No More Stuffiness Aromatherapy Congestion Blend
I deal with a lot of congestion. Recently I had a cold that lasted for over two weeks, and I used herbalism, aromatherapy, and aromatic medicine to ease my symptoms. I also have constant congestion from allergies, so I am always trying different blends to help support my respiratory system.
One of the aromatherapy products I used during my cold was an essential oil congestion blend. I made it in a personal inhaler and I decided to share my recipe for it. I only had a limited amount of essential oils and CO2 extracts with me when creating it (since I was out of town at the time), and I did not want to use my usual staples for congestion. This blend is effective and it smells amazing! My cold is long over but I have still been using the personal inhaler whenever I feel congested and it seems to help a wide range of congested conditions. It really helps clear stuffy noses!
Please Note: Essential oils, CO2 extracts, and herbs are only one part of an effective protocol, and different aromatics and herbs work for different people. In addition, since this recipe is meant for at home usage, and it is for a single personal inhaler, I have created it using drops instead of using ml or mg.
‘No More Stuffiness’ Personal Inhaler
Ingredients:
7 drops of lavandin (Lavandula x intermedia) essential oil
7 drops of piñon pine (Pinus edulis) essential oil
4 drops of cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) CO2 select extract
Directions:
Place the cotton wick in a small bowl. Drop the essential oils and CO2 extract on the wick. Use tweezers to roll the wick in the bowl: make sure the wick is fully coated and it has absorbed all of the aromatics. Use the tweezers to put the wick into the inhaler. Then close the personal inhaler with the cap.
To use the personal inhaler: remove the personal inhaler from its cover, and inhale several times a day to help clear congestion.
Notes On Equipment:
For the bowl, I recommend using a glass or stainless steel bowl.
Be sure to wear gloves when making aromatherapy personal inhaler blends, so you don’t accidentally get undiluted essential oils or CO2 extract on your skin.
Aromatic Notes and Safety:
Lavandin essential oil is great for congestion and it is antimicrobial. I used Stone Rise Farm‘s Lavandin ‘Sumian’. I usually don’t love the aroma of most of the lavandin essential oils I have smelled over the years, but I love all of Chris Burder’s lavandins! His lavandin essential oils are simply beautiful!
Piñon pine essential oil is excellent for congestion (Butje, 2014 and 2018). It is also antimicrobial and sedative (Butje, 2014 and 2018).
Cardamom CO2 extract contains more esters than cardamom essential oil, which makes it an excellent antispasmodic (Webb, 2017 and 2018). In my experience, the CO2 extract is very calming and it is excellent for congestion. I think the aroma of cardamom CO2 extract is superior to the essential oil–and I love the aroma of the essential oil!
The aromatic choices and dosage for this recipe are blended for an adult. For older kids (that are old enough to understand how to safely use a personal inhaler), use only half the amount of aromatics: so 3 drops each of lavandin and piñon pine, and 2 drops of the cardamom.
Note: Although lavandin essential oil and cardamom CO2 extract contain 1,8 cineole, the amount of 1,8 cineole in these two aromatics is usually not considered high enough to cause adverse respiratory reactions in some young kids. Essential oil safety expert Robert Tisserand states that essential oils with 40% or more 1,8 cineole are a concern when applied to the facial area of babies and young kids (Tisserand and Young, 2014). Lavandin essential oil and cardamom CO2 extract contain way less 1,8 cineole than this. So lavandin essential oil and cardamom CO2 extract are generally considered safe for most kids that are old enough to use a personal inhaler.
Be sure to research every essential oil and CO2 extract well before use, to make sure that there are no contraindications with your personal conditions and issues. This blend is safe to use for many people, but it may not be safe to use by some people in certain situations. If you are not sure about whether the aromatics are safe or not for you, I recommend undergoing a consultation with a local, qualified aromatherapist who will be able to help you determine the safety of a blend for you.
References:
Burder, Chris. 2018. Photo of Lavandin Sumian from Stone Rise Farm. This is a photo of his plants. Extra special thanks to Chris for allowing me to use his photo for my article. I added the font to the photo.
Butje, Andrea. 2014 and 2018. Online Component Blending Course–Datasheet: Piñon Pine. Aromahead Institute. (Note: I took the class in 2014, but it was updated in late 2018).
Tisserand and Young. 2014. Essential Oil Safety, 2nd Edition: Chapter 6–The Respiratory System: Infants and Nasal Instillation. Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier. pg. 109.
Webb, Mark. 2017. CO2 extracts–The How, What, Where, When And Why. AromaMedix Pty Ltd. Hosted by Emily Carpenter of marvymoms.com. Rochester, NY.
Webb, Mark. 2018. CO2 extracts–The How, What, Where, When And Why. AromaMedix Pty Ltd. Hosted by Li Wong of Plant Alkemie, Philadelphia, PA. (Note: this class was completely updated from the previous year).
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If I do not have the correct Pine species, is there another Pine or other conifer species that would have similar chemistry and be equally effective? Thank you in advance! And I really love the use of Cardamom CO2 here which is not one that most people would immediately consider.
Hi Kathy, you can use any pine species or conifer that you like. 🙂 I am so glad you love cardamom CO2 extract too! Have a lovely day!