Essential oils are some of the best natural supplies to keep in your home. Besides being incredibly versatile, easy to use and easy to find, these potent natural substances can improve health in so many different ways. From sleep and stress to skin and hair care, essential oils can positively impact almost every aspect of our well-being.
With spring now far behind us and the summer season blooming, now’s a great time to take stock of what you have and add to your collection others that will serve you well during these months. Here’s a list of essential oils to help you smoothly navigate summer:
1. Spearmint
With its crisp, clean and refreshing aroma, spearmint essential oil is perfect for summer. It has has natural antiseptic properties, making it ideal for soothing wounds and scratches from hiking trips or outdoor play sessions. Spearmint also serves as a natural insecticide, so it can help keep bug bites at bay.
Spearmint can be applied topically when diluted with a carrier oil (such as coconut oil), or it can be mixed with water in a spray bottle and sprayed outdoors to repel pests.
2. Lemon
Lemon is a great essential oil for cleaning and can be used on almost any surface. Simply add a few drops to a spray bottle filled with water and keep it handy for wiping down tables, counter tops, cutting boards and appliances. Bonus: lemon essential oil also acts as a natural pest repellant, helping to keep away fruit flies and other bugs when you’re chopping fresh fruits and veggies.
For even greater bug protection (think mosquitos buzzing around your porch or patio), add a few drops of the oil to a jar of liquid coconut oil and place it on a table. Not only will it keep pests away, it will smell lovely as well.
3. Orange
Like lemon oil, orange essential oil is another citrus option that acts as a repellent and can be used both indoors and outdoors to combat insects and spread a sweet, refreshing and pleasant aroma.
Beyond that, orange oil is thought to have mood lifting, anti-stress and anti-inflammatory properties. If you’re suffering from muscle pain, knee pain or other aches, try massaging it (mixed into a carrier oil like coconut or almond oil) into affected areas.
4. Grapefruit
Grapefruit essential oil has natural anti-inflammatory benefits as well. It can be applied to sore muscles or joints or to wounds, cuts, scratches or scrapes (just be sure to dilute it with a carrier oil to avoid sting).
Grapefruit oil is also a nice addition to your natural beauty routine. To use it as a natural cleanser, simply mix a few drops of grapefruit oil with some coconut oil and apply with some warm water as a gentle, effective way to remove makeup off at the end of the day.
5. Lime
Want to create a unique summertime scent in your home or at an outdoor party? Lime essential oil may be just the aroma you’re looking for! Again, add a few drops to a jar or container of liquid coconut oil, tie on a festive ribbon and set out the jars on tables for fun, tropical ambiance.
Lime oil also can be used (just like lemon, orange or grapefruit oil) as a pest repellent. Applied (with a carrier oil) topically, it’s a good good headache reliever and mood booster, too. Lastly, like lemon oil, it simply can be added to a spray bottle of water and used as an all-purpose cleaner.
6. Geranium
The summer season often brings changes in schedules, upsets in sleep (affecting your natural circadian rhythm) or, for some, struggles with mood (yes, summer depression, just like winter depression, can happen!).
Geranium oil – a natural stress reliever and mood booster – can be a great help here. Besides being uplifting, it’s also well-known for helping to balance hormones (and is commonly used in candles and beauty products targeted toward women for this reason!).
To use geranium oil: add a few drops to a filled water bottle to use as a room spray, add it to your diffuser for aromatherapy benefits or combine it with a carrier oil and apply directly to sore muscles at the end of a long day.
7. Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is one of the most popular essential oils and well known for its potent, almost medicinal scent. In the summertime, it can serve as a great antiseptic and antibacterial oil—perfect if you spend a lot of time outdoors where wounds, scratches, and other skin issues can occur.
It can also be mixed with your favorite natural shampoo to help relieve scalp build-up (thanks to its antibacterial properties), while naturally stimulating the scalp, as well.
8. Lavender
Soothing and relaxing, lavender essential oil is a must for summer, especially if you have trouble sleeping. It’s calming, soothing and works wonders to help you rest and unwind.
Try taking a warm bath or shower and apply a few drops of lavender oil to a washcloth to gently wipe down your skin.You can also spray a few drops of the oil on your pillowcase, just add a a few drops in a spray bottle with water. Or, try mixing it with coconut oil and apply it as a natural lotion before bed.
9. Clary sage
This amazing essential oil is one of the most well-rounded, multi-faceted essential oils that exists. Clary sage is said to have aphrodisiac, astringent and antibacterial properties. It’s also thought to aid in digestion, can be used as a natural deodorant and can be used to improve mood and reduce stress.
Like most essential oils, clary sage is very strong, so one or two drops goes a long way. You can use it to clean your home, use it in a diffuser or apply it as a natural wound healer. If you’d like to use it for digestive benefits, apply it with coconut oil and rub in a circular motion on your stomach right after a warm bath (optimally with Epsom salts) for added benefits.
10. Peppermint
Possibly one of the most well-loved essential oils of all is peppermint oil.It does so much more than making your home smell amazing; it’s also one of the best essential oils to use in the summer months due to its stimulating and cleansing benefits.
Peppermint oil can be used in a diffuser, applied with coconut oil as a natural muscle pain reliever, it can be used outdoors or inside to repel pests like any of these other oils, and it can be mixed into a natural shampoo to cleanse and stimulate the scalp.
Do you have a favorite essential oil that you love to keep on hand for the summer months? If so, why and what’s your favori te way to use it?
