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This is what I know, when I travel for work via an airplane and sleep in hotels my immunity level takes a hit. Between the stress of making a connecting flight, breathing in the stale airplane air and touching surfaces shared by many people my body is worn down. It is time to pull out my aromatherapy training and make a travel care package.
First on the agenda is what essential oils should be used. The key therapeutic components I want to focus on are boosting the immune system, destroying bacteria, stimulating white blood cells and calming the mind. The components that provide these should be high in d-limonene, a-phellandrene, b-caryophyllene, linalool, terpinen-4-ol, patchoulol, linalyl acetate and carvone.
Now that I know the chemistry behind what I need to make, let’s look at my collection of oils for the highest percentages: (This information comes from the GC-MC report…that is another blog topic all by itself.)
d-limonene: Sweet Orange, Rose Grapefruit, Elemi, Lime
a-phellandrene: Elemi, Angelic Root, Ravensara
b-caryophyllene: Black Pepper, Ylang Ylang, Cinnamon Leaf
linalool: Sweet Basil, Bergamot Mint, Clary Sage, Ho Wood, Lavender, Spike Lavender
terpinen-4-ol: Tea Tree, Sweet Marjoram, Plai
patchoulol: Patchouli
linalyl acetate: Clary Sage, Lavender
carvone: Bergamot Mint
I usually begin with the repeat oils on the list which seem to be Elemi, Bergamot Mint, Clary Sage and Lavender. Now that the science has been defined aroma, which is just as important as creating a blend, is next. If I don’t determine a good ratio between the oils it could be very unpleasant……and no matter how effective it is, I will not use it.
By using the drop-by-drop method taught by Aromahead Institute (www.aromahead.com) I begin working on the blend. Surprisingly enough an equal blend of the four oils with a drop of sweet orange (because I love it) and a drop of Cinnamon Leaf hits the spot. I really like it! (If you prefer a more medicine aroma a drop of Tea Tree could be added too)
Now that I have the blend, it is time to make the products. The first three that come to mind for this care package would be linen spray, hand sanitizer and a personal inhaler.
Product #1 – Personal Inhaler
This is the easiest to make, place 10-15 drops of the blend on the wick of the inhaler. Shake up and it is ready to use. To use this, throughout the day take some nice deep breaths with the inhaler in each nostril. Not only with this fight bacteria it gives me a nice pleasant moment to myself.
Product #2 – Hand Sanitizer
(This will involve math) The main ingredient could be any carrier oil or even distilled water if that is what you have. I am using aloe vera gel since I have that on hand. (It is not that green sticky stuff you buy for sunburns either) Next comes the safety and sustainability part of mixing essential oils. In the case of essential oils more is not better, actually the opposite. (I just might have found another blog idea). Common dilution ratio is for every 1 oz. of carrier you place 4-5 drops of essential oils. This means for my 2 oz. bottle I will add 8-10 drops of the blend made. Shake and it is ready to use. Place a couple drops on your hands, rub together until dry.
**If using distilled water, oils and water do not mix so make sure and shake very well before using.
Product #3 – Linen Spray
Typically the base for this is distilled water however in my case I do have some hydrosols in stock which I will use. This spray is going to be used mainly for my hotel pillows which means I am going to grab for the Lavender hydrosol for a nice calming blend. To be honest I can just put some hydrosol on the spray bottle and not add any essential oils and call it done. However I want to add a little extra anti-bacterial boost so I added one drop of tea tree essential oil. Since water and oil do not mix, make sure and shake well before using.
These products are not a complete guarantee I might not get a cold from this trip. Hopefully it will shorten the time because my immunity system is on high alert.
Last but not least, remember to pack the products. The liquid products go in a quart size bag for the carry-on luggage and the inhaler will be in my purse for quick access. I am just about ready to go……I wonder if the cats packed the rest of my luggage while I was working on this exercise?
Happy Blending, Jeanne
#cold #inhaler #linenspray #traveling #dropbydropmethod #handsanitizer