Traveling to unknown places, along with excitement, can also bring you stress, nausea and digestive problems, as well as insect bites and minor injuries. If you prepare well, you can avoid many of the mentioned ailments or significantly alleviate them and devote yourself to enjoyment and relaxation as much as possible. So take your fragrant set of essential oils with you. Here's what it should contain.
ESSENTIAL OILS FOR TRAVEL
Essential oils can naturally and effectively alleviate the physical and emotional challenges that travel brings with it. Therefore, we need essential oils on the way:
- with soothing properties - ideal for travelers on long journeys (lavender, bergamot, geranium)
- with disinfecting and refreshing action - for disinfecting and refreshing the air, hands and surfaces (tea tree, thyme linalool, lemon, eucalyptus radiata)
- for better concentration while driving and increasing energy due to exhaustion on long journeys (peppermint, lemon, grapefruit and other citrus essential oils, lemongrass, eucalyptus radiata)
- with a disinfecting and regenerating effect on the skin after minor injuries and insect bites (lavender, tea tree)
- to relieve pain in muscles and joints and improve circulation during travel and active rest (eucalyptus radiata, peppermint, geranium, cedarwood atlas, cypress)
- to alleviate cramps and flatulence in the digestive system due to a change in diet (peppermint, thyme linalool, lemongrass).
THE MOST COMMON PROBLEMS AND APPLICATION OF ESSENTIAL OILS DURING TRAVEL
1. ON THE WAY TO THE DESTINATION
Travel crowds, queues and waiting at airports and seaports can be frustrating. Essential oils can make your journey easier.
REFRESH AND RELAX DURING THE TRAVEL
a) If you are traveling by car
If you are traveling to your destination by car, to refresh and improve your concentration and mood while driving, put a few drops of eucalyptus globulus, lemon or lemongrass and peppermint on the cushion of the mini diffuser for the car.
If there are children under the age of 6 in the car, do not use peppermint and instead of eucalyptus, choose eucalyptus radiata or lemon essential oil. If you use lemongrass, dose it carefully because it has a strong smell.
If you don't have a diffuser, drip essential oils onto a tissue and place it near the air conditioner vent. Instead of individual essential oils, you can use a mixture of essential oils that you prepare yourself or Bioeterica's ready-made mixture of Burin or Maestral essential oils.
If you want to prepare a mixture of essential oils (5 ml) yourself, try our recipe:
- 60 drops of eucalyptus radiata essential oil
- 20 drops of peppermint essential oil
- 5 drops of lemongrass essential oil
- 15 drops of bergamot essential oil
or
- 45 drops of lemon essential oil
- 40 drops of bergamot essential oil
- 15 drops of lavender essential oil
The listed mixtures of essential oils have a purifying and refreshing effect. If you drive, it will help you not to fall asleep, to be focused on driving, but at the same time you will be relaxed and in a good mood.
b) If you are traveling by plane
If you are traveling by plane and feel tension and anxiety during the flight, put 1-2 drops of lavender or geranium essential oil on a tissue and inhale until you feel relief. While inhaling the essential oil, rest your head on the chair, close your eyes and relax. Instead of the listed essential oils, you can use our ready-made Maestral essential oil blend.
If children travel with you by plane, they often become nervous and irritable, which can spoil the trip for both you and them. When it becomes critical, have a bottle of massage oil with you that you have previously prepared (mix 15 drops of lavender essential oil with 30 ml of macadamia or sunflower base oil) and massage their legs and feet. You will see, it will calm down quickly.
If you suffer from painful and swollen legs during the trip, you can put compresses on your legs or massage the oil that you have previously prepared at home. We bring you the recipes below.
Wraps: soak two cotton handkerchiefs in water, wring them out well and put 5 drops of lavender essential oil on each of them. Store the tissues prepared in this way in a small plastic bag and put them in your hand luggage. Use as needed when you feel cramps, heaviness and pain in your legs - lay the compress and gently massage in the direction of the heart, using circular movements.
Oil for painful and swollen legs
- 25 drops of cedarwood, atlas or cypress essential oil
- 20 drops of eucalyptus radiata essential oil
- 5 drops of geranium essential oil
- 50 ml hazelnut carrier oil
Application: Massage with gentle circular movements into the feet, lower legs and, if necessary, the entire legs in the direction of the heart.
NAUSEA AND SEA SICKNESS
Nausea during travel is a common phenomenon. It occurs in both children and adults, regardless of which means of transport you use. To relieve or prevent nausea, slowly inhale peppermint essential oil, alone or in combination with lemon essential oil - put 1-3 drops of essential oils on a paper towel or tissue or, if traveling by car, diffuse it using a mini car diffuser and inhale until the nausea subsides.
Do they travel in a car children under 6, do not use peppermint but only lemon essential oil. Lemon and peppermint also help with seasickness. In addition to these two essential oils, ginger essential oil also helps with nausea.
You can also mix the mentioned essential oils with macadamia base oil and massage into the stomach area 15-20 minutes before leaving for the trip. Try the following combination: 30 ml of macadamia base oil + 10 drops of peppermint + 10 drops of lemon.
2. AT THE DESTINATION
CLEANING AND DISINFECTION OF SURFACES/AIR REFRESHING
Make a gentle, natural surface sanitizer or hand sanitizer to protect yourself from the myriad of harmful germs you may be exposed to while traveling in all public spaces, such as airports, public transportation, restaurants, bathrooms, and bedrooms.
Try our recipe:
- 100 ml of 70% alcohol
- 8 drops of thyme, linalool essential oil
- 10 drops of tea tree essential oil
- 4 drops of lemongrass essential oil
- 3 drops of peppermint essential oil
- 100 ml spray bottle
Preparation: Pour essential oils into a 100 ml bottle, add alcohol, shake and close with a spray nozzle. Always shake before use.
Use to disinfect surfaces - spray on the surface and wipe with a paper towel. Avoid application on wooden surfaces.
If you want to create a pleasant relaxing atmosphere in the room where you are staying, make an air freshener with our Maestral organic essential oil blend.
HAND DISINFECTION
To protect yourself from various infectious diseases, take care of the cleanliness of your hands.
If you do not have the possibility to wash your hands, below we bring you a recipe for a gel with a disinfecting effect with aloe vera:
- 70 ml of 70% alcohol
- 25 ml of aloe vera juice/gel
- teaspoon of glycerol
- 4 drops of thyme linalool essential oil
- 4 drops of lemon essential oil
- 4 drops of eucalyptus radiata essential oil
- 3 drops of geranium essential oil
Preparation: Pour essential oils into a 100 ml bottle, add alcohol and shake, add glycerol and aloe vera juice. Use to disinfect hands. Shake before use.
JET LAG
Jet lag is the modern inconvenience of long journeys that involve changing time zones.
Your body has its own internal clock that signals when to stay awake and when to sleep. Jet lag occurs because your body clock is still synchronized with your original time zone, instead of the time zone you traveled to. The more time zones you cross, the more likely you are to experience it.
Because of jet lag, you may have trouble sleeping, be tired during the day, and have trouble concentrating. Digestive problems are also possible, which could disrupt your vacation or business trip. To alleviate it, take a shower with eucalyptus or peppermint essential oils before your trip – add 1 drop of peppermint and 1 drop of eucalyptus radiata to a teaspoon of your favorite shower gel.
When you arrive at your destination, adjust your sleep rhythm to the local time. To prevent or alleviate jet lag, you can use lemon or grapefruit essential oil to help you maintain focus and stay awake and in a good mood while adjusting to another time zone.
If you can't relax and fall asleep in the evening, combine sweet orange with lavender or geranium essential oil - drip them on a tissue that you will place near the pillow. In winter, the effect of essential oils can be enhanced by a warm bath of the whole body or feet. If you do not have the opportunity to take a bath, after showering, massage a small amount of a base oil into which you have previously added one drop of lavender essential oil and one drop of geranium on your upper back, shoulders and neck, as well as your chest and solar plexus. It also covers the lower back to reduce the tension you feel after sitting for long periods of time.
DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS
Due to different food and a change in drinking water, some people occasionally suffer from digestive problems when traveling and on vacation. Although these complaints are usually not serious and are easily resolved by using oral probiotics or activated charcoal in combination with medicinal herbs such as peppermint, fennel, cumin, ginger and other herbs.
Essential oils can also help you - massage the oil that you previously prepared by combining sunflower carrier oil (2 tablespoons), 10 drops of peppermint essential oil, 5 drops of lemongrass and 5 drops of thyme linalool into the abdominal area, in a clockwise direction.
MINOR INJURIES, BURNS AND INSECT BITES
If you don't know which essential oil to bring on your trip, be sure to bring lavender essential oil. It is truly a versatile essential oil because you can use it for relaxation, for various pains, but also as a mild antiseptic - you can apply one drop of oil to a minor injury, insect bite or minor burn without first diluting it. Lavender will relieve pain, reduce skin irritation and promote its healing.
If you are planning a trip soon, prepare your small travel pharmacy now. Stock up on essential oils before your trip as you will most likely need them during your trip. Since they take up very little space, it will not be a problem to pack them, even if you take five to six different ones. If you want to take only the basics, take peppermint, lavender and tea tree with you. To alleviate jet lag and be prepared for minor mishaps at your destination, it's a good idea to have them as soon as you get there. Keep them with you at all times so that you can use them immediately when you need them.
