DIY Natural Perfume Oils

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Priscilla at Salam Mama. If you’ve been thinking about making healthy changes in your life, take a peek at Priscilla’s blog at Salam Mama – Holistic Health, Sustainable Living, Mindful Parenting (http://www.SalamMama.com). Priscilla writes about baby steps that families can take toward healthier lifestyles. She is a homeschooling mom living with her husband, six kiddos, three parakeets, fourteen hens, and two roosters in the Shenandoah foothills just outside of DC.  Yup, you read that right. 🙂 Priscilla’s motto is “Start where you are!” Check out her website for lots of useful info! Keep reading below to find out how she makes Natural Perfume Oils.

Have you made a face recently? If you have, I’m guessing it was how you reacted to something you smelled. Smell can be a very powerful and emotional sense – eliciting physical reactions, bringing on specific memories, turning us on to our favorite meal, or turning us off to a poopy diaper.

I have a very strong sense of smell. Or would it be called a sensitive sense of smell? Either way, I often pick up on scents that others don’t. And certain ones can practically transport me to another place and time (Crayola crayons, anyone? Play-Doh, too!).

For many, many years, my signature perfume was Gap’s “Heaven.” Before heading out of the house for any reason, I used to douse myself with quite a few sprays from its pump. I overdid it not because I had become desensitized to the scent, but simply because I loved it.

Fortunately, those days are long gone. I’ve since learned that there can be a high price to pay for using perfumes and colognes. In fact, many of the chemicals contained in perfumes and colognes are suspected (or even known!) hormone disruptors or allergens. Many of these chemicals have not been tested for safety in personal care products. Some are even derived from petroleum.

For the purposes of this discussion, I’ll use the word ‘perfumes’ to refer to both perfumes and colognes.

Hormone Disruption

Chemicals that act like estrogen are commonly found in perfumes and can affect development and fertility. Exposure to higher estrogen is linked to a higher incidence of breast cancer.

Some of these chemicals (like parabens) are also associated with a wide range of health problems. These problems include damage to the liver, kidneys, lungs, and reproductive system – particularly the developing testes of prenatal and neonatal males. It’s estimated that 75-90% of perfumes contain parabens.

Allergens

Whether they touch your skin or you inhale their scent, perfumes can contain hundreds of unlabeled, toxic, and unregulated chemicals. These chemicals can trigger allergic reactions like headaches, rashes, and asthma attacks. Fragrances are considered to be among the top five known allergens.

So how can we avoid this toxic chemical mix? Just check a product’s label, right? If only it were that easy.

Fragrance is considered a trade secret, so companies don’t have to disclose what it contains. This secrecy is legal because of the Federal Fair Packaging and Labeling Act of 1973, which requires companies to list a cosmetic’s ingredients on its label – but explicitly exempts fragrance.

It’s important to note that while the word ‘fragrance’ can mean many things, ‘unscented’ is altogether misleading. An unscented product can contain fragrances that do nothing more than mask the odor of other chemicals it contains. We can forget about making an educated decision since we can’t even rely on full disclosure.

So what’s a girl (or guy!) to do? Mix a batch of essential oils to create your very own unique scent, of course!

DIY Natural Perfume

My favorite place to stock up on essential oils is Mountain Rose Herbs. Their selection of organic, fair-trade, and sustainable (from seed to shipping) products is hard to beat, in my opinion.

Below are some recipe ideas to get you started, depending on your mood and needs. Oh, and remember to pick up these inexpensive small roll-top glass bottles for your oils, too!

Woodland Natural Perfume — uplifting, grounding, meditative, comforting.

• 4 drops Spruce essential oil
• 2 drops organic Fir Needle essential oil
• 2 drops organic Cedarwood essential oil
• 1 drop organic Vetiver essential oil
• 1 drop organic Bergamot essential oil
• 1 tsp organic Jojoba Oil

Sweet Summer Natural Perfume — relaxing and warming, reminiscent of summer, with a lightly floral aroma complemented by hints of spice and cedar.

• 10 drops organic Lavender essential oil
• 5 drops organic Chamomile essential oil
• 4 drops organic Cardamom essential oil
• 1 drop organic Cedarwood essential oil
• 1 drop organic Geranium (Rose) essential oil
• 1 tsp organic Jojoba Oil

Refreshing Natural Perfume — rejuvenating, uplifting, energizing, and stimulating.

• 13 drops organic Peppermint essential oil
• 13 drops organic Rosemary essential oil
• 5 drops organic Lemon essential oil
• 5 drops organic Sage essential oil
• 5 drops organic Juniper Berry essential oil
• 1 tsp organic Jojoba Oil

Have you ever made natural perfume oils? Share your favorite essential oil combinations in the comments!