How to Make Your Own Body Spray With Essential Oils
Learn how to make body spray with essential oils instead of buying the ones found in stores filled with toxic chemicals that target your hormones.
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DIY Homemade Body Spray
When I was younger I absolutely loved going to Bath and Body works and smelling everything. As I have gotten older, going into a store like that one gives me the biggest headache. So may smells all at once.
But my daughter loves it and wants to go all of the time. One of the things she loves is the body spray.
But why buy one at a store when you can make them at home? With a few ingredients most people have on hand and a couple essential oils, you can create your own personalized scent and get rid of one more thing in your life with chemicals.
Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about making your own body spray.
What is a Body Spray and How Does It Differ From Perfume.
What exactly is a body spray?
A body spray is typically a water or alcohol base liquid with some amounts of fragrance which gives it a lighter smell to the body.
Perfume on the other hand, is a higher mix of fragrance and a much lower mix of water or alcohol, giving it a much stronger scent for your body.
Body sprays are great for anyone who wants a light scent and not a heavy perfume scent. But, I especially find it perfect for preteens and teens who might be a little heavy handed in the spraying department while they are still learning.
Why Should You Make Your Own Body Spray?
Ever notice how sometimes a body spray or perfume from the store can give you a headache?
Thats because they are filled with chemicals that are harmful to our bodies and disrupt our hormones. Fragrance oils contain carcinogens and endocrine disrupters.
A carcinogen damages the genome or disrupts the cellular metabolic process. They are known to cause cancer.
I don’t know about you but that is enough for me to not want them near my body, let alone ON my body to breathe in all day long.
When using an essential oil on your body or clothes, it can bring many benefits. They are derived from plants and have therapeutic components that are good for us.
Did you know that breathing in the right essential oils can reduce stress, anxiety and depression? Sign me up!
What Supplies Will You Need to Make Your Own Body Spray
It is easy enough to make your own body spray once you have the right supplies.
First, you’ll need some kind of spray bottle to put your ingredients in. Many prefer glass or amber glass bottles because they work best when using essential oils.
However, if you want to make a spray to leave in your purse for instance you may want some plastic ones too. Just know that the plastic after a while will break down due to the essential oils.
Second, you might also want a funnel to help you get your liquids into the bottles. Some bottles come with the funnels and some you have to buy separately.
DIY Body Spray Ingredients
Basically two things make up our body spray. You need a liquid, such as water, and then you need a fragrance, which for us is essential oils. There are various liquids we can use in this recipe and the choice is up to you.
Water
Water can be used in this body spray recipe if you would like but it needs to be distilled water. Distilled water won’t grow bacteria as quickly as tap water.
But, it will eventual grow bacteria. Which is why some recipes blend the water with something else to help kill the bacteria like vitamin E.
Vodka
Vodka can be used as a liquid to make home made body spray. However, not just any vodka will do.
You may think, I’ll just use what I have on hand. Most people do not keep a vodka strong enough. It needs to be at least 60% alcohol.
Most vodkas, like Tito’s for instance, are only 40% and therefore won’t work. For me I feel like the stronger the better.
When I make my own homemade products I use Everclear which is not vodka but made in a similar way and is 95% alcohol by volume.
Vodka will help emulsify the essential oils in your homemade body spray, keep it bacteria free for much longer, and make the body spray scent last longer than water.
Rubbing Alcohol
Rubbing alcohol will work in our recipe for homemade body spray. Some people don’t love the smell but it dissipates quickly. Most people have it on hand so it’s easier for some people.
You still need to check the percentages on your rubbing alcohol. It still needs to be in the 90’s.
Witch Hazel
Witch hazel is a good one to use because it is good for your skin. I use witch hazel as an astringent all of the time and just like the rubbing alcohol, a lot of people keep witch hazel at home.
Many people prefer to use it because alcohol can be drying for skin. Witch hazel won’t.
Top, Middle, and Base Notes in Body Spray
Did you know that essential oils fall into categories known as notes? Basically that means that their note classification helps us understand which oils blend well together to create a fragrance that is balanced and lasts the longest together.
Essential oils have different evaporation lengths. This is important to know when creating a smell.
Top Notes
Top notes are the most volatile which is just a fancy way of saying they evaporate the quickest. You’ll usually smell these the most when the body spray is freshly applied.
Here’s a list f some of the more popular essential oil top notes for body sprays:
- Thyme
- Tea Tree
- Spearmint
- Peppermint
- Tangerine
- Lime
- Lemongrass
- Lemon
- Jasmine
- Grapefruit
- Eucalyptus
- Clary Sage
- Cinnamon
- Bergamont
- Basil
Middle Notes
Middle notes are important because they bind the top notes and the bottom notes together. Middle notes should take up the biggest portion of your Body Spray.
- Allspice
- Bergamont
- Black Pepper
- Cinnamon
- Clary Sage
- Roman Chamomile
- Citronella
- Clove bud
- Cypress
- Eucalyptus
- Geranium
- Ginger
- Jasmin
- lavender
- Parsley
- Peppermint
- Rosemary
- Tea Tree
- Ylang Ylang
Base Notes
Base notes will linger the longest. You want your base notes to make up about 20% of your body spray.
- Cedarwood
- Cinnamon
- Clove
- Frankincense
- Ginger
- Jasmin
- Myrrh
- Rose
- Sandalwood
- Spruce
- Vetiver
- Ylang Ylang
Basic Recipe for Body Spray with Essential Oils
I am going to give you a base recipe for your body spray and then give you 3 different blends that I have found that I like. Feel free to try them out or mix your own.
QUICK TIP!
It’s really not as easy as it seems to blend scents and make them smell good. Something I did to try out different blends was to put a few drops in a tiny glass bowl and use a toothpick to mix it and then smell.
Body Spray Base Recipe
The base recipe is two parts, the alcohol and the oils.
- 2 parts vodka ( or witch hazel if you prefer ) to 1 part distilled water. The size of your container you are using will determine how much. Fill about half way up with the alcohol of choice and then 1/4 way higher with the distilled water.
- Next is your essential oil blend. Typically you would want there to be 5 parts middle note, 3 parts top note and 2 parts base note.
This is not mandatory but just a suggestion. It is just something to keep in mind when trying to blend scents.
Also, keep in mind that my list of essential oils for each Top, Middle and Base notes is not complete. If you want to use an oil you do not see on the list, just google search where it would land.
Some essential oils are on more than one list as well and therefore you can use them for which ever you would like.
Directions
Fill your bottle half way with the alcohol of choice. Then fill the bottle until it is 3/4 full with the distilled water. Add oils. Put on lid and shake.
Remember the amount of everything depends on your bottle or sprayer you are using. So just keep in mind the bigger the bottle, the more essential oils.
If you have a 4 oz bottle for instance, you are probably going to want to double or triple the amount of each oil. So if you tripled them you would put 15 drops of grapefruit oil, 9 drops of lemon and 4 drops of lemon grass.
Citrus Blend
- 2 parts vodka
- 1 part distilled water
- 5 drops Grapefruit Oil
- 3 drops Lemon Oil
- 2 drops Lemongrass Oil
Follow the directions above.
Refreshing Blend
- 2 parts vodka
- 1 part distilled water
- 5 drops peppermint oil
- 3 drops eucalyptus oil
- 2 drops cinnamon oil
Follow the directions above.
Flower Blend
- 2 parts vodka or alcohol of choice
- 1 part distilled water
- 5 drops of Lavender
- 3 drops of Jasmine
- 2 drops of Rose
Follow the directions above.
Things to Know When Making Body Spray
- My recipes call for 2 parts alcohol to 1 part of distilled water. You can change this if you would like.
Really there is no wrong answer and it is all up to your personal preference. The reason I use 2 to 1 with alcohol being the bigger part is because the alcohol tends to dissipate faster than the water.
Since this is a body spray, the water will keep your skin or clothes wet for longer. I prefer to have the wetness go away quicker.
- You need to always do a test patch when working with new to you essential oils, especially directly on your skin. Personally, I like to spray the body spray on my clothes. This way the essential oil isn’t directly on my skin and I don’t need to worry about having a reaction on my skin. Never put essential oils close to eyes, nose or mouth.
- When pregnant there are several essential oils that are not good for you. Clary Sage oil for instance, can cause contractions. This is why I left it out of my recipes even though I love the scent. If pregnant you want to research every oil before using it in your house, on your clothes or on your body.
- We need to think about pets. Did you know some essential oils and poison to animals? Again, if you have a dog for instance, they are sensitive to Tea Tree Oil. Make sure if you have a pet to look up what oils can be harmful to them and avoid those if all possible. We do not want any more animals to suffer.
- Lastly, we need to think about storage. It’s always best to store in a cool, dark place. The type of container you use can help prolong the shelf life of homemade body spray. The darker the better because light can deteriorate the spray faster.
Which blend do you think will be your favorite?
If you’ve never made your own body spray before it can be quite a fun experience. Once you know what essential oils work best for you it’s really fun to start creating your own special body spray blend.
Let us know in the comment which blend sounds best. Have you found a combination of essential oils that you like for body spray? We’d love to hear about that in the comment section as well.
Hello dear
In this recipe can we use glycerine
Thank you
You can add a little glycerine to the water before you mix in your other ingredients.
Thank you so much
It’s a very helpful article I like the way you explain everything I’m so excited to start doing my body spray I ordered what I’m missing and definitely I’ll let you know my experience thank you
We’d love to hear back from you about your experience once you get things going.