The cold months are upon us. And while this is a wonderful time to enjoy the crisp autumn air and get cozy with a cup of cocoa and maybe even a home spa day while the rain and snow beat down outside, we’re also entering the time of year when your immune system gets hammered the hardest.

That’s why in this post we’re going to explore 7 awesome ways you can use your essential oil collection to boost your immune system. If you want to support your immune system against the sniffles and uncomfortable scratchy throats this season, you’ll definitely want to try some of these recipes out.

Also, since many of these immune boosting essential oil recipes require you to mix and match and have a great old time blending your oils, I can’t recommend enough that you pick up one of our handy essential oil bottle openers. You get three of them in a pack for next to nothing price-wise, plus they’re super long-lasting and durable.

Trust me, having a proper bottle opener will make working in your “oil lab” much, much easier. Don’t blame me if you break a nail prying off the caps from your extra essential oil bottles!

With all that said, let’s dig into the immune support recipes. We’ll start with a favorite of mine, an easy, homemade version of the very popular thieves oil:

#1 – Bacteria Fighting DIY Thieves Oil Blend

Thieves oil has a storied (and somewhat morose) history. In a nutshell, the folklore behind this blend of oils is that 14th century grave robbers would use it to protect themselves from contracting the Black Plague. This is said to have eventually lead to the adoption of those super creepy masks plague doctors would wear. The beak of the masks were filled with a variety of herbs, spices, and straw.

Did it always work? No—but hopefully you’re not trying to protect yourself from the Black Plague. What we do know now, thanks to modern science, is that the ingredients used by graverobbers and doctors do indeed have antibacterial properties due to their terpenes and other oxygenated compounds. Clever folks thought to take these ingredients, distill them down to their essential oils, and create a bacteria fighting blend. Thus, “thieves” oil.

If you have a big collection of essential oils, this antibacterial blend is a wonderful way to put them to use. You can buy pre-blended versions of thieves oil, but if you already have all the ingredients, why not make your own?

Here are the oils that you’ll need:

• Clove essential oil (20 drops)
• Rosemary essential oil (5 drops)
• Cinnamon bark essential oil (10 drops)
• Lemon essential oil (20 drops)
• Eucalyptus essential oil (10 drops)

That’s a total of 65 drops. Not a ton, but I suggest blending them in a small 10ml bottle if this is your first time using the recipe. If you find it beneficial, you can come back later and double or triple the amount.

If you want to apply the blend topically, it’s very important that you dilute it first. Jojoba oil works well. This homemade thieves essential oil blend can be applied behind the ears, on the soles of the feet, or dabbed on your wrists.

You can also add this incredibly versatile blend to your homemade cleaning products or run it through your essential oil diffuser to purify the air.

#2 – All-Purpose Cleaning Spray

One of the best ways to support your immune system is to make sure that your home is clean and free (as possible) of bad bacteria. You can avoid the sniffles this season by paying special attention to doorknobs, shared surfaces (hello kitchen counter!), and anywhere else you can think of.

Making an all-purpose cleaning spray with essential oils is a lot easier than you might think, and a whole lot more effective than you’d guess if you haven’t used one before.

Here’s what to do: grab a 4oz spray bottle (preferably glass), and blend the following in it:

• 10 drops lemon essential oil
• 10 drops lavender essential oil
• 10 drops eucalyptus essential oil
• 3 tablespoons witch hazel (alternatively, vodka)
• A dash of unscented liquid castile soap
• Approximately 3 ounces of distilled water

Mix everything together (shaking is fine as long as your cap is on tight) and spray that sucker everywhere you want to keep sparkling clean to protect your immune system from having to work overtime.

Once you’ve seen how easy it is to make this all-purpose DIY spray, make sure you check out our post Winter Odor-Busting Essential Oil Recipes. You’ll find a particularly useful spray bottle recipe to knock out bad smells… and it’s especially effective on stinky shoes.

#3 – Immune Support for Kids Roller Bottle Blend

As a mom, I know how rough it can be when one of your kids feels unwell—and boy is it the season for runny noses. I’ve had success in reducing the odds of this happening by using a simple roller bottle blend. Add equal parts of the follow oils and dilute:

• Lavender essential oil
• Eucalyptus essential oil
• Lemon essential oil
• Clove essential oil

Make sure to dilute this blend well with your preferred carrier oil. Kids under five should have a 97% dilution (e.g., only 3% of your mix should be essential oils) and kids between 5-10 can have up to 95% dilution. It isn’t until we get a bit older into our late teens that high concentrations (e.g. 80%) can be used. Only adults should use “raw” essential oils, and only then with caution.

Don’t have any roller bottles yet? Pick up some roller bottles from the Aroma Outfitters store and thank me later. They’re much easier to get kids to use regularly, plus they’re far less likely to spill or have other accidents.

If you’re having difficulty getting your kids to see the value of essential oils, you must pick up a copy of Joe Bell’s A Day Without Oils. It’s a cute, colorful story about a boy who realizes how much essential oils really mean to him.

#4 – Homemade Essential Oil Disinfectant Wipes

How great would it be to have a “wet wipes” type product, minus all the chemicals?

Just another reason to love essential oils.

I was about to pull out my notes, but I realized I had already shared this recipe with you in last year’s post Essential Oil Recipes, Blends & Projects to Get Ready for Thanksgiving. Rather than repeating myself, just I’ll suggest you simply click that link to see the recipe, since it’s a bit lengthy (but so worth it).

#5 – Get Better Sleep With Essential Oils to Strengthen Your Immune System

According to the Mayo Clinic and countless other sources, there’s a proven direct correlation between the quality of your sleep and how strong your immune system is. In other words, it’s an incredibly well documented fact that if you don’t get enough sleep, or your quality of sleep isn’t good enough, you’ll get sick more often.

It’s scary, then, to consider that according to the CDC, 1 in 3 adults don’t get enough sleep.

If you’d like to be part of the other 2/3rds of people who do get a good quality amount of sleep, essential oils can help a lot, especially if you combine them with other good sleeping practices, such as light exercise during the day and cutting out caffeine after four o’clock.

Here’s a recipe for a wonderfully soothing sleepytime lotion:

• 10 drops lavender essential oil
• 10 drops vanilla essential oil
• 5 drops bergamot essential oil (learn more about Bergamot essential oil)
• 5 drops cedarwood essential oil
• 5 drops lemon essential oil
• Mix the above into 1 cup of organic coconut oil

(Even though we’re entering fall now, I thought I’d note that in the summertime it can be lovely to add 2-3 drops of peppermint or eucalyptus essential oil to this blend for a cooling effect.)

Simply rub the lotion on your hands and/or massage it into sore areas. Get your calves and shoulders. The relaxing effect of massage plus the infusion of essential oils will put you at ease so that falling—and staying—asleep will be easier than ever.

For more info on sleep-boosting (and thus immune boosting) essential oils, take a look at our post Essential Oils for Sleep.

#6 – Boost Your Immune System With Hormone Balancing Essential Oil Recipes

Well-balanced hormones are a very important piece to the puzzle of keeping  your immune system strong and supported. Your hormones impact so many vital functions of the body that it would take (literally) a shelf full of books to fully explain them all.

When your hormones are out-of-whack, you’re more likely to get sick, feel tired, and experience unwanted emotional fluctuations.

For hormone balancing, clary sage essential oil is the name of the game. No complex recipes necessary: simply take a few drops of clary sage and lavender (more on that wonderful oil below) and put them in your diffuser.

That’s just one way to start though, so be sure to read our post How to Use Essential Oils for Natural Hormonal Balance to get a much more thorough understanding of how essential oils can positively benefit your hormonal balance.

#7 – Lavender Essential Oil Recipes for Immune Support

This list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the so-called “Swiss Army knife” of essential oils—lavender oil.

We’ve talked a lot about lavender on the blog, so I’ll refer you to our post Everything You Need to Know About Lavender Essential Oil Benefits & Uses. This mega-post will tell you everything you need to know about this tremendously useful oil and how to put it to work for you this season.

Fair warning: our lavender post really is quite long, and there’s a lot of information to digest. If you’d prefer to have it in ebook format for more convenient reading and easier referencing, you can grab a free copy here.

Are You Getting the Most Out of Your Essential Oils?

In this post you’ve hopefully gotten a bunch of great ideas on how to use your oil collection to boost your immune system. If you’d like to get even more ideas, take a look at our post on the topic from last winter, It’s That Season Again… Support Your Immune System With These Essential Oils.

Immune system support is a great way to use your essential oils, but as you probably know, there are literally thousands of ways to use your oils.

If you want to truly enrich your life with essential oils, a fantastic starting point is our completely free ebook that reveals our favorite recipes. It costs nothing and you’ll also receive four seasonally-themed, full-color printable diffuser recipe sheets. How neat is that?

The family here at Aroma Outfitters would just like to say that we all hope you’re having a wonderful autumn so far. Put your oils to work and keep that immune system strong!