Saturday, June 29, 2013

Essential Saturday...#1 Peppermint Cooling Spray

First, let me tell you that I DO NOT SELL Essential Oils.

Of ANY KIND!

Fads come and fads go...remember bell bottoms?  The Locomotion?  Boy Bands?  Spiked hair with blond ends?  Jenkos jeans?  We could go on and on...

This is not one of those for me...

I am currently taking an aromatherapy class by Jessie Hawkins through Vintage Remedies.  This was recommended to me by a friend when I was looking around for more information about Essential Oils (EO's) and their role in our healthcare after dabbling with them since the 1980's.

I did NOT want to rely on a Multi-Level Marketing Company that has a bottom line reasoning.

I wanted to learn from a more neutral source.  I will be sharing some of the other sources as we go along as well.  I think you will enjoy them...

I will be showing you some ways that EO's have helped me and the family and saved us a TON of money to boot!

Traveling in a 5th wheel with my hubbs as he works in different cities throughout the country, we are having a GREAT time as you can probably tell if you have been reading along with my blog.

However, this traveling takes us away from our primary care physicians and leaves us to Minor Emergency Centers or Emergency Rooms for our medical needs between doctor visits.  This is expensive and not fully covered by our healthcare provider.

To be honest, I prefer to take more control of our (and our pet's) healthcare anyway.

So, with that rather lengthy explanation, I want to share a cool recipe that is really great in this 100 degree plus heat!

No, really!  It is to keep you cool!  :)


You'll need a spray bottle--I have an 8 oz aluminum bottle in the picture.  You can also use a plastic HDPE (#2) bottle like the one in the picture or a glass bottle.  Those little #1 bottles (PET) or other plastics are not really a great choice for use with EO's since the EO's tend to break the materials down and will cause failure of the bottle and leech into your blend.  And who likes leeches???  ;)

Anyway, for the 8 oz. bottle of Peppermint Cooling Spray:

Add 6-10 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil.  (in this recipe I used NOW brand EO that I had on hand and is very easy to find at GNC, on the net, in healthfood stores and is economical)
Fill the bottle up with Peppermint Hydrosol (which I bought here at Mountain Rose Herbs)
Shake before spraying.

Alternate:   You could also use a mixture of 1/2 bottom shelf vodka (i.e. CHEAP!) and 1/2 distilled water (or bottled at least) instead of the hydrosol.  You DO need something to make the oil and water mix which is what the hydrosol or vodka does.  And yes, if you prefer not to be seen buying vodka, you could use rubbing alcohol and water but that will change the scent.  The vodka doesn't add scent.

PLEASE don't use EO's straight from the bottle or use them orally except for VERY RARE instances!  They are strong and can cause side effects that may not be seen for several years, so use only in a 1%-2% solution--okay?

Spritz this on the bottoms of feet, arms, legs, anywhere that is hot as needed.  You will be cooled off by the liquid and that lovely sensation will continue due to the peppermint which has a very cooling effect.

During the current 100+ degree weather, we use this at night when we go to bed and are still warm from the day.  We spray ourselves down including the bottoms of our feet which cools us off and we sleep like a baby.

This is great during the day as well, when we have been outdoors and are sweaty and overly hot.

If you have a fever you can spray down to help reduce the fever and for you ladies out there who are having your own personal summers (you know what I mean...) this will really help.  Be sure to spray it on the back of your neck too!

Did I mention that I like the smell?  And that Peppermint scent is good for appetite control?  Bonus!

So, this is a very easy and useful little blend that we have found to be wonderful in our lives.

Have you used something similar to keep you cool?


3 comments:

  1. This is great info! I am going to try this. Thanks for posting it.

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  2. I did not know this...thanks.

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  3. Wow! Will be trying this, as my "personal summer" has been going on for months.

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