evergreen tree belongs to the myrtle family and is native to Indonesia, though it is now cultivated in other tropical regions as well.

The well-known dried cloves we use as a spice are actually unopened flower buds. It is precisely these buds that contain the aromatic compounds from which essential clove oil can be extracted.

PureOil Clove Essential Oil is produced via steam distillation of the clove buds. This creates a highly concentrated oil with a characteristic warm, spicy, and intense scent.

Where does clove oil come from?

The clove tree has a long history. For centuries, cloves were considered an especially valuable spice and played an important role in trade from the Indonesian Maluku Islands.

Today, clove trees are grown in places including Indonesia, India, Madagascar, Tanzania, and Sri Lanka. For essential oil, various parts of the plant can be used, including the flower buds, leaves, and stems.

The precise composition can therefore vary. Oil from the flower buds is widely used because of its typical aromatic profile and eugenol content.

How is clove oil made?

Essential clove oil is usually extracted by steam distillation. In this process, steam flows through the plant material. The heat releases the volatile aromatic compounds.

The steam and essential components are then cooled. This creates a liquid in which the essential oil can separate from the water.

The result is a highly concentrated essential oil. A lot of plant material is needed to produce a relatively small amount of oil, meaning you usually only need a few drops during use.

What is in clove oil?

The best-known component of clove oil is eugenol. This natural aromatic compound belongs to the phenolic substances and is largely responsible for the powerful clove scent.

In addition to eugenol, eugenyl acetate and β-caryophyllene, among others, may be present, depending on the origin, the plant part used, and the distillation process.

Eugenol has been extensively researched and is described in scientific literature for its antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, among others. This makes clove oil interesting for various cosmetic and aromatic applications.

What does clove oil smell like?

Clove oil has a distinct warm, spicy, and slightly sweet scent. The fragrance is intense and recognizable, meaning a small amount is often enough.

The aroma is often associated with warmth, autumn, winter, and a comfortable atmosphere at home. That is why clove oil is especially popular in diffuser blends during colder months.

The oil blends well with orange, bergamot, cinnamon, eucalyptus, lavender, frankincense, and other warm or citrusy essential oils.

What are the effects of clove oil?

The properties of clove oil are primarily linked to the natural aromatic compounds in the oil, including eugenol.

Research into eugenol shows antioxidant, antimicrobial, and inflammation-related activity. Many of these studies are conducted under laboratory conditions. In cosmetic applications, clove oil is therefore primarily used for its purifying, aromatic, and warming character.

Antioxidant properties

Eugenol belongs to the phenolic compounds and has antioxidant properties. Antioxidants are interesting in skin and hair care because they can help protect against oxidative processes.

Purifying character

Clove oil is widely used in care products and DIY formulas where a fresh and purifying character is desired. Due to the high concentration of aromatic compounds, the oil should always be applied in a highly diluted form.

Warming fragrance experience

Besides cosmetic applications, the scent itself is a major reason to use clove oil. The deep, spicy aroma gives diffuser blends a warm character and combines particularly well with citrus and woody scents.

Clove oil for the skin

Clove oil can be added in a diluted form to a skin oil or other cosmetic base. Its purifying and antioxidant character, in particular, makes the oil popular in natural skin care.

Because clove oil is a powerful essential oil, you should never use it in the same quantity as a carrier oil. Mix a very small amount with, for example, jojoba oil, almond oil, or argan oil.

For the face, a low concentration is extra important. Do not use clove oil directly or undiluted on the skin.

Clove oil for hair and scalp

Clove oil is also used as an aromatic addition to hair and scalp oils. The oil can, for example, be combined with jojoba oil, castor oil, or argan oil.

You can make a simple scalp oil by adding a few drops of essential oil to a larger amount of carrier oil. Gently massage the mixture into the scalp.

Clove oil is particularly interesting here due to its powerful aromatic and purifying character. As for actual hair growth, the scientific evidence for clove oil is currently considerably more limited than that for, for example, rosemary oil.

Clove oil for the nails

Diluted clove oil can also be combined with a nourishing carrier oil for nails and cuticles.

For example, mix one drop of clove oil into a small amount of jojoba or almond oil and massage a little of the mixture around the cuticles.

The carrier oil nourishes and softens the skin around the nails, while clove oil gives the mixture a characteristic warm scent.

Clove oil in a diffuser

One of the easiest ways to use clove oil is in a diffuser. Because of its powerful scent, often only a few drops are needed.

Clove oil provides a warm, spicy atmosphere, making it particularly suitable for autumn and winter blends.

Warm citrus blend

• 2 drops of clove oil
• 4 drops of orange oil
• 1 drop of cinnamon oil

Warm & earthy blend

• 1 drop of clove oil
• 3 drops of frankincense oil
• 2 drops of cedarwood oil

Fresh & spicy

• 1 drop of clove oil
• 3 drops of bergamot oil
• 2 drops of eucalyptus oil

Using clove oil for massage

Due to its warm fragrance profile, clove oil is also suitable as an addition to massage oil. For this, use a neutral carrier oil such as sweet almond oil, jojoba oil, or grape seed oil.

Always mix the essential oil thoroughly into the carrier oil before applying the mixture to the skin. Clove oil is highly concentrated, meaning more is not automatically better.

What can you combine clove oil with?

Due to its powerful character, clove oil is excellent for adding more depth and warmth to a blend.

How do you dilute clove oil?

Clove oil is among the more powerful essential oils. Especially due to the high eugenol content, careful dilution is important.

For cosmetic use, you can start with a very low concentration. For 10 ml of carrier oil, you often only need one drop of clove oil for many applications.

For sensitive skin or use on the face, it is wise to keep the concentration even lower.

Can you use clove oil directly on the skin?

No. Pure essential clove oil is highly concentrated and can cause irritation if used undiluted.

Therefore, always mix clove oil with a suitable carrier oil before using it on the skin, scalp, or cuticles.

Clove oil versus whole cloves

Although both products come from the same plant, essential clove oil is not the same as the dried cloves you use in the kitchen.

Essential oil contains a highly concentrated amount of volatile aromatic compounds. A few drops of essential oil therefore represent many more aromatic components than a small amount of dried cloves.

Always use essential clove oil as a concentrated aromatic product, not as a standard vegetable oil or spice.

What should you look for when buying clove oil?

When choosing clove oil, pay attention to the botanical name and the composition. For a pure oil, the label should clearly state which plant was used.

PureOil Clove Essential Oil consists of 100% clove oil (Eugenia Caryophyllus Bud Oil) and is extracted from the clove buds by steam distillation.

Dark glass packaging is also important. Essential oils are sensitive to light and are therefore best stored in amber glass.

How do you store clove oil?

Store essential clove oil in a cool, dry, and dark place. Close the bottle tightly immediately after use.

Heat, light, and prolonged contact with oxygen can affect the composition of essential oils over time. A cupboard away from direct sunlight is therefore a good place to store it.

Buying clove oil at PureOil

Would you like to add clove oil to your own self-care routine or diffuser blends? PureOil Clove Essential Oil is a 100% pure essential oil with the characteristic warm and spicy scent of cloves.

Use the oil in a diffuser or combine a small amount with your favorite carrier oil for skin, hair, or massage products.

View PureOil Clove Essential Oil →