Essential Oils from Plants:
High-Quality Essences for Healthy Skin

Q: Which ilon product contains lavender oil?

Lavender essential oil is included in ilon Woundcare , combined with olive oil and zinc oxide, due to its anti-inflammatory and soothing properties. This medicinal ointment has proven effective as a protective skin care for stressed and irritated skin.

Essential oils have long held a firm place in natural medicine. Due to their numerous positive properties, these concentrated essences are also versatile in medical skincare.

Larch Turpentine Purified Turpentine Rosemary, Eucalyptus, and Thyme Lavender Frequently asked questions

Larch Balsam.
Promotes circulation and is antiseptic.

In herbal medicine, in addition to dried plants or plant parts referred to as drugs, plant saps also play an essential role.
These can be divided into resins, balsams, and gum resins.

Larch balsam (Terebinthina laricina) is a viscous, yellowish to brown balsam obtained by drilling into the trunks of larch trees. For the medical ilon ointments, the balsam is still collected by hand in the mountain forests of South Tyrol and Austria. The gentle extraction of the resin sap using the so-called Tyrolean drilling method has a long tradition there. This process does not harm the tree; in fact, the quality of the wood even increases. After harvesting, the fresh larch resin is purified, heated, and transformed into larch balsam by decanting, from which the high proportion of valuable essential oils for medical use is finally extracted.

Even medieval recipes attest to the health-promoting effects of this honey-like mixture with an aromatic scent and its versatile applications in phytotherapy.

Previous Next

1 2 3

Highly purified larch turpentine (larch balsam) remains a valuable ingredient for pain relief and stimulating wound healing due to its strong circulation-promoting and antiseptic effects. Rubs with larch balsam-based ointments have proven particularly effective for inflammatory bacterial skin conditions such as ingrown hairs, sweat gland inflammations, and pimples.

Larch balsam, as an important component of the active ingredient combination in the green drawing salve ilon Classic, promotes circulation and disinfects. This supports the maturation and breakdown of inflammatory pus foci and inhibits inflammation.

The ointment has proven effective for purulent pimples, minor abscesses, skin irritations after shaving, ingrown hairs, and other bacterial skin inflammations. Thanks to its high efficacy, pleasant fresh scent, and easy application, ilon Classic is the number 1 among drawing salves.

In ilon Protect, the special protective and nourishing formula of larch balsam in combination with high-quality essential oils ensures that the skin’s barrier function and resistance are improved.

This medical skincare is used for preventive protection and sustainable care wherever the skin is heavily stressed by pressure, friction, and moisture – in everyday life and sports, as well as for decubitus prophylaxis in the care of people whose mobility is severely impaired due to health reasons.

Essential Oil from Maritime Pine.
Antibacterial and disinfectant.

With the pine, another conifer from local regions offers healing properties. For example, pine needles and dried pine shoots are used in teas, tinctures, and bath additives for respiratory problems due to their expectorant and antibacterial characteristics.

Due to their circulation-promoting and disinfecting properties, the essential oils of pine have also proven effective for centuries in the treatment of muscle and joint complaints as well as various skin conditions. Even in antiquity, its healing effects were used for ulcers, among other things.

Turpentine is obtained not from pine needles, but from the resin of the conifer. By incising pine trunks, a colorless balsam is obtained, from which turpentine oil (Oleum terebinthinae) used for medicinal purposes is extracted by steam distillation.

Essential oil from maritime pine, together with larch balsam and other natural ingredients, forms an efficient combination in ilon Classic for the treatment of inflammatory skin conditions. Its circulation-promoting and disinfecting properties support the effect of larch balsam, and the turpentine oil also has an antibacterial effect.

Rosemary, Eucalyptus, and Thyme.
Fragrant and versatile.

Due to their circulation-promoting, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties, rosemary, eucalyptus, and thyme form an efficient combination in ilon Classic and ilon Protect. The combination of essential oils is well-tolerated by the skin and provides a pleasant fragrance.

Lavender.
Calming and inflammation-preventing.

High-quality lavender oil is produced from the flowers of the plant and is used in numerous medical applications due to its calming effect. In skincare, the essential oil of the lavender plant has proven effective due to its inflammation-preventing and disinfecting properties.

FAQ

Essential Oils from Plants

Can essential oils irritate the skin?

When using pure essential oils, some people’s skin may react with irritation. In ilon products, essential oils are only included in selected concentrations. In addition, only high-quality essences are used. All ilon products are dermatologically tested for skin compatibility. Only in the event of an allergy to one of the ingredients should the relevant product not be used, in order to avoid unintended skin reactions.

How does the Tyrolean drilling method work for extracting larch turpentine?

The extraction of larch resin for medical and industrial purposes has a long tradition in the Alpine region. Only larches that are between 80 and 120 years old are selected by the “Pechers,” as the resin tappers are called there. Experience shows that these trees yield the most resin.

The drilling is carried out in spring at the south-facing base of the trunk and runs at an angle downward for about 50 to 80 centimeters. The borehole is then sealed with a plug to prevent insects and rainwater from entering.

One to two years after drilling, the first harvest can take place during the warm season from May to September. After removing the stopper, the larch resin is extracted using a special channel-shaped resin spoon. Depending on the tree and region, 200 to 350 g of the yellowish balsam can be obtained per tree. The younger the borehole, the more productive the harvest. After ten to 15 years, the source dries up.

The Tyrolean drilling method has no adverse effects on the larches. Quite the contrary: since the extraction of the resin reduces the pressure inside the tree, the wood quality improves.

What is the difference between essential and nourishing plant oils?

Nourishing oils are fatty carrier oils that serve as the base for creams and ointments, protecting and nourishing the skin. For this purpose, we use high-quality cold-pressed plant oils, including jojoba oil or almond oil.

Essential oils, on the other hand, are extracts from plants that are included in selected concentrations in ilon products. The term ‘oils’ here is somewhat misleading, as these essences are only slightly oily.

Which ilon product contains lavender oil?

Lavender essential oil is included in ilon Woundcare, combined with olive oil and zinc oxide, due to its anti-inflammatory and soothing properties. This medicinal ointment has proven effective as a protective skin care for stressed and irritated skin.

ilon® Classic Ointment. Active ingredients: larch turpentine, turpentine oil (maritime pine type), eucalyptus oil. A traditional herbal medicinal product for the treatment of mild, localised, purulent skin inflammation, such as small pus-filled nodules, inflamed hair follicles and inflamed sweat glands, based solely on long-standing use. Contains butylhydroxytoluene. (Information as of December 2024)

For information on risks and side effects, read the package leaflet and ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Cesra Arzneimittel GmbH & Co. KG, Flugstraße 11, 76532 Baden-Baden

Essential Oils from Plants: High-Quality Essences for Healthy Skin