Peppermint Oil for Headaches: What the Göbel Trials Tested

The best-known trial of peppermint oil on the forehead used a 10% solution in ethanol. Our own copy tops out at 2% in a carrier oil, so the people in that trial were given five times the strongest figure we stand behind, in a different base. That gap is the first thing to know before reading any "peppermint oil for headaches" claim, and it is why our oils are not sold, or described here, as a headache product.

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Do the arithmetic before the abstract

At about 20 drops to the millilitre (droppers vary), one ounce of finished blend is 29.57 ml. At our 2% ceiling that is about 0.59 ml of oil, roughly 12 drops. At 10% it is about 2.96 ml, roughly 59 drops. Same bottle, almost five times as many drops.

Menthol makes the difference larger to think about. EFSA, 2025, assessing peppermint oil from Mentha x piperita for animal feed, reported ten batches with a mean menthol content of 43.42% (range 42.51 to 45.54, GC area percent, specification 30 to 55). Applying that range to the blends is our arithmetic and not a measurement of anyone's oil: a 10% blend carries about 4.3% menthol, and a 2% blend about 0.87%. We do not publish a menthol figure for either of our oils, and the one document we publish with chemistry in it, the GC-MS report, covers the cornmint (arvensis) oil in chemical-family totals only.

What the Göbel trials did

There are two papers that people cite, and they are different experiments.

Göbel, Schmidt and Soyka, 1994, in Cephalalgia, studied 32 healthy volunteers in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover design. Four preparations were applied with a small sponge to the forehead and temples, and the outcomes were neurophysiological, psychological and experimental pain-sensitivity measures. A peppermint oil and ethanol preparation produced what the authors called a significant analgesic effect on headache-related pain sensitivity; a combination with eucalyptus oil improved cognitive performance with little effect on pain sensitivity. These were people without headaches, tested with laboratory pain stimuli. The abstract does not state the concentration.

Göbel and colleagues, 1996, in Der Nervenarzt (a German-language paper, read here as its abstract record), studied 41 patients aged 18 to 65 with tension-type headache over 164 attacks, in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover. The test product was 10% peppermint oil in ethanol, compared with placebo and with 1,000 mg of acetaminophen. The peppermint preparation reduced headache intensity compared with placebo from 15 minutes on, through the one-hour observation period; acetaminophen did too, and the two did not differ significantly. No adverse events were reported.

What those trials did not show matters as much:

NCCIH, May 2025 summarises the area briefly: peppermint oil applied to the skin "might" relieve tension headaches, and the evidence is limited. We take that wording as the current ceiling for what can be said, and we make no claim of our own.

Why those trials are not a guide to using ours

Three reasons, in order of weight.

  1. Concentration. By the arithmetic above, a 10% blend is five times our top figure. Our shop copy says to dilute to 0.5% to 2% in a carrier oil and patch test first. Our distillation page says to use "far less than you think you need".
  2. Location. Forehead and temples sit beside the eyes. Our copy says to keep the oil well away from the eyes. Menthol vapour from a strong blend near the eyes is a practical problem the trial abstracts do not discuss.
  3. Skin response. NCCIH, May 2025 lists rashes and irritation as side effects of skin use. We cannot tell you how a person with sensitive skin would react to a strong forehead application; a dermatologist or allergist can.

For anyone who still wants to use a diluted blend on the skin for its scent, our recommendation is the low end of our own range, 0.5% to 1%, because menthol irritates and peppermint is potent. That is a statement of how we use our own copy, not a headache protocol. For how to measure it, see how to dilute peppermint oil, and for where on the body people put blends and what each spot involves, where to apply peppermint oil.

Headaches that are not for a bottle at all

The NHS headache page separates ordinary headaches from ones that need people. It advises a GP visit if a headache is not getting better or is getting worse, or if you get headaches regularly. It says to ask for an urgent GP appointment or call NHS 111 for a headache with vision or eye problems, a headache brought on or worsened by coughing, sneezing, bending down or exercise, a headache with vomiting, a child's headache that is worsening or wakes them at night, or jaw pain when eating or a tender scalp. And it says to call 999 or go to A&E for a seizure, numbness or weakness in the body or face, sudden extreme pain, a head injury in the last three months, difficulty speaking, balancing or remembering, drowsiness or confusion, vision loss, a rash that does not fade under a glass, or a very high temperature with a stiff neck or sensitivity to bright lights.

That list is from a UK service and exists to be read before any home measure. In the United States the American Headache Society and your physician cover the same ground; we did not fetch their pages, so we cite only the NHS list here.

What we would do with this information

If you are shopping for a headache product, the answer is not in our shop. A pharmacist can talk through over-the-counter options, and a physician is the person for recurrent headaches. If you buy our oils for what they are sold for, a diffuser, a candle, a soap or a wintery home fragrance, the headache trials are not a reason to apply them to your head. Our oils are also not for children's foreheads: NCCIH says menthol should not be applied to the face of an infant or young child because it may negatively affect their breathing, and our distillation page says the same.

Related reading on this site: peppermint oil safety basics, peppermint oil and congestion for another menthol-sensation question, and an honest look at the claimed benefits.

The Göbel trials are worth knowing as published work, with their limits intact. They are not a recipe, and they do not describe our oils.

Peppermint Essential Oil bottle

Peppermint Essential Oil

Peppermint Essential Oil from our own shop, in sizes from 0.5 oz to bulk.

From $10.99

Shop Now →

Sources & Further Reading