Essential Oils Essentials For Summer
Essential Oils Essentials For Summer
If you’ve been following along on our blog (check out our What Are Essential Oils? and Essential Oils You Need to Have On Hand blogs) or social media channels, you’ll know we LOVE essential oils. As a company that produces all-natural healing creams, it’s only natural that we’re drawn to the chemical-free, natural oils our products are based on.
The summer months are full of sun and outdoor fun, but they also come with their own unique set of challenges. Below, we’ve listed a few of those challenges, and the essential oils we find essential for the summer solutions:
Essential Oils For Bugs: Lemongrass + Peppermint
When the sun comes out to play, so do the bugs. Fortunately, essential oils offer a more natural, chemical-free solution, unlike most traditional mosquito repellent products that contain DEET (N,N-Diethyl-3methylbenzamide).
As a heavy-hitting oil, Lemongrass is an oil that bugs (especially in the Southeast United States) really hate. Closely connected to C. Nardus where the citronella mosquito repellent was derived, this essential oil has proven to be effective in keeping the mosquitoes at bay by in and of itself.
Peppermint (a smell that conjures up thoughts of Christmas time) has a very distinctive smell, which is one that bugs can’t tolerate.
Essential Oils for Bug Bites: Tea Tree + Lavender
While repelling the bugs in the first place is preferable, damage control for after bites happen is sometimes required. When used correctly, essential oils can target inflammation and itchiness, essentially taking the misery out of bug bites. This is a game changer, as persistent scratching can cause open wounds, which can eventually get infected.
Tea Tree may help prevent bacteria and other microbes within a bug bite and may act as a natural antihistamine.
While Lavender is known for its calming effects (a benefit on its own especially if the patient is an upset child who can’t stop scratching), it is also known to help reduce itchiness that comes from bug bites and stings.
Essential Oils for Sunburn: Peppermint + Lavender
What starts out as fun in the sun can end in misery with red burns and blisters.
Peppermint, as a natural cooling agent, contains menthol and can help numb the pain induced by the sunburn. It also immediately cools and hydrates the burn areas.
Helpful lavender properties for treating sunburn include the antifungal, antibacterial and carminative properties.
Essential Oil Spray to Combat the Heat: Peppermint + Water
The name of the game during summer months is “Beat the Heat,” and for most that looks like staying indoors with the air conditioning on full blast. When that’s not an option and you have (or want) to be outside, there is a natural solution.
Peppermint contains menthol, which can trick brain receptors into thinking your body is cooler than it actually is. Plus, it helps you relax, helps headaches and reduces muscle fatigue.
Water, while not an essential oil, adding it helps hydrate your skin. And don’t forget to drink plenty of water!
More Tips for Using Essential Oils
For more essential oil summer tips, be sure to check out these tips from Annie Waugh Boerner, LMT, IMC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cePOVehj32Y
