Essential Oil First Aid for Kids on Summer Vacation

Summer is the peak season for children playing outside. It's a great time of year to be outside in the fresh air and sunshine. With all the fun and activity, children can wind up with more bites, bruises, scrapes, and stings than at other times of the year. I'd like to share two essential oil recipes from the Aromahead Institute: one for cuts and scrapes and one for bug bites.

Ouch-Away Blend for Cuts and Scrapes

Make this blend in a 2 oz (60ml) glass bottle. You can also make it in a spray bottle. The carrier is aloe vera gel, and that works just as well in either bottle.

This recipe is so soothing for cuts and scrapes, and the essential oils help to reduce germs and the risk of infection. You can apply it to skin around the cut immediately after it happens and then 3-5 times a day until the cut is healed. I suggest making a fresh bottle every week.

Ingredients (For Kids Over 5 Years Old):

• Just under 2 oz (56 gm) aloe vera gel (aloe barbadensis)

• 2.5 ml soluble dispersant

• 4 drops lavender essential oil (lavandula angustifolia)

• 4 drops tea tree essential oil (melaleuca alternifolia)

• 4 drops frankincense essential oil (boswellia carterii)

Ingredients (For Kids Under 5 Years Old):

• 1 oz (30 ml) lavender hydrosol (lavandula angustifolia)

• 1 oz (30 ml) frankincense hydrosol (boswellia carerii)

No-More-Itch Stick for Bug Bites

These itch sticks are especially soothing! You can use them as needed, and kids can even carry them around to use any time their bites start itching.

You can make your itch sticks in lotion bar containers, which twist up like lip balm tubes. You'll need two lotion bar containers, each holding 1 oz (30 ml).

Ingredients (For Kids Over 5 Years Old):

• 1/2 oz (14 gm) beeswax (Cera alba)

• 1 oz (28 gm) coconut oil (Cocos nucifera)

• 1/2 oz (15 ml) jojoba wax (Simmondsia chinensis)

• 4 drops lavender essential oil (Lavandula angustifolia)

• 4 drops tea Tree essential oil (Melaleuca alternifolia)

• 3 drops cedarwood essential oil (Juniperus virginiana)

Directions:

1. Melt the beeswax in a Pyrex measuring cup using the double boiler method: put the Pyrex in a soup pot about 1/4 full of water. Bring the water to a slow boil. I like to leave the handle of the Pyrex hanging outside of the pot so it doesn't get too hot to touch.

2. Add the jojoba wax.

3. Add the coconut oil.

4. Remove the Pyrex from heat and add your essential oils.

5. Pour your melted blend into your lotion bar sticks and let them solidify for a few hours.

Ingredients (for Kids Under 5 Years Old)

• 1 oz (30 ml) peppermint hydrosol (Mentha x piperita)

• 1 oz (30 ml) lavender hydrosol (Lavendula angustifolia)

Directions:

Combine the hydrosols in a 2 oz (60 ml) glass spray bottle. I recommend making this blend fresh every few weeks.

There are different approaches to using essential oils with little children.

The Aromahead Approach for kids under 5 years old is to be extra cautious. For topical use, we prefer to use hydrosols, butters, and carrier oils. Babies' and young children's skin can be so sensitive that essential oils can easily become overwhelming for them. Hydrosols, butters, and carrier oils can often give a child the nudge they need towards rebalancing their health.