It has been a couple months now, but I kept forgetting to post about it – but now I remembered. I am not an expert at essential oils. I don’t think to use them all the time for everything. I know there are people who use them for everything. I think that is great. I do think to use them sometimes, but not all the time for everything. And it has been months since I used lavender oil and coconut oil to soothe a burn. In August when I went to Santa Cruz, it was overcast on my side of the hill, so I didn’t think I would be getting that much sun. I did put on sunscreen, but I didn’t reapply it while I was there because it turned out, it was overcast there too. I was out too long for what I had applied. So when I got home my chest and forearms were red. I wanted some relief from the heat. I thought about essential oils. I thought I had seen that they can be used for sunburns. If you look it up, they can. There are a lot of different recipes for sunburn relief. Some have more than one oil, but I just opted for lavender oil and coconut oil.
I put a little, like a tablespoon of coconut oil in a little pinch bowl and then about five drops of lavender oil. I mixed it and put it on my chest and forearms. It was fragrant relief. It seemed to cool the burn down right away. I like it. I applied it one more time that same day. Then just two more times. Not only did it take the heat away, it moisturized it and kept it from getting flaky and peeling.
So, simple lavender oil and coconut oil. I am going to assume you can use whatever carrier oil that you usually use and it would work.
A couple of days ago I was hanging up some of our hummingbird feeders and I used oregano oil to keep the ants off it. That was really cool. I poured it on the hanger, then walked outside holding the hanger. Well, some of the oil got on my fingers. So then I wiped the oil on the S hook that holds the feeder. And I watched as the ants approached it then turned around. So then I wiped the oil on the tower where the S hook was hanging and the ants did the same thing there. They started towards the oil, but turned away from it as soon as they were close enough to touch it. Interesting. I wish it had some staying power. It tends to dry up rather fast. But it works for a little while. I am not sure that once it is dried, if the residue keeps the ants away. But it was fascinating to me to see them turn away.
What is your essential oil recipe for sunburns? Do you use essential oil to deter insects?
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