I know DEET is the active ingredient in bug repellent that has been proven to work the best, however, DEET is not my favorite thing to put on my body or my daughter’s body on a regular basis. So unless I am camping, I choose to make my own non-toxic bug repellent. Since I have been using this bar, I have noticed I may still get a bite or two but not 15 bites. This bar is great for everyday use in my backyard or for a nightly neighborhood stroll.
I really like essential oil blends for this bug repellent bar because it makes my life easier. I don’t need to buy all of these oils separately. I know I would never use a full bottle of them. I add my favorite oil blend, Thieves oil, which includes clove, lemon, cinnamon bark, eucalyptus, and rosemary essential oils. A new oil blend I am loving right now is one called Purification. It is a blend of citronella, lemongrass, lavandin, rosemary, melaleuca, and myrtle essential oils. All of these scents keep those mosquitoes away!
There is an additional benefit to having Purification oil on hand: you can dab a drop onto any bite or sting and it will take the itch out. I got two bites on my shoulder the other night and I put Purification on them and they haven’t been itchy since!
Bug Repellent Lotion Bars
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup grated cocoa butter or shea butter
- 1/4 cup grated beeswax, firmly packed
- 1/4 teaspoon Vitamin E oil (optional)
- 1/4 tsp Purification oil blend (where to buy)
- 1/4 tsp Thieves oil blend (where to buy)
Directions
Using a glass bowl set over a simmering pot of water, gently melt beeswax, coconut oil, and cocoa or shea butter.
Stir ingredients until melted.
Remove from heat. Add essential oils and optional Vitamin E. Stir until blended, then pour into a mold. I like these silicon molds.
Allow to cool before removing from molds. You can place them in the fridge to speed things up a bit.
These bars will stay good for up to 6 months. Store in an airtight container. I use these tins to carry them around with me in my purse!
Love these? Check out my sunscreen lotion bars too!
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Further Reading from Around the Web
- Attend one of my Essential Oils 101 classes here!
- Everyday Essential Oils: Purification
- 10 Uses for Purification Oil
- How To Buy Therapeutic Essential Oils
- 50 Uses For Essential Oils
Featured you everywhere enjoy:) Your recipes are so cool! https://www.facebook.com/diyncrafts , http://pinterest.com/pin/340303315563646470/
Keep up the good work!
Lisa
Thanks for the info, but I gotta tell ya, I was trying to discern the name of your blog by reading the URL, and what I came up with was “Home a de Mommy” you know, like home of the… maybe I need another cuppa mud. :-\
Home made mommy
Confused. Do you carry them around or rub them on like a soap bar style lotion?
I was wondering the same thing as Melody. Do you rub them on dry or wash with them or what?
You rub them on dry… just like lotion but in a bar!
Yes exactly Riley! Thank you for responding!
These ook wonderful but this vitamin E has a paraben which I avoid… I think I would substitute pure argon oil or jojoba??
From wikipedia: “Parabens are esters of para-hydroxybenzoic acid, from which the name is derived. Common parabens include methylparaben (E number E218), ethylparaben (E214), propylparaben (E216), butylparaben and heptylparaben (E209).” The technical name for Vitamin E is tocopherol. The only thing they have in common is that they’re both used as “preservatives” – although Vitamin E is really an antioxidant that prevents rancidity but does not inhibit bacterial/fungal/etc growth. A lot of Vitamin E is derived from GMO sources, though, so be careful which one you purchase!
Vitamin E is an antioxidant and natural preservative, but it’s not a paraben. Otherwise, how could you buy “paraben-free” products that contain vitamin E? Or why would studies about cosmetic products list parabens and vitamin E separately? If it were a paraben, wouldn’t it be grouped together?
Vitamin E’s chemical name is tocopherol. Tocopherol is not listed in any database anywhere as a paraben.
This sounds like a great idea, but I’m confused by the directions. Do you add the water to the mixture? And if so, how much water should you add?
You do not add the water. The water is just in the pot on the stove. You set another bowl on top of the water to act as a double boiled to gently melt the oils.
Regarding the paraben comments: I think that Vivian was confused, as was I, by what appears to be two different ingredient lists provided by Amazon? Near the picture, there is a description of this “add on” item, which states the following:
Natural or Organic Ingredients
Safflower oil and/or soybean oil, almond oil, apricot oil, avocado oil, wheat germ oil, vitamin E, lecithin, propylparaben, fragrance.
But the ingredient list farther down on the page does not list the propylparaben or the fragrance (I wasn’t concerned about the fragrance, as I assumed that the “essential oil blend” cited in the second ingredient list was one in the same as “fragrance.”) Can anyone help me understand this discrepancy? Maybe I’m missing the obvious?
Are you a distributor for young living? I can’t place an order with them without a member ID # from a distributor. Thanks!
I am! You can get started with me here: http://bit.ly/HomemadeMommyEOs
I am curious as to approx. how much these cost to make. I clicked your links for where to buy, I am wondering on the amounts you use to make these….For example, you have 1/4 cup of Beeswax. On the amazon site, they give prices per oz./lbs. My question is, when purchasing these items, how many oz/lbs would I need to make your recipe ?
ie: 1/4 cup of beeswax is how many oz./lbs ???
Thanks.
Add Watkins Vanilla Extract. For some reason mosquitos and gnats HATE vanilla! There were times I would go walking through a marsh boardwalk with tons of bugs. I would apply Vanilla to me, and they would fly around my head, but NOT on me! It was amazing! So add Vanilla to your bug recipe. It does work. Watkins Vanilla is the best one though! I don’t know why, but it does work.
Love the idea, but the essential oil blends are really expensive. Do you have suggestions for individual oils that could be used instead?
Natalie – Amazon sells this product:
http://www.amazon.com/Synergy-Essential-Blend-Undiluted-Therapeutic/dp/B006OR6CDC/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1371317871&sr=8-7&keywords=bug+repellent+essential+oil
that’s only $8, or if you have a collection of essential oils you can add drops of your own.
Lindsey, I love this idea. The ingredients per batch are approximately $12 using the sources you listed. I would like to know the size (ounces) and number of bars a batch makes. What size were your bars and how many were made per recipe?
Thanks for the idea and info!
I didn’t weigh this but it made 6 bars that are likely 2 oz each.
I really want to make these as I live in SC-home of the mosquito and the rain just won’t quit here. So when it is sunny, the bugs try to carry you away. I need something for them. I got the thieves oil at a local store, but what in the purification E.O do I need? I do not want to buy so much of it and I like to live and buy local. I would love to know what exactly I need to add to the thieves oil. Thanks.
You can just use Thieves or you can also add Peppermint. I really do think the Purification oil works very well but the other two are nice alternatives. I am not an affiliate of Young Living – I just like their oils a lot!
Thanks, I didn’t think that you were an affiliate of their company. I just don’t need that much, ya know? Thank you so much. I have that one already.
Terrashield essential oil would work great too in this recipe. Can’t wait to try it out. #oils4everyone
i can not buy thieves oil here, in the Netherlands, wat can i use instead?