The Zea Blog

Explore health and wellness tips, learn more about our ingredients and sustainability practices, and meet the people behind Zea.

What is Australian Kunzea Oil?

Hayden Brass | 08 October

These days as the benefits of essential oils such as Lavender, Clove Bud, and Peppermint become clearer, the use of these oils is also becoming more and more widespread. One such oil that is starting to gain popularity due to its many benefits is Australian Kunzea (Kunzea ambigua) essential oil.

This is an essential oil native to Australia that has a wide variety reported medicinal uses and benefits, including soothing sore skin, relieving muscle pain and reducing stress.

If you are considering using Kunzea oil yourself, please check out our guide to its benefits. 

What is Australian Kunzea?

Australian Kunzea (also known as Tasmanian Kunzea, Tick Bush, Zea Oil and White Cloud) is an essential oil derived from the small leaves of the Kunzea ambigua plant. The plant is grown and distilled throughout Australia’s cooler coastal areas, including Tasmania and the Bass Strait Islands. In fact, the south-east coast of Australia is the only place in the world where the Kunzea ambigua grows natively. The plant can grow up to three meters in height and it produces eye-catching white flowers when it blooms during Spring.

The story goes that a local farmer in this region noticed the effect the Kunzea bushes were having on the local animal life and because of this decided to extract the oil and do some experiments. This led to a variety of Kunzea oil being listed with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), and the discovery of the many benefits of this unique plant oil.

It is the organic composition of Kunzea ambigua essential oil that makes it unique. Certain compounds in Kunzea give it anti-inflammatory properties that are very rare for an essential oil.

Kunzea ambigua plant in its natural habitat

What are the uses of Kunzea Oil?

Kunzea oil has a wide variety of uses. It was first used to relieve the pain and irritation caused by certain skin conditions. It's soothing properties working as a calming force on sore skin.

More recently Kunzea oil has been said to have anti-inflammatory properties, which enable it to relieve aches and pains in muscles and joints. It is the key ingredient in our signature range of Kunzea Pain Relief Products.

Some of the uses of Kunzea oil are as follows:

Treating dry, red and inflamed skin - One of the original uses of the oil is that it can relieve the irritation caused by dry, red skin. As Kunzea oil is a mild oil, it is possible to apply it directly to the problem area. However, for skin irritations and inflammation we recommend trying our Zea Relief Kunzea Muscle Balm, which also has the added benefit of Evening Primrose Oil and Rosehip Oil for helping to treat skin complaints.

Relieving muscular aches and pains - The anti-inflammatory benefits of Kunzea oil may help to reduce inflammation and relieve pain. This may be an effective pain reliever for people suffering from muscular aches and pains.

Relieving pain from arthritis and joint swelling - Kunzea oil’s pain-relieving properties mean that it may also be an effective treatment for arthritis and aiding joint mobility. It is the active ingredient in our best-selling Zea Relief Kunzea Cream.

Nervous tension, stress and mild anxiety - As well as its anti-inflammatory uses, Kunzea oil has also been used for treating stress and anxiety. This time, instead of applying it to your skin, you should add the Kunzea Essential Oil to an aroma diffuser so you can breathe it in. Alternatively, you could relax the muscles, de-stress and unwind with our Kunzea Bath Salts

To discover more of its therapeutic and aromatic properties, check out our newest blog: 15 Benefits and Uses of Kunzea OilWoman with arthritis in her hand

Kunzea Benefits: Final Note

There is still so much for us to learn about the compounds within Kunzea ambigua. Throughout the world, researchers continue to be fascinated by this unique essential oil. One thing we do know is that Kunzea will continue to play a major role in alternative medicine treatment.