Learn how the best essential oils for warts can help you treat and get rid of them.
Warts often appear as circular shaped growths or bumps on various areas of the body. In some instances, these benign growths can be offensive, embarrassing and take time to remove. Fortunately, many people have had success using essential oils for warts. So let’s take a closer look at what exactly warts are and the best essential oils for treating and removing them.
About warts
These troublesome skin growths are frequently caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV), which is a viral infection. They often appear as flesh-colored bumps in many different locations such as the face, feet and hands. Warts are common place, and most people will experience one or possibly more during their lifetimes.
The viral infection can easily be spread from one person to another by physical contact. Even touching a towel used by someone else, wearing the shoes of an infected person or using exercise equipment can spread the infection. Most often, it’s transmitted through a cut or tiny scratch.
Some varieties of warts may eventually disappear without treatment. And if not, then many women prefer the gentle effects of natural treatments for the removal of pesky warts. And this is were using essential oils for wart removal comes in. Before we discuss how to use essential oils for warts though, let’s first look at some of the most common types of warts.
Common varieties
Plantar Warts
Plantar warts are only found growing on the soles of peoples’ feet.
They appear as hardened skin and contain black dots.
These may make walking uncomfortable, and they are one type of wart that is more challenging than other varieties to remove.
Common warts
Common warts grow in a number of areas, but they are predominately found on top of peoples’ hands, toes and fingers.
They are small in size, round, and rough in texture.
The wart root is marked by black specks.
Flat warts
Flat warts can appear anywhere, but they normally show up on the arms, thighs or face.
These are often skin colored, brownish or pink and small.
Typically flat in appearance.
Palmer warts
Palmer warts may be found growing on palms of hands.
These are often about the size of a pencil eraser or larger.
Skin preparation
Before using essential oils for warts, it’s a smart idea to remove a little of the dead skin on top of each wart with pumice stones. This allows the oils to penetrate deep into the surface of your skin, which can make treatments more effective.
The best essential oils for warts
Tea tree oil
A strong tree oil comes highly recommended for removing unwanted warts and treating viral infections. It contains anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-septic and anti-viral properties. This useful oil is also commonly used for skin ailments like ringworm, athlete’s foot, nail fungus and acne.
You can apply just one drop of tea tree oil three times each day. For those with sensitive skin, you might want to dilute the strength by mixing with carrier oil.
Lemon
Lemon oil makes a good substitute for tea tree oil that is often overly strong for some people. This powerful oil contains astringent, antiviral and antibacterial properties, which are ideal for shrinking warts and killing HPV.
Apply two or three drops of pure lemon oil or dilute with carriers like jojoba or sweet almond to the warts and cover. Use a minimum of three times a day.
Clove
Clove oil is a great essential oil for warts. The antiviral and antiseptic properties found in clove may help to eliminate virus infections. It also contains a powerful pain reliever, which is beneficial for those suffering from a wart on the sole of a foot that may be painful.
Place a few small drops on the affected area daily and cover with an adhesive bandage. This is another strong essential oil for warts that may need diluting for sensitive skin.
Garlic
Garlic is an antiviral that can be consumed to improve immune systems, which helps to fight wart viruses. This oil should be applied directly to warts and covered with a small Band-Aid or covered with Duct tape to starve the wart of oxygen. A slice of fresh garlic can also be used instead of oil.
Frankincense
Frankincense is another oil used to boost the immune system, which may help to prevent bothersome warts. It affects the pituitary and thyroid glands and the hypothalamus. Increasing the immune function helps to fight HPV symptoms. This may also prevent new infections.
Treat warts using just one drop of oil and cover with a Band-Aid. Apply daily for a period of about two weeks.
Oregano
Oregano oil is a hot oil, which means it’s quite a bit stronger than other oil options. Consequently, it’s very effective at removing warts. This oil contains beneficial anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, which are ideal for skin problems. It’s also useful for treating psoriasis, acne and rosacea.
To reduce chances of side effects, you can dilute the strength by mixing together 1 part oregano with 4 parts of a gentler oil like olive oil. You can apply the mixture three times per day and cover with an adhesive bandage.
Skin reactions
Whenever possible, apply natural essential oils using a dropper, ball of cotton or cotton swab directly on the wart. Avoid spilling the treatment to other areas of skin that may be sensitive.
If you experience a bad reaction, rinse off the treatment immediately. Some people may have to dilute pure oils with milder carrier oils to reduce the odds of a strong reaction.
You can read more about essential oil safety here.
After care treatments
After a wart finally turns black or falls off, you should continue to use antiviral oil for one or two weeks to make sure the virus is gone and your skin is healthy.
Prepare a mixture of 6 drops of lavender oil, the same amount of tea tree oil and a tablespoon of coconut oil to be applied daily.
Wart prevention
- Eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly to maintain a healthy immune system, which may provide resistance to HPV.
- Don’t share clothing, shoes, slippers, towels or personal products with other individuals.
When using essential oils for warts, remember that children often have sensitive skin, and treatments should be approached with caution. Essential oils work best when used as topical treatments on warts, and the warts may take two weeks to a month to disappear.
Heather says
actually Eo’s effect is amazing, i start from just aroma theraphy and now this atricle unfortunateely get actual for me) but i believe in eo’s effect. thank you for detailazing everything
peppermint oil and water says
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TagBand says
Essential oils are brilliant for many skin problems and infections. These oils work wonderfully to treat wart because of the many active ingredients present in it. I had about 5 warts on my hands that I had various medications but nothing worked. Then I started applying tea tree oil on my warts and the results was wonderful. They were gone in a couple of days.