With what some would call the most beautiful season - summer, come many benefits: endless sunshine, the sea, traveling, fresh fruit and vegetables, etc. However, one thing above all has the potential to sour this wonderful fun - those pesky little mosquitos.
A mosquito bite or ten can turn you into an itching mess, not to mention that you become covered in red spots instantly.
So how do we put an end to this? Is there a solution or are we bound to endure mosquito torture as the price for summer bliss?
Luckily for you, we’ve got the perfect mosquito bite remedy - natural essential oils.
Let’s dive into everything you need to know about how to treat mosquito bites with essential oils!
What Do Mosquito Bites Look Like?
Before we get into remedies, we first need to understand why we even need any help dealing with mosquito bites. What is it about them that makes our skin itchy, irritated, and inflamed?
Well, when the female mosquito punctures your skin to feed on your blood, it leaves behind trace amounts of saliva which contains anticoagulatory elements which can, in turn, trigger your body’s immune system.
This is why you get redness, itching, inflammation, and for some, even pain.
What Not to Do With Mosquito Bites
Treating them isn’t only about which products you should use or what to do with them. It’s also about what not to do.
The single most important piece of advice here is that you should not scratch them.
Easier said than done, we know, but it’s super important.
When you scratch the bite, you’re scratching the outside layer of the skin, making it vulnerable to infections and additional irritation. Not to mention that the damage you cause while itching your skin can lead to more inflammation, prolonging the recovery time.
So, whatever you do, do not scratch your mosquito bites.
What Makes Essential Oils Helpful in Treating Mosquito Bites?
When we think of essential oils, we usually think of putting them in diffusers to make our homes smell nicer. However, they aren’t just fragrance alternatives.
Essential oils are quite powerful in many ways - they can have anti-inflammatory properties, help reduce anxiety, improve sleep, kill bacteria, relieve headaches and nausea, etc.
Using essential oils in your daily life can significantly improve it without having to buy expensive over-the-counter medication or supplements.
Our Selection of the Best Essential Oils
Finally, we get to the most important matter - which essential oils are going to help you get over mosquito bites quicker.
There are many natural essential oils out there with different properties that might help soothe your skin.
Here are some of our favorites:
1. Lavender Oil
Considered to be a staple by many, lavender oil is a miracle worker. It has incredible antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic properties, which makes it perfect for treating all negative effects of mosquito bites.
What’s more, when applied to the skin, lavender oil has a cooling effect, allowing instant irritation relief, while simultaneously promoting skin recovery and healing.
To add to its praise, lavender oil is quite gentle, making it suitable even for sensitive skin.
2. Peppermint Oil
Peppermint’s most notable effect is the cooling one and it’s not to be taken for granted. With mosquito bites, what we want most is relief from itching. That’s exactly what peppermint gives.
Also, peppermint essential oil has strong analgesic properties, which can help reduce pain and discomfort caused by irritation and inflammation.
Although mild, the anti-inflammatory properties of this oil can help with swelling and redness of the affected area.
However, since peppermint oil is pretty strong, it mustn’t be applied by itself, otherwise it can lead to even more inflammation and irritation.
To reap the benefits without the potential side effects, dilute a few drops of peppermint essential oil into a carrier oil, such as jojoba or coconut oil, before applying it to the skin.
3. Eucalyptus Oil
Eucalyptus is another powerhouse when it comes to health benefits. It is highly anti-inflammatory, making it perfect for swelling and inflammation reduction.
Moreover, it also contains those lovely cooling properties which will eliminate your need to itch and scratch your mosquito bites.
Lastly, eucalyptus essential oil has antiseptic properties, helping promote faster healing and prevent potential infection.
4. Tea Tree Oil
Well known for its incredibly strong anti-bacterial and antimicrobial benefits, tea tree oil can play a significant role in preventing infection and minimizing inflammation.
We mustn’t forget this oil’s soothing effects, as it makes your skin less itchy and irritated, preventing scratching and further complications caused by it.
It’s also recommended to use tea tree oil in conjunction with a carrier oil, to avoid unwanted irritation caused by the strength of tea tree oil.
5. Chamomile Oil
Chamomile is well-known for its gentle, soothing properties. However, that’s not all it has to offer.
Starting with what it's renowned for, chamomile can help alleviate itchiness and swelling caused by mosquito bites, giving you instant relief from discomfort and pain.
Though they are not its main characteristic, chamomile oil does contain mild antimicrobial properties that protect against infection.
What’s more, chamomile promotes faster wound healing, all the while alleviating pain, discomfort, and itchiness.
6. Oil Mix
If you want to get the incredible properties of not just one, but a multitude of these oils for maximum results, you can opt for products that have carefully combined them into a single, effective oil blend.
This is a much better option than mixing them yourself, as you can never be too sure how two oils are going to work together, or how much of each you’ve incorporated.
This way, you can be sure that formulation was done by experienced and competent chemists, to extract the best from all ingredients.
You can find exactly this in Pure Yeva’s 7 Drops Body Oil, which contains Lavender, Apricot, Organic Sunflower, Marjoram Thymus Mastichina Flower Oil, Clary Sage, YlangYlang, and Wintergreen essential oil.
Together, these oils soothe the skin, relieving not only discomfort and itchiness but also stress and tension.
Conclusion
Whether you choose lavender, peppermint, chamomile, eucalyptus, tea tree oil, or Pure Yeva’s 7 Drops Body Oil as your mosquito bite remedy you will undoubtedly find immediate relief with your skin being soothed from itchiness and inflammation.
The anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, and antimicrobial properties these oils contain will help prevent infection and promote skin healing, ridding you of discomfort in a short period.
So don’t hesitate to choose an essential oil and incorporate it into your daily summer routine - you won’t regret it!