Creating your own linen spray is a very individualized endeavor. Depending on the time of year, your preference of scents and how experimental you’re feeling, your finished spray will come out unique to you.
As with any recipe utilizing the benefits of quality essential oils, the practice is more of an art than a science. However, that being said, there are some rules of thumb to keep in mind:
For applications that come into contact with your body, you want to use quality oils. The process of harvesting, extracting and distilling the essences of plants is highly scientific and consuming and that quality is reflected in the price, unfortunately. You can use cheaper “essential oils” found in box stores, however, those are often supplemented with non-clean ingredients and fillers. If you’re finding that you’re having a reaction to those oils or aren’t seeing the benefits of that particular EO, chances are that it’s actually more chemical than natural.
To protect the integrity of the natural elements of your recipes, aim for clean carrier oils, base and solubilizer, too. Carrier oils are more bulky oils like MCT coconut oil, jojoba, vegetable glycerin, vitamin E oil, almond oil, etc. Base can be filtered or distilled water. And a solubilizer helps to mix the oils and water and can be rubbing alcohol, witch hazel or vodka. (Pro tip: I like to use vodka in my eau de toilette blends.)
Keep a general idea of aspect ratios in mind:
4 oz. spray bottles use 15 - 20 drops for a single EO and no more than 30 drops when blending multiple essential oils
8 oz. spray bottles use 20 - 30 drops of essential oils
16 oz. spray bottles use 30 - 40 drops of essential oils
10 ml roller bottle use 15 drops max
5 ml roller bottle use 10 max
Fill the rest of the bottle with base, solubilizer and carrier oil if necessary.
Store your homemade essential oil concoctions in dark glass bottles like amber or cobalt. These dark glasses protect the essential oil from light, which breaks down its properties.
Let’s get to the fun part!
Fresh Linen Spray Ingredient and Materials List:
16 oz amber glass bottle with spray nozzle
20 drops lemon essential oil
20 drops lavender essential oil
2 tbsp rubbing alcohol
Filtered water
Classic scents tend to be my go-to. I’m a classic kinda girl!
For this recipe I’m using lavender and lemon. Lavender calms and lemon invigorates each on their own and when blended together, they create a bright, fresh and calming sensation.
Did you know some benefits of lavender include an improvement in concentration and mental acuity? Lavender also helps to reduce depression and increase relaxation.
Lemon can help reduce stress, anxiety and depression. The fragrance can promote clarity of thought and purpose. The scent of lemons can also induce relaxation.
Some people swear by only using distilled water as a base and strongly believe that’s the only real way to make your own homemade recipes with essential oils. However, I use filtered water. At least those harsh unknowns are filtered out of the water coming directly from the tap. One day I will learn how to distill water at home by myself and then tell you all about it, too!
You’ll also want to choose a solubilizer with the water in order to help the oil disperse. I don’t mind the scent of witch hazel and so I use that for my recipes for skin products. For this recipe, I chose to use rubbing alcohol. Mostly because I have, like, gallons of it. Rubbing alcohol works great and evaporates, so there’s no lingering scent and all you’re left with is the fresh lemon and lavender!
Once all of the ingredients are combined in the bottle, just give it a little shake before each use and start spraying!
