If you’re an allergy sufferer, you can know how challenging certain times of the year can be! I’ve tried a lot of different things but what has worked best for my family is using essential oils for allergies. Here’s how you can find relief naturally, as well as some of my favorite oil blends to help you feel better quickly.
Seasonal allergies are no joke, whether you’re dealing with a stuffy nose, sneezing, irritated sinuses, watery itchy eyes, or all of the above. Allergies can ruin beautiful weather when you’re too miserable to do anything.
Luckily, there are simple things you can do at home to help relieve the symptoms of allergies, including using easy-to-make essential oil allergy blends.
Related: The 15 Top Essential Oils for Allergies
Erika Bragdon is a Certified Essential Oil Coach from the Essential Oil Institute.
Our Experience Using Essential Oils to Help with Seasonal Allergies
My husband and son deal with spring allergies every year. Before we discovered these natural home remedies for seasonal allergies, my husband would sneeze frequently and end up with watery, itchy eyes. Sometimes his eyes would get so red, it was almost scary looking!
My 9-year-old son would end up congested and sneeze a lot. Both of them were miserable if they didn’t use over-the-counter allergy medications. But we prefer to try natural remedies if possible and thankfully we’ve found that essential oils for allergies work really well for us.
A couple of years ago, my friend recommended an essential oil allergy blend recipe using a roller bottle with 3 common essential oils. She said it worked great for her symptoms.
It was easy to make the allergy roller and my son began to experience relief in just an hour! His congestion improved and his sneezing subsided too.
Now we use this roller blend of essential oils for allergies regularly and at the first sign of any seasonal discomfort.
How to Make an Essential Oil Allergy Roller Blend
There are several ways you can use essential oils, from diffusing to simply smelling an open bottle of essential oils, but one of our favorite ways is to make an essential oil roller bottle.
Ingredients to Make a Roller Blend:
- 10ml glass roller bottles
- fractionated coconut oil or your favorite carrier oil
Roller bottles are little glass bottles with a roller ball on the end. You combine drops of essential oil with a carrier oil. One of the most common carrier oils and the one I use and recommend is fractionated coconut oil. It’s different than regular coconut oil because it doesn’t harden in cold temperatures; it stays at a constant liquid form.
Once you’ve combined the ingredients, you have to squeeze the roller ball back into the top, cap it, then shake it well, and roll it on.
I’ll share where to roll or rub on the essential oil blend for the best results later in this post.
Essential Oils for Allergies: 4 Blends to Make
Please read my Essential Oil Common Sense Safety page before using this or any essential oil recipe. I am not a medical professional and the information presented here is merely for educational purposes and not intended to replace medical advice. It is your responsibility to do your own research, consult with your medical provider, and make safe decisions for yourself and your family.
A note on the best essential oil brands: there are many high-quality brands available and you don’t have to join an MLM either. I’m not against MLMs; I’ve used them myself, but I’ve seen just as good quality of essential oils from other brands too at more affordable prices.
It is important that you use high-quality essential oil as some cheap essential oils (think a large bottle of lavender oil for $8) contain additives and less-than-helpful plant species. This may leave your allergy blend ineffective or worse, with side effects. Check out this post on how to choose the best essential oil brand for your family.
A note on dilution (how much essential oil is used compared to carrier oil) – Remember, essential oils are very potent. Always use smaller amounts to start with, especially if you choose to use any of these blends with children. You may choose to increase the number of drops of essential oils slowly if you are not seeing the desired results.
#1 Lemon – Lavender – Peppermint Essential Oil Blend
This is our favorite essential oil recipe for allergies.
- lemon essential oil: may help with respiratory discomfort
- lavender essential oil: calming and balancing
- peppermint essential oil: promotes clear breathing and healthy respiratory function
Safety:
- Lemon – may cause increased sensitivity to the sun. Avoid direct sunlight for up to 12 hours after applying lemon to the skin.
- Peppermint – Some medications may interact with peppermint so check with your doctor. Do not apply on or near the face as it may cause irritation.
How to Make it:
Add 3-5 drops of each oil into a 10ml roller bottle.
Fill with fractionated coconut oil, replace the rollerball and cap, then roll back and forth in your hands to blend.
If needed, you may choose to increase the number of essential oil drops up to 15 drops total. Remember to use less for children.
#2 Eucalyptus + Lavender + Lemon + Roman Chamomile Essential Oil Blend
- eucalyptus essential oil – may help with symptoms of nasal passage discomfort
- lavender essential oil: calming and balancing
- lemon essential oil: may help with respiratory discomfort
- roman chamomile: may help calm irritation and has cleansing properties
Safety:
- Eucalyptus – do not apply on or near the face as it may have an irritating effect on skin and eyes.
- Lemon – may cause increased sensitivity to the sun. Avoid direct sunlight for up to 12 hours after applying lemon to the skin.
- Chamomile – do not use during pregnancy.
How to Make it:
Add 2 drops of eucalyptus, 2 drops of lavender, 2 drops of lemon, and 2 drops of roman chamomile essential oils into a 10ml glass roller bottle.
Fill with fractionated coconut oil, replace the rollerball and cap, then roll back and forth in your hands to blend.
If needed, you may choose to increase the number of essential oil drops up to 15 drops total. Remember to use less for children.
#3 Frankincense + Ginger + Lemon Essential Oil Blend
- frankincense – calming and relaxing and may help with symptoms of inflammation
- ginger: may help calm irritation and support the lungs, sinuses, and nose
- lemon essential oil: may help with respiratory discomfort
Safety:
- Frankincense – known to have blood-thinning effects; if you have any blood clotting issues, do not use until you’ve consulted with a doctor.
- Ginger – always dilute well before using topically as it is ‘hot’ oil and may cause skin irritation
- Lemon – may cause increased sensitivity to the sun. Avoid direct sunlight for up to 12 hours after applying lemon to the skin.
How to Make it:
Add 3 drops frankincense, 3 drops ginger, 3 drops of lemon essential oils into a 10ml glass roller bottle.
Fill with fractionated coconut oil, replace the rollerball and cap, then roll back and forth in your hands to blend.
If needed, you may choose to increase the number of essential oil drops up to 15 drops total. Remember to use less for children.
#4 Peppermint – Lemon – Eucalyptus Essential Oil Blend
- peppermint essential oil: promotes clear breathing and healthy respiratory function
- lemon essential oil: may help with respiratory discomfort
- eucalyptus essential oil – may help with symptoms of nasal passage discomfort
Safety:
- Peppermint – Some medications may interact with peppermint so check with your doctor. Do not apply on or near the face as it may cause irritation.
- Lemon – may cause increased sensitivity to the sun. Avoid direct sunlight for up to 12 hours after applying lemon to the skin.
- Eucalyptus – do not apply on or near the face as it may have an irritating effect on skin and eyes.
How to Make it:
Add 3 drops peppermint, 3 drops lemon, and 3 drops eucalyptus into a 10ml glass roller bottle.
Fill with fractionated coconut oil, replace the rollerball and cap, then roll back and forth in your hands to blend.
If needed, you may choose to increase the number of essential oil drops up to 12 drops total. Remember to use less for children.
For more essential oils for seasonal allergies, check out this post to learn about the top 15 recommended essential oils.
Where to Apply Essential Oils for Allergies:
You can roll or rub this allergy roller onto the spine, back of the neck, across the toes, and/or on the soles of the feet.
How Often Should Essential Oil Allergy Blends be Used?
In my experience, these essential oil allergy blends (especially blend #1 with lavender, lemon, and peppermint oils) have worked so well at helping relieve related symptoms, my loved ones have only needed to apply it twice a day.
If you are not seeing desired relief, you may want to roll it on every 2-4 hours. If you’re still not seeing desired relief, you may choose to add a couple more drops of essential oils.
Our ‘magic’ combination seems to be 15 total drops. Yours may be different. Remember to use less for children as a little goes a long way!
More Ways to Use Essential Oils for Seasonal Relief:
Diffuse lemon, lavender, and peppermint essential oil – add 2 drops of each to your diffuser
at night.
Check out my additional natural remedy tips for allergies.
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Kate says
Thank you, this is very helpful. My son has seasonal allergies and I’m hoping this will help me and he won’t need to take a daily pill. You said in the post less drops for young children, he’s 9 I could use the 20 drops?
Erika says
Editor’s Note: I’ve changed the number of drops of essential oils I initially recommended since writing the original post.
Megan says
I’m curious Erika, what did you change the number of drops to?
Felicia says
Can u add olive oil with essential oils instead of coconut oik?
Yvonne Wrigley says
Can this blend be used all day if they are going to be outside, as lemon is photosensitive? Just wondering before I use it on my son.
Erika says
Good question. I would use your best judgment with this one. I use this blend on my son all the time and he plays outside in the sun often. However, if we were going be outside at a park or at the beach all day, that might be different. There’s only a tiny bit of lemon essential oil in this blend and I have never once had any issues with sunburn while using it.
Kristy says
Thankyou Erika for all your work to share with us. I used your top 5 home remedies for seasonal allergies website too. Thankyou again.
Dana says
I just tried this & did 4 drops each and it worked within 15 minutes. I’ve been suffering for days with allergies & wish I wouldve concocted this days ago! God bless you! I’m so grateful for this recipe!
Erika says
I’m so glad to hear it helped you, Dana!
Kathleen says
Where can I get the small labels for the bottles
Erika says
Try Etsy!
Scarlet says
I will have to try some of these blends. I know lavender does wonders for my son’s allergies and preventing ear infection.
Shirley says
My son loves, eucalyptus, and lavender, peppermint, can these 3 be used?
Erika says
Yes, that’s a great combination, Shirley.
Bree Corten says
Is there any other essential oils that can be used instead of eucalyptus? I’m highly allergic to eucalyptus and been trying to find other oils that can do help with colds allergies and thing’s like that.
Erika says
Yes, you can find other blends without eucalyptus in the post. My favorite combo is lavender – lemon – peppermint.
Li Lian says
My son is 4.5 years old and has allergies. Is it ok to apply the peppermint lavender and lemon combination for him? I understand that peppermint might not be suitable for smaller kids. Thanks! Li Lian
Erika says
Hi Li Lian, lavender and lemon should be fine. Use a higher dilution rate (fewer drops of essential oil) to be safe. Also avoid using lemon essential oil if he’s going out in the sun for longer periods as it’s a photosensitive oil (it can cause increased sun sensitivity). I’ve personally never had this issue with myself or my kids but we live in New Hampshire.
Li Lian says
Ok thanks! I will try lavender and lemon then!
Kate says
Thanks so much for this post! I’m hoping it will help my 11YO son. I was wondering, how long can you keep the roller bottle? I’ve made others before, and they last forever. But will the potency of the oils eventually weaken? How often would you recommend remaking the blend? Thank you!!
Erika says
Hi Kate, I’ve used my roller bottles after 18+ months and they still work.
It really depends on how you store it. If you keep the roller in a sunny window, the sun will break down the oils and your roller won’t last as long. But if you keep it in a cool, cupboard you should be good for awhile.
A M says
Hi can I ask how many drops you used in the 10ml roller for your son?
Erika says
I used 4-5 drops of each oil.