08/25/2026
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial studied 63 menopausal and postmenopausal women, divided into peppermint essential oil, lemon essential oil, and placebo groups. The essential oils were diluted with 1.5% sweet almond oil and used during 30-minute hand and arm massages, twice a week for 4 weeks. Both peppermint and lemon essential-oil massage significantly reduced overall menopausal symptoms, with peppermint showing a stronger overall effect than lemon.
The benefits differed between the oils. Lemon essential-oil massage improved physical and psychological menopausal symptoms, with the psychological category covering problems such as depressed mood, irritability, anxiety, and physical and mental exhaustion. Peppermint essential-oil massage improved physical and urogenital symptoms, with the urogenital category covering sexual problems, bladder problems, and vaginal dryness. Importantly, the abstract reports significant changes in these categories and does not establish that every individual symptom within each category improved.
PMID: 37743153