I don’t know about your but I love essential oils and as someone who has been practising aromatherapy for nearly 20 years, I love to take an essential oil first aid kit with me wherever I go. However, if like me you are choosing between oils and your holiday first aid packing is bulging at the seams, then I’ve got you covered.
As aromatherapy and essential oils are now back in fashion, I thought I would share the ones I think are essential for a summer holiday.
I appreciate that essential oils can be expensive, so if you can only get a few, I suggest sticking with numbers 1 and 2 on this list. This blog is assuming you are applying oils topically or diffusing them. Remember that you also need to dilute most oils with a carrier oil such as grapeseed, avocado seed, jojoba or fractionated coconut oil when applying to the skin.
Also check out the latin/botanical names before you buy an oil, this is important as the wrong variety may not have the same therapeutic effects and could even cause you issues.
So let’s look at my top oils for the summer:
1. Lavender (Lavender Augustifolia)
Lavender is my favourite all round oil and the only one that can be used neat in most people with minimum side effects. It can help with stings, bites, scratches and sunburn recovery. It can help relax you when travelling, especially if you are an anxious flyer (I love this study into lavender and orange essential oil reducing anxiety). It is also anti-bacterial and anti-viral, ver useful properties when breathing in recycled air in a plane.
In small quantities, it can help calm and relax you if you struggle to sleep at night. Lavender also keeps bugs away such as moths and can help deodorise smelly shoes in the summer (yep, that dreaded flip flop smell).
Lavender is probably the most versatile and under appreciated oil out there and for me it is an essential first oil purchase.
2. Peppermint (Menthe Piperita)
This is my second favourite oil for travelling. One of the thing that causes issues for many travellers is the dreaded tummy bug. Maybe you have mild food poisoning, or full on such as the dreaded Bali Belly or maybe you are constipated. Peppermint can help you out.
Peppermint when applied topically can also have a cooling effect on the skin, which is great in the stifling heat! It is also another great bug repellant.
If you have to drive a long way, inhaling peppermint essential oil can help with clarity and focus.
If you can only take two oils with you, those would be my preference. Want to know more about Essential Oils for Summer, then read on!
3. Roman Chamomile (Anthemis Nobilis or Chamaemelum Nobile)
This is another versatile oil, whilst not one of my favourites in terms of scent (you’ll find we all have different personal preferences with essential oils), it has many benefits. It is also a bit more expensive so not my first recommendation for your travel essential oil first aid kit.
Chamomile is a great relaxer, can help calm nerves when travelling and aid relaxation at night. It can also help soothe the skin if you get an bites. It is also a great one to keep in your travel first aid kits as it can help with so many ailments on holiday that you just don’t want to be discussing with the chemist. It has been used to help with strains, sprains, stress, headaches, nausea, PMS, heavy periods (dysmenorrhoea), cystitis, earaches and allergies.
It’s a great allrounder but again, must be diluted before application to the skin.
4. Frankincense (Boswellia Carterii)
This is one of my favourite oils. It is great for strains and sprains but also can help to calm and relax when feeling anxious. It is also very useful for inhaling, and is often used to help with respiratory issues such as asthma. We don’t know a lot about how the compounds in frankincense work, but it is one of my favourite around oils that can help with anxiety, inflammation and stress.
5. Geranium (Pelargonium Gaveolens / Pelargonium Asperum)
Apart from the fact it smells heavenly and is one of my favourite natural perfumes that blends so well with other oils, geranium has some useful therapeutic properties too. Have you ever gone on holiday only for that to be the time for your skin to decide its a great time to break out into holiday acne? Geranium can help. Feeling bloated after your flight or in general, geranium is used as a natural diuretic (helps move excess water).
It is a good oil for both feeling good, lifting the mood and helping with those horrible skin breakouts and other issues whilst on holiday. It is also used by many women for various hormonal issues so a great one for any kind of period problem.
Where To Get Essential Oils
Essential oils are often sold in natural health and beauty shops. If you’d like to support me and my business, you can purchase from my online shop here and support this blog (or even start up your own essential oil business).
Wherever, you choose to get your oils from, I hope you find them a useful addition to your holiday medicine cabinet and do check out my essential oils safety tips.
