Easy Ways to Make you DIYS better
Have you ever seen a DIY and wanted to try it but ran into issues? Like when it says to add essential oils to water but the oils don’t mix in with the water? There are super simple ways to fix this issue as well as fixes for several other issues. Too often people are sharing recipes online without thinking about how to properly formulate them to make them last and work the best. Even though there are so many recipes online though, doesn’t mean we can’t use any of them. As long as we know what to look for and what to change/add we should be able make just about any DIY work for us.
So, lets look at common DIY errors and how we can fix them:
No emulsifier: this is a big on in liquid projects. People often make a room spray or body spray and they don’t have any way to bind the oils to the water. It doesn’t need to be fancy but there are several ways we can ensure we aren’t risking pure oils dropping on us or the furniture. The easiest ways are to use a carrier oil-mix the essential oils in a carrier first and then add to the water- or mix the oils with some Aloe vera gel/jelly (this needs to be the jelly form and not the liquid form. Plant Therapy has a great aloe very jelly that is superior to other Aloe vera gels and makes mixing the essential oils super easy) and add that to the water. Using a carrier like oil or aloe is a decent enough fix but it’s not perfect and you will want to shake lightly before every use. Other methods you can use include using an emulsifier like a natural sobulizer; this one from Simply Earth is a great one, buy it here. This allows the oils to mix into the water, emulsifying it in simple terms. You can also use Polysorbote 20 but the solublizer is a better option if you want to keep things natural. Things to note, witch hazel and alcohol are not great options, they just don’t work as well as people say and you aren’t doing anything by adding those to a product. Albeit the alcohol as a room spray would make your furniture more flammable.
Too many drops: A lot of DIYs contain large amounts of essential oils, and while it might seem great to use more this is hardly ever necessary. A simple rule of thumb I like to follow is 1-3% for daily use, 5% for short term use and 10% for one time use. Kids, pregnant women and older folks need a much lower dilution, kids 2+ should use .5%-1%, women who are pregnant should use 1% and adults over 60 should use 1%. So if you see a recipe calling for a large amount of drops, alter it and use a lot less. If you need some help with dilution check out this handy guide that Plant Therapy put together.
Inappropriate carrier: Like I mentioned above, when adding essential oils to water they do not mix. This can be true of a lot of other things too. Things to avoid as carriers; witch hazel, plain bath salts (you can use bath salts if you dilute them in a carrier oil first), milk, petroleum jelly (and all petroleum based products), pure water (or anything that is primarily water based), aloe very gel (Plant Therapy’s Aloe Jelly is the exception as it has thickeners), and alcohols. This is especially true when using essential oils on the skin, you always want a proper carried that will mix with the essential oil and avoid skin irritation.
DIYs stored incorrectly: if you see a DIY recommendation to be stored in clear glass containers or plastics that are approved for essential oils be wary of this. Essential oils are potent and can erode containers over time. Something glass is best for pure oil projects and projects with vinegar. If using plastics for you DIYs (again, not with pure essential oils) go for something made of PET plastics as this will hold up better for essential oils. My rule of thumb is usually to use glass with liquids or oil DIYs and plastics with lotions, body butters and balms. But if you see someone recommending to use any old plastic container or saying to put blends you made in plastics, know to avoid just grabbing something off your kitchen shelf and get an appropriate plastic with it.
Well there you have it, some simple ways to improve your DIYs and make just about any recipe much safe, even if you found it on Pinterest. If you want to see more content like this check out my Instagram, I have an entire highlight on debunking essential oil myths. If you want a part 2 to this as well let me know.
