I hope everyone is having a good spring. I was in Winnipeg for a month but spring wasn’t quite there yet. I was attending the Massage Therapists Association of Manitoba for their spring conference. Showing off my products to the Therapists there and was an excellent event.
As spring is here now also means BUG season. Here in Alberta we get more mosquitoes and flies, other provinces get hornets, wasps, and big black flies. The message for all of them is Bug Off. Most essential oils will work on insects in general.
However, to advertise a product that is labelled as Bug or Insect repellant is against the government rules unless you have gone through stringent regulations with the Repellant Toxin Department not the Cosmetic department where my products are listed.
The Deet products put out by major manufacturers have the money to go through that procedure so they can list on their packaging that it will deter bugs and that you can put on your skin. However, I do not want to use those chemical products on my skin.
If you’re of like mind here is some information for the Natural goers to either create their own or what to look for in a Natural Outdoor Spray.
First off, you gotta like the smell. If its too herbally no one wants to smell that!
I use Cedarwood, Lavender, Cypress, Lemongrass and Tea Tree and many people have commented on the scent and the kids like it too. For the toddlers I would just spray their clothing as they may put their hands or feet in their mouth if they are in a stroller then before the child is placed in the stroller spray the unit down on the inside and on the exposed outside areas. If your only out for an hour any application of essential oil spray will suffice. Some oils are better than others. See the full list at the end of the newsletter.
Citronella has been banned by the Canadian Government for a number of years now, I was sent a letter from them informing me that there is a component called methyl eugenol in the citronella that has been linked to cancer. Mind you there is only a small amount but none the less I switched to Lemongrass has a more appealing smell and is also an inexpensive oil like Citronella.
The basics of making any spray is easy. Get the size of bottle you want 60, 120, 240 ml - the 500 ml gets to be too heavy and big to lug around with you unless you’re using on horses or cattle. Get the appropriate sprayer for the bottle you are buying. Glass sprayers are different fitting than the plastic bottles or aluminum. Then purchase an emulsifier something to bind the oils with the distilled water. If you leave that component out your essential oils sit on top of the water and you will not get the mixture correctly dispensed and it can clog up the sprayer. Your choice in emulsifiers is: Polysorbate 20 or 80, Solubizer, or more natural binder is Aloe Vera Gel (not the juice that you would drink but the gel used in cosmetic applications and for internal use).
I use Organic Aloe Vera Gel from Lily of the Valley which can be purchased on Amazon or at Community foods in Calgary or through a health food store.
Recipe 120 ml bottle
Cover the bottom of the bottle with your emulsifier no matter what the size.
Then add your essential oils, important to add them first before the water portion. So the oils will mix with the emulsifier at 3 % for adults and 1 % for kids under 8 and/ or pregnancy.
The amount of oils is 3 % in a 120 ml is 3.6 ml of essential oil in a 120 ml bottle that equates in drops to on average 25 drops per ml so 90 drops of a combination of oils.
I always use distilled water it has no minerals in it to mess things up. Tap water is not good especially in Calgary and surrounding areas because the higher calcium content. That will gum up your sprayer. Distilled water is at every grocery store for $2-3 a gallon and you can use it for household appliances like irons, diffusers, humidifiers, fountains or waterfalls.
There you have it. Here is a list for an Outdoor Spray: Cedarwood, Eucalyptus Lemon, Lavender, Lemongrass, Manuka, May Chang, Niaouli, Patchouli, Pine, Spearmint, and Tea Tree.
Peppermint is excellent to use outdoors to repel wasps, mice, and for tick removal.
Just note that I will be expanding my videos for DIY in the near future so check the site for DIY videos on your favorite products.