Also known as the broad-leaved paperback or the paper bark tea tree, niaouli is an evergreen tree native to Australia, New Caledonia, and surrounding areas.

What are the health benefits of Niaouli Essential Oil?

While it is compared - both in scent and in properties - to several other essential oils, niaouli is a powerful remedy on its own for many common ailments. Some niaouli oil benefits include:

• Antiseptic properties
• Improving oral health
• Nourishing skin
• Strengthening immunity

Is Niaouli essential oil an antiseptic?

Niaouli oil has strong antiseptic properties that allow it to fight against a lot of potentially harmful microorganisms, making it an ideal remedy for common irritation in the body.

The Kanaks, who famously utilised the oil for many medicinal purposes, were known to make a poultice from niaouli that they applied to wounds to prevent infection and speed healing.

Today, the bacteria-fighting properties of the oil continue to be documented in this same way.

A study in 2013 showed that niaouli essential oil displayed significant antifungal activity - a quality that allows it to help keep us safe from causes of infection.

Can niaouli oil help take care of your teeth?

Whilst niaouli is useful for many types of deep cleaning, studies have suggested that it is particularly good at attacking the causes of tooth decay.

Some studies have suggested that niaouli oil displays strong antimicrobial activity against S. mutans - the main organism involved in the formation of dental plaque.

Because of these strong dental properties, oil-pulling with niaouli oil is a great way to improve oral health.

Simply mix one or two drops of niaouli with a carrier oil and swill around the mouth before spitting out.

Learn more about how to oil pull with essential oils.

Does niaouli essential oil cleanse skin?

Niaouli oil’s strong antibacterial properties make it ideal for deeply cleansing skin and ridding pores of harmful bacteria.

When diluted properly, the oil is a non-irritant, allowing it to soothe and gently treat skin conditions such as acne and other small imperfections.

Adding a few drops of niaouli essential oil to a carrier oil and sweeping it gently over the face may lead to cleaner, brighter skin as a result.

Can niaouli oil be used to help strengthen immunity?

Niaouli oil is thought to stimulate blood circulation, metabolic processes, and the secretion of hormones and enzymes.

These processes allow it to help strengthen immunity in the body by giving us the best possible chance at fighting off and eradicating infection.

A study in 2008 found that niaouli promotes cellular immunity in particular by encouraging T-cells to attack infected cells and reduce the level of infection in the body.

It may be that this immunostimulant quality is one that the Kanaks noticed centuries ago, leading them to closely associate the tree with protection.

What's the history of Niaouli Essential Oil?

Traditionally used by the Kanak people, native to New Caledonia, niaouli oil was praised for its cleansing properties as well as its ability to provide strength.

So revered was the tree in Kanak culture that new born babies were wrapped in niaouli leaves for protection.

Although it has a long history of medicinal use, it was only classified botanically in relevantly recent times and was first introduced to the Western world by a French industrialist who learned the infection-preventing power of the tree from indigenous people.

Niaouli was then used in French hospital obstetric wards as a result.

Powerful niaouli is tough on harmful microorganisms, but when diluted gently it still manages to be gently on our bodies and skin.

This ancient and yet newly-introduced remedy has a deceptive freshness to its scent, disguising an oil that comes down heavy on any threats to our health.