Vetiver or Chrysopogon zizanioides is a perennial bunchgrass of the Poaceae family that’s native to India. In western and northern India, it is popularly known as “khus”. Vetiver is most closely related to Sorghum, but it shares many morphological characteristics with other fragrant grasses, such as lemongrass, palmarosa, and citronella oil.

Vetiver grass can grow up to five feet high; the stems are tall, and the leaves are long and thin. The flowers are a brownish-purple color, and unlike most root systems, the roots of vetiver grass grow downward and can go as deep as eight feet (which is deeper than some tree roots). The vetiver plant is highly drought-tolerant and can help protect the soil against sheet erosion.

First, we will discuss how vetiver essential oil promotes sleep and helps prevent nervous disorders. Next, we’ll talk about how this oil acts as a tonic and how it prevents bacterial infections and reduces inflammation. Then, we will discuss enhancing libido and wrap up with reducing the appearance of scars. Vetiver essential oil is very popular in aromatherapy and has many medicinal properties; discussed in greater detail below are some of its amazing benefits.

1It Promotes Sleep

The essential oil of vetiver is a well-known sedative. It sedates nervous irritations, afflictions, convulsions, and emotional outbursts, such as anger, anxiety, epileptic and hysteric attacks, restlessness, and nervousness. It even benefits patients that deal with insomnia.

Sleep is an essential part of your life because as an organism, you have certain limitations. You need to give your organ systems time to rest, recover, process nutrients, build up energy, heal, and generally power down. The complex activities of being alive can be very exhausting, and sleep is the body’s natural way of recovering from the stress and demands of life.

2Prevents Nervous Disorders

A tonic for the nerves is called a nervine, like the essential oil of vetiver. It takes care of the nerves and maintains their good health, and it also heals the damage done to the nerves by shock, fear, and stress. Furthermore, it helps get rid of nervous disorders, afflictions, epileptic and hysteric attacks, nervous and neurotic disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, and the lack of control over the limbs and spasms.

Stress has become a common problem for people all over the world. It not only affects the health of a person, but it also affects the behavioral, emotional, and cognitive sides of a person. Stress can mean different things to different people.

3Acts As A Tonic

The effect of a tonic on the body is quite similar to that of overhauling and servicing vehicles. A tonic tones up every system of the body, namely the digestive, respiratory, circulatory, excretory, immune, endocrine, and nervous systems. Therefore, in a nutshell, vetiver essential oil keeps the metabolic system in order, rejuvenates the body, gives you strength, and boosts immune function.

Your metabolic system is a series of systems working as a team. They include your pancreas, liver, thyroid, and hypothalamus. Each part plays a very specific role, such as turning food into energy, processing that energy, and digesting food. Treat your body well, and this system will perform the job it was made for.

4Prevents Bacterial Infections

In tropical countries, like India and its neighbors, microbes and bacteria grow very fast due to the favorable hot and humid climates found in these regions. It becomes obvious that your wounds are most likely to get sepsis in these places since there are plenty of bacteria. However, Mother Nature is very kind and has provided the remedies as well.

Bacteria are living things that have only one cell. Under a microscope, they look like balls, rods, or spirals. They are so small that a line of 1,000 could fit across a pencil eraser. Most bacteria won’t hurt you – less than one percent of the different types make people sick, but infectious bacteria can make you ill. They reproduce quickly in your body, and many give off chemicals (called toxins), which can damage tissues and make you sick. Examples of bacteria that cause infections include Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, and E. coli.

5It Reduces Inflammation

The soothing and cooling effects of this essential oil calm and pacify all sorts of inflammation. Vetiver oil is particularly good at providing relief from inflammation in both the circulatory and nervous systems. It is also found to be an appropriate treatment for inflammation caused by sunstroke, dehydration, and loo, which is the name given to very hot and dry winds prevalent during summer in the dry South Asian regions.

Also known as sunstroke, heatstroke is a serious condition and must be considered an emergency. If it’s left untreated, damage to the internal organs can occur; the longer it is left, the more serious heatstroke can become. In some cases, heatstroke can be fatal.

6It Enhances Libido

Mixed in sorbets and beverages as a flavoring agent, this oil has an aphrodisiac effect. Vetiver essential oil also enhances libido and arouses feelings of sexual desire. Since sex has more to do with the psychology of the brain than physiology, it is a remedy for most sexual disorders, like frigidity, lack of libido, and impotence.

Certain components of this oil stimulate those portions of the brain, thereby bringing an end to your bedroom problems. Some of the health benefits of sex include muscle toning, relief from stress, improved immunity, cardiovascular strength, and mental fitness. It helps regulate normal blood pressure levels and gives relief from any painful sensations. Doctors further state that having an orgasm is like rebooting your entire system.

7Gets Rid Of Scars

Cicatrisant agents are substances that speed up the eradication or disappearance of scars and other marks on the skin. It also promotes the growth of new tissues in the affected places, replacing the dead and discolored tissues and helping achieve a uniform look. This is also useful for post-delivery stretch marks for pregnant women, fat cracks, after spots left by pox, and burns.

Burns may be due to daily activities like the use of a toaster, stove, iron, or common chemicals. Thermal burns are caused by holding hot objects, splashing hot liquid, fire, or exposure to steam; electrical burns are due to electrical items, like ovens. Chemicals may also cause serious injuries and accidents; ultraviolet rays are also a major cause of skin damage and “sunburns.” Overexposure to the sun, hot water baths, and smoking carelessly are some of the common causes of burns that occur through normal behaviors.

Vetiver oil is distilled from the plant’s roots and contains over 100 components. The important compounds of vetiver are khusimene, delta-selinene, beta-vetivenene, cyclocopacamphan-12-ol (epimers A and B), vetiselinenol, khusimol, isovalencenol, khusimone, alpha-vetivone, and beta-vetivone. The oil is amber-brown in color, and it is described as a sweet, woody, and smoky fragrance. Because the roots of the vetiver plant grow so deep, they don’t dislodge easily; they have been used to stabilize railway cuttings and embankments to prevent mudslides and rockfalls. The plant can block the runoff of surface water, and it slows the water flow.

First, we discussed how vetiver essential oil promotes sleep and helps prevent nervous disorders. Next, we talked about how the oil acts as a tonic, prevents bacterial infections, and reduces inflammation. Then, we discussed enhancing libido and wrapped it up with reducing the appearance of scars. Now that you know some of the great benefits of vetiver oil, you may want to add it to your collection.