Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum, or Cinnamomum verum) essential oil is probably the most potent of all essential oils, and must be handled with great care; it must never be applied to the skin. While I was in massage school, another student told the story of her friend who had attempted a bath with cinnamon essential oil because she loved the scent. She left the cap temporarily removed, and ended up with a nasty burn when she accidentally knocked over the bottle with her elbow, spilling it on her skin.
Cinnamon is indigenous to Sri Lanka and India, and has been very highly prized since remote antiquity, as demonstrated by the great lengths to which people would go to obtain it: “trade in the ancient world included the use of caravans with as many as 4,000 camels carrying with them the treasures from the east, namely spices…trade in antiquity was subject to constant robberies, storms and shipwrecks, and piracy. Despite the setbacks, however, spices were in such great demand (especially during the highly developed Greek and Roman eras) that the profits outweighed the risks.”
Cinnamon’s great potency comes from cinnamaldehyde, the actual source of its taste and color, and the substance comprises a whopping ninety percent of cinnamon essential oil. Try using 1-2 drops of cinnamon essential oil in a diffuser to disinfect a room, or to combat cough, nervousness, exhaustion and stress. Cinnamon oil is gaining popularity as a highly effective active ingredient in naturopathic medicines for Candida, but the concentration is far less intense than essential oil, and the preparation methods much different. Such remedies must be prescribed by a naturopathic doctor; never attempt to take cinnamon essential oil internally.
Additionally, be sure to look for cinnamon verum as opposed to cassia cinnamon. Though the two are somewhat similar in taste and aroma, they differ in medicinal action, with cassia coming in a distant second and with few, if any, proven effects.
1 Cornillez, Louise Marie M. “The History of the Spice Trade in India.”
Emory University. Spring 1999. Web. 6 Jan. 2013.