Essential Branch

Woody essential oil

Scots pine

Pinus sylvestris

A Scots pine branch with long paired blue-green needles and a single brown cone against a dark background.
A Scots pine branch with long paired blue-green needles and a single brown cone against a dark background. Photo: George Chernilevsky, CC BY-SA 4.0

Scots pine essential oil is steam distilled from the needles of Pinus sylvestris, in the Pinaceae family. It smells fresh, woody, earthy and balsamic, and sits as a top note in a blend. People choose it for a fresh-smelling home, for fresh air and for seasonal comfort, and it pairs well with balsam fir, cypress, cedarwood, frankincense, rosemary and juniper berry. No maximum skin concentration has been published, so normal dilution still applies. The safety point that matters most is pets: Pet Poison Helpline lists pine oils as toxic to dogs and cats, so keep it away from both. Tisserand and Young also advise against using it once oxidised, so keep the bottle capped. Check the label for the botanical name Pinus sylvestris.

Safety at a glance

  • Pregnancy Use with caution
  • Children From age 2
  • Dogs Avoid
  • Cats Avoid
  • Sunlight Not phototoxic
  • On skin No published maximum

Reference

Botanical name Pinus sylvestris
Plant family Pinaceae
Plant part Needles
Extraction steam distillation
Main origins Not given in the references we use
Aroma family Woody
Note Top note
Aroma Fresh pine forest, woody and balsamic
Main constituents alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, delta-3-carene, beta-phellandrene and delta-cadinene
Common uses fresh air, seasonal comfort and fresh home
Suggested maximum on skin No published maximum
Phototoxic No
Shelf life once opened 1 to 2 years
Pregnancy Use with caution
Children From age 2
Dogs Avoid
Cats Avoid
Safety notes Tisserand and Young list no special precautions for Scots pine, but advise against using it once it has oxidised, so keep it fresh and capped. It is not on the IFPA pregnancy list, so pregnancy stays at caution. Pet Poison Helpline lists pine oils as toxic to both dogs and cats.

Blends well with

Sources

  1. Scotch Pine Essential Oil, AromaWeb. Accessed October 26, 2026
  2. Updates on essential oils, Pet Poison Helpline. Accessed October 26, 2026
  3. Essential oil shelf life (Robert Tisserand's guideline), AromaWeb. Accessed October 26, 2026