Category Archives: essential oils

DIY all-natural, deet-free bug spray – Bugger off!

essential oils, oil

bug spray using essential oils all natural deet freeI know, I know, another DIY recipe (or as I call them, potion) for something, but I have oils, I have all-natural products right here in my home.  So, why not?   We recently went to Florida in January and got bitten alive – yep, in January.  Now I will not leave home without this spray.  For traveling, I will put this formula into bottles with a roller ball, so we can travel with the spray.   With all that is going in South America and now Florida, mosquitos are spreading some disease and illness. I’d rather be protected and have my children protected.   Deet and other chemicals are not for babies or kids, so making my own repellent is very attractive to me.  We are going to Texas in June (yep, June- hot and ack), and here is what may await us:   Zika Virus threats 

Recipe for all-natural big spray: You need-

  • 1 glass spray bottle – Mine is Cobalt Blue (see picture) – get yours by clicking here.
  • 3 ounces of witch hazel (liquid, not pads)
  • essential oils (become a member and get yours at 24% off here)–  12 drops of Citronella, 5 drops of thieves, 5 drops of peppermint, 5 drops of Purification, and 5 drops of Rosemary.  I like Citronella the best, and it is the star of this mixture, in my humble opinion.  The 2nd best oil is a Purification and Lemongrass combination if you have that in lieu of Citronella.
  • 1 oz or more of distilled or filtered water to fill the rest of the bottle

Recipe for all-natural bugger off oil: You need-

  • 2oz plastic bottles with lids (easiest to travel with as well, so you can transfer your mixture and take with you when you go).  They look like this:
  • In lieu of witch hazel, replace with 3 oz of sunflower oil or carrier oil of your choice (be careful re: allergies and suncare- do not use an oil that can leave the kids unprotected from the sun)
  • Same oils as above.

All natural deet free bug repellent spray and oilThat’s it!  I will report back after our Texas trip how it goes and how well it works.  I wish I had my insect repellent oils in FL with me, but alas, I cannot cry over dried and crusty insect bites now.

Must have Accessories for Essential oils:

*Disclaimer:  These statements are not FDA approved.  The statements made here are my own and not attributed to young living.  The experiences are real, and my own.  I received no compensation for this or other posts on essential oils.  I am a distributor of these products because I believe in them.

**If you want pure essential oils for this and other great things, don’t forget to read all my posts on Essential Oils, and get started on the starter kit.  It is a life-changing journey.

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DIY Deodorant without Baking Soda

consumer, essential oils, oil

Check out my DIY Deodorant post for all recipes

Deodorant using essential oils without baking powderI previously posted about making your own deodorant, and those recipes have worked out great! But, I promised a DIY Deodorant recipe without baking soda.   My daughter is reaching an age where she needs deodorant and I am so happy she can use this all-natural, homemade deodorant.

DIY deodorant ingredients using essential oils without baking sodaThe recipe is simple and yields one small container of deodorant.

What you need:

Melt the Coconut Oil, Shea Butter, and Beeswax on the stove.  I just melt it into a measuring cup for easier pouring, over low heat, stirring often.  Once melted, add in almond oil and vitamin E and arrowroot.  Stir, and remove from heat.  Add in the essential oils to your liking, and pour into a deodorant casing (be careful that it does not holes on the sides or it will fall through, OR into a jar, or container.

Since this was for my daughter, I put the mixture in a small container she can dip a popsicle stick into and apply to her underarms.  It’s easy to apply and melts when in contact with the skin, so work quickly when applying.  If you want to pour into deodorant casing, you can always wait until it thickens, pour in and immediately place on a tray in the freezer for quicker drying and less mess.  You can buy empty deodorant cases like the one shown here:

Accessories for your essential oils:

*Disclaimer:  These statements are not FDA approved.  The statements made here are my own and not attributed to young living.  The experiences are real, and my own.  I received no compensation for this or other posts on essential oils.  I am a distributor of these products because I believe in them.

**If you want pure essential oils for this and other great things, don’t forget to read all my posts on Essential Oils, and get started on the starter kit.  It is a life-changing journey.

DIY lip balm- simply divine!

consumer, essential oils, oil

2016-01-16-16.54.21.jpg.jpegI love this recipe posted by my friend Barb at momofftrack.com and used it as a base for making my first batch of tubes of lip balm.  I love it, and it keeps my chapped lips hydrated and moist upwards of 12 hours – no joke.

Here’s what you will need to make 12-13 tubes of this lip balm, but if you are using small jars or containers, I think those are better.  The tubes I had were narrow and it got a little messy.   You can get your lip balm tubes here:
Or your lip balm containers (small convenient jars) here:
You can add more to the recipe to make more, or account for small jars for lip balm jars:

  • 1/4 cup coconut oil (you can use pure or organic)
  • 2.5 tablespoons of beeswax (you can use yellow or white)  I got mine from Amazon:
  • 1 teaspoon vitamin E – best to use a capsule and crack it open
  • 2 teaspoons of shea butter (really brings moisture into the mix)
  • 18 drops of essential oil of choice, or if you choose two, make sure to put MORE drops of the less dominant oil and less of the other one.  For example, peppermint and spearmint are strong, so do 7-8 drops, and then if you are doing Lavender Mint, put in 10 drops of lavender and 6-7 of the mint.  The mint is just stronger.  My faves are:  Grapefruit-Lime, Lavender-Orange, or plain old Lavender (my fave) and what I made, added only 15 drops.  Get pure essential oils through my distributor link.
will initially look like this
the mixture will initially look like this

Melt the coconut oil first, and slowly add in the beeswax pellets.  They take the longest to melt, so I added it in slowly, and stirred.  I added in shea butter and the vitamin E last because it melts quickly.  Last, add the essential oils.

20160115_215648.jpg
final melted liquid- Warning: It’s hot!

It worked out great melting it all over low heat, but got messy pouring into the skinny tubes, so if you can use a small beaker for pouring, or rubber band the tubes together in a glass container (easier to clean), and then pour it all in, that is definitely less messy.  Or, better yet, I recommend using small round containers for lip balm, and not a tube or stick.  This stuff gets hard quickly, so work quickly. Put the covers on the tubes, and you can place  a sticker on the side of the tubes, or ribbon, but I prefer to just keep them as is.

The girls each have their own now, and with this dry weather in Colorado, I love that they are using all-natural ingredients to keep their lips from getting chapped. Happy Winter!

*Disclaimer:  These statements are not FDA approved.  The statements made here are my own and not attributed to young living.  The experiences are real, and my own.  I received no compensation for this or other posts on essential oils.  I am a distributor of these products because I believe in them.

**If you want pure essential oils for this and other great things, don’t forget to read all my posts on Essential Oils, and get started on the starter kit.  It is a life-changing journey.

DIY hair detangler using essential oils

children, consumer, essential oils, oil,

My kiimageds wake up with bird’s nests and scream and holler when we try to comb their hair the next morning.  I got ideas for this recipe and then modified it to work for us.  It is a great, all-natural recipe for no-tear de-tangling of the kids’ hair and mine.  🙂   You can substitute any of these ingredients but make sure to add in rosemary and tea tree oil because those are known to repel lice too, so get two potions in one here.  Make sure to check out the lice spray recipe too, so you can decide if you want to combine them into one.

I should caveat that I make mine slightly oily so their hair will be oily, but you can substitute almond, coconut and vitamin E oil with conditioner or witch hazel or just plain water.   I add 1 teaspoon of Almond oil and Vitamin E, plus 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and melt these to add into water. I used a glass spray bottle as seen here from Amazon (affiliate link):

These spray out and have a protective stop (you can put back on to travel with them), so it is perfect for a detangler or the lice spray. I filled the remaining bottle with water, and added these essential oils:  3 drops of Ylang Ylang, 3 drops of Tea tree, 2 drops of Rosemary, 3 drops of Lavender for a nice scent, and 3 drops of Cedarwood (prevents hair loss too).    Learn how to get 24% off your essential oils and your very own starter kit with 10 oils!   Shake it up, and it is ready.  Shake before each use.

2016-01-09-16.07.28.jpg.jpegIt’s simple, smells good, and y2016-01-09-16.06.41.jpg.jpegou can see the before/after results here.  Also, a friend recommended a satin pillowcase to help prevent tangled hair too.  But I will still use this spray because it helps me style the kids’ hair and it is all natural and chemical-free.  Their hair washes more smoothly and just looks nicer.   Plus, for us, I grew up being told oils are good for the hair.  So, we like it with a little oil. Happy de-tangling!

  Accessories for your oils:

*Disclaimer:  These statements are not FDA approved.  The statements made here are my own and not attributed to young living.  The experiences are real, and my own.  I received no compensation for this or other posts on essential oils.  I am a distributor of these products because I believe in them.

**If you want pure essential oils for this and other great things, don’t forget to read all my posts on Essential Oils, and get started on the starter kit.  It is a life-changing journey.

DIY Fragrance Stones for Essential Oils

consumer, essential oils, home, life, oil

I got this recipe from my friend Barb’s blog, Mom Off Track, and I have to give her and Sarah all the credit.  Sarah blogs at Moose and Tater and has some amazing posts and recipes for essentials too.  I got the idea and recipe from them and I use these stones for so many things.  Now that I use essential oils, I find them invaluable to have in the house and on all the trips I go on, so wanted to share here.

2015-12-24-21.46.27.jpg.jpegFragrance Stones are a must to have around any home along with essential oils, of course!  I use my stones in the garbage can, the washer, the garbage disposal, and for a bath when you are on the road and don’t have bath salts.  I love my fragrance stone when showering too — so great when you are feeling under the weather to put a drop of Eucalyptus and a drop of Peppermint and just breathe it all in!   I do this for the kids too when they are sniffling.  It works, and it’s so simple to make fragrance stones.  You can do this!  I promise.

  1.  Buy or get a silicone mold – it will not work with metal ones.  I got mine on amazon, but others have reported getting them at Michael’s or other craft stores.2015-12-24-21.42.46.jpg.jpeg
  2. Here is the recipe (makes about 25-30 small stones as seen in my picture) – double or triple it if you want more: 1/4 cup water to 1 cup of baking soda.  Mix it together by hand and make sure it is NOT runny or watery or they will break apart and crumble. You can even add water as you go so you do not add in too much. The drier the better.20151224_173058.jpg3. Place molds in a preheated oven (400 degrees) for about 25 minutes, and pull them out of the molds after cooled.  These make great gifts too with a bottle of essential oil.  I love, love my fragrance stones and give them out to my friends too!

2015-12-24-21.48.42.jpg.jpegUses for Fragrance Stones:  Put your favorite oils on these stones and use as you wish.  Here are some suggestions:

  1. Place one in your garbage can with purification essential oil and lemon (one drop each).
  2. Place one in your washer machine when it stinks to clean it- place 2 drops of purification on the stone,
  3. When I had a particularly difficult garbage disposal smell, I put lemon, peppermint and purification (1 drop each) and let it dissolve in there with hot water.
  4. You can put one stone in your car to get rid of a hard to find or get rid of an odor– use lavender and purification.
  5. You can put in stinky shoes and remove before wear, but my favorite uses are to bathe with them to get a good smell in the morning, or just wake up.  I used it in the kids’ steam shower when they were sniffling.  The best oils for colds are Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Wintergreen, and Lemon combo, but I think Eucalyptus can do the great job alone too.
  6. I like to take these on travel with me and put them in baths to relax or unwind. One drop of Lavender, and one of stress away and you are guaranteed a good night’s sleep in a loud hotel room.*

I am so glad Barb and Sarah introduced me to fragrance stones because they are wonderful and I love to have them on hand always.  I also give them away at craft events.  I hope you will find them useful too!

*Disclaimer:  These statements are not FDA approved.  The statements made here are my own and not attributed to young living.  The experiences are real, and my own.  I received no compensation for this or other posts on essential oils.  I am a distributor of these products because I believe in them.

**If you want pure essential oils for this and other great things, don’t forget to read all my posts on Essential Oils, and get started on the starter kit.  It is a life-changing journey.