Essential Oils for Cold Weather Comfort

Winter’s harsh weather and extended hours of darkness can take their toll on your mood and sense of well-being. Make your home environment a warm, comforting tonic for the winter blues, with our curated collection of Aura Cacia’s seasonal aromatherapy blends. Plus, we offer DIY ideas to make your own uniquely satisfying essential oil blends to warm your home. If you don’t have a diffuser yet, or you’re looking to add another, or thinking of gifting one, be sure to check out our wide selection of quality essential oil diffusers.

Because cold air can't hold as much moisture as warm air, winter air is dry. Turning on the heat doesn’t add moisture; it exacerbates the problem. Dry air can cause your skin, nose, and throat to feel dry and irritated. Humidifiers are an effective way to add moisture to your indoor environment. 

With just 3-10 drops of essential oil added to your humidifier’s water basin, you can enjoy additional benefits. Be sure your humidifier supports the use of essentials oils, as over time, the strength of pure oils may cause some plastics to deteriorate. You could run an essential oil diffuser in addition to your humidifier, keeping the two separate, while enjoying the benefits of both. Here are some essential oils that work well with humidifiers and diffusers to help you and your loved ones breathe easier this winter.

• Cassia Oil. Recommended by herbalists for its antimicrobial and antiviral properties. Also known as Cinnamon Bark, it’s more pungent than Cinnamon Leaf.
• Eucalyptus Oil. Powerful minty aroma eases congestion from colds and other respiratory ailments.
• Lavender Oil. The most revered of all essential oils, with may qualities, including  antibacterial and antiseptic properties that help cleanse the air and protect against respiratory infections.
• Lemongrass Oil. An uplifting scent that has been relied upon to help relieve respiratory issues like coughs, colds, asthma, bronchitis, and sinus infections.
• Peppermint Oil. This uplifting winter favorite helps clear nasal passages.
• Tea Tree Oil. May help soothe a sore throat, cough, or sinus congestion. Boasts anti-fungal and antibacterial qualities.
• Thyme Oil. Can help prevent mold and bacteria growth, and has anti-inflammatory qualities.

Holiday preparations, dreary weather, colds, flus and other illnesses, shorter days, longer nights... there are plenty of reasons to get stressed out during the wintertime. Aromatherapy can help ease many of the symptoms that often go hand-in-hand with cold weather months. These are just a few we like to keep on hand.

• Bergamot Oil. Its balanced citrus and sweet fragrance boosts mood and energy levels, reduces anxiety.
• Cardamom Oil. Exotically sweet and spicy. Helps uplift the mood, raise energy levels, and improve attentiveness.
• Clary Sage Oil. Gently uplifting, not overly invigorating, making it ideal for relaxing and rebalancing.
• Clove Bud Oil. Spicy and woodsy, its warming aroma inspires mental clarity and feelings of emotional centeredness.
• Ginger Oil. Its warming qualities are calming, often helpful for managing mood fluctuations.  
• Lavender Oil. The Queen of Calm! Perfect for restless nights and insomnia.
• Lemon Oil. Often referred to as liquid sunshine, it freshens the air and has a calming, yet focusing effect. Supports concentration and mental performance.
• Peppermint Oil. Helps improve concentration and relieve tension headaches.
• Rose Otto Oil. Has a powerful effect on the emotions and spirit, bringing harmony and peace, while dispelling fear and tension.
• Sweet Orange Oil. Its clean, uplifting aroma helps deodorize a room and promotes peaceful dreams.
• Thyme Oil. Helps soothe negative feelings, including stress, anxiety and anger, while promoting relaxation and a sense of serenity.

Cold weather can take its toll on your skin, leaving it dry, chapped, irritated and inflamed. Soothe and restore your skin with essential oils in the bath, after your shower, or simply pamper yourself and your feet with a foot soak at the end of a long day. These are a few essential oils to help your winter-stressed skin. 

• Clary Sage Oil. Used in spas around the globe. Soothes irritated skin; calms the mind. May have antibacterial properties.
• Cinnamon Leaf Oil. A revitalizing oil that’s also lends comforting warmth.
• Geranium Oil. Softly floral, with anti-inflammatory and protective qualities, it’s perfect for oily, dry, and mature skin.
• Grapefruit Oil. Crisp, clean aroma, but not overpowering. Antioxidant-rich, it moisturizes while fighting inflammation.
• Lavender Oil. Soft floral scent soothes the mind, while its essence helps reduce skin inflammation and soothe redness.
• Tangerine Oil. Ideal for healing dry, cracked skin. Often recommended for those prone to acne.
• Frankincense Oil. Helps promote healthy cell regeneration.
• Sandalwood Oil. Skin nourishing, anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties help reduce winter dryness and irritation.

Because pure essential oils are so potent, they should not be applied directly to the skin as they can cause irritation, flushing, or burning. Always dilute them with a carrier oil before applying them. Here are some of our favorite carrier oils to safely transport the essential oil into the skin. 

• Argan Oil. High in vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants. Great for dry skin and hair.
• Avocado Oil. Rich in vitamins A, D, and E, as well as omega-3 fatty acids. Helps reduce redness, irritation, and signs of aging. Mixes well with other oils.
• Black Cumin Oil. Quickly absorbed into the skin, this golden brown, earthy oil has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antifungal qualities.
• Coconut Oil. Deeply moisturizing. Its high lauric acid content lends antimicrobial properties. Must first be softened to blend with essential oils.
• Jojoba Oil. Mimics the skin's natural oils, making it easy to absorb. May also have anti-inflammatory effects.
• Shea Butter. Penetrates deep to condition and moisturize all types of skin. Must first be softened to blend with essential oils.

In general, the dilution ratio is 1-2% essential oil: carrier oil, depending on the specific essential oil and your potential sensitivity and tolerance. For bathing with essential oils, begin by using no more than 10 drops. Take caution: adding oils of any kind to your bath will create slippery conditions! For best absorption and moisturizing, apply body oil right after your shower or bath, while skin is still damp.

From snow plowing and shoveling to winter sports and chronic health conditions, cold weather often brings with it a host of bodily aches and pains. Essential oils can offer a chemical-free way to soothe your symptoms, while supporting your body's recovery. Before applying to your skin, always dilute essential oils with your preferred carrier oil. (See list above for suggested oils.) You can slowly increase the amount of essential oil in your mixture after using it a few times to test for potential sensitivity. 

• Bergamot Oil. Contains several compounds with anti-inflammatory and analgesic capabilities.
• Black Pepper Oil. Energizes the mind, stimulates circulation, and warms the skin.
• Cinnamon Leaf Oil. Delightfully comforting aroma, plus soothing anti-inflammatory and warming qualities.
• Clove Bud Oil. Used traditionally to relieve muscle aches and pains, it also imparts a comforting warmth and fragrance.
• Eucalyptus Oil. Inhaling this oil relaxes the mind and body, helping to ease suffering from chronic pain.
• Frankincense Oil. Reputed to ease muscular and joint discomforts caused by overuse and osteoarthritis.
• Ginger Oil. It’s loaded with zingiberene, a powerful natural anti-inflammatory and pain reliever.
• Sage Oil and Clary Sage Oil. Both can help soothe muscle and joint pain. Sage is more robustly herbal than Clary Sage, and can invigorate, while Clary Sage has a calming effect.

The intense aroma of some essential oils can repel unwanted visitors to your clothing closets and drawers, kitchen pantry, basement and crawl spaces. For the most part, these essential oils work by causing discomfort, pain, or confusion; they are short-term solutions that deter, rather than eliminate the problem. Here are a few suggestions to help keep common home invaders away*.

•       Cedarwood Oil. Contains strong phenols that exude acidic fumes that humans love, but are deadly for mice, and repel roaches, rats, mosquitoes, fleas, and snakes.
•          Citronella Oil. Mix with water or rubbing alcohol and spray where you’ve noticed rodents. The strong scent disrupts their olfactory abilities and causes them pain, which they prefer to avoid.
•       Clove Oil. Besides repelling mice, clove oil also kills some insects on contact. Soak rags or cotton balls in clove oil and place them around your home’s crevices, cracks, and holes.
•        Lavender Oil. To repel moths, put a few drops in your closet or drawer corners.
•        Peppermint Oil. Its powerful scent makes rodents skedaddle. Also helps deter ticks, spiders, roaches, moths, flies, fleas, beetles and ants.
•       Tea Tree Oil. A popular choice to repel mice, midges, flies, and mosquitoes.

While widely available in stores and online, the sad truth is that essential oils have sometimes been adulterated by unscrupulous businesses. Diluting with vegetable oils, synthetic extenders, or even false labeling claims are just a few of the ways some providers attempt to maximize their profits. That’s why it’s so important to secure your essential oils from a company you can trust.

From finding pure plants at the source, to testing them in the lab, to teaching you how to safely use essential oils for their true benefits, you can trust what’s on the label and in the bottle of every Aura Cacia essential oil. You can trust Aura Cacia.

•       Quality begins at the source. Aura Cacia has developed relationships built on integrity and trust with the people who supply their ingredients. These ethical and mutually-beneficial associations allow for improving the social conditions and environment of grower communities – while providing you with the highest quality products.
•       Rigorous purity testing process. Aura Cacia was one of the first to pioneer a test that is now considered the standard to prove essential oil quality. It’s called gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) testing, and it’s the primary way to ensure an essential oil is an unadulterated, true botanical.
•       Reap the full benefits. Because multiple plants often share a common name, the botanical name is a more reliable way to determine that you’re getting what you’re expecting, and the true aromatherapy benefits you want. That's why using a pure, unadulterated essential oil is so important. It’s also why Aura Cacia provides the botanical name and the aromatherapy benefit on every bottle – so you know exactly what you’re getting.

*As always, keep essential oils and objects containing them (such as cotton balls and diffusers) out of reach of curious children and pets.