Black pepper essential oil has a warm, fresh and spicy aroma with warming, stimulating and revitalising properties and a general tonic in maintaining healthy circulation. Used in massage, black pepper essential oil is known to relax tired muscles and ease muscular stiffness after exercise.
Black pepper is produced from the still-green unripe berries of the pepper plant. The berries are cooked briefly in hot water, both to clean them and to prepare them for drying. The heat ruptures cell walls in the pepper, speeding the work of browning enzymes during drying. The berries are dried in the sun or by machine for several days, during which the pepper around the seed shrinks and darkens into a thin, wrinkled black layer. Once dried, the spice is called black peppercorn.
Black pepper essential oil blends well with lavender, frankincense, rosemary, marjoram and small amounts of jasmine and ylang ylang.
Safety: Use in moderation only. Black pepper essential oil should not be used neat on the skin.
