Our Bay Rum Leaf essential oil has a warm, spicy, sweet aroma with clove-like notes and balsamic, earthy, and herbaceous undertones. Distilled from the leaves of a tropical evergreen tree also known as West Indian Bay, it should not be confused with Allspice or Pimento Berry oil (Pimenta officinalis) or with Bay Laurel Leaf oil (Laurus nobilis). While the famous ‘Bay Rum’ hair tonic has traditionally been made by distilling or infusing the fresh leaves in a base of rum, today the essential oil is used extensively in aftershaves, soaps, perfumes, shampoo, and hair and scalp preparations where the spicy aroma offers an invigorating experience – with or without the rum!

Native to the West Indies, our oil is produced in Dominica where the cultivated trees thrive in fragrant groves. Bay Rum Leaf essential oil contains a significant amount of the clove-like phenol, eugenol (up to 56%), along with chavicol, myrcene, 1,8 cineole, and a wide range of aromatic constituents that add to its skincare benefits and complex aroma.

With a high phenol content, Bay Rum Leaf oil can have warming effects and is best used in small amounts in topical products (please see the Safety & Storage Considerations drop-down menu above for more information). It is beneficial in chest rubs, muscle and joint oils, outdoor sprays, aromatherapy inhalers and diffuser blends, especially when paired with Eucalyptus. Popular in skin and hair tonics, its clarifying and astringent properties are helpful for oily skin and hair. It is a beautiful and classic addition to perfumes and colognes where it blends well with citrus and spice oils, Petitgrain, Lavender, Rosemary, Geranium, and Ylang Ylang for a refreshing and exotic treat.