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Everyone loves a good natural body spray. It is refreshing, makes you smell good, and hydrates the skin, making it feel smooth and soft. With two young men in the house, I’m always on the lookout for natural alternatives. So when they ran out of their usual body spray, I made one for them using only natural ingredients, and I love the results! It is a warm yet energising blend that smells fantastic!
Table of Contents
- What is DIY Body Spray with Essential Oils
- Why Should You Give Homemade Body Spray with Essential Oils a Try?
- Picking Essential Oils For Men
- DIY Body Spray Ingredients
- How to Use DIY Body Spray with Essential Oils
- Refreshing DIY Body Spray For Men With Essential Oils Recipe
- Substitutes
- FAQs
- References
What is DIY Body Spray with Essential Oils
Uplifting and hydrating, DIY body spray with essential oils is a lighter version of the fragrance, formulated to make you smell fresh without being overpowering. Lightweight and less concentrated than a fragrance, you’ll need to reapply the spray throughout the day.
Why Should You Give Homemade Body Spray with Essential Oils a Try?
You might benefit from adding homemade body spray into your routine for several reasons:
– it contains various hydrating ingredients and essential oils, which means you have all the nourishing skin benefits and aromatherapy goodness in one product.
– the uplifting scent of bergamot blended with the rejuvenating scent of elemi and calming scent of cedarwood and palmarosa essential oil will leave you refreshed, energised and feeling ready to take on the day.
– it will keep your skin hydrated throughout the day.
– customisable to suit your prefered scent.
– it is easy to make and very convenient to use. Just spray it on whenever you want.
Picking Essential Oils For Men
One of the hardest things about formulating body spray was picking essential oils to create a scent boys would like and would complement their gender and age. With the vast amount of essential oils on the market, there were a few things I had to consider.
First, I had to decide on the star fragrance. Based on my research, spicy, resinous, earthy, woody and citrus scents are some of the most popular among guys. I picked cedarwood essential oil, known for its dry woody scent with sweet undertones.
Then, I had to pick out essential oils that complement cedarwood oil based on their evaporation rate (notes) and fragrance family.
- Top notes are the first ones you smell but are also the first ones to fade.
- Middle notes are heavier and linger on the skin after the aroma of top notes has disappeared.
- Base notes are the opposite of top notes in that they are the least volatile and last longest. They make the scents last longer, help extend the sillage of a fragrance and slow down the evaporation of more volatile top notes.
I chose five essential oils for the project, selecting an oil from the top, middle and base notes to create a well-balanced fragrance. See the breakdown below.
Essential Oil | Fragrance Characteristics | Note | Fragrance Family |
---|---|---|---|
Bergamot | Uplifting with a sweet, lemon-like aroma and floral undertones. | Top | Citrus |
Ho Leaf | Fresh, green scent. | Middle | Floral, Woody |
Palmarosa | Sweet floral scent. | Middle | Floral |
Elemi | A fixative that helps extend the scent of bergamot essential oil. | Base | Resinous |
Cedarwood | Dry woody scent with sweet undertones. | Base | Woody |
Apart from being able to pick out essential oils that would complement each other, there were a couple more things to consider:
- Essential oils’ dermal limits: Even though they are natural, essential oils can be sensitising or irritating if misused. Moreover, some citrus essential oils like bergamot oil can also cause photosensitivity. Hence, I had to work out my blend’s safe amounts of essential oils. You can learn how to do that at the Tisserand Institute or by enrolling in the Diploma of Skincare Formulations at Formula Botanica.
- How the spray will be used: Even though alcohol does have a place in formulations as, in correct amounts, it can function as a solubiliser and preservative and extends the sillage of a fragrance, I find it personally drying. Hence, I decided to skip the alcohol and create a hydrating body spray instead. This way, boys can apply it all over their bodies.
DIY Body Spray Ingredients
Now that we picked essential oils, you must wonder what other ingredients can one add to the body spray? Quite a few, to be fair. Here’s a quick guide.
Hydrating ingredients can soothe skin irritations, refresh and most importantly, improve skin hydration. Floral waters, humectants, and botanical extracts are just a few examples. I picked rejuvenating manuka floral water, moisturising aloe vera gel and vegetable glycerin. These are widely available and don’t cost much either.
Solubiliser: to disperse essential oils evenly in the water-based formula, I picked naturally derived Symbio®Solv Clear Plus.
Preservative: To ensure my body spray stays fresh, I added preservative ECO. It will protect the body spray from microbial growth, yeast and mould.
How to Use DIY Body Spray with Essential Oils
Spritz it generously directly to the skin before applying complementary body oil or lotion to make the most out of the body spray. It will seal in moisture, keeping your skin hydrated. Reapply throughout the day whenever you need to refresh or elevate your spirit.
Refreshing DIY Body Spray For Men With Essential Oils Recipe
By following these easy steps, you can make a DIY body spray that’s good for your skin, smells great and make for a lovely gift!
Refreshing DIY Body Spray For Men With Essential Oils
Difficulty: Beginner Formulator100
grams5
minutes10
minutes15
minutesThe uplifting scent of bergamot blended with the rejuvenating scent of elemi and calming scent of cedarwood and palmarosa essential oil will leave you refreshed, energised and feeling ready to take on the day.
Ingredients
- Phase A
42.10g distilled water
30.00g manuka floral water
20.00g aloe vera juice
3.00g vegetable glycerin
- Phase B
0.20g cedarwood essential oil
0.05g elemi essential oil
0.15g ho leaf essential oil
0.10g palmarosa essential oil
- Phase C
1.00g Preservative Eco
Directions
- Weigh distilled water, manuka floral water, aloe vera juice and glycerol in a glass beaker and set aside.
- Weight solubiliser and essential oils in another glass beaker and stir till well combined.
- Add solubiliser-essential oil mixture into the water blend and combine well using a mini whisk or milk frother until thoroughly combined.
- Add preservative eco and check the ph of the product using ph strips; it should be between 5.0-5.5. If the pH of the spray is above 5.5, you can lower it using a drop or two of citric acid solution( 10% citric acid to 90% distilled water). Subsequently, suppose the pH of the product is below 5.0. In that case, you can increase pH by adding a drop or two sodium bicarbonate solutions (10% sodium bicarbonate to 90% distilled water).
- Bottle the body spray, label and date. Store in a fridge for an added cooling effect.
Skin Patch Test
- Carry out a skin patch test before incorporating homemade body spray into your skincare regimen. Although ingredients used may be well-tolerated by most people, some may be sensitive or even allergic to them. Apply a small amount of the product onto a clear skin patch and leave it for 24-48 hours. If your skin turns red or itchy, or you experience any irritations, discontinue using the product.
- Some essential oils, such as bergamot, are phototoxic. Pick FCF-free bergamot essential oil. It means furocoumarins (the constituents that cause photosensitivity) have been removed. Even then, I would not recommend spraying it on if you plan a day in the sun.
Shelf Life and Storage
Even though I included a preservative in the formulae, it is challenging to determine the longevity of a homemade body spray without running a stability test. Saying that I would expect it to last for about a year. However, if you notice any change in smell, colour or texture, dispose of the product and whip up a new batch. Store it in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.
Equipment
mini whisk
or milk frotherSubstitutes
Please remember that swapping the ingredients in the formula will alter the final product. Consider how the ingredient you wish to switch will affect the final product’s scent, consistency, or absorbency when making changes.
Manuka floral water is available from the Naturally Thinking online store. However, feel free to swap it for other floral water or use distilled or deionised water instead.
Aloe Vera offers many skin benefits, including hydrating and is available in many forms, including juice, gel or powder. If you can’t source it, you can use flaxseed gel instead.
Glycerine is a natural humectant that helps draw moisture to the skin. You can swap it for another humectant, like hyaluronic acid.
Essential oils: Before switching oils, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. How will the changes affect the product’s scent? Are they safe to use on the skin, and if so, in what amounts?
FAQs
What other essential oils blend well with cedarwood essential oil?
Cedarwood essential oil belongs to the woody fragrance family and blends well with most essential oils. You can try mixing it with oriental essential oils like vanilla to add richness to the formula. A touch of spicy oils like black pepper or cinnamon will add a fiery note to the blend.
Can I use body spray on my face?
Avoid spraying body spray on your face. Facial skin is much more sensitive. Spritzing body spray with essential oil on your delicate facial skin can irritate it, causing redness, itching, burning, and stinging. If you’d like to use it on your face, leave essential oils out. You’ll have a soothing and hydrating body spray you can use any time to cool down on hot summer days.
References
- Naturally Thinking
- Perfume: The art and craft of fragrance by Karen Gilbert
- The art of aromatherapy by Robert B Tisserand