Thuja or Cedar oil (huja occidentalis) is also known as white cedar oil, or cedar leaf essential oil. The odor is pungent and balsamic and the taste bitter, resembling camphor and terebinth. American Indians have used leaf tea for headaches and colds, in cough syrups, and in steam baths for rheumatism, arthritis, congestion, and gout; externally, as a wash for swollen feet and burns. Doctors once used the leaf tincture externally on warts, venereal warts, gonorrhea, syphilis, prostate problems, toothache, whooping cough, piles, ulcers, bed sores, and fungus infections. It is also a folk medicine cancer remedy. Both fenchone and thujone stimulate the heart muscle. The decoction has been used in intermittent fevers, rheumatism, dropsy, coughs, scurvy, and as an emmenagogue.
Thuja is a well-known ornamental North American evergreen; it can reach a height of 70-80 feet, retaining its dense, pyramidal form. This hardy evergreen has a dense, scale-like foliage, waxy to the touch, and fragrant. The name Thuja is a Latinized form of a Greek word meaning 'to fumigate,' or thuo ('to sacrifice'), for the fragrant wood was burnt by the ancients with sacrifices. In America the wood is much used for fencing and palings, as a light roofing timber, and, as it is both durable and pliable, for the ribs and bottom of bark boats, and also for limekilns, bowls, boxes, cups, and small articles of furniture.
Thuja Cedar leaf essential oil,huja occidentalis, blends well with other essential oils, where a strong cedar aroma is desired.
Thuja oil cautions - Thuja cedar leaf essential, huja occidentalis, is officially listed as an abortifacient (a drug or agent causing abortion) and it can cause convulsing in overdose. The leaf oil is toxic, causing hypotension (low blood pressure), and convulsions. Fatalities have been reported. Do not use this oil during pregnancy. Do not use without professional medical supervision. Do not use internally for any reason. Direct application to the skin is not recommended. Oils such as cedar leaf essential oil are meant to be used as an aromatic only, so it's OK for candles, light bulb rings, sachets, diffusers, etc.
Thuja essential oil properties - Anti rheumatic, astingent, diuretic, emmenagogue, expectorant, insect repellent, rubefacient, stimulant (nerves, uterus and heart muscles), tonic, vermifuge.