Historically, ylang ylang has been used in both the East and the West. In the Philippines, where the flowers grow naturally, healers have used this oil in ointments to treat cuts, burns, and insect and snake bites. In the Molucca islands, people used the oil as the main ingredient in Macassar oil, a hair pomade which later became popular in Victorian England. In Indonesia, the flowers are spread on the bed of newlywed couples as they are considered to be an aphrodisiac. – from Majestic Pure
Ylang Ylang (cananga odorata)
Plant appearance: tree around 60 feet high with drooping branches, carrying clusters of large, golden yellow, star-shaped flowers
Part used: flowers
Oil appearance: pale to deep yellow
Therapeutic uses: hypertension, circulation conditions, muscular cramp, menstrual cramp, intestinal spasm, insomnia, nervous tension, stress, nervousness, physical exhaustion, chronic fatigue, depression
Precautions: may cause irritation on highly sensitive skin; skin patch test is advisable. GRAS
RECIPE
Romantic bedroom blend (for diffuser)
Palmarosa EO 8 drops
Ylang Ylang EO 3 drops
Clary Sage EO 2 drops
Nutmeg EO 1 drop
Orange EO 5 drops
You know? I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Yang Yang plant before!
@JazzFeathers
The Old Shelter – Living the Twenties
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I haven’t seen the plant, but I have some of the oil. It’s *very* heavily scented, almost cloying, and should be used in small doses.
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It is to be used carefully as it can cause headache. I have ylang ylang eo but use it sparingly.
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Exactly, Alexandra. I just commented on that a second ago. It’s a heavy, cloying scent.
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I have only ever encountered this in shower gels… they smelled nice
The Multicolored Diary
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The little note in the beginning was rather interesting. Thank you Jade for enriching us with your knowledge of oils during this A to Z. It’s been a pleasure.
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Sonia, you are very welcome. It’s been a fun learning experience pulling the posts together 🙂
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🤗🤗
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I love Ylang-Ylang! In Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia), this is the flower that men use to wear on the ear. Like women wear tiare or hibiscus, men have their flowers too!
Y is for Young
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So interesting and cool. I bet it is a fun place to be, where men wear flowers on their ears 🙂
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Once again, had heard of the herb but never knew what it looks like. I always thought of myself as a curious person but visiting your blog makes me think I can do a lot better:)
Cheers Jade for adding pictures to their names.
And after reading Frederiqe’s comment above, I’m even more curious to seek pictures of a flower that even men wear. Nice.
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Glad you enjoyed learning about Ylang Ylang and yes, the flower men wear has got to be very special. Thank you for reading and commenting, Arti 🙂
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Back in the days when you were able to blend your own oil at the Bodyshop, I used to pick Ylang-Ylang, I think primarily for its nice sounding name, but as far as I remember, I liked the smell, too 😉
Y is for yodeling and other traditional folklore:
https://thethreegerbers.blogspot.com/2020/04/a-z-2020-switzerland-yodeling.html
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Sounds like a fun place, where you can combine your own oil. A little Ylang-Ylang goes a long way.
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Never heard of Ylang Ylang before. Thanks.
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You are welcome.
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I have never heard about Ylang Ylang! Thank you for the information about essential oils from A2Z. 🙂
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You are welcome, Shweta!
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Never knew about this plant- thanks for all you have taught us!
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You’re most welcome, Kathe. My pleasure.
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A new one to me. It has some interesting properties!
Y is for …
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It’s my understanding that the time the flowers are harvested for extraction of the essential oil (and of course the location) makes a difference in the strength/scent of the oil. For me it’s one I have to be careful with, using only the tiniest amount or I’m overwhelmed. But I’m guessing the fragrance of the flowers, although likely lovely, aren’t as concentrated in scent as the oil so they’re great to wear.
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Ah, yes, I can see where that would be the case.
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I love using ylang-ylang for a relaxing bath 🙂
An A-Z of Faerie: Krampus
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Will have to try that.
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I don’t think I really know what ylang ylang smells like, but it’s certainly an interesting-looking flower. When things open back up again I’ll have to go to the drug store and find some bath oil to smell!
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I have heard about Ylang Ylang but didn’t know so much in detail. Interesting.
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Ylang ylang is one of those things I’ve heard of but never quite knew what it was and certainly didn’t realize it was a flower! Because of your post, now I finally know! The diffuser blend sounds like it would smell lovely.
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Glad you learned about it.
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