Essential Branch

Minty essential oil

Spearmint

Mentha spicata

Upright spearmint stems with pointed, finely toothed green leaves growing close together.
Upright spearmint stems with pointed, finely toothed green leaves growing close together. Photo: Commonists, CC BY-SA 4.0

Spearmint essential oil is steam distilled from the leaves and flowering tops of Mentha spicata, a member of the Lamiaceae family. It smells minty and fresh, perhaps slightly fruity, and is noticeably less intense than peppermint, acting as a top note in a blend. People often choose it to keep a room smelling fresh, for an uplifting scent, or while settling down to focused work. It sits well alongside peppermint, rosemary, basil, lavender and sweet orange. The main safety point is strength on skin. Tisserand and Young suggest keeping it to no more than 1.7% of a blend, as it can irritate mucous membranes and carries a low risk of skin sensitisation.

Safety at a glance

  • Pregnancy Use with caution
  • Children From age 6
  • Dogs Use with caution
  • Cats Use with caution
  • Sunlight Not phototoxic
  • On skin Up to 1.7%

Reference

Botanical name Mentha spicata
Plant family Lamiaceae
Plant part Leaves and flowering tops
Extraction steam distillation
Main origins Not given in the references we use
Aroma family Minty
Note Top note
Aroma Soft, sweet mint, gentler than peppermint
Main constituents (-)-carvone, limonene, (Z)-dihydrocarvone, 3-octanol and 1,8-cineole
Common uses focus, fresh air and uplifting
Suggested maximum on skin 1.7% of the blend
Phototoxic No
Shelf life once opened 2 to 3 years
Pregnancy Use with caution
Children From age 6
Dogs Use with caution
Cats Use with caution
Safety notes Tisserand and Young suggest a skin maximum of 1.7% and note it can irritate mucous membranes and carries a low risk of skin sensitisation. Our sources set no age for children; we use 6, as for peppermint, and keep it away from children's faces. It is not on the IFPA pregnancy list, so pregnancy stays at caution. Pet Poison Helpline names peppermint and pennyroyal, not spearmint, but as a close relative we keep dogs and cats at caution.

Blends well with

Sources

  1. Spearmint 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