Soothing After-Sun Spray

After a long day in the sun, treat your skin to this Soothing After-Sun Spray made with essential oils! You can even use it while you are outside as a cooling spray to help keep your skin cool.

• Servings: Yield=8 oz. (240 ml)
• Time: 5 minutes active
• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients & Supplies:

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) aloe vera juice
• 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) Fractionated Coconut Oil
• 1/2 tsp. (2.5 ml) Vitamin E Oil
• 5 drops lavender essential oil
• 5 drops melaleuca essential oil
• 5 drops roman chamomile essential oil (can substitute with peppermint essential oil to have a more cooling effect)
• Distilled water
• 8 oz. glass or plastic spray bottle

Instructions:

1. Pour aloe vera juice, fractionated coconut oil, vitamin E oil, and essential oils into the 8 oz. spray bottle. Screw the lid on, and shake to combine.
2. Fill the rest of the bottle up with distilled water, and shake again.
3. To use, shake a little, then spray over skin as needed. Avoid spraying in the eyes or ears.

Homemade Body Balm

It is always good to have a balm on hand in your home to soothe your skin. This balm uses essential oils that are known to support the skin. Lavender, melaleuca, and frankincense all have antiseptic properties. Lavender is also known for its antimicrobial properties and its analgesic (pain-relieving) abilities. Additionally, melaleuca is antibacterial.

This balm goes a long way. It doesn’t take a lot to soothe your skin. The recipe makes 6 oz. of balm. Put it in our 2 oz. glass salve containers. Keep one at home, one in a tote for on-the-go, and give the third to a friend.  As an alternative, you could host a make-and-take class and send your attendees home with their own 1/4 oz. salve jar of balm.

This body balm will become something that you love and use on a regular basis. Try this recipe today, and start feeling the benefits.

• Time: 10 minutes active
• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients:

• 4 Tbsp. Beeswax Pellets
• 1/2 cup Virgin Organic Coconut Oil
• 15 drops melaleuca essential oil
• 12 drops frankincense essential oil
• 10 drops lavender essential oil
• 1 tablespoon witch hazel
• 3 Glass Salve Containers (2 oz. size)

Instructions:

1. Melt the beeswax and coconut oil together in a double boiler.
2. Once the beeswax and coconut oil have melted together, carefully remove from heat. Slowly add the melaleuca, frankincense, and lavender essential oils.
3. Slowly add the witch hazel to the mixture, using a hand blender to mix it in. Blend on high for a few seconds until the cream is well incorporated.
4. Spoon the cooled cream into sealable glass containers, and it’s ready to use. It should go on smooth, and you can expect a more waxy and balm-like texture. To avoid contaminating the cream, try not to touch it directly with your hands; use a cotton swab or clean tissue to apply it to skin. This keeps any stray bacteria that might be on your hands out of your helpful cream.

(Information on this page is from the Reference Guide for Essential Oils by Connie and Alan Higley, 2014 Edition. See “Frankincense” (p. 76),  “Lavender” (pp. 88–89),  and “Melaleuca (Tea Tree)” (p. 96) in the Single Oils section.)

Makeup Brush Cleaner with Essential Oils

This all-natural makeup brush cleaner is effective at cleaning your brushes and leaves the bristles moisturized. Not only do the essential oils in this recipe leave a lovely scent on your brushes, but they are also great for your skin!

Makeup Brush Cleaner

• Time: 5–10 minutes active; 8 hours inactive
• Difficulty: Moderate
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Ingredients:

• Shot Glasses or small glass bowls
• Fractionated Coconut Oil
• 1–2 drops melaleuca (tea tree) essential oil
• 1–2 drops rosemary essential oil
• 1–2 drops grapefruit essential oil
• Castile Soap
• Running water
• Paper towels

Instructions:

1. Pour a little Fractionated Coconut Oil into a Shot Glass. Add essential oils, and stir to combine.
2. Pour a little Castile Soap into another Shot Glass.
3. Swirl your makeup brushes in the oil solution until you see the makeup stored in the brush start to come out (about 15–30 seconds). Rub against the palm of your hand or a paper towel to agitate it a little and loosen the makeup. Keep the bristles pointed down.
4. Rinse the brush under warm running water. Gently squeeze the brush bristles until the water runs clear. Note: Make sure to point the bristles down during this whole process. If tipped with the bristles up, the oils and water may loosen the glue that holds the bristles to the brush and shorten the life of your brushes.
5. Swirl the brush in the Castile Soap for 15 seconds, and rinse again with warm water. This helps remove the oils from the brush.
6. Gently squeeze all liquid from the brush, and hang your brushes to dry (bristles pointed down) or let dry flat on a towel.

Essential Oil Spotlight: Tea Tree

Tea tree essential oil is steam distilled from the leaves of Melaleuca alternifolia, a small tree of the myrtle family.

Historically, the leaves of Melaleuca alternifolia were used to heal cuts, wounds, and skin infections.

Today, tea tree essential oil is commonly used to help support the body when dealing with acne, allergies, aneurysm, bacterial infections, boils, candida, canker sores, cavities, chicken pox, cold sores, cuts, dermatitis, ear infection, gum disease, hepatitis, infection, inflammation, lice, mumps, pink eye, rashes, ringworm, shock, sore throat, sunburn, tonsillitis, viral infections, warts, and more.

In French medicine, tea tree is commonly used to help with athlete’s foot, bronchitis, colds, coughs, diarrhea, flu, gum disease, and sore throat.

Aromatically, tea tree is said to promote cleansing and purity.

Tea tree is known to be analgesic, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-infectious, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiparasitic, strongly antiseptic, antiviral, decongestant, digestive, expectorant, immune stimulant, insecticidal, neurotonic, and tissue regenerative.

How have you used tea tree essential oil? Feel free to comment below!

 

Source: Reference Guide for Essential Oils, 2014 edition, p 96.