With all the travel that’s been a part of our life, it just wouldn’t be the same without our essential oils. I basically keep these oils in my handbag, so they’re always with me anyway – but they are definitely my top essential oils for travel – and ones I don’t want to leave the house without!
To be able to help me and my family in just about any situation we come across, from a natural standpoint, and with just a few small bottles is such a huge thing… and means less running to the drugstore every time we’re on a trip for some emergency something.
Since it’s a question I get often, I’m excited to share these essential oils for travel with you today!
Another question I hear often is, “Can you carry bottles of essential oils on a plane?”
The answer is definitely YES! I actually prefer to carry them on with me than to check them in my luggage.
The TSA regulation for carrying liquids on board is basically as many 5 or 15ml bottles that will fit in a 1 quart plastic bag. As long as a liquid is under three ounces, you’re golden, which works out to six 15 ml bottles or eighteen 5 ml bottles.
I always keep a small carry case in my handbag full of my essential oils for travel for all of our emergency, on-the-road needs, and it’s perfect to have on hand in any situation.
If you prefer to be completely cautious before heading through airport security, you can use a clear, quart-size ziplock bag for travel since that is what the TSA website states for liquids and recommends. This will ensure that you’re following their guidelines and your essential oils for travel can safely travel with you!
Also, it will keep any spills from leaking through to other parts of your bag, which has happened to me before as well, though that’s not the norm… just make sure those tops are screwed on tight!
My Top Essential Oils for Travel and Why You Don’t Want to Leave Home Without Them!
These are the oils I never leave the house without, and how I use them while on a trip.
Peppermint Essential Oil for Travel
I usually don’t step out of the house without peppermint essential oil handy. It’s a go-to oil for SO many things.
Peppermint is one of those multi-purpose oils from our natural medicine cabinet! We use it for upset stomach (from nausea to digestion issues), headaches, when we need energy, I’ll add a drop on my toothbrush for fresh breath and for gum health, pain relief and tension relief. Another way I use this essential oil for travel is to add a drop to a wet washcloth and leave it in the shower to let the steam and aromatherapy do its work to open sinuses and alleviate travel wear.
Lavender Essential Oil For Travel
Lavender essential oil is another “do-it-all” oil and it’s pretty easy to say, “When in doubt, use Lavender Oil.”
It’s moisturizing and calming to the skin (making it great for burns, sunburns, and dry skin), antibacterial (great for cuts and scrapes), can help to mentally relax and calm (used to calm during the day as well as helpful for sleep), and is great mixed with pretty much any other oil as well!
Lemon Essential Oil for Travel
Another multi-purpose oil! Lemon Essential Oil is such a great cleansing oil, and I know that seems counter-intuitive when traveling since I don’t usually clean when away from home… but hold on for some great tips.
First, I like to keep Lemon oil on me to add 1-2 drops to my water (in glass bottles only) as a great detox. If I am traveling with a diffuser, Lemon is very purifying and cleansing for the hotel room air.
It’s also perfect for stains! Just 1-2 drops on a stain will help preserve your clothing until you can get home to wash it since it gets out grease, gum, crayon, and more.
A single drop behind your ears and on your wrists can help reduce or eliminate anxiety (great mixed with lavender, and please, ALWAYS use a carrier oil when applying to skin – coconut oil is my go-to option).
If you suffer from allergies, and sometimes you don’t know until you’re in a new place that you have an allergy to something in the new climate or air, you can use a couple drops of Lemon, Lavender, and Peppermint 2x a day on the bottom of your feet to help!
Lemon oil is also something you can add with honey to warm water to fight coughs, sore throats, and fever (just make sure to use a pure oil that you trust for any internal use, which is why I use Spark Naturals).
Melaleuca Essential Oil for Travel
Melaleuca essential oil, also referred to as Tea Tree Oil, is an oil that I didn’t travel with before since I don’t like the scent, but lately have been keeping on me since it’s SO great for earaches and mine seem to have been getting plugged up more often lately while pregnant for some reason.
I rub it around the outside of my ears and it helps tremendously (and you definitely don’t want earaches or plugged ears when flying)! Melaleuca is also antibacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antiviral, decongestant, analgesic, and insecticidal… so basically it’s so good for everything!
Mix with Lavender for sunburns and cuts, use on bug bites, bruises, blisters, cold sores or just about anything else.
Cedarwood Essential Oil for Travel
Cedarwood essential oil is an oil that I always travel with, although it’s one to avoid use during pregnancy.
For me, a couple drops of Cedarwood on the bottom of my feet at night feels like taking a sleeping pill. It has a calming, sedative effect, making cedarwood a great oil for restless leg syndrome and spasmodic conditions as well.
It can be used as a cough suppressant (just rub on chest and throat at night to settle before bed), for menstrual support (since it can help to regulate hormones, which is why it’s an oil to avoid when pregnant), and as a bug repellant (which also means it’s a good oil to sprinkle on the beds when you get into a hotel room)!
Birch Essential Oil for Travel
When I know we have an active trip ahead, I make sure to bring along Birch Essential Oil. In fact, I used to always keep this with me, but it’s another oil to avoid when pregnant, so I haven’t kept it in my to-go bag as often. Birch Essential Oil is actually used as a topical aspirin since the main component is an active compound used in aspirin and it has a cortisone-like quality that brings muscle pain relief on contact.
Shield Essential Oil Blend for Travel
To me, this is like one of the heroes of our essential oil collection. Shield essential oil blend is a HUGE immunity booster and especially great when traveling as that can seem to be when my body can get worn down.
Hello, all the airplane germs being circulated and dirty elevator buttons and door handles that have never been sanitized and public transportation with people coughing on you, and the list goes on.
I use this as our protective oil and apply it morning and night to the bottom of our feet – especially when traveling.
You really don’t need a ton of oils when so many oils can pull double or triple duty on needs they can address. That’s why these are the main essential oils I travel with. I can mix, match and use for SO many things… and then will sometimes rotate in an oil I’m actively using at the time, like Harmony Women’s Essential Oil Blend, Dream-Sleep salve or others.
Kid Safe Essential Oil Roll-Ons for Travel
My favorite items that I never leave home without – our kid-safe essential oil roll ons!!
I’ve been using these blends for years, and in fact, we teamed up with Spark Naturals to share the same blends we use with our children in a Kid Safe Roller Collection. These easy-to-use rollers are essential oil blends diluted in fractionated coconut oil at the perfect ratio for children.
Homework Helper, Boo Boo Blend, Tummy Buddy, and Sleepy Head are a perfect mommy’s natural medicine cabinet arsenal. They are so easy to use that our older children have learned how to get them and use them themselves. They are super convenient to have on the go in your purse or diaper bag and provide comfort and relief when you are away from home – I use them on myself, too!
PS. The Sleepy Head smells AMMMMMMAZING.
I also keep a few extra necessities on hand, like our homemade healing salve for everything from cuts and burns to scrapes and bug bites.
Another item you don’t want to travel without is a carrier oil, this is an oil that will dilute your essential oils before applying directly to the skin. It’s essential to keep this in your travel bag as well, especially when the kids are traveling. I’ll usually pour some fractionated coconut oil into a small travel bottle to use when needed. It’s great as a body oil, too!
Something I keep in my purse and also like to have at the ready when I walk into a hotel room is our DIY sanitizing spray – and I hit every surface with this spray; handles, knobs, light switches, telephone, pillows, toilet seat, sink handles, bathtub, etc. I give the room a thorough spray down and feel much better about the rest of our stay. And the plus of having it in my purse? I use it on our hands and other surfaces when we’re out! Its versatility definitely is why it makes my list when it comes to essential oils for travel.
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What are your best tips for traveling with essential oils? What oils or DIY products are a MUST to bring when you leave home?
Keep Reading! More Oily Posts From Fresh Mommy Blog:
- Easy DIY Deodorant with Simple Ingredients
- DIY Sanitizing Spray with Essential Oils
- 15 Must Try Essential Oil Recipes for Your Diffuser
- Deodorize and Refresh Your Mattress (You Need This!)
Check out some of our top Essential Oil Posts!
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Easy Recipe for The Best Homemade Playdough with Essential Oils for Calming by top Florida lifestyle blogger Tabitha Blue of Fresh Mommy Blog. Change the colors and cookie cutters for any holiday. This pink is perfect for Valentine's Day or Easter!
What are some of your favorite essential oils for travel? Let me know in a comment below!
Jeena says
Sometimes I use the shield blend when traveling to spray down or wipe down the bathroom at the hotel. Spray it on the toilet, handles, counters, etc.
Rhea says
I tried lavender essential oil for healthy looking skin. And when I travel anywhere and I’m exposed to the sun so I need this kind of essential oil that could help myself pretty okay. I recommend you to try one in doterra products . Check it out http://www.justbecauseicare.org/essential-oil-tip-3/ .
Corked Inc. says
These sound like the perfect thing to take on a holiday trip! It should help to make a hotel room feel like home!
Julia Stearns @ Healthirony says
Wow, I found your post from Pinterest, Tabitha! Your fantastic information and pictures entail much to aromatherapy lovers. I prefer multifunctional lavender essential oil for travel. There are all oils from your list I currently using by the way!
fourseasonslasercenter says
Thanks for sharing this. All of the question on my mind was answered!
FourSeasonsLaser says
I like all the oils you mentioned. Nice blog!