HealthWatchlist verdict: Small trials suggest aromatherapy may ease some PMS symptoms, but the evidence is inconsistent. PMS and period pain are different outcomes, and the research does not establish a best essential oil or a dependable treatment.
PMS symptoms occur before a period. Period pain is a different outcome, and evidence about one should not be used as proof about the other.
PMS and period pain are not the same outcome
Primary dysmenorrhoea means painful periods without another identified pelvic condition. Premenstrual syndrome, or PMS, is a recurring pattern of symptoms before menstruation.
The NHS lists mood changes, tiredness, bloating, breast tenderness and headaches among possible PMS symptoms. A trial measuring pain during menstruation does not answer all those questions.
NHS guidance also distinguishes common period pain from pain that needs assessment. Causes can include endometriosis, adenomyosis, fibroids and pelvic inflammatory disease.
Research that measured PMS directly
A 2020 systematic review examined eight studies of aromatherapy and PMS. It reported improvements in overall and psychological symptom scores. These findings deserve consideration alongside the separate period-pain research.
However, results varied substantially: the overall PMS analysis reported I² of 94.5%, indicating considerable inconsistency between study estimates. Only three studies described their randomisation method and two reported blinding.
The review also calls its pooled physical-symptom result significant despite reporting a 95% confidence interval from −2.75 to 0.19. Because that interval includes zero, it does not establish a statistically significant benefit.
My interpretation is therefore more cautious than the authors’ conclusion. There is a signal worth investigating, but uncertainty about the size and reliability of benefit prevents a confident treatment recommendation.
A 2013 randomised crossover trial studied lavender inhalation in 17 women with mild to moderate premenstrual symptoms. It measured short-term mood and heart-rate variability against a water control.
The researchers reported improvements in depression-dejection and confusion scores, alongside an autonomic measurement. This small, brief experiment does not establish sustained relief across menstrual cycles or treatment of severe PMS.
What period-pain reviews found
A 2018 systematic review of randomised placebo-controlled trials found moderate evidence that aromatherapy reduced pain in primary dysmenorrhoea. The oils, routes and study methods were not consistent.
Another 2018 systematic review and meta-analysis reported lower pain scores. Its authors highlighted diverse interventions and a high risk of bias in randomisation.
An earlier systematic review of aromatherapy for pain found a positive combined effect across several painful conditions. The broad pool does not prove one oil for one menstrual outcome.
The reviews are therefore encouraging but not decisive. Small studies, variable controls and subjective outcomes can make effects look more certain than they are.
Massage makes attribution difficult
A trial of 48 women compared a lavender, clary-sage and marjoram cream with a synthetic-fragrance cream. Both groups massaged their lower abdomen, so this was more informative than comparison with no massage.
Pain scores improved in both groups. Pain duration fell from 2.4 to 1.8 days within the essential-oil group, but that within-group change alone does not establish superiority over the comparator.
The trial tested a blend. It cannot identify which individual oil contributed to any effect, and its period-pain outcomes should not be relabelled as PMS outcomes.
Touch, time, expectation and attention can all affect reported pain. A massage study needs a well-matched massage control to estimate what the volatile oil contributed.
NCCIH notes that massage research often has quality and consistency limitations. Adding aromatherapy creates another component that needs separate evaluation.
Inhalation studies answer a narrower question
Inhalation avoids the effects of massage, but it creates other problems. A noticeable scent is hard to blind, and a quiet intervention period may influence self-reported pain or mood.
Trials have used lavender, rose, citrus oils, clary sage and blends. The presence of one oil in a blend does not show that it worked independently.
Route also matters. A result from inhalation cannot be transferred to abdominal application, and neither supports swallowing an essential oil.
What the evidence does not establish
The dysmenorrhoea reviews do not establish treatment of premenstrual mood changes, bloating or irritability. They also do not show that essential oils correct endometriosis or another underlying cause of pain.
Laboratory anti-inflammatory activity is not enough. A cell or animal experiment does not establish safe delivery, useful dosing or symptom relief in people.
How I would describe the result
Some aromatherapy interventions may reduce self-reported period pain. The evidence does not yet show which oil, route or part of the intervention matters most.
I would not publish a ranked list of “best oils for PMS”. That language combines distinct symptoms and gives individual oils credit that the trials cannot support.
Oil-by-oil evidence reviews
These reviews distinguish evidence about the essential oil from research on a plant extract, capsule, blend or massage package:
Eucalyptus and ylang ylang: do other symptom trials apply to PMS?
A study of pain or anxiety does not necessarily answer a question about symptoms before a period. These comparisons examine what the eucalyptus and ylang ylang trials actually measured.
Eucalyptus and PMS
We did not locate a controlled human trial testing eucalyptus essential oil for prospectively measured PMS symptoms. The relevant human studies instead concern other forms of pain or short-term anxiety. A 70-person rheumatoid-arthritis trial reported lower pain and better quality of life with eucalyptus inhalation alongside routine treatment. Pain differences were not significant during the first two weeks, but appeared in weeks three and four. Joint pain in rheumatoid arthritis is not the same outcome as recurrent premenstrual symptoms.
A 62-person trial before a nerve-root-block procedure compared eucalyptus oil, isolated 1,8-cineole, limonene and an almond-oil control. The clearest anxiety findings favoured isolated 1,8-cineole; it also outperformed whole eucalyptus oil on one anxiety measure. Although pain scores fell within several groups, the between-group pain comparison was not significant.
Neither trial measured the timing or severity of symptoms over menstrual cycles. An isolated constituent’s effect cannot automatically be assigned to the whole oil, and a within-group improvement is not proof that a treatment works better than its comparator. These findings therefore do not establish eucalyptus for PMS, menstrual cramps or “hormone balancing”.
Related: Eucalyptus profile.
Ylang ylang and PMS
A 45-person randomised labour study compared inhaled ylang ylang, lemon oil and a control, with 15 participants in each group. Pain scores at 5–7 cm cervical dilatation were lower in the aroma groups. Anxiety scores, however, did not differ significantly between groups. A positive result for pain at one stage of labour is not evidence of reduced premenstrual mood symptoms or cramps across menstrual cycles.
A 2024 placebo-controlled trial in intensive-care nurses tested a blend of lavender, bergamot, ylang ylang and sweet orange over 30 days. It found no statistically significant anxiety changes within or between the groups. This limiting finding matters despite the authors’ favourable concluding language, and the blend could not isolate ylang ylang’s contribution.
We did not locate a controlled human ylang-ylang-essential-oil-benefits-uses PMS trial. Labour pain, workplace anxiety and prospectively recorded premenstrual symptoms answer different questions. Neither study demonstrates correction of hormone levels or treatment of PMS or PMDD. Persistent cyclical symptoms deserve assessment rather than a claim of “hormone balancing” based on fragrance research.
Related: Ylang ylang profile.
What this means in practice
Keep a symptom diary for at least two menstrual cycles, and seek GP advice when symptoms affect daily life or lifestyle measures have not helped. Depending on the person and symptoms, options include cognitive behavioural therapy, hormonal medicines and antidepressants. An unrelated pain or anxiety trial cannot establish a PMS treatment. See NHS guidance.
Search limitations: Targeted Europe PMC and web searches used common and botanical names with Lyme disease, Borrelia, monolaurin, PMS, premenstrual symptoms, relaxation and anxiety, followed by citation checks, completed 16 September 2026. This is an editorial review, not a systematic review or exhaustive unpublished-trial search. The 2017 and 2018 Borrelia screens, 2019 oil screen, 2020 botanical screen and supplement report, both cinnamon animal reports and AROMA_dent were checked in full. Other studies were appraised from indexed abstracts, limiting assessment of methods and adverse effects. Failure to locate a trial does not establish that none exists.
References for these comparisons
- Varkaneh ZK, Karampourian A, Oshvandi K, Basiri Z, Mohammadi Y. The effect of eucalyptus inhalation on pain and the quality of life in rheumatoid arthritis. Contemporary clinical trials communications. 2022;29:100976. DOI:10.1016/j.conctc.2022.100976.
- Kim KY, Seo HJ, Min SS, Park M, Seol GH. The effect of 1,8-cineole inhalation on preoperative anxiety: a randomized clinical trial. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM. 2014;2014:820126. DOI:10.1155/2014/820126.
- Sirkeci I, Cagan O, Koc S. The effect of ylang oil and lemon oil inhalation on labor pain and anxiety pregnant women: A randomized controlled trial. Complementary therapies in clinical practice. 2023;52:101748. DOI:10.1016/j.ctcp.2023.101748.
- Hubbard S, O'conner K, Lockhart ER, Carter KF, Harvey E. Impact of aromatherapy on anxiety among ICU nurses: A randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled trial. Nursing. 2024;54:54-60. DOI:10.1097/nsg.0000000000000060.
- NHS. PMS (premenstrual syndrome). Accessed 16 September 2026.
Safety
Do not swallow essential oils or apply them neat to the abdomen. A systematic review of reported aromatherapy adverse effects found dermatitis was the most common problem.
Fragrance exposure can also provoke headache, coughing or breathing symptoms. Pregnancy, asthma, epilepsy, medicines and skin conditions can alter the risk of a particular product or route.
If trying an aroma as a comfort measure, follow the product instructions and stop if symptoms appear. Do not treat a blend’s natural origin as proof of safety.
Practical support for PMS
NHS advice includes keeping a symptom diary for at least two menstrual cycles. Record the timing, severity and effect on daily life, then take it to an appointment.
Available treatments include cognitive behavioural therapy, hormonal contraception and antidepressants, depending on symptoms and suitability. Severe mood symptoms deserve proper assessment rather than repeated trials of scented products.
For pain during a period, read our separate menstrual-cramp review. Our lavender and rose reviews examine individual claims.
When to seek advice
Speak to a GP when PMS affects daily life or lifestyle measures have not helped. Severe, worsening or unusual period pain also deserves assessment.
Seek advice about very heavy bleeding, bleeding between periods, pain during sex or a major change in symptoms. Essential oils should never postpone that assessment.
My verdict
Aromatherapy has a plausible place as an optional comfort measure for some people. Direct PMS studies report some benefits, but their limitations matter. Period-pain research supplies additional evidence for a different symptom; it cannot fill gaps in PMS research.
A useful evidence judgement must name the oil, route and exact outcome. A study of a blend or massage package cannot support a broad single-oil remedy claim.
References
- Es-haghee and colleagues (2020): Aromatherapy and PMS systematic review and meta-analysis
- Matsumoto and colleagues (2013): Lavender and premenstrual emotional symptoms, randomised crossover trial
- NHS: Premenstrual syndrome
- NHS: Period pain
- Song and colleagues: Aromatherapy for primary dysmenorrhoea
- Lee and colleagues: Aromatherapy for dysmenorrhoea meta-analysis
- Lakhan and colleagues: Aromatherapy for pain management
- Ou and colleagues: Aromatic essential-oil massage trial
- NCCIH: Massage therapy
- Posadzki and colleagues: Adverse effects of aromatherapy
- NCCIH: Aromatherapy
The marjoram menstrual-pain study used a three-oil blend
Evidence update: 14 September 2026.
The 48-person trial tested lavender, clary sage and marjoram in a massage cream. Both groups improved, and there was no marjoram-only arm. Primary dysmenorrhoea is a narrower outcome than PMS, hormone regulation or fertility.
Related evidence review: Marjoram Oil for PMS and Period Pain: What the Blend Trial Shows.