Natural Room Sprays

As fall is nearly upon us, it can be fun to spice up things around the house without dragging out boxes of decorations. A quick and easy way to customize your environment seasonally is through scent. In October, I like to use cinnamon and / or orange essential oils (EO).

Cinnamon Bark EO is typically extracted from the inner bark of the evergreen tree from Sri Lanka. It may help with digestive troubles and is believed to contain antibacterial, antiseptic, antiviral and antifungal properties. In a previous post, I provided a recipe for an anti-viral spray, just in time for flu season, with cinnamon bark EO. Although some reports indicate cinnamon bark EO may help control blood sugar levels in diabetics, I have not personally experienced such benefits (NOTE: if you’re new to my blog, I’ve had juvenile diabetes since childhood).  It has, however, been reported to be a potential aphrodisiac because it increases blood flow in the body.  In fact, several years ago, a study found that males who woke up to the smell of hot cinnamon buns baking in the oven were more likely to wake up…ahem…aroused (sorry guys, I don’t like providing TMI in my family-oriented forum!)

As for orange EO’s, there are numerous ones available, but blood orange EO is a happy scent! It comes from Italy and is cold pressed directly from the orange peel. In my opinion, it is a warm, uplifting, fruity citrus scent that provides anti-depressive benefits; and I recommend it for males who are dealing with grief. Blood Orange EO is also believed to contain antiseptic, aphrodisiac and digestive properties. Because it is in the citrus family, there are issues with photosensitivity, so don’t apply products with blood orange EO (or any citrus EO, for that matter) to your skin and then go out into the sun. It is recommended you wait at least 12 hours before sun exposure.

I’d like to share one of my favorite room scent recipes you can make yourself…

barbara-ann’s Fall Room Scent Spray:

1) In a 2-oz spay bottle, pour 1/2-oz of grain alcohol (or vodka)

2) Add 28 drops of cinammon bark EO and 28 drops of blood orange EO.  Shake vigorously to emulsify the EO’s.

3) Top off the bottle with distilled water and shake well.  I recommend waiting 24 hours for the EO’s to meld before you start using it.

4) Shake well before each use and spritz all over the house for a some happy fall flair!

Feel free to edit the recipe to customize the recipe with your own favorite EO’s, but don’t exceed 56 drops of EO’s per 2-oz bottle. I also recommend using no more than 4 EO’s per room spray. My aromatics instructor offers a great analogy: “When drawing with color crayons, a few colors look divine together, but the combination of 100’s of colors generates conflict and detracts from the art form…”

Enjoy in health:-)

barbara-ann