Single-oil monograph
Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris)
- Phototoxic No phototoxicity
- Pregnancy Caution
- Pets Caution
Published 2026-10-28 · adult ceiling 3% · shelf life 24 months
Scots pine is the conifer most widely sold as "pine needle oil" in Europe, and it is the cheapest way to put a forest note into a blend. It is also the oil in this collection most likely to have oxidised before you finish the bottle. Adult ceiling 3%, with a genuine storage caveat rather than a theoretical one.
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 ✓ 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 — caution
- ✓ Children under 16 — ok
- ! Households with pets — caution
- ✓ Epilepsy — ok
- ✓ Antihypertensive medication — ok
- ✓ 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. Oxidised pine is a far more common sensitiser than fresh pine; if the bottle is old, repeat this with every new bottle.
Botanical record
- Family
- Pinaceae · Pinaceae
- Botanical part
- needle
- Extraction
- steam-distillation
- Origin
- Finland, Sweden, Russia, Estonia, Austria
- Chemotype
- alpha-Pinene / carene type
- Phototoxicity
- No phototoxicity
- Shelf life
- 24 months
Principal constituents
- alpha-Pinene 34%
- delta-3-Carene 20%
- beta-Pinene 10%
- Myrcene 6%
- Limonene 5%
- Bornyl acetate 4%
Storage & oxidation
Pine oils are among the fastest oxidisers in a normal collection: alpha-pinene and carene both take up oxygen readily, and the resulting peroxides are the classic cause of a resinous bottle that has gone sticky at the neck. Buy small, keep it cool and dark, and if the oil has thickened or the cap is gummy, replace it rather than diluting it further.
Rotation & substitution
Scots pine, spruce and fir needle are all pinene-dominant conifers and rotate among themselves only superficially. Rotate pine with a citrus or a flower oil instead, and treat the whole conifer group as one exposure when you are counting weeks of use.
Adjacent materials
Siberian fir (Abies sibirica)
Also pinene-dominant and similarly priced