Vetiver, popularly know as "KHUS" in India has wonderful effect on mind and body while having a balancing effect on the hormonal system and is a great boon for the skin. It has an earthy, musty smell - much like the smell of a damp forest floor and is amber to olive in color.
 
It is used to reduce wrinkles and stretch marks while nourishing and moisturizing the skin and helping wounds heal.
 
Origin of vetiver oil
 
It is a tall, tufted, perennial, scented grass with long narrow leaves and an abundant complex lacework of underground white roots and is mainly cultivated in the tropics, such as India, Tahiti, Java and Haiti.
 
The grass was used in Calcutta and Haiti for thatching and awnings, blinds and sunshades, while in Java the roots were used for weaving mats and thatching huts, which not only gave rooms an exquisite fragrance but also deterred insects.
 
It is a popular ingredient for soaps, toiletries and perfumes and growing the grass protects against soil erosion.
 
Vetiver oil is also known as the 'oil of tranquility' because of its calming properties.
 
Extraction
 
It is extracted from the washed, chopped, dried and soaked roots and rootlets by steam distillation and yields about 0.5%.
 
Chemical composition
 
The main chemical components are benzoic acid, vetiverol, furfurol, a and b-vetivone, vetivene and vetivenyl vetivenate.
 
Precautions
 
It is considered a safe oil and is non-toxic, non-irritant and non-sensitizing.
 
Therapeutic properties
 
The therapeutic properties of vetiver oil are antiseptic, aphrodisiac, cicatrisant, nervine, sedative, tonic, sedative and vulnerary.
 
Uses
 
Vetiver oil calms and soothes the mind and helps to dispel anger, hysteria and irritability and neurotic behavior can also be reduced, as stress and tension is reduced.
 
It revitalizes the body and helps with mental and physical exhaustion and is also used for general aches and pains, especially for rheumatism, arthritis and muscular pain, while relieving insomnia.
 
Summary
 
Vetiver oil has a calming and soothing effect on the nervous system and is helpful for muscular aches and pains, as well as having a positive effect on hormonal imbalance as well as relieving insomnia.
 
Burners and vaporizers
In vapor therapy, vetiver oil can be used for nervous complaints, dispelling hysteria, anger and irritability and also to relieve insomnia.
Blended massage oil or in the bath
In blended massage oil or diluted in the bath, vetiver oil can help with mental and physical exhaustion, nervous complaints, rheumatism and arthritic pain, insomnia as well as balancing the hormonal system and have a healing effect on the skin.
Cream or lotion
In a cream or lotion, it can be used to moisturize and nourish the skin and is specifically beneficial for dry, irritated and dehydrated skin. It is also helpful in reducing wrinkles and stretch marks and to improve the tone of slack skin, as well as helping wounds to heal.
Vetiver oil blends well with:
 
Although most essential oils blend well together, vetiver oil blends particularly well with benzoin, grapefruit, jasmine, lavender and ylang-ylang.