Essential Branch

Blend recipes

Essential Oil Blends for Calm

Wild chamomile flowers and scattered red poppies growing at the edge of a barley field.
Wild chamomile flowers and scattered red poppies growing at the edge of a barley field. Photo: JackyM59, CC BY-SA 4.0

Calm blends sit between the bright energy of citrus and the slow warmth of woods and resins. Bergamot, lavender, geranium, frankincense and ylang-ylang are the oils most often chosen here, traditionally used to soften a tense evening or a busy room. Small studies of inhaled bergamot and lavender suggest they may help some people feel more relaxed, though results vary and none of this replaces support for anxiety. These recipes are deliberately light, because a calm blend that shouts defeats its purpose. Ylang-ylang stays out of the skin recipes because its skin limit is very low, and several of these oils are flagged for cats.

Diffuser

Bergamot, frankincense and geranium

Oil Note Drops
Bergamot 2
Frankincense 2
Geranium 1

No carrier oil: add the drops to the diffuser water.

A rounded, slightly floral blend for early evening. Bergamot is a citrus oil, which pet poison lines list as toxic to cats, so let cats leave the room and do not run it for hours.

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Diffuser

Orange, ylang-ylang and sandalwood

Oil Note Drops
Sweet orange 3
Ylang-ylang 1
Sandalwood 1

No carrier oil: add the drops to the diffuser water.

One drop of ylang-ylang is plenty; more can feel heavy or bring on a headache. Sweet orange and ylang-ylang are both listed as toxic to cats, so diffuse where cats cannot go.

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Roller bottle

Calm roller

Oil Note Drops
Lavender 2
Frankincense 1
Geranium 1

4 drops in 10 ml of carrier oil: about 2%.

For adults: about 2% in 10 ml of carrier oil. Geranium can sensitise skin, so patch test on the inner arm first. For a child over 2, use half the oils (about 1%). Lavender is flagged for cats, so keep cats from licking treated skin.

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Bath

Chamomile and lavender bath

Oil Note Drops
Roman chamomile 2
Lavender 2

4 drops in 15 ml of carrier oil or bath gel: about 1.3%.

Stir the oils into 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of carrier oil or unscented bath gel before adding them to the water. People with ragweed or daisy-family allergies should patch test the chamomile first. Lavender is flagged for cats, so keep cats away from the bathwater.

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Sources

  1. Safety guidelines, Tisserand Institute
  2. IFRA Standards, 51st Amendment (ylang ylang extracts, citral, geraniol, citronellol, eugenol), International Fragrance Association (IFRA)
  3. Safety, National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy (NAHA)
  4. Updates on essential oils, Pet Poison Helpline
  5. Citrus bergamia essential oil: from basic research to clinical application (Navarra et al., 2015), PubMed Central (NIH)
  6. Lavender and the nervous system (Koulivand et al., 2013), PubMed Central (NIH)