Make your own DIY essential oil rollerballs for spring and summer to soothe all sorts of ouchies and ailments, including bug bites, sunburns and more.
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Rollerballs, roller bottles… I’m never quite sure what to call ’em, but what I do know is that they are a favorite way of mine to use essential oil blends in our daily lives.
So, in case you don’t know, an essential oil rollerball (or roller bottle) is a small rollerball tube that contains essential oils diluted with a carrier oil so it’s ready to be applied directly to your skin for topical use when you need it. I call it a rollerball because of the roller ball top, others call it a roller bottle because of the bottle itself. As far as I know, both are technically correct. Potayto, potahto, amiright?
I wrote a post about my favorite blends of rollerball recipes for fall and winter a few months ago where I go into a lot of detail about creating and using rollerballs, as well as essential oil dilution for everyone in your family, including kids and babies. I won’t go into as much detail here because you can check out that original post here. But I will touch on the important points again.
The recipes I had in the fall and winter post were specifically formulated to assist with standard illnesses and ailments that tend to strike in the cold-weather months, however I do tend to use most of mine year-round, so don’t be turned off by the title of the post!
All of the roller recipes in both posts can be used all year long, however I’ve separated them into “fall/winter” and “spring/summer” simply because there are certain ones that are better suited for warm weather seasons vs. cold weather seasons.
This post focuses on essential oil blends to support health and wellness throughout the spring and summer, when we tend to deal with specific warm-weather issues like bug bites, sunburns and spring allergies. But again, some of them, like the relaxation and mood boosting blends, can most definitely be used all year long.
Okay, now that I’ve told you what you probably already knew, let’s dive into the really important bits…
Essential Oil Dilution
I’ve said it before, but I must say it again, it’s super important to DILUTE ESSENTIAL OILS in a carrier oil before applying them to your skin.
While there are a few essential oils that are gentler and may, in certain circumstances, be applied neat (aka. undiluted), the general rule is that you must dilute essential oils in a carrier oil (ie. olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, etc…) before applying them to skin. Failing to do so can result (and has resulted) in some pretty nasty burns and skin irritation.
Even some of the gentler oils like tea tree and lavender can cause skin irritation when applied neat. I speak from personal experience as I was using a neat blend of both these oils on my face when I was dealing with a particularly bad breakout. After a few days, I had such dry skin that it felt painfully tight and was starting to flake off. Not pretty. To be fair, my breakout had completely cleared up. But I think the dry skin was worse. So, moral of the story: Don’t be a hero. Dilute your essential oils. Get it? Got it? Good.
Okay, so how do you dilute essential oils, exactly?
According to Plant Therapy’s dilution guidelines, for adults you should be aiming for a 5% dilution. This is suitable for occasional or short term use.
For kids ages 2 to 15, the safest dilution is around 1%. Babies under 2 need even more dilution at just 0.1% – 0.5% max, and essential oils are not recommended for use on premature babies.
Now, full disclosure: personally, I don’t dilute mine quite so much. I do about a 10% dilution for my adult blends, and about a 2% or 3% dilution for my kid blends, which I make with all KidSafe oils, so they’re already naturally gentler than some of the ones I use for myself and my husband.
BUT, that’s what works for our family, and I came to that conclusion after a lot of patch testing and use of different oils. If you’ve been using an essential oil user for a while and feel confident in your dilution ratios, you are, of course, welcome to increase the amount of essential oils recommended in the recipes below. But I wouldn’t increase them any more than double what the recipe says, and I always recommend doing a small patch test on your wrist and waiting half an hour or so to see if you have a bad reaction before applying any more to your body.
All of that said, the recipes in this post are based on the standard 5% dilution for adults and 1% dilution for children ages 2-15. If you’d like a more detailed look at dilution recommendations you can check out the chart below.
Source: Plant Therapy
How to Dilute Essential Oils
To dilute essential oils, you must mix them with a carrier oil (not water!).
Essential oils are soluble in oil, meaning they’ll disperse easily and dilute effectively. They don’t mix well with water, so it’s always recommended that you dilute them in oil first for topical use.
When it comes to rollerballs, all you need to do is add the recommended amount of essential oils to your bottle and then top with a carrier oil of your choice. Then shake it up and it’s ready to use!
Choosing your carrier oil
Carrier oils are just fatty oils that you can use to dilute your essential oils. Pretty much any fatty oil can be used as a carrier oil, so think coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, jojoba oil, grapeseed oil, hempseed oil, etc.
If you’re not sure which carrier oil to choose, check out the chart below to get an overview of some of the most popular carrier oils.
Source: Plant Therapy
KidSafe essential oils
Not all essential oils are safe for use on children, so you should be careful about which essential oils you blend together in rollerballs intended for use on kids.
Luckily, Plant Therapy (the brand of essential oils that I use daily and recommend highly) has an entire line of KidSafe essential oils that are clearly labelled, so it’s easy to know which ones are safe for kids and which are not.
But don’t worry, if you use a different brand of essential oils or you’re not sure which oils are “KidSafe,” I’ve done the work for you here and have crafted KidSafe versions of most of the adult blends and included all of the recipes below (and I’ve diluted them to 1% already:)
How To Make Essential Oil Rollerballs
Making your own essential oil roller bottles is incredibly easy with a few “essential” supplies;)
You’ll need:
- Essential oils (see recipes below for specifics)
- 10 ml roller bottle
- Good choice carrier oil
Directions:
- Add the essential oils listed in the recipe you’ve chosen from the list below to your 10 ml roller bottle
- Top with carrier oil and place roller ball top back on the bottle.
- Shake well to blend before applying
Easy peasy, lemon squeezy, right?
Oh, and speaking of lemon squeezy, here’s my quick disclaimer (it has a little bit to do with lemon essential oil safety, so hear me out)…
Disclaimer and safety notes:
Please note that all of these recipes are intended for a standard 10 ml roller bottle.
Also note that any rollerballs that contain citrus oils like lemon or lime should not be applied to skin that will be exposed to direct sunlight as this can cause a phytotoxic reaction that can result in something similar to a sunburn. Steam distilled lemon and lime oils are safe for use in the sun.
Pregnant women should not use essential oils without first checking with their midwife or physician.
* All KidSafe blends listed below are intended for use on children over 2 years old. All essential oils listed in the KidSafe blends below are labelled KidSafe by Plant Therapy and diluted to 1%. *
As always, it is my legal responsibility to remind you that I am not a doctor and am simply sharing the essential oil blends that we use in our house and that I have researched thoroughly and understand to be safe. It is always recommended to consult your doctor, naturopath or certified health care practitioner before incorporating essential oils into your regular healthcare routine.
Essential oil rollerballs for spring and summer
Rollerballs for the great outdoors
Spring and summer are meant to be lived outdoors! But bug bites, boo boos and too much sun can cause skin irritation and make you and your family miserable. These roller bottle blends for the outdoors will help ward off unwanted critters, soothe sunburns and take the ouch out of summer duchies!
(Apply directly to affected area)
Buzz Off Bug Repellent
- 5 drops citronella
- 5 drops lemongrass
- 5 drops tea tree
* KidSafe “Buzz Off” Bug Repellent *
- 1 drop citronella
- 1 drop lavender
- 1 drop geranium
After Bite
- 5 drops peppermint
- 5 drops tea tree
- 5 drops lavender
* KidSafe After Bite *
- 1 drop chamomile
- 1 drops lavender
- 1 drop tea tree
Sun Soother After Sun Blend
- 5 drops lavender
- 5 drops peppermint
- 5 drops frankincense
* KidSafe Sun Soother After Sun Blend *
- 1 drop lavender
- 1 drop spearmint
- 1 drop frankincense
Boo Boo Blend
- 5 drops frankincense
- 5 drops tea tree
- 5 drops lavender
* KidSafe Boo Boo Blend *
- 1 drop frankincense
- 1 drops tea tree
- 1 drop lavender
Rollerballs for allergies and illnesses
Spring allergies can make you want to lock your doors and windows and never come close to another flower again. And warmer weather unfortunately isn’t enough to stop a cold. These essential oil roller blends will help to keep you healthy and breathing clearly all spring and summer.
(Apply to neck and behind the ears + temples & forehead for headache blends)
Spring Allergy Blend
- 5 drops peppermint
- 5 drops lemon*
- 5 drops lavender
* KidSafe Allergy Blend *
- 1 drop lavender
- 1 drop lemon*
- 1 drop fir needle
Headaches & Hangovers Blend
- 5 drops peppermint
- 5 drops lavender
- 5 drops sweet orange
* KidSafe Headache Blend *
- 1 drop lavender
- 1 drop sweet orange
- 1 drop spearmint
Summertime Cough & Cold Blend
- 5 drops chamomile
- 5 drops lemon*
- 5 drops eucalyptus
* Kidsafe Summertime Cough & Cold Blend *
- 1 drop chamomile
- 1 drop lemon*
- 1 drop eucalyptus
Rollerballs for Banishing Stress & Boosting Mood
Stress and anxiety can strike even during the bright and sunny spring and summer seasons. Keep calm and carry on with these stress-busting, mood-boosting rollerball blends.
(Apply to wrists, neck and behind the ears)
Stress-Free Summer Blend
- 5 drops lavender
- 5 drops sweet orange
- 5 drops ylang ylang
* KidSafe Stress-Free Blend *
- 1 drop lavender
- 1 drop sweet orange
- 1 drop chamomile
Anxious Traveller Blend
- 5 drops lavender
- 5 drops sandalwood
- 5 drops ylang ylang
* KidSafe Anxious Traveller Blend *
- 1 drop lavender
- 1 drop vetiver
- 1 drop chamomile
“Sunny Disposition” Mood Boosting Blend
- 5 drops pink grapefruit*
- 5 drops peru balsam
- 5 drops lime*
* KidSafe Mood Boosting Blend *
- 1 drop sweet orange
- 1 drop pink grapefruit*
- 1 drop steam distilled lime
Happy Gardener Blend
- 5 drops basil
- 5 drops lemon*
- 5 drops lemongrass
* Some citrus oils (lemon, lime, pink grapefruit) are phototoxic, which means they can cause skin irritation or even burs when applied and exposed to sunlight. If you’re using any of these essential oils in your rollerball blends, please be sure to only apply them to areas of skin that will be covered and not exposed to sunlight, OR use steam-distilled versions of the suggested oils. Plant Therapy carries steam distilled lemon and lime oils, which are safe to use in the sun.
If you’re looking to build your oil collection, you can check out Plant Therapy’s full (and extensive) list of essential oils here.
Or click here for KidSafe oils.
Labelling Your Rollerballs
You’ll want to label each rollerball you make as you go so you don’t get them mixed up.
DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE IMPORTANCE OF LABELLING!
Trust me, it’s really, really easy to get your roll-on bottles mixed up if you don’t label them right away, so put a label on it!
To help you out, I’ve created a free printable guide to creating your own Essential Oil Rollerballs, complete with printable labels. You can grab it from the “Home Pharmacy” section of my Free Resource library!
For more in-depth general info. about using essential oils, check out this post on Everything You Need to Know to Get Started With Essential Oils.
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