Summer Time
The summer is almost here, and this means it’s time to enjoy the outdoors. For our family, we love going for walks around the lake and taking hikes through the woods. With such beautiful weather also comes mother nature and the insect world. During the summer months, bug bites are common especially if you have little ones running around. Nothing ruins the great outdoors than a pesky itchy little bug bite. No need to worry, we got you covered with some information on the best essential oils for bug bites.
What essential oils are good for bug bites?
Bug bites if left unattended and itched constantly can turn into more than a mere nuisance. That’s why it is important to get essential oils on the bite as soon as possible to help with the itch. Our favorite oils to keep handy are Tea Tree, Lavender, Eucalyptus, and Chamomile. This is our favorite list of oils that can beneficial to bug bites. With each oil, there are some awesome benefits to inhalation that we love to point out. While you are rubbing the oils on your bite, use our blend in your Oil + Bark inhaler to multiply the benefits!
Tea Tree
Tea Tree oil has become a standard in households and for good reason. For our family, this is one of our go-to oils for any skin irritation, cut, or bug bite. Tea Tree oil has amazing anti-bacterial properties that could help clean the bite area AND reduce the itching. Bonus information: Research also suggests that Tea Tree oil may be a natural alternative to reduce inflammation caused by histamine. Very cool!
Inhalation benefits: Breathing in Tree Tea oil promotes healing and cleansing of the body.
Lavender
Lavender is a staple oil to have in your home at all times. This essential oil not only has aromatic benefits but for the skin, especially bug bites, it has powerful antiseptic and analgesic properties. Lavender paves the foundation for the body to begin healing in the troubled area.
Inhalation benefits: The lavender aroma is very powerful and used throughout to world to support our bodies to relax, calm our senses and encourage physical and emotional healing.
Eucalyptus
There are many types of Eucalyptus essential oils. They each have their own benefits primarily related to being antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory. Much like Peppermint essential oil, Eucalyptus has a cooling effect on the skin and provides much-needed calming and relief to the bite area.
Inhalation benefits: Eucalyptus when inhaled promotes well-being and healing. This cooling oil when inhaled will help calm the nerves and support the body to get started in the recovery process.
Chamomile
Chamomile provides the benefit we are all looking for with bug bites, anesthetic. By applying Chamomile to the area, you are one step closer to feeling relief from being itchy or discomfort. Chamomile is considered a gentle oil and can be applied directly to the skin.
Inhalation benefits: Chamomile supports the relaxation of the mind and helps stabilize emotions. Perfect for traumatic events such as bug bites.
How to Use Essential Oils on a Bug Bite
As with all essential oils, it is important to always start with a minimal amount of drops and slowly add more. For these applications, it is important to use carrier oil. A carrier oil is defined as an oil that can easily mix with essential oils and help dilute their potency. Carrier oils include coconut, olive, or almond oil.
- Start by picking a specific essential oil to be used or grab all the oils and give our blend a try.
- With the oils in hand and a roller bottle, begin to add drops to the roller bottle.
- Once the desired drops or blend has been finished add in some carrier oil.
- Insert the roller and begin to apply to the bug bite.
Please keep in mind that essential oils can be strong – always be smart and cautious when using on children under age six because they have more sensitive skin than adults!
Conclusion
Now you know the best essentials oils for a bug bite. These blends will come in handy when summertime rolls around and the bug bites abound.
Resources
- Koh, K. J., Pearce, A. L., Marshmann, G., Finlay-Jones, J. J., & Hart, P. H. (2002, December 9). Tea tree oil reduces histamine-induced skin inflammation [Abstract]. British Journal of Dermatology, 147(6), 1212–1217
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2133.2002.05034.x/full - Hiroko-Miyuki Mori, Hiroshi Kawanami, Hirohisa Kawahata, Motokuni AokiBMC Complement Altern Med. 2016; 16: 144. Published online 2016 May 26. doi: 10.1186/s12906-016-1128-7; Wound healing potential of lavender oil by acceleration of granulation and wound contraction through induction of TGF-β in a rat model