I’m sort of a local hero: I’m popular in Australia as a garden plant (since I smell like citrus) and as a healing essential oil, which is made from distilling my leaves.

I have antimicrobial properties, which means that I help reduce the growth and spread of bacteria on the skin: I also work as an anti-inflammatory and an astringent, which means that I’ve been shown to help control sebum (A.K.A. oil) production, which helps keep your pores feeling tight and your skin feeling balanced, fresh & calm.

Lemon myrtles have been used by Indigenous Australians for 40,000 years, by wrapping the leaves in paperbark to flavour fish dishes, and to treat headaches by crushing and inhaling the leaves. The leaves were also burnt to release their insect-repelling properties. See ya Mozzies.