Peppermint, with its strong peppermint scent, is typically associated with the holidays. Think of candy canes hung on the Christmas tree and glued to beautifully wrapped packages. Or how about a mint chocolate bark or mint flavored hard candies?
But don’t be fooled. This scent of the season is not so seasonal after all. While thoughts of peppermint can evoke feelings of warmth in November and December, peppermint is also for the dog days of summer.
So hot it’s cold, so cool it’s hot
Peppermint essential oil is known as an adaptogen in aromatherapy parlance. In other words, it’s adapted to whatever you need me to do. Mint warms you when you are cold and cools you when you are hot. Other popular adaptive essential oils include lavender and lemon. Its effects are sedative or stimulating and, like peppermint, they adapt in the direction that benefits you the most.
mint gold peppermint, the plant’s Latin botanical name, is a very popular herb that many people plant in their gardens. In fact, this summer I am growing mint in a terracotta pot on my patio. Here’s a fun experiment: try “petting” the plant’s leaf, like some visitors to my house did today. Then smell your hand that caressed those leaves. My guests found it delicious that their fingers smelled like mint. By touching the leaves of the plant, they had crushed them and thus released their aromatic molecules.
These small aromatic molecules are what make up essential oils, which not only smell wonderful and benefit us in many ways, but in nature serve to protect plants from predators. At the same time, they attract the “good guys” with their scent. These “good guys” include pollinators like bees and moths that help a plant species spread.
distilling it all
Various parts of botanicals, such as leaves, stems, flowers, and roots, are steam distilled to extract the essential oil. If you’re of a certain age, think of Granny Clampett making her moonshine and you’ll have a good idea of the distillation process.
During distillation, the plant oil is expelled by steam, and subsequently the water and oil are separated from each other. The resulting “essential oil” is a light, water-like substance. Essential oils are in stark contrast to heavy, fatty vegetable oils, such as olive and almond, which are in fact “oily” to the touch.
making aromas of everything
Essential oils are used in the creation of perfumes, soaps and in all kinds of consumer products such as toothpaste.
In aromatherapy, we use pure essential oils to improve our general well-being. Oils have been proven over the centuries as healing aids for the human body and emotions. Although the practice of aromatherapy has long been considered a part of folklore, modern science is beginning to back up what our ancestors knew and what today’s aromatherapy practitioners know: we can benefit in many ways from the healing properties of botanical essences.
If you’ve decided to make yourself a Peppermint Spritzer to help cool you down this summer, use a good quality essential oil, not a synthetic fragrance oil. The best place for a consumer to start is at a health food store they trust. There are also many online sources for pure essential oils, but my experience is that most people who are not that familiar with aromatherapy are better off visiting a health food store and talking to someone knowledgeable about essential oils.
A quick way to distinguish a true essential oil from a synthetic fragrance oil is to look for the Latin botanical name on the bottle. If you don’t see it, don’t buy the oil because it is most likely a synthetic fragrance oil and not a true essential oil.
Almost all essential oils require dilution before use, usually in a carrier oil such as jojoba or almond oil. However, for our purposes we will use spring water or distilled water as our vehicle.
My personal mix during the summer months is 10 drops of high-quality peppermint essential oil in 4 ounces of distilled water. I mix the formula in an amber glass spray bottle. You can find these bottles online; however, you will usually have to buy in quantity and it is difficult (but not impossible) to find individual amber glass bottles with a sprayer for sale. Fortunately, many health food stores sell individual amber glass spray bottles. Why amber glass? An amber glass bottle is a must because you want to keep sunlight away from the essential oil. Otherwise, the effectiveness of the oil may be compromised as a result of exposure to direct sunlight.
I keep my Peppermint Spritzer refrigerated so it gets twice as cold. Simply shake the bottle before each use and then spray yourself, using common sense and avoiding your eyes, pets and children.
Plus, I also keep a bottle next to the bed for those hot flashes that come in the middle of the night. Women in their mid-life may find this basic combination a powerful solution for the episodic and bothersome “hot spots” that often occur before menopause, during menopause, and after menopause.
Peppermint essential oil has many other wonderful uses due to its chemical composition. For example, it’s often used for nausea and gastrointestinal upset, but that’s an article for another time.
Finally, peppermint essential oil has rejuvenating and refreshing properties, so another benefit of your Peppermint Spritzer is that it will not only refresh you physically, but it will also lift your spirits.
How to make a Peppermint Spritzer
Items you will need
• 4 oz. amber glass spray bottle
• 10 drops peppermint essential oil (from a dropper bottle or you will need an actual dropper)
• Distilled or spring water
Addresses
• Add enough water to almost fill the bottle, but not so much that the water overflows when you put the sprayer into the bottle.
• Add 10 drops of peppermint essential oil
• Insert the sprayer into the bottle and your mix is ready.
How to use
• Shake well before spraying and mixing essential oil and water.
• Spritz on yourself during times when you need to refresh or when you need to revive your spirit.
Tip: Store your Peppermint Spritzer in the fridge to keep this refreshing mix really cool.
Use common sense with caution, especially if you have sensitivities, are pregnant, or ill. Avoid mucous membranes and keep out of eyes. Keep Peppermint Spritz mix and all essential oils out of the reach of children and pets.
