Numerous flavors from well-known manufacturers create a pleasant atmosphere at home and help fight unpleasant odors. However, many of them contain components that are extremely harmful to health.
They cause migraines and severe allergic reactions, weaken the immune system, disrupt the nervous system and can even provoke the development of cancer. An alternative to them are affordable and natural air fresheners made with your own hands.
Secrets of creating and using flavors
You can make a home air freshener from the simplest available materials:
- regular glass jars or transparent vases of different sizes;
- any essential oil;
- cotton wool;
- gelatin;
- baking soda;
- glycerol;
- water;
- sushi sticks;
- medical alcohol or vodka;
- any food colorings;
- fresh or dried flowers;
- petals;
- medicinal herbs;
- natural spices;
- any unnecessary decorative elements (beads, rhinestones, beads, feathers, large decorative buttons, foam balls).
In this way, you can make a cheap, natural and safe flavoring agent. However, there is an important component that you absolutely cannot save on - high-quality essential oil.
Natural aromatic oil cannot be cheap, because to obtain 1 liter of mint oil, more than 2.5 centners of fragrant leaves are required, and for 1 liter of neroli oil ‒ more than 2 tons of orange blossom. According to international standards, a bottle with aromatic oil must be made of dark glass, and the oil itself must be absolutely natural and have a corresponding mark on the label.
Home fragrances have more than just a utilitarian use - to combat unpleasant odors. They are simultaneously a means of safe and unobtrusive aromatherapy due to the low concentration of essential oils in their composition, especially when compared to classic aroma lamps.
They will also decorate everyday and festive interiors. Most often, such air fresheners with a corresponding set of essential oils or spices are suitable for creating a New Year or Christmas atmosphere.
DIY Aroma Diffuser
Making an aroma diffuser at home is quite simple:
- A mixture of 50 g of vodka and 100-200 ml of base oil (peach, jojoba, odorless olive oil or regular baby oil) is poured into a glass container with a narrow neck.
It is easy to make a home aroma diffuser with your own hands. - Add 10 to 30 drops of any essential oil into the mixture.
- Place bamboo sticks in the jar and leave for several hours. During this time, the sticks will absorb the aroma of the oil.
- The bamboo sticks are removed, turned over and placed back into the vessel.
This fragrance will last for several months due to the slowly evaporating oil.
Gelatin air freshener
You can also make a home air freshener in the form of a gel.
To do this you will need:
- gelatin (2 tsp);
- glycerol;
- water;
- essential oil.
Glycerin helps protect your homemade air freshener from drying out, and gelatin retains the scent perfectly. Pour 2 teaspoons of gelatin into a small, shallow jar or wide glass, add a little water to completely cover the crystals, and stir until they dissolve.
After this, you need to add 1 teaspoon of glycerin and 5-6 drops of essential oil to the jar and mix everything again. The resulting solution is placed in the refrigerator to allow the mixture to harden.
To make the finished air freshener look beautiful, you can tint it with food coloring, use a wide glass instead of a container, and add shells, beads, rhinestones, sprigs of rosemary, dill or parsley, star anise, dried lemon rings, flower petals or orange zest cut into ribbons to the mixture.
An unusual glass for a gelatin freshener can be a peeled and dried half of an orange. It can be decorated on the outside with cloves. They are easily attached to the zest, making it easy to lay out a simple geometric pattern.
This air freshener is especially appropriate during the New Year and Christmas holidays. To create a festive atmosphere, it is worth using the corresponding essential oils of pine, orange, mandarin, and spices. They will fill the room with the aromas of spruce, citrus, and New Year's baking and will preserve the feeling of the holiday for a long time.
Air freshener from soda
Baking soda is found in every home. It cleans surfaces perfectly and is considered an important component in cold or heartburn medicines, and is also a good neutralizer of unpleasant odors. And at the same time, soda can preserve the aroma of essential oils for a long time. Thanks to this, it can be used as a base for the easiest to make homemade air freshener.
Baking soda is poured into a jar (about a quarter of the volume), 8-9 drops of essential oil are added and the lid is closed with small holes made in it. You can replace the oils with cinnamon, anise, cardamom, cloves or cinnamon sticks, or create your own spicy aroma by mixing several ingredients.
Baking soda is ideal for toilets because it eliminates typical odors well. In this case, you can use a regular half-liter or 200-gram glass jar and a polyethylene lid with large holes made in it.
There is another simple way to combat unpleasant odor in the toilet: cedar, pine or orange essential oil (it is better to take several oils at once) is applied to a piece of cotton wool and left in the sun or a hot radiator so that the aromas open up. After this, the product is ready for use.
For the living room, you can give a homemade soda air freshener a more presentable look by pouring a mixture of soda and essential oils into a decorative jar with a wide neck, and instead of a lid, use foil with decorative perforations or simply patterned foil.
Based on water and alcohol
You can make a home fragrance without much expense and in the form of a practical spray.
To do this you need to take:
- favorite essential oil;
- about 200 g of water;
- alcohol (1 tbsp.).
First, mix alcohol and essential oil in a small container from which you removed the sprayer. The amount of oil depends on how strong you want the aroma to be. On average, it is from 15 to 35 drops. Then fill the container to the top with water and secure the sprayer.
Application of essential oils
Homemade air fresheners are not only affordable and natural in composition. The essential oils used in their production have a positive effect on mood and general condition of the body, which is why they are actively used in aromatherapy.
There are a huge number of aromatic oils on sale, so everyone can choose the right scent for themselves or create their own special aroma. However, it is worth remembering that when using some oils, side effects may occur.
At best, it will be limited to migraines, at worst - severe allergic reactions and skin irritations. Certain essential oils can provoke a miscarriage, so pregnant women should use them with caution.
It is not recommended to overuse essential oils if there are nursing mothers or small children in the room.
Certain types of essential oils increase the skin's sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation (this is called phototoxicity), so you should not use them in the summer. In any case, essential oil is a strong concentrate. You should not overuse it when making homemade air fresheners.
To protect yourself from negative effects, you need to carefully select essential oil, taking into account all contraindications, strictly monitor its storage conditions and expiration dates, and choose only a high-quality and natural product.
| Name of essential oil | Beneficial properties |
| Orange | Improves mood, calms and relieves fatigue, has an anti-cold and anti-cellulite effect, helps remove toxins and waste from the body, improves appetite. |
| Bergamot | Effective in the fight against colds as an antipyretic and expectorant, helps fight depression and fatigue, reduces stress, increases efficiency, removes toxins. Stimulates the digestive system. |
| Geranium | Fights skin diseases and aging, helps fight negative effects of hormonal changes, such as menstrual irregularities and menopause. One of the most effective anti-inflammatory oils in the treatment of ENT diseases. |
| Ylang-ylang | Helps to maintain youth and beauty of the skin, has a pronounced relaxing, calming, anti-inflammatory and immunostimulating effect. |
| Lavender | A universal remedy for insomnia, migraines, runny nose, skin diseases, wounds and burns. Effective in combating depression and stress. Normalizes liver function, increases immunity, removes toxins. Enhances the effect of other aromatic oils. |
| Pink | It is used as a cosmetic product for dry and aging skin. It has a pronounced anti-inflammatory, bactericidal, antispasmodic, hemostatic and antiseptic effect. It fights neuroses, depressions and sleep disorders. It improves memory, stimulates the brain and cardiovascular system. |
| Chamomile | Excellent sedative, reduces overexcitement, stress and anxiety, normalizes sleep. Effective in the fight against migraines, toothache and muscle pain, arthritis and rheumatism, skin diseases. |
| Tea tree | Suitable for disinfection of living spaces, fights fungi and bacteria, accelerates recovery of the body and increases immunity. Used for various skin diseases and colds. |
| Rosemary | Stimulates memory, improves concentration, helps to better master new information, has a bactericidal, tonic and analgesic effect. Fights depression and stress, improves the functioning of the digestive and cardiovascular systems. |
| Sage | It is used for relaxation, relieves tension, and calms the nervous system well. Due to its pronounced antispasmodic effect, it is used for asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, colic, cramps, intestinal and muscle spasms, rheumatism, and arthritis. |
| Eucalyptus | Used for colds as an expectorant, diaphoretic and antipyretic. Relieves muscle pain, including after intense training. Stimulates mental activity, combats fatigue and drowsiness. Lowers blood sugar levels, reduces swelling. Used to treat bed linen and pillows against dust mites. |
Essential oils of lavender, rose and chamomile are considered to be the most gentle in terms of their effect on the body and the absence of contraindications.
However, there are also certain contraindications:
- pregnancy (it is not recommended to use essential oils of camphor, anise, jasmine, juniper, wormwood, myrrh, peppermint and marsh mint, rosemary, thyme);
- breastfeeding (peppermint oil is believed to reduce breast milk production);
- epilepsy;
- they are neurotoxic for children (except for lemon, lavender, orange and chamomile oils, however, individual intolerance cannot be ruled out);
- citrus oils are phototoxic (increase the skin's sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation);
- Essential oils are not used while taking iodine- and iron-containing medications.
Natural fragrances
Homemade air fresheners are made exclusively from natural ingredients, without the use of artificial colors and fragrances. They are environmentally friendly, safe for pets and very affordable. Another important advantage is that you can create a unique composition with your own hands, using existing aromas or even ordinary spices.
Lavender oil is considered one of the most versatile in this regard. It not only combines harmoniously with the aromas of other essential oils, but also enhances their healing properties. Just a few drops are enough for this. The floral-herbal aroma of lavender harmonizes especially well with other floral or herbal aromas, as well as with citrus notes.
Only essential oil of real (narrow-leaved, or medicinal) lavender has all the properties and characteristics listed above. Even in the form of flavorings, essential oils are not recommended to be used for too long. The body needs a rest from them.
This could be a weekly "therapeutic window" after 3 weeks of use. Or you can alternate air fresheners based on essential oils with simple aromatic compositions, for the creation of which plain water is suitable. The main thing is that it is always warmed up.
You can make a home air freshener from:
- a few sprigs of rosemary, lemon slices and a few drops of vanilla extract;
- a few sprigs of fresh or dried thyme, lime slices, dried mint or even mint essence, a few drops of vanilla extract;
- a few cinnamon sticks, a dozen cloves, a few star anise and orange slices.
A fragrance made from dried flowers looks stylish and unusual. The smell emitted by dried plants is not very intense or persistent, so it is enhanced with a few drops of the appropriate essential oil, such as rose oil, if rose petals are used as a base.
In the case of rosemary and lavender, the natural aroma lasts for a very long time and does not need to be enhanced. Dried plants are placed in a small decorative jar, which needs to be shaken from time to time.
A more lasting effect will be achieved by a mixture of salt, alcohol and fresh herbs or flower petals:
- To do this, pour coarse salt (table or sea salt) onto the bottom of the jar and cover it with a thick layer (about 1 cm).
- Alternating layers of salt and herbs or flowers, fill the jar completely.
- Pour the mixture with medical alcohol and shake well.
- Close the jar and leave in a dark place for several days.
- Sprinkle into small containers and place around the apartment.
A safe and natural air freshener is easy to make with your own hands. It does not require any special skills or special costs. You will only need a little imagination and improvised materials available in every home. And as a result, the rooms will be filled with a fresh and original aroma that you will not find in the store.
Video on making a home fragrance diffuser
DIY Air Diffuser:
Hello, what oils do you usually work with?