Single-oil monograph
Juniper berry (Juniperus communis)
- Phototoxic No phototoxicity
- Pregnancy Avoid
- Pets Caution
Published 2026-10-16 · adult ceiling 3% · shelf life 24 months
Juniper berry is 40% alpha-pinene, which is why it smells like gin — it is what gin is flavoured with, and the oil is a distillation of the same berries. It carries an avoid row for pregnancy, which distinguishes it from the other pine-family oils on this site, and it is the oil most often used in blends intended to "flush out" water retention.
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 ✓ advised | 1 drops ✗ not advised | 1 drops ✗ not advised |
| 1% | 6 | 2 drops ✓ advised | 2 drops ✓ 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 |
| 3% | 18 | 6 drops ✓ advised | 6 drops ✗ not advised | 6 drops ✗ not advised | 6 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 — caution
- ! Households with pets — caution
- ✓ Epilepsy — ok
- ! Antihypertensive medication — caution
- ✓ Anticoagulant medication — ok
Four-step skin patch test
- Dilute 1 drop in 5 ml of carrier oil (1%).
- Apply 2 drops to the inner forearm.
- Cover for 24 hours.
- Read at 24 and 48 hours. Juniper is a mild irritant on some skin; a persistent warm patch that does not fade is the signal to stop.
Botanical record
- Family
- Cupressaceae · Cupressaceae
- Botanical part
- berry (female cone)
- Extraction
- steam-distillation (dried, crushed berries)
- Origin
- Bulgaria, Italy, Macedonia, India
- Chemotype
- alpha-Pinene / sabinene type
- Phototoxicity
- No phototoxicity
- Shelf life
- 24 months
Principal constituents
- alpha-Pinene 40%
- Sabinene 14%
- Myrcene 9%
- Limonene 6%
- Terpinen-4-ol 4%
- beta-Caryophyllene 2%
Storage & oxidation
Alpha-pinene at 40% oxidises into pinene hydroperoxides, which are irritants, and the process accelerates once the bottle has headspace. Two years. Juniper also has a characteristic smell change: fresh berries smell gin-like and sharp, and oxidised oil smells like floor polish, which is a clear enough cue.
Rotation & substitution
Juniper is a pine-family oil and belongs in a rotation slot with scots pine, fir and cypress rather than with the spice oils. Do not combine juniper with pine in one blend, and rotate the whole pine group out every two to three weeks.
Adjacent materials
Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens)
Same family