DIY Body Sprays with Essential Oils

I love the feeling of cool mist on my skin, especially when scented with flowers and citrus and earth. As a teenager, I collected bottles of perfume and reveled in the transformative magic that aroma inspires. Soft honeyed amber, light fruity florals, and spicy evergreen woods set the mood each morning before I adventured out into the world.

What I didn't know then was that these aromatic experiences I treasured so much...were actually synthetic. When I learned the truth about commercial perfumes and body sprays, I was heartbroken. For years, I had been spraying myself with potentially toxic petrochemicals, some of which are known allergens and hormone disruptors. Isn't it interesting that the ingredients aren't listed on all of those pretty bottles? Transparency is not the industry's forte it seems. 

I immediately abandoned designer fragrances and discovered a new passion for crafting my own perfumes with natural botanical extracts. With so many gorgeous organic essential oils and hydrosols being distilled or pressed from fruits, barks, flowers, resins, and other plant material, it's easy to become enchanted with the blending process. Plus, many of these ingredients also offer aromatherapeutic and skin care benefits. Creating beautiful fragrances that are perfect for you is a dreamy pursuit.       

DIY Body Sprays with Essential Oils

DIY Body Spray Basics

Supplies 

To begin this aroma journey, you'll need to stock up on a few supplies. Think of your perfumery ingredients as if they are a collection of paints. Like strokes of color on a canvas, it's fun to have a variety of scents to layer while blending, including several top, middle, and bottom notes. These essential oil kits are a wonderful way to get started. You'll also want a few bases, like organic hydrosols, organic witch hazel extract, or plain vodka. I really like to have little amber vials handy for making test blends and a cobalt blue bottle with mister top for the finished recipe.

Test Blend 

  1. To make a simple test blend, choose just 2 or 3 essential oils.
  2. Carefully drip a total of 10 drops into a small vial and take notes of the ratio (example: 5 drops of cistus, 3 drops of sandalwood, and 2 drops of lavender). Roll the bottle between your palms to combine.
  3. Take a whiff or use a cotton ball to allow the blend to develop.
  4. Smell again after an hour or two and then again the next day to experience the fragrance's arc. 
  5. You can also go simple and use just one essential oil instead of making a blend.

Formulate

Once you have an essential oil blend you love, it's time to make the body spray. The instructions below will yield two ounces of finished spray, but feel free to scale up or down to meet your needs!

Basic Essential Oil Body Spray Recipe

Makes about 2 ounces.

Ingredients

Directions

  1. In a 2 oz. glass bottle with mister, combine essential oil blend with vodka or 91% isopropyl alcohol and shake well to dilute. This will yield a 4% solution in which the oils are fully dissolved.
  2. Fill remainder of bottle with a hydrosol (for added fragrance) or witch hazel extract (for a neutral option). 
  3. Spritz on skin or hair as desired, shaking well before each use.

Pro Tip

  • When making aroma sprays at home, many fragrance lovers choose to simplify their recipes by using only a witch hazel/hydrosol base and up to 2% essential oils (use our dilution calculator to find your volumes of carrier and essential oils!). Since these solutions are not diluted with alcohol, they must be shaken very well before use to physically disperse the oil in the mixture, and they will have a shorter shelf life than a solution made with alcohol. 

DIY Body Sprays with Essential Oils

Body Spray Fragrance Inspirations

  • Sweet Orange Essential Oil + Cardamom Essential Oil + Fresh Ginger Essential Oil
  • Neroli Hydrosol + Australian Sandalwood Essential Oil
  • Ylang Ylang Hydrosol + Spearmint Essential Oil
  • Lime Hydrosol + Grapefruit Essential Oil
  • Atlas Cedarwood Essential Oil + Geranium Essential Oil + Fresh Ginger Essential Oil 

Enjoyed reading about DIY Body Sprays

Try Our DIY Ginger Citrus Body 

You might also enjoy:

Making body spray with essential oils and hydrosols

 


Topics: Aromatherapy, Natural Body Care, Recipes

The Mountain Rose Herbs Team

Written by The Mountain Rose Herbs Team on August 30, 2016

Over the last three decades, the Mountain Rose Herbs Team has created and recreated thousands of recipes. This article is the result of many of our staff's combined herbal expertise and passion for herbalism. We hope you enjoy these time-tested recipes.


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DIY Body Sprays with Essential Oils

I love the feeling of cool mist on my skin, especially when scented with flowers and citrus and earth. As a teenager, I collected bottles of perfume and reveled in the transformative magic that aroma inspires. Soft honeyed amber, light fruity florals, and spicy evergreen woods set the mood each morning before I adventured out into the world.

What I didn't know then was that these aromatic experiences I treasured so much...were actually synthetic. When I learned the truth about commercial perfumes and body sprays, I was heartbroken. For years, I had been spraying myself with potentially toxic petrochemicals, some of which are known allergens and hormone disruptors. Isn't it interesting that the ingredients aren't listed on all of those pretty bottles? Transparency is not the industry's forte it seems. 

I immediately abandoned designer fragrances and discovered a new passion for crafting my own perfumes with natural botanical extracts. With so many gorgeous organic essential oils and hydrosols being distilled or pressed from fruits, barks, flowers, resins, and other plant material, it's easy to become enchanted with the blending process. Plus, many of these ingredients also offer aromatherapeutic and skin care benefits. Creating beautiful fragrances that are perfect for you is a dreamy pursuit.       

DIY Body Sprays with Essential Oils

DIY Body Spray Basics

Supplies 

To begin this aroma journey, you'll need to stock up on a few supplies. Think of your perfumery ingredients as if they are a collection of paints. Like strokes of color on a canvas, it's fun to have a variety of scents to layer while blending, including several top, middle, and bottom notes. These essential oil kits are a wonderful way to get started. You'll also want a few bases, like organic hydrosols, organic witch hazel extract, or plain vodka. I really like to have little amber vials handy for making test blends and a cobalt blue bottle with mister top for the finished recipe.

Test Blend 

  1. To make a simple test blend, choose just 2 or 3 essential oils.
  2. Carefully drip a total of 10 drops into a small vial and take notes of the ratio (example: 5 drops of cistus, 3 drops of sandalwood, and 2 drops of lavender). Roll the bottle between your palms to combine.
  3. Take a whiff or use a cotton ball to allow the blend to develop.
  4. Smell again after an hour or two and then again the next day to experience the fragrance's arc. 
  5. You can also go simple and use just one essential oil instead of making a blend.

Formulate

Once you have an essential oil blend you love, it's time to make the body spray. The instructions below will yield two ounces of finished spray, but feel free to scale up or down to meet your needs!

Basic Essential Oil Body Spray Recipe

Makes about 2 ounces.

Ingredients

Directions

  1. In a 2 oz. glass bottle with mister, combine essential oil blend with vodka or 91% isopropyl alcohol and shake well to dilute. This will yield a 4% solution in which the oils are fully dissolved.
  2. Fill remainder of bottle with a hydrosol (for added fragrance) or witch hazel extract (for a neutral option). 
  3. Spritz on skin or hair as desired, shaking well before each use.

Pro Tip

  • When making aroma sprays at home, many fragrance lovers choose to simplify their recipes by using only a witch hazel/hydrosol base and up to 2% essential oils (use our dilution calculator to find your volumes of carrier and essential oils!). Since these solutions are not diluted with alcohol, they must be shaken very well before use to physically disperse the oil in the mixture, and they will have a shorter shelf life than a solution made with alcohol. 

DIY Body Sprays with Essential Oils

Body Spray Fragrance Inspirations

  • Sweet Orange Essential Oil + Cardamom Essential Oil + Fresh Ginger Essential Oil
  • Neroli Hydrosol + Australian Sandalwood Essential Oil
  • Ylang Ylang Hydrosol + Spearmint Essential Oil
  • Lime Hydrosol + Grapefruit Essential Oil
  • Atlas Cedarwood Essential Oil + Geranium Essential Oil + Fresh Ginger Essential Oil 

Enjoyed reading about DIY Body Sprays

Try Our DIY Ginger Citrus Body 

You might also enjoy:

Making body spray with essential oils and hydrosols

 


Topics: Aromatherapy, Natural Body Care, Recipes

The Mountain Rose Herbs Team

Written by The Mountain Rose Herbs Team on August 30, 2016

Over the last three decades, the Mountain Rose Herbs Team has created and recreated thousands of recipes. This article is the result of many of our staff's combined herbal expertise and passion for herbalism. We hope you enjoy these time-tested recipes.