Essential Oils are like miracles in a bottle. There are a few of them I always take with me on the road and, I highly recommend you to travel with Essential Oils, to treat little ailments, to have a good night sleep or just to make your life a little bit sweeter.
Note 1: This post include affiliated links. If you decide to purchase one of the recommended items, I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Note 2: This post is for informational purpose only and does not constitute medical advice. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Have you read the above notes?! OK so let me tell you which Essential oils I take with me when travelling and how I use them!
Travel with Essential Oils: the basics
There are a few basics I always have with me:
- Eucalyptus Radiata Essential Oil
- Niaouli Essential Oil
- Tea Tree Essential Oil
- Peppermint Essential Oil
The Eucalyptus Radiata Essential Oil has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory qualities and can be used for healing wounds, burns and cuts and even insect bites. It is one of the best oil to use when having respiratory problems like a cold or a runny nose. I love using it as a room freshener especially in hotels with strong air-conditioning system. Eucalyptus essential oil has many other possible usage: it can be used to relieve join or muscle pain, as a mouthwash and even as a vermifuge!
The Niaouli Essential oil has analgesic properties. It helps reduce pain by inducing numbness. It is great to relieve headaches, migraines for example. It also is very effective as an expectorant and is commonly used with Eucalyptus to relieve symptoms from colds and flus including stuffy nose and fever. And it is an effective insect repellant!
The Tea Tree Essential Oil is another highly effective antibacterial oil. It is also a great cicatrisant and it can help neutralize or diminish scar marks. It can help fight dandruff or hair loss and is used to treat fungal infections. Apparently, you should never ingest Tea Tree Oil.
The combo usage of Eucalyptus / Niaouli and Tea Tree Essential Oils has helped me, int the past, recover from colds and sore throat, in no time.
The Peppermint Essential Oil is best know for its digestive properties. It can be used in case of nausea, stomach aches, bowel spasms…. and of course as breath freshener! Peppermint oil works great on respiratory problems and UTIs. It gives a boost to your immune system when most needed!
Travel with Essential Oils: the additional ones
The other Essential Oils I like to travel with are:
- Pine Essential Oil
- Sweet Orange or Bergamote Essential Oil
- Lavender Essential Oil
- Clove bud Essential Oil
The Pine Essential Oil is a mood booster! It creates an energized feeling and helps remove stress, kind of like if you were standing in a pine forest really! Like the other oils above, it is great for pain relief as it is anti-inflammatory and analgesic. It is also diuretic so a great help after a long flight or a long drive. It helps with pimples too!
The Sweet Orange and Bergamote Essential Oils have great properties too but I mostly use them because they smell good! They energize me and relax me at the same time, they make me feel at home when arriving in a hotel room.
The Lavender Essential Oil is best know for its relaxing effect. It can help you fall asleep like a baby. It is also a great bug repellent.
The Clove Bud Essential Oil is mostly use in dental care as it can relieve tooth haches within seconds. Better to have it with you than not!!
Travel with Essential Oils: How I use them
As a general rule, internal use of Essential Oils is rarely recommended. Essential Oils are highly concentrated and could cause serious damages if used internally, without the necessary expertise.
Additionally, Essential Oils are rarely used pure directly on the skin. To avoid skin being burnt, it is usually preferable to dilute the Essential Oil with what is called a carrier oil. I use coconut oil because I always have some with me. Almond oil is another one which is often used.
For a local treatment: I use a compress or massage. For a compress, I put 3 or 4 drops of the Essential Oil selected into a bowl of warm water and soak a compress into the bowl and apply to the desired area. The Essential Oil is not being diluted in the water, just dispersed. When travelling, I use the bathroom sink as a bowl, and the hand towel as a compress!
For a local massage, I put 1 drop of the Essential Oil I selected, into the equivalent of one tea spoon of coconut oil and then mix and massage away!
For a bug bite, I mix one drop of lavender oil to a tiny bit of coconut oil. Lavender oil does not burn my skin but I still mix it a bit especially since coconut oil also has anti-bacterial properties. You should try different oils to see what works for you. I can not use pure Tea Tree oil for example. I’ve tried and 2-3 days later, my skin was burnt.
For a general treatment: I usually run a bath and mix a maximum of 10 drops of the selected Essential Oil(s). For example, pine and lavender oils go very well together to provide relief from the effects of a long flight. In case of a bath, the oils are being absorbed through the skin and by inhalation. Don’t over do it.
For gargles: For a sore throat, I mix one drop of tea tree oil in one table spoon of coconut oil and whisk in my mouth. If I don’t have coconut oil, I use water but I really don’t like it as much. For toothache, I obviously use the clove bud oil instead but the process is the same.
Needless to say that you shouldn’t swallow!
For headaches: I use 1 or 2 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil and massage my temples and forehead. Again, I know I can use Peppermint without diluting it, but you need to try first. And be very careful to your eyes when using. Even after washing your hands 3-4 times, do not touch your eyes, ever!!
For a cold, I mix the strategies! I gargle Tea tree essential oil to kill the bacterias, I inhale Eucalyptus and Niaouli oils, I diffuse them everywhere, I spray Eucalyptus on my pillow… I go a bit crazy but within 24h, 48h if I’m unlucky, most symptoms are gone! This is clearly not a medical recommandation!! I do it because I know I can and I’ve tried and tested it before.
For a relaxing use: I have those little wooden sphere on a stick that you can insert directly in the Essential Oil bottle and which diffuses the oil. That’s really the most efficient way to diffuse the oil softly. I’m crazy but not enough to travel with a big electric diffuser! (no judgement if you do!!)
If I forgot to bring one of those sticks, I usually just put a few drops on a tissue and leave it next to where I’m seating. Not the most efficient, but efficient enough in a small room.
For freshening the air: I keep a little spray bottle in which I put a bit of water and a few drops of oils so I can spray around the hotel room if needed.
Bonus: How do I travel with my Essential Oils?
I have a little pouch like this one to carry them around of course! So cute, isn’t it?! Check it out, it has 9 little compartments!
OK, I admit, mine is a Hello Kitty pouch! I thought it looked perfect with my Florentine gilded tray!! (yeah look at the picture at the top again! and Pint it if you liked it!)
Share with your friends and spread the Essential Oils love!!
