Is there anything better than walking into a fresh clean smelling kitchen or living room or a relaxing serene smelling bedroom? I think we can all agree that the scent of our home can have a direct effect on how not only we feel but how any guest who may come into our home feel as well. Scent helps us set the tone for the kind of mood we want our space to portray whether that's clean and fresh, warm and cozy or spa like.
The scent we want can change from day to day or room to room which is why DIYing your own Room Spray is such a great project to do. Room Sprays are super simple to make and there are endless possibilities to the different scent combinations you can try AND when you make it yourself then YOU are in control of not only the scent but the ingredients that go in it.
Many room sprays that you can buy commercially are filled with things that pose health risks ranging from lung and skin irritants to more serious health risk like endocrine disruption and carcinogens. On top of all of this, room sprays can be expensive to purchase as well. Not so when you make your own.
For this project you will need just a few simple ingredients. A spray bottle, preferably glass, your essential oils of choice, (I'll list some of my favorite combos later), distilled water and an emulsifier/solubizer.
What's an emulsifier you may ask and why do you need one? As you know, oil and water does not mix so if you were to add your essential oils to a bottle of water, they would float on the top and not be dispersed throughout the spray. This is not ideal for a couple of reasons. One, a good portion of the time when you use your spray there wouldn't be any essential oil coming out and Two, when the oil does come out it could be more concentrated than you want.
There are a few different things I recommend to emulsify your essential oils:
A carrier oil such as olive oil, fractionated coconut oil, grapeseed oil and sweet almond oil. This works best for things like roller bottles, roll on perfumes & facial products like glow serums.
Solubol is an all natural emulsifier you can use to disperse your essential oils through water based carriers. It does have a mild scent but not enough that it typically has any effects on the scent of your sprays. Solubol is a little harder to find than some of the other emulsifiers/solubizers I have listed but is a great product if you can find it.
Polysorbate 20 is water soluble and perfect for helping your essential oils mix into perfume/body sprays and room sprays
High proof alcohol - Everclear is the best as it is odorless and won't alter the smell of your room spray. If you use isopropyl alcohol or vodka, they will work as a solubizer but could change the smell of your spray
Liquid soaps like Castile soap.
On a side note, while I have used witch hazel in the past as an emulsifier and it is in tons of recipes you will find online, I have found it to be less effective and not a true emulsifier. If you do use witch hazel, just note that you will need to shake the spray before each use and the room spray will not be truly dispersed in the spray.
For the recipe below we will be using Polysorbate 20 as our emulsifier which is used at a 1:1 ratio with your essential oils. If you use a different emulsifier then you will need to follow the suggested usage rates for that particular emulsifier.
This recipe will make 16oz of Room Spray which you can either split into multiple bottles or make one 16oz Room spray.
To make your DIY Room Spray:
Measure out your essential oils and Polysorbate 20. One of my favorite room spray combinations is 20% Lemongrass, 40% Orange and 40% Grapefruit. I usually make my room sprays at a 2% usage rate which equals out to .128oz each of Orange and Grapefruit essential oils and .064oz of Lemongrass essential oil. The total weight for the essential oils once combined is .32oz which means we will also us .32oz of Polysorbate 20.
Once measured, stir to combine.
Next measure out 16oz of distilled water and then pour in your essential oil & Polysorbate 20 mixture. Stir again to combine.
If you are planning to add a preservative, then this is the point at which you would want to add it. If you go through room sprays quickly(within 1 to 2 weeks ) then you can skip the preservative if you choose. If you want the room spray to have a longer shelf life or want to be able to sell it, then you will need to add the preservative to help protect against bacterial growth. Optiphen Plus is a great preservative option for room sprays.
All that is left is to pour your mixture into your spray bottles and enjoy!
Here are a few of my other favorite room spray combinations:
50% Lavender, 25% Roman Chamomile and 25% Cedarwood
100% Lavender
50% Pine (or evergreen essential oil of choice) & 50% Orange
50% Lemon & 50% Lime
25% Patchouli & 75% Orange
50% Eucalyptus & 50% Mint(Peppermint or Spearmint are both great options)
Whenever I am making a recipe, I like to run my blends through the usage rate calculator on eocalc.com . This way I know for sure I am staying in a safe usage rate for my products. When you use the calculator for non aerosol room sprays, you will select product category 10 which is labeled and household cleaners and home products.
Once you know the basic recipe, the possibilities truly are endless and you can change up the scent whenever you want based on the season or your mood:)
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