The Top Essential Oils to Boost Confidence

Confidence is one of the most attractive traits a person can exude. They walk into a room with assurance, and you instantly know they’re confident in (and of) themselves. Yet, we all need a boost sometimes.

None of us are on our A-game all the time. Confidence can be a struggle, especially for introverts. You want to come off as courageous but may seem judgemental, timid, or aggressive instead. Mastering subtle calm with no implied negativity is much more comfortable with the help of essential oils, and there are options for every circumstance.

Read on to explore the best essential oils to boost confidence and what situations to use each. I’ll show you the best application method and leave you with my favorite essential oil blends for confidence. With these oils, you are guaranteed to feel more assertive in moments – and it’s 100% natural!

The Top Essential Oils for Courage and Confidence

Essential oils can alter how we react to different situations and change your entire demeanor. Use them to boost confidence, while relieving the stress and fear that comes with facing new people or situations. Inhale an essential oil before a business meeting. Or, apply the oil to increase your creativity.

No matter what the situation, you can find relief with the following ten best essential oils for courage and confidence.

Lavender

Use When You Need: To fight anxiety, more creativity, to communicate clearly.

How to Use: Aromatherapy works best. Diffuse lavender at home or in the workplace, mist the room, or roll-on lavender for instant clarity.

Essential oils for anxiety, like lavender, come with many uses. It can help you feel more calm, honest, and open. This essential oil tells insecurities to hit the curb when you’re starting something new or heading to a business meeting. When you feel burnout and need a creative boost, inhaling the scent tells your mood regulators to chill (3, 4).

All you need is a single drop to notice immediate relaxation, and lavender aromatherapy is particularly therapeutic for women (1).

Ginger

Use When You Need: To calm your nerves, to feel bold, a mood boost, to engage with people, to restore, more determination.

How to Use: Inhale ginger for the best results. Roll-on the scent directly behind your ears or onto the wrists. Diffuse ginger essential oil at home in the morning, or take a whiff straight from the bottle to calm your nerves (and tummy) in a pinch.

When you’re not feeling like yourself, a ginger essential oil can help you become more friendly. If you need to get out and engage with people, this oil inspires confidence and overall charisma. You can use it to restore yourself after a trying day or provide a boost of determination before networking with colleagues or delivering a professional speech. When your nerves act up, inhaling or ingesting ginger can also calm your tummy (5).

Orange

Use When You Need: To fight anxiety, more creativity, a mood boost, fight fear.

How to Use: Orange lifts depression in aromatherapy and topical application. For more creativity, try rubbing a few drops of orange essential oil in your hands. Applying it to the abdomen or wrists can boost happiness as well. Citrus essential oils, however, cause photosensitivity and shouldn’t be worn in the sunlight.

Orange essential oil is bright and positive. It helps fight anxiety and fear of ridicule while helping you feel more creative and happy. Inhale this essential oil when you feel exhausted, tired, have a headache, or want to cry (2). It’s also beneficial in a diffuser in the morning to help you face the day with your chin held high.

Bergamot

Use When You Need: A self-esteem boost, to fight anxiety, more creativity, help with skin, to feel more positive.

How to Use: Bergamot essential oil is ideal for aromatherapy. Inhale bergamot if you have a mood disorder (4). If you apply bergamot topically, you can also gain benefits for skin issues like eczema. However, don’t wear citrus essential oils in the sun.

Bergamot is one of the best essential oils for self-love and self-esteem. It relieves tension and stress, and the scent can even aid your creativity when you feel burnt out (3). If you start your day with bergamot in a diffuser, you’ll feel more positive and relaxed all day. Inhale the scent for a boost, and watch the tension melt away in moments.

Pine

Use When You Need: A self-esteem boost, more confidence.

How to Use: Aromatherapy is ideal, so diffuse the essential oil in the room or inhale the scent when you need a confidence boost. Topically, pine essential oil can also aid dry, itchy skin or inflammation. You can make massage oil or even ingest it for medicinal uses as well.

Pine combats feelings of inadequacy, which is perfect when you need a self-confidence boost. It’s uplifting, and essential oils for self-esteem like this can increase and restore your belief that you can handle anything. Use pine essential oils for self-empowerment by incorporating it in your morning routine, as it offers stunning benefits for your hair and skin too.

Sandalwood

Use When You Need: A self-esteem boost, to re-center and focus, to fight fear, to stop obsessive thinking, to move forward.

How to Use: Aromatherapy and topical applications show excellent results in relieving stress and anxiety (3). Add sandalwood to your body lotion for luxurious skin and confidence.

If you’re trying to start something new but procrastinating out of fear, sandalwood is the essential oil for the strength and courage that you need. It can help you re-center your mind, focus your thoughts, and banish your fear of failure. Sandalwood essential oil is also well-known to help you move past obsessive thoughts, so use it when you can’t seem to move forward.

Cedarwood

Use When You Need: A self-esteem boost, to re-center and focus, more courage and confidence, to feel grounded.

How to Use: Cedarwood oil in aromatherapy may make you feel sleepy, so try adding a few drops to your nightly bath.

Perhaps my favorite essential oil for strength and courage, cedarwood is incredibly grounding. It allows you to feel firm in your position when new or threatening situations cause stress in your life, helping you instead focus on your endgame. Cedarwood essential oils also come with benefits for skin and hair (7), which can provide a nice self-esteem boost if you add it to your bedtime routine.

Lemon

Use When You Need: To fight anxiety, boost mood, release tension.

How to Use: Aromatherapy is better with lemon essential oil than topical application, as you shouldn’t wear citrus oils outdoors for an extended time.

Bright and refreshing, lemon essential oils fight anxiety and boost your mood. It’s uplifting in the morning when you wake up feeling worried about the day ahead. Lemon essential oil is particularly helpful in aromatherapy if you struggle with anxiety, depression, or a mood disorder (4).

Rosemary

Use When You Need: To feel bold, more creativity, mental clarity, fight self-sabotage.

How to Use: Rosemary essential oils have medicinal and aromatic benefits. Dab a few drops behind your ear or diffuse rosemary into the room while studying to boost your memory (8). When applied to the wrists, rosemary essential oils can even help ease headaches and migraines.

One of the best essential oils for courage, rosemary is emotionally strengthening and great for reminding yourself of who you are. You are not afraid, and nothing is going to hold you back! Use rosemary essential oil when you need to stop procrastination or sabotaging the things you want out of fear. It helps your mental clarity and envokes boldness, and essential oils for creativity are perfect for starting a new project.

Jasmine

Use When You Need: A self-esteem boost, to kick self-doubt, more creativity, feelings of calm and confidence.

How to Use: Use jasmine in aromatherapy. Diffuse jasmine for self-confidence and peace, or rub a drop between your eyebrows for renewed optimism. You can even benefit from a therapeutic massage with the oil (9).

A feminine, sweet floral scent, jasmine essential oil comes with feelings of gentle euphoria that leave you happy, confident, and ready to tackle big projects. As an essential oil for self-love, it’s a natural antidepressant that encourages self-acceptance and love of all things (9). Inhale the aroma anytime you need to feel more confident in yourself.

Ylang-Ylang

Use When You Need: A self-esteem boost, to kick self-doubt, to get started, reduce burnout and tension.

How to Use: Aromatherapy aids stress and depression in humans (6). Add a few drops to a bath, spritz your face, or diffuse the essential oil into the room at work and home.

Another relaxing essential oil, ylang-ylang helps people feel at ease. All you have to do is inhale ylang-ylang essential oil for an immediate drop in blood pressure, and studies show users feel more relaxed and calm (6). Use it at home or work to start a new project and move past self-doubt.

Alternative Essential Oils for Courage and Confidence

Some essential oils for assertiveness or relaxation may also increase your confidence as a byproduct. You can combine these with the top options for a confidence-boosting blend that is guaranteed to work.

Other essential oils for strength and courage include:

Frankincense – Supports moving forward, stops obsessive thoughts, aids self-empowerment
Cypress – Helps ground you, particularly during an emotional or physical change
Peppermint – Aids focus and energizes
Grapefruit – Aids anxiety, helps fight fear, and increases your boldness
Nutmeg – Improves mood and reduces tension
Clove – Strengthens and motivates
Cinnamon – Reduces stress and pain, boosts digestion
Coriander – Helps you find yourself
Lime – Energizes, and when ingested, aids the digestive system
Fennel – Strengthens your desire and willingness
Cardamom – Banishes self-pity
Thyme – Strengthens your resolve
Rose – Combats self-agitation
Valor – Promotes self-esteem and courage
Vetiver – Grounds you and adds strength when change is scary

Essential Oil Recipes to Boost Confidence

Various blends of essential oils to boost confidence are perfect when you need a strong kick. Carry the following combinations of essential oils for confidence with you in either a 10mL roller bottle for a quick boost or a 1-ounce-sized carrier oil/lotion container or spray bottle. Unscented lotion or carrier oils like grapeseed oil and sweet almond oil are ideal for diluting the essential oils, and coconut oil works well for roll-on use.

Confidence Essential Oil Blend 1:

5 drops of sweet orange
5 drops of grapefruit
2 drops of bergamot

Confidence Essential Oil Blend 2:

6 drops of bergamot
4 drops of cedarwood
2 drops of jasmine

Confidence Essential Oil Blend 3:

5 drops of sweet orange
3 drops of ginger
3 drops of cedarwood
1 drop of jasmine

Confidence Essential Oil Blend 4:

5 drops of pine
5 drops of cypress
2 drops of bergamot

Confidence Essential Oil Blend 5:

5 drops of lemon
5 drops of rosemary
2 drops of sweet orange

Confidence Essential Oil Blend 6:

6 drops of cypress
5 drops of cedarwood
1 drop of pine

Confidence Essential Oil Blend 7:

6 drops of cedarwood
5 drops of coriander
1 drop pine

Confidence Essential Oil Blend 8:

7 drops ginger
3 drops coriander
2 drops cardamom

Confidence Essential Oil Blend 9:

5 drops of jasmine
5 drops of bergamot
2 drops of coriander

Confidence Essential Oil Blend 10:

5 drops of sandalwood
4 drops of ylang-ylang
2 drops of bergamot
1 drop of vetiver

Other Blends for a Huge Confidence Boost

After you experiment with your favorite blends and essential oils for confidence, try a few alternate confidence blends. These are perfect for roll-on use when you need a considerable boost only.

Empowerment Blend:

7 drops of grapefruit
5 drops of sandalwood
3 drops of ylang-ylang

Determination Blend:

12 drops of bergamot
3 drops of jasmine

Self-Assurance Blend:

10 drops of frankincense
5 drops of cardamom

Inner Strength Blend:

9 drops of tangerine
3 drops of coriander
2 drops of clove

Courage Blend:

8 drops of lemon
7 drops of valor

Creativity Blend:

2 drops of orange
2 drops of lemon
2 drops of tangerine

Assertiveness Blend:

5 drops of bay leaves
4 drops of cedarwood
4 drops of rosemary
4 drops of cypress

How to Use Essential Oils for Confidence

First thing in the morning, you can use essential oils to start your day with courage. Add a drop of orange essential oil to your toothpaste or try a confidence blend in your diffuser. You can prep it the night before, so you only have to hit the on button when the sun rises. Our ultimate essential oils kit can help you get started. It has everything a beginner needs, from a doTERRA diffuser and ten different essential oils for self-love doTERRA swears by to a few amber glass roller bottler for your favorite blends.

When you feel like you need more confidence throughout the day, the best way to apply essential oils for confidence is to either spritz yourself from a small spray bottle or dab the oil behind your ears using a roll-on. Roller bottles are my favorite way to apply a confidence blend just before a meeting. Store your top four essential oils for confidence in a roller bottle holder on your desk or pack your favorite oils in a travel case for on-the-go.

Keep in Mind Essential Oils Are Only a Tool

Remember, essential oils won’t change you overnight. Essential oils naturally affect our emotions. They can help people struggling with self-esteem, unhappiness, and courage, but we don’t all react the same way in each circumstance.

Find the essential oils that work for you by smelling a few. Pay attention to how they make you feel in each situation. Then, use them to allow yourself to feel confident all day. Your authentic self will thank you!

Other Ways to Boost Confidence:

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Sources:

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Demirbag, B.C., Erci, B. (2012). The Effects of Sleep and Touch Therapy on Symptoms of Fibromyalgia and Depression. Iran J. Public Health; 41(11): 44-53. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3521885/
Setzer, W.N. (2009). Essential oils and anxiolytic aromatherapy. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19831048
Xiao, Nan L.V., et al. (2013). Aromatherapy and the Central Nerve System (CNS): Therapeutic Mechanism and its Associated Genes. Current Drug Targets; 14:8. Retrieved from: http://www.eurekaselect.com/111487/article
Lete, Inaki and Allue, Jose. (2016). The Effectiveness of Ginger in the Prevention of Nausea and Vomiting during Pregnancy and Chemotherapy. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4818021/
Hongrantanaworakit, Tapanee and Buchbauer, Gerhard. (2006). Relaxing effect of ylang ylang oil on humans after transdermal absorption. Retrieved from: https://www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ptr.1950
Hay, I.C., Jamieson, M., Ormedrod, A.D. (1998). Randomized trial of aromatherapy. Successful treatment for alopecia areata. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9828867
Moss, M. and Oliver, L. (2012). Plasma 1,8-cineole correlates with cognitive performance following exposure to rosemary essential oil aroma. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23983963
Hongrantanaworakit, Tapanee. (2010). Stimulating Effects of Aromatherapy Massage with Jasmine Oil. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tapanee_Hongratanaworakit/publication/41576755_Stimulating_Effect_of_Aromatherapy_Massage_with_Jasmine_Oil/links/0deec52676a247e8e2000000/Stimulating-Effect-of-Aromatherapy-Massage-with-Jasmine-Oil.pdf

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