DIY Mosquito Repellent Oil and Bug Bite Salve
There have been many wonderful evenings this past summer but now when the nights are coming earlier and earlier, the mosquitoes have become a few too many for my taste. Then it is a relief to have a little bottle of an all-natural mosquito repellent oil that keeps the little bloodsuckers away. Most mosquito repellents that you find in the stores contain substances that I at least prefer not to use on my skin. To mix up your own mosquito repellent oil is easy. Just drop some mosquito repellent essential oils in a carrier oil and you're good to go. There are several essential oils that have mosquito repellent properties. We are talking about oils that contain either para-menthane-3,8-diol, citral, citronellol, geraniol or eugenol. Some of these are, however, very volatile but the mosquito repellent property is prolonged when you mix the essential oil in a carrier oil. See the list of essential oils that have scientifically proven mosquito repellent properties. When mixing essential oils you should also consider blending oils that smell nice together and to include oils that represent top, base and middle note to get a more complete fragrance.
Usually, you realize that putting on some mosquito oil is a good idea when they are already swarming all around you and you can't take it any longer :) Then an effective bug bite salve can come in handy to quickly ease the itching.
Using oil and wax, a salve is easily mixed up. I chose to make my bug bite salve vegan by using carnauba wax instead of beeswax, but if you prefer beeswax, use the double amount. To get the itch-soothing effect you use oils and essential oils that have an anti-inflammatory effect on the skin. I used chamomile oil, which is an oil infused with anti-inflammatory German chamomile flowers and baobab oil that has a calming effect on the skin. If you don't have these oils you can, of course, use another carrier oil like good quality, cold-pressed rapeseed oil. I then added essential oils with anti-inflammatory and itch-soothing properties.
Mosquito Repellent Oil
10 ml roller bottle
8g Jojoba oil or some other carrier oil
5 drops Lemon eucalyptus EO (Eucalyptus citriodora) - top note. Mosquito repellent, anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving, antiseptic
1 drop Frankincense EO (Boswellia carterii) - base note that mixes well with lemon scents and lavender. Anti-inflammatory and healing properties.
2 drops Lavender EO (Lavendula angustifolia) - top/middle note. Mosquito repellent, itch-soothing and pain-relieving
2 drops Tea tree EO (Malaleuca alternifolia) - top note. Relieve bug bites, eases itching and mixes well with lemon eucalyptus and lavender
Bug Bite Salve
A small jar (20g)
8 g shea butter
3 g carnauba wax
5 g Baobab oil - anti-inflammatory
4 g Chamomille oil - oil infusion of german chamomile (Matricaria recutita) - anti-inflammatory
2 drops Lavender EO (Lavendula angustifolia) - top/middle note. Mosquito repellent, itch-soothing and pain-relieving
2 drops Frankincense EO (Boswellia carterii) - base note that mixes well with lavender. Anti-inflammatory and healing properties.
2 drops Tea tree essential oil EO (Malaleuca alternifolia) - top note that mixes well with lavender. Relieves bug bites, eases itching.
Melt the carnauba wax and shea butter in a double boiler. Remove from heat and add the baobab oil, chamomile oil and the essential oils. Stir until the mixture starts to thicken to avoid the shea butter getting grainy. Done!
Johanna