Single-oil monograph
Clary sage (Salvia sclarea)
- Phototoxic No phototoxicity
- Pregnancy Avoid
- Pets Caution
Published 2026-09-20 · adult ceiling 2% · shelf life 24 months
Clary sage is 60% linalyl acetate — the highest ester content on this site — and it is the only oil here with a documented interaction with alcohol. It is also the oil most often recommended for period pain and for labour, which is exactly where the caution matters most. Two per cent adult ceiling, avoid in pregnancy, and do not use it before driving.
Safe dilution matrix
Rows are the concentration, columns are the audience. Each cell carries two lines: drops per 10 ml of carrier oil, and whether this site advises that combination. Figures come from 1 ml = 20 drops, and the bold row is the ceiling for this oil.
| Dilution | Per 30 ml | Adult | Child 6+ | Pregnancy | Pets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5% | 3 | 1 drops ✓ advised | 1 drops ✗ not advised | 1 drops ✗ not advised | 1 drops ✗ not advised |
| 1% | 6 | 2 drops ✓ advised | 2 drops ✗ not advised | 2 drops ✗ not advised | 2 drops ✗ not advised |
| 2% | 12 | 4 drops ✓ advised | 4 drops ✗ not advised | 4 drops ✗ not advised | 4 drops ✗ not advised |
What each concentration is normally for: 0.5% — Facial blends, sensitive or broken skin, children 6-15, first patch test · 1% — Everyday adult body and massage blends, daily leave-on use · 2% — Short-term localised adult use, 7 to 10 days then re-assess · 3% — Adult ceiling for robust oils, small area, short course only
Contraindications & handling
✓ no restriction · ! caution · ✗ avoid. An avoid row means choosing a different material, not lowering the concentration.
- ✗ Pregnancy & breastfeeding — avoid
- ✗ Children under 16 — avoid
- ! Households with pets — caution
- ✓ Epilepsy — ok
- ! Antihypertensive medication — caution
- ! Anticoagulant medication — caution
Four-step skin patch test
- Dilute 1 drop in 5 ml of carrier oil (1%). Do not patch test this oil before driving.
- Apply 2 drops to the inner forearm.
- Cover for 24 hours.
- Read at 24 and 48 hours. Do not drink alcohol on the patch-test day or on any day you use clary sage topically.
Botanical record
- Family
- Lamiaceae · Lamiaceae
- Botanical part
- flower
- Extraction
- steam-distillation
- Origin
- France, Bulgaria, Russia, United States
- Chemotype
- Linalyl acetate / linalool with sclareol
- Phototoxicity
- No phototoxicity
- Shelf life
- 24 months
Principal constituents
- Linalyl acetate 60%
- Linalool 15%
- Germacrene D 4%
- alpha-Terpineol 3%
- Sclareol 2%
- Caryophyllene oxide 1%
Storage & oxidation
Linalyl acetate at 60% makes this the highest-ester oil on the site, and esters hydrolyse rather than oxidise — the bottle slowly becomes linalool plus acetic acid, which is why an old clary sage smells sour and slightly of vinegar. The hydrolysis products are themselves sensitisers once oxidised, so the 24-month figure should be treated as firm.
Rotation & substitution
Clary sage is the oil this site is most emphatic about rotating, because of the alcohol interaction rather than the skin. Rotate it with lavender or atlas cedarwood, use it in the evening rather than before driving, and do not use it as the base of a daily blend for months at a time.
Adjacent materials
Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) · monograph
Also linalyl-acetate-led but with a camphor content near 1% and no sclareol
Dalmatian sage (Salvia officinalis)
Same genus