Thieves Oil

Introduction:

This week we will dive into a product with an intriguing name: Thieves soap. Made with thieves essential oil blend (clove, orange, eucalyptus, rosemary, lemon and cinnamon), this soap sticks out among our other floral and herbal-named products. Thieves, as you’ve probably guessed, is not a plant at all, but rather a story. For hundreds of years, this blend has carried a sinister folktale of thievery and survival set in the darkest years of European history: The Black Plague. Although this tale’s historical accuracy is heavily debated, it raises an interesting question: why do some remedies carry stories for centuries, even when the evidence behind those stories are uncertain? 

A Brief History of Thieves Blend

The popular story takes many forms, but one thing they all share is their main characters: A group of thieves. The legend goes that during the grisly Black Death, this group of thieves made a living off of robbing the plague’s dead and dying, yet miraculously never contracted the plague themselves. Their secret? An aromatic blend of herbs and spices that they rubbed onto their skin and wore in masks. The exact ingredients differ by story, but they often include garlic, vinegar, rosemary, cloves, cinnamon, and citrus. Garlic and vinegar don’t make for very nice smelling soaps, so over time, only the fragrant herbs and citrus remained in the thieves blend we use today: clove, cinnamon, lemon, orange, eucalyptus, and rosemary.

It is controversial whether this story is historically accurate, as many versions contain timeline inconsistencies. While the Bubonic Plague recurred across Europe for centuries, the Black Death refers to the specific, initial outbreak that began in 1347. Within a short time, it spread across Eurasia, and killed at least one-third of Europe’s population–all within four years. Many versions of the legend describe the scale of those first horrible years, yet are set a century later. At that time, Europe had learned how to live with the plague and grave-robbing was not as common, which makes this story less realistic. 

Whether the tale really happened is up for debate, but a story does not have to be historically factual to capture something that rings deeply true about the time it was set. The Black Death created an era filled with uncertainty, grief, and fear in Europe. In the absence of modern medical knowledge, people desperately tried to make sense of the plague in ways they could understand. They used herbal remedies that had been refined through years of experimentation, passed from generation to generation. The legend of the thieves captures that search for livelihood and ingenuity in the face of complete catastrophe. The story of the thieves is perhaps not literally accurate, but telling from both an emotional and cultural standpoint. As we experienced during COVID, pandemics are global, generation-defining traumas. In those moments, as a collective, we are pulled together and faced with our own mortality. Healing becomes a deeply cultural and experiential part of how we think about the world, and these stories remind us of the historical through-line that connects us to other generations despite the technological advances that separate us.   

The legend may not be historically reliable, but the plants at its center are very real. The people of medieval Europe really did rely on herbal remedies during the time of the Black Plague. Common herbs such as thyme, garlic, rosemary, and vinegar were widely used, while imported spices like cinnamon, cloves, oranges, and lemons were luxury goods reserved for the elite. Through centuries of observation, people recognized that these plants had useful medicinal properties, even if they could not fully understand why. At the time, most Europeans believed disease spread through Miasma: foul-smelling air produced by rotting matter. Fragrant herbs and spices were thought to purify the air and protect the body from illness. Although Miasma Theory has since been debunked by modern Germ Theory, these plants were not entirely ineffective. The combinations of ingredients used (such as the thieves blend) repelled fleas and prevented flea bites–the primary agent of disease transmission. Additionally, many of these plants contain compounds that modern science has since shown to possess antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. Although these plants definitely did not provide as much protection against the plague as the thieves story attributes to them, they do hold some nuggets of biological truth. 

The Science Behind the Tradition

Although the Miasma Theory has long been replaced by our modern scientific understanding of microbes, herbs and essential oils continue to be valued today for their fragrance and beneficial properties. At Elmore Mountain Farm, you can find thieves blend in our Thieves Soap, while each of its individual essential oils appear in many of our other products. Together, these oils create a delicious warm, spicy citrus scent that along with the emulsion properties of our soap, provide for an excellent cleansing experience.  

 Anti-microbial: Many of the essential oils in thieves’ blend contain naturally occurring compounds that have demonstrated antimicrobial activity in laboratory studies: Clove and cinnamon oils are rich in eugenol, citrus oils contain d-limonene and citral, and eucalyptus oil contains 1,8-cineole. These compounds can disrupt bacterial cell membranes, making it harder for certain bacteria to survive. In soap, these oils complement the primary cleaning function of the soap itself. Soap removes oils, dirt, and microbes from the skin by emulsifying them so they can be rinsed off, while the essential oils may provide additional antimicrobial activity.

Anti-inflammatory: Clove, eucalyptus, and rosemary contain compounds that have been shown to influence inflammatory pathways. Research suggests these compounds may reduce the production of certain pro-inflammatory cytokines. Cytokines, without getting too much into the weeds of it, are the body’s immune system messengers. When cells face an immune threat, they produce pro-inflammatory cytokines to recruit immune cells to the site, and increase inflammation in the area. Short-term, this inflammation is good for fighting off unwanted microbes, but long term these immune messengers can break down a healthy skin barrier and cause inflammatory irritation. Inflammation is an essential part of healing, but excessive or prolonged inflammation can contribute to skin irritation. While these essential oils are not extremely potent, these properties help explain why many people find products containing them soothing to mild irritation and sensitive skin.

Calming Aroma: One of the reasons thieves blend has remained popular has little to do with its beneficial properties at all: it smells wonderful! Citrus, rosemary, and eucalyptus essential oils have been studied for their positive effects on mood and perceived stress. Many people report that these bright aromas help promote feelings of relaxation.

Final Thoughts

The true origins of thieves oil may remain a mystery forever, but what is certain is its use has stood the test of time. Today we understand disease more completely than Medieval Europeans could ever dream of, yet we continue to appreciate many of their herbal remedies and folklore. Long before scientists understood bacteria or viruses, generations of people experimented, observed, and passed their knowledge on through stories. Today we explain those same plants differently, using science instead of folklore, but the curiosity underpinning these disciplines remains remarkably similar.

By: Ellen Wolstenholme, Elmore Mountain Farm Media Intern