Cinnamon Bark Essential Oil: a Christmas Scent, but on the Skin Only Exceptionally

In short: Cinnamon bark essential oil (Cinnamomum verum) smells the strongest of all the Christmas oils and belongs mainly in a diffuser: 1–2 drops per 100 ml of water, ideally with orange. On the skin it is strongly sensitising, the safe limit is only 0.07 %. Unsuitable in pregnancy, for children and cats.

Cinnamon is a scent that everyone recognises. A drop in a diffuser is enough and the flat smells like Christmas baking. It is precisely this strength, however, that is the weakness of cinnamon oil: the substance that gives the bark its typical scent is among the most common skin allergens among fragrance substances.

Before you start, it is good to know one thing: cinnamon oils are sold from two different parts of the plant and they differ more than it might seem. Our BIO cinnamon oil is from the bark, that is the "stronger" variant. That is why here, more than in other articles, we deal with where the limit lies.

Bark or Leaf? A Difference That Decides Safety

On the label look for the part of the plant next to the Latin name. "Bark" means bark, "leaf" means leaf. Bark oil is more expensive and smells sweet, leaf oil is cheaper and smells more like clove. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) points out that bark oil is often adulterated with the cheaper leaf oil or with cassia oil.

The difference between 0.07 % and 0.6 % is almost tenfold. Anyone who, following a recipe from the internet written for leaf oil, mixes a massage oil with bark oil can easily exceed the dose many times over. That is why with cinnamon always read what the oil is made from.

How It Smells and What to Mix It With

Cinnamon from the bark is sweet, warm and lasts a long time. In a diffuser it drowns almost anything, so in a blend it is always a minority share. It goes well with:

• orange and mandarin, the classic of the Christmas scent,
• clove for a "gingerbread" blend (both strong, a drop each is enough),
• frankincense for a deeper, evening scent,
• fir, when you want to add the tree to the Christmas baking,
• ginger and cardamom for a "chai" variant.

The general rules for how to compose scents are summarised in the article how to combine essential oils.

For a Diffuser and Oil Burner: This Is Where Cinnamon Belongs

Dispersed in the air in a small amount, cinnamon is the safest and at the same time the most rewarding. Keep to these numbers:

1. Put 1–2 drops of cinnamon into an ultrasonic diffuser with 100 ml of water and complement with 2–3 drops of citrus.
2. In an oil burner 1 drop of cinnamon per bowl of water is enough, the oil is released more intensively with heat.
3. Run it for 30–60 minutes, then take a pause of the same length and ventilate.
4. If the scent "scratches" in the nose or stings the eyes, there is too much of it. Reduce next time.

A more detailed table by room size is in the article how many drops for a diffuser and oil burner.

Three Christmas Blends with Cinnamon

• Baking biscuits (diffuser, 100 ml): 1 drop of cinnamon, 3 drops of orange, 1 drop of clove.
• Advent evening (oil burner): 1 drop of cinnamon, 2 drops of mandarin, 1 drop of frankincense.
• Tree and gingerbread (diffuser, 100 ml): 1 drop of cinnamon, 2 drops of fir, 2 drops of orange.

Other festive combinations, including ones without cinnamon, are in the overview Christmas scents for a diffuser.

On the Skin? Better Not at All, and if You Must, with a Calculator

Tisserand and Young, the authors of the standard handbook Essential Oil Safety, place cinnamon bark oil among the oils with a high risk of sensitisation and recommend 0.07 % at most on the skin. Converted (1 drop is roughly 0.05 ml) this means one drop in at least 75 ml of carrier oil.

Sensitisation does not mean just a one-off redness. The skin "remembers" the substance and may then react to cinnamaldehyde even in toothpaste, chewing gum or cosmetics. In its assessment report the EMA lists contact dermatitis and reactions in the mouth after cinnamon products. For a warming massage, therefore, reach rather for ginger or cardamom, which do not carry such a risk. How to dilute and which carrier oil to choose is described in the article essential oils for the skin.

Do not put cinnamon oil in the bath, not even with an emulsifier. In warm water it reaches a large area of skin and mucous membranes.

Traditional Use and What Is Documented

Cinnamon bark has an EMA monograph as a traditional herbal medicinal product for minor digestive complaints, but this concerns the bark and its preparations used according to the package leaflet, not an essential oil from a drugstore. The oil from our shop serves for aromatherapy and external use, not for internal use.

Cinnamaldehyde is studied in laboratory studies for antimicrobial activity, but these are experiments in a test tube. For the household this implies only that cinnamon is a pronounced scent for a diffuser, not a disinfectant or a treatment.

Who Should Not Use Cinnamon Oil

• Pregnant and breastfeeding women: Tisserand and Young do not recommend the bark oil in pregnancy and while breastfeeding. Leave it out during this period even in a diffuser.
• People on blood-thinning medicines: cinnamon oils may affect clotting and interact with medicines. If you take anticoagulants and before surgery, do not use them on the skin.
• Children: do not use cinnamon in children, neither on the skin nor in a diffuser in their room. The general rules are in the article essential oils and children.
• Cats and dogs: do not run a diffuser in a room with a cat if it cannot leave. Cats break down many substances in essential oils poorly, among them phenols such as eugenol, which cinnamon oil also contains. More in the article essential oils and pets.
• Sensitive people and allergy sufferers: anyone who has already reacted to cinnamon in cosmetics should avoid it entirely.

How to Recognise a Good Cinnamon Oil

The bottle should say Cinnamomum verum or C. zeylanicum, the part of the plant (bark) and the country of origin. Bark oil is yellow-brown to golden and markedly more expensive than leaf oil. If "cinnamon" is suspiciously cheap and smells more of clove, it is most likely from the leaf. Cinnamaldehyde oxidises easily, so store the bottle closed, cool and dark, and use it within 1–2 years of opening.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is cinnamon oil from the bark or from the leaf better?

For a diffuser the bark oil smells better, it is sweeter and more "Christmassy". On the skin the leaf oil is safer (up to 0.6 %). It depends on what you want it for: our oil is from the bark, so it belongs mainly in a diffuser and oil burner.

How many drops of cinnamon oil should go in a diffuser?

1–2 drops per 100 ml of water, ideally in a blend with citrus. More drops will not improve the scent, they will only start to irritate the nose and eyes.

Can I put cinnamon oil in a massage oil?

Bark oil practically not: the safe limit of 0.07 % corresponds to one drop in roughly 75 ml of carrier oil. For a warming massage, ginger or cardamom is more suitable.

Is cinnamon oil suitable in pregnancy?

No. Bark oil is contraindicated in pregnancy and while breastfeeding. Citrus can handle the Christmas atmosphere in this period, for example orange or mandarin on its own.

Can cinnamon oil go into a candle or a reed diffuser?

Yes, there the skin does not come into contact with the oil. When working with the pure oil use gloves and keep the finished product out of the reach of children and animals.

Recommended Products

• BIO Cinnamon, essential oil 10 ml – oil from the bark of Ceylon cinnamon from Sri Lanka, a sweet Christmas scent for a diffuser.
• BIO Orange, essential oil 10 ml – cinnamon's best partner, softens it and brightens the scent.
• BIO Clove, essential oil 10 ml – with a drop of cinnamon makes a gingerbread blend.
• BIO Frankincense, essential oil 10 ml – for a calmer, evening variant.
• Ceramic oil burner 9 × 7.5 cm – a small oil burner is enough for one drop of cinnamon with citrus.

Sources

• EMA: Cinnamomi cortex, monograph and assessment report (Cinnamomum verum, cortex and corticis aetheroleum) – ema.europa.eu
• EMA/HMPC: Assessment report on Cinnamomum verum J. S. Presl, cortex and corticis aetheroleum, 2011 – PDF
• Tisserand R., Young R.: Essential Oil Safety, 2nd edition, Churchill Livingstone 2014 (Cinnamon bark / Cinnamon leaf profile).
• AromaWeb: Cinnamon Essential Oil, safety data according to Tisserand & Young – aromaweb.com

Updated: 27 September 2026