Ah, the great indoors. While you're staying at home, it’s a good opportunity to work your way through the list of things you’ve left on the backburner. Or, you can relax with films and snacks - it’s entirely up to you. But if completing that to-do list is more your style, this collection of our favourite essential oil DIYs should keep you busy. Plus, you can find most of the resources in your home or garden!
Customise these recipes by using oils that help you feel calm, relaxed, or uplifted. Scent is one of our strongest senses, so now’s the time to create a peaceful atmosphere at home.
Aromatherapy bath salts
A bath in the morning sounds like a distant dream when you’re working the nine to five. With more time to spare, take the time to indulge a little more in your morning routine. For this project, you’ll need a clean jar, some Himalayan pink salt, and your favourite essential oils.
Fill the jar three-quarters of the way with pink salt. Any jar will do, just make sure you leave a little room in there. Add five drops of each essential oil - try to use a base, middle, and top note from a well-rounded fragrance. If you’re feeling lavish, a handful of dried flower petals wouldn’t go amiss. Shake the jar up so all of the ingredients are mixed together. Add a handful of salts to your bath, and give yourself a pat on the back for making them from scratch.
Natural room spray
One cup of distilled water, a spray bottle, and 10 drops of essential oil are all that’s needed for this simple room spray. There’s no wrong way to do this one - use a single essential oil, or a blend of up to three for a more sophisticated scent. Combine all the ingredients and give the bottle a good shake. This scent spray doubles up as a linen refresher too - just make sure you use clear oils that won’t stain your fabrics!
Essential oil jewellery
Take a beaded bracelet or necklace, and start by adding one drop of essential oil to each bead. Leave them to dry overnight, so that the fragrance can settle into the wood. If you want a stronger fragrance, simply repeat the process. The lasting power will depend on which oils you use, but you can keep topping up the beads whenever the scent fades.
Fragranced sugar scrub
Similar to the bath salts recipe, you’ll need an empty jar, sugar, and some essential oils. Fill the jar ¾ of the way with sugar - here’s a tip - granulated sugar gives a more intense exfoliation, and caster sugar provides a smooth, buffing scrub. Top the jar up with your favourite carrier oil - almond is great for all skin types - and give the ingredients a good shake. The consistency should be fairly dry, but mouldable in your hands. Add some dried flower petals in the mix to jazz things up.
Bespoke massage oil
Combine 1 drop of essential oil per teaspoon of carrier oil. You can choose any carrier oil and essential oil, just make sure you give them a good shake so that the essential oil is fully diluted in the base oil. To get you started, here’s a couple of fragrance blends -
- Almond oil with jasmine and rose absolute oil.
- Jojoba oil with lavender and patchouli essential oil.
- Grapeseed oil with mandarin essential oil.
All that’s left is to find a temporary masseuse at home!
Healthy hair mask
Start with your two favourite carrier oils. Coconut oil combined with avocado oil is an excellent place to start if you’re unsure. Melt together three equal parts; your two carrier oils and one part raw shea butter. Skip the shea if you don’t have some to hand, and add your essential oils for fragrance.
If you’re using shea butter, once everything’s melted together, add a few drops of essential oil. Allow to cool and apply to the whole head. Leave it on overnight and rinse in the morning for the silkiest hair ever.
Dried fragrance flowers
Separate your dried flowers into small dishes, and add a different essential oil to each. The more drops you add, the stronger the scent, so experiment with quantities. Once the oils have absorbed, you can put your dried flowers into organza bags or pots around the house, in your wardrobe, or in your car.
We’re facing new challenges every day, and staying at home will help us to support our healthcare service and each other. Let us know in the comments if there’s something you’d like to read about, and we’ll make sure there’s plenty of content to entertain you! And if you try our DIY ideas, we’d LOVE to see your photos on social media.