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Why you should DIY essential oil spray
Well, why not? How much time have you spent in the grocery store aisle, smelling different room deodorizers, sprays, and plug-ins, only to find out two things, you didn’t find a scent you really cared for and now you have a headache.
Making your own spray gives you the freedom to create a variety of scents for your different needs and moods. You can customize sprays like lavender for bedtime or grapefruit and peppermint for the mornings.
And because they are oils, there is no worry of breathing in anything toxic. This is not the case with a traditional air freshener since the ingredients are usually unknown or difficult to pronounce.
What You Need to Make a DIY Essential Oil Spray
The materials needed for making your own spray are just a few and the how to make your own sprays are so easy, it makes a great DIY craft for you and your kids on a rainy day.
You can make your sprays with either distilled or filtered water or you can use witch hazel. Tap water may contain impurities that can impact the integrity of your oils. Witch hazel has properties that can help relieve skin of inflammation, irritation, help fight acne and provide skin protection.
If distilled or filtered water is unavailable, just boil tap water for 20 minutes and allow it to cool before making your sprays.
Aside from your oils and choice of dilution solution, all you need is a few small, glass spray bottles.
Peppermint Essential Oil Spray
Peppermint spray is a versatile, single oil spray. Peppermint is considered a stimulant so until you are sure how it affects you, avoid using it before bed.
Ingredients
2 ounces of water/witch hazel
10-20 drops of peppermint
Note: The number of drops of peppermint oil is a personal preference. High-quality peppermint oil is quite powerful so less is definitely more. Start with less and add till you find what works for you.
Directions
Put your desired number of drops of peppermint oil and fill the rest of the bottle with your choice of either water or witch hazel. Shake well. Be sure to store out of direct sunlight and heat.
How to Use
As a stimulant, it’s a gentle yet effective way to wake yourself up in the morning. You can also use this spray as a body spray to freshen up after exercising or you can use it as a breath spray to freshen up your breath.
Purification Essential Oil Spray
Purification blend essential oil is a blend of oils that most reputable essential oil manufacturers carry. Young Living’s blend consists of citronella, lavender, lemongrass, myrrh, rosemary, and tea tree oil. This blend helps purify the air in your home, car, or office.
Ingredients:
10-20 drops purification oil
1-ounce distilled water
1-ounce rubbing alcohol (or vodka)
This spray is helpful in the kitchen and bathroom to control odors as well as high-traffic living spaces.
Under the Weather Spray
Thieves essential oil blend is a powerful combination of clove, lemon, cinnamon bark, eucalyptus radiata, and rosemary essential oil.
Ingredients
10-20 drops of Thieves oil
1 ounce of distilled water
1 ounce of rubbing alcohol (or vodka)
Directions
Shake well and allow to sit for at least 15 minutes.
Spray on pillowcases and sheets before bed when illness has struck.
DIY Body Spray
A DIY body spray is great to have on the go and not as over-powering or as heavy as a cologne or perfume.
The ingredients for the following body spray are what we consider to be energy neutral meaning it does not smell too feminine or too masculine and anyone can wear it.
Ingredients
1 ounce of distilled water
½ ounce of witch hazel
½ ounce of vegetable glycerin (optional, does make the scent stay on the skin longer)
4 drops of grapefruit
Or
2 drops of lime and 2 drops of lemon (whichever citrus scent you prefer)
4 drops of peppermint
Alternative ingredient – If you are looking for more of cologne/perfume fragrance, add a couple of drops of sandalwood for a slight musk smell and to tone down the shocking notes of the citrus and peppermint.
Directions
Shake well before use. Spray three sprays into the air in front of you and walk through the mist. This prevents you from spraying oil directly onto your clothing.
Mosquito Repellant Spray
Below is the recipe from Wellnessmama.com that we really like. The recipe calls for 100 total drops but don’t let that scare you.
Because of the frequency, you will likely use on yourself and your family, it’s just easier to make a bigger batch. Feel free to scale down the recipe if you want to make a smaller bottle.
We suggest using a 16-ounce glass spray bottle for this oil.
Ingredients
30 drops of citronella
30 drops of geranium
20 drops of lavender
20 drops of lemon
10 drops of rosemary
1 tablespoon rubbing alcohol or vodka
½ cup of witch hazel
½ cup of distilled water (or vinegar)
1 teaspoon of vegetable glycerin (optional but does make the spray last longer)
Directions
- Place essential oils in a glass spray bottle. Add vodka or alcohol and shake well to combine.
- Pour in witch hazel and shake to combine.
- Add ½ tsp vegetable glycerin if using. This is not necessary but helps everything stay combined.
- Add water and shake again. Shake before each use as the oils and water will naturally separate some over time.
Keep in the bathroom to spray on after showering and before getting dressed or keep by the door for a quick spray before heading outside.
It is not recommended to keep your car or anywhere the bottle is going to be exposed to high heat and direct sun.
Lavender Oil Spray
Lavender essential oil seems to bring everyone to a place of calm and peace.
Some of lavender’s top properties such as antidepressant, relaxing, sedative, and antispasmodic make this an ideal spray for after school and during work.
Ingredients
1 ounce of distilled water
1 ounce of rubbing alcohol (or vodka)
10-20 drops of lavender essential oil
Directions
Add the drops, then the water, shake well to combine, and spray away!
We love this spray for pillowcases, blankets, and any stuffed animals that are ready to curl up for a restful night’s sleep.
DIY Shower Spray
Essential oil sprays for cleaning are an excellent alternative to the harsh chemicals in most household cleaning products.
I have found a couple of different recipes that work and have people singing their praises.
Don’t be afraid to try both as you never know what is going to work best depending on the type of material in your bathroom that you are cleaning as well as the water and products you are asking the cleaner to cut through.
Soap Scum Remover
Ingredients
2 cups of hot water
¼ – ½ cup Borax
8-10 drops of lemon essential oil
Directions
Add ingredients to a spray bottle and shake well. Spray windows, bath, or mirrors and wipe dry. Store in a cool dry place for 1-2 months.
Second Option
Ingredients
½ cup rubbing alcohol
1 cup water
8-10 drops peppermint essential oil
Directions
Mix and store in a spray bottle. Spray shower or tub and use a sponge to scrub away any soap soap scum.
Essential Oil Linen Spray
You can use the lavender spray from above for your linens if you want something simple before bed. Below is an alternative linen spray that has a fresh scent for all of your laundry!
Like the bug repellant recipe, this is a larger batch of essential oil spray because you are going to be using it on a higher volume of items and you don’t want to have to make it every time you do laundry.
Ingredients
24 drops of lavender
36 drops of lemon
30 drops of fir
30 drops of cypress
1 tablespoon vodka (or rubbing alcohol)
Filtered or distilled water
Directions
Put all essential oils in the bottle, followed by the alcohol and fill the remainder of the bottle with water and shake well.
Use this linen spray on laundered towels, sheets, and bathmats. This is also great for when the weather changes and you have to get your seasonal clothes out. While they are clean and don’t warrant washing, this spray is great for freshening up clothes that have been stored away.
Important Note for Sprays
If you are truly wanting the most out of your sprays, once you make your initial spray, allow it to sit for a minimum of 15 minutes to two hours. However, several essential oil pros recommend waiting 24 hours for your oils to fully integrate with the water and emulsifier.
How do you dilute essential oils?
Diluting your essential oils is something you will want to do in an effort to maximize each drop of your favorite oils. You can do this by either using a carrier oil or an emulsifier such as witch hazel or rubbing alchol.
How do I emulsify essential oils?
You typically need an emulsifier when you are making sprays. A high alcohol content such as rubbing alcohol or vodka is an inexpensive emulsifier to use for your essential oil room spray.
You do not need to use an emulsifier when you are using a carrier oil such as coconut oil.
Why glass bottles over plastic bottles?
Glass bottles preserve the integrity of the oils and the darker colored glass bottles (like blue or brown) help protect the oils from heat and light that are also contributors to the breaking down of essential oil properties.
I just want to say thank you for having all this great information in one place. I didn’t know the difference between carrier and emulsifier. Also I needed most of these recipes.
Again I greatly appreciate you.
Not a problem, you’re very welcome!
Thanks so much Jessica. This was great. I just wanted to clarify that I’ve got this right to make sure my sprays preserve well.
* Room sprays are half water, half vodka
* Body sprays are half water, half witch hazel OR
half water, 1/4 witch hazel, 1/4 veg glycerin
Just wondering if these body sprays need any alcohol to preserve it (eg.1 tablespoon)?
Some recipes I’ve seen ask for 1TBS of alcohol and I’m unsure when to use only 1TBS or when to fill half the bottle with alcohol? If you can help me clarify this mystery, I’d be super grateful 🙂
Thank you so much in advance. Have a gorgeous day!
Aaila 🙂
Hi Jessica, I have a question about carrier oils. It seems to me that if you are spraying liquids containing ‘oils’ on your clothing and household fabrics, they would leave oil stains and/or residue. Is this true? If not, how does that work? Thanks much for any insights.
Hi Cydney,
The recipes above do not contain carrier oils. Examples of carrier oils include coconut oil, jojoba oil, etc. Pure essential oils should not stain clothing or fabrics as they evaporate quickly and should not leave behind any stains as carrier oils usually do. Make sure you are using pure essential oils for these recipes that do not have any other additives, and you should not have a problem.
I hope this helps!