Finding out what essential oils to use for different complaints is usually straightforward but in the case of allergies, it can be quite complex. In this article, we’ll not only look at the best essential oils for allergies but also the things that you can do to try to lower your triggers to them. Finally, if you want to know how and where to apply essential oils for allergies, scroll down to the bottom of the article where we have some DIY recipes.
What Essential Oils Are Good For Allergies?
So, first, let’s think about what essential oils are good for allergies, so you can collect them together. Then we’ll do a deep dive into each one to work out why they are good, and the different situations you could use them.
- Melissa essential oil
- German Chamomile essential oil
- Roman Chamomile essential oil
- Lavender essential oil
- Frankincense essential oil
- Myrrh essential oil
- Eucalyptus Essential Oil
- Basil essential oil
- Helichrysum essential oil
Essential Oils For Seasonal Allergies
1. Melissa Essential Oil
As we write, last night there was a full Harvest Moon. The leaves are starting to fall, creating the perfect storm for allergies. Funnily enough, on the opposite side of the world, new springtime blossoms are doing the same. It’s almost as if there are specific seasonal allergy weeks across the planet.
There are very few oils that can tackle allergies on their own. It’s always most successful to use combinations of the best essential oils for allergies. Melissa essential oil comes top of the list of the best essential oils for allergies because it is a natural antihistamine. Histamines are chemicals that are found in some of our cells. They are responsible for many allergy symptoms such as runny noses or sneezing. If someone is allergic to something, like some kind of food or dust, for example, the immune system confuses this harmless substance with something that might hurt the body. It triggers a chain reaction asking the body to release histamine and other chemicals into the system to overpower the invader.
Histamine then reacts in a person’s nose, eyes, skin, throat or gastrointestinal tract causing allergy symptoms. Ideally, the best essential oils for allergies will be antihistamines, but actually, there are very few of those, most oils only treat allergy symptoms, rather than their cause.
Melissa Essential Oil - A Natural Histamine
In this case then, when we use essential oils for seasonal allergies, we face difficulty, because Melissa essential oil is so expensive. It is rich in monoterpenes that can oxidize very quickly and if you use old oils can cause skin sensitization.
For this reason, we buy a small bottle of essential oil if we are using it for personal use and try to use it in as many other different treatments as we can. Melissa essential oil is also externally good for insomnia, so if you struggle to sleep because you have got a blocked-up nose, you could also use it for that.
In addition, it has a tremendous effect on mood. It’s uplifting and relaxing without being sedative. It makes you feel incredibly joyful and happy and let’s be honest, we need all the help we can get when we feel stuffy, itchy, and miserable because of seasonal allergies. However, it will work best to combine it with other oils to soothe down itching and soreness and to unblock the sinuses.
2. German Chamomile Essential Oil
Probably the worst thing about hayfever is the irritation you feel in your eyes, you always feel like you have gnats crawling over your face, and of course, that leads to stuffiness too.
The best essential oil for allergies that feel itchy and sore is German chamomile essential oil. It’s brilliant for red, irritated eyes too. German chamomile, often called Blue Chamomile essential oil or Chamomile Matricaria and is a tremendous anesthetic. It is rich in a constituent called Chamazulene which effectively numbs the area around the eyes so that the antihistamine flare-up does not feel as irritated.
German chamomile is safe and easy to use as long as you avoid the first 16 weeks of pregnancy.
3. Roman Chamomile Essential Oil
If you feel like it’s very inflamed, or if you only have Roman chamomile essential oil, that works perfectly well too. Roman chamomile essential oil has anti-inflammatory constituents, so we might consider that if the skin becomes red and inflamed, it will help.
Again, as long as you avoid that first delicate 16 weeks of pregnancy, Roman chamomile is a lovely safe and soothing oil that is easy to use.
4. Lavender Essential Oil
Never write lavender off as being a solution that’s too obvious. As long as you are not in the first sixteen weeks of your pregnancy, it is safe and effective to just add a couple of drops of lavender essential oil. It’s beautifully calming and will reduce the itching.
What Essential Oils are Good for Sinuses and Allergies?
5. Myrrh Essential Oil
Myrrh is particularly good if there is very bad, sticky, congestion. It is a powerful decongestant, melting through blockages, but be aware that myrrh will also really make your nose run. So, a good aromatherapist would avoid using myrrh on children, in the evening, for fear of creating a postnasal drip, simply moving the problem from a stuffy nose to an irritating cough. However, myrrh is wonderful if somebody has been suffering from sinuses for a long time and is very worn down by the problem because it acts a bit like a sledgehammer, getting through the congestion, very, very, quickly.
6. Eucalyptus Essential Oil
Eucalyptus essential oil is very decongestant, it’s refreshing and uplifting. However, it’s not a good choice for children, because it is high in a constituent called 1, 8 cineole that slows respiration. We tend not to use that on very small children, just to protect them against that danger.
7. Frankincense Essential Oil
The gentlest and most effective essential oil for sinus allergies is frankincense essential oil. It slows the breath, unblocks the sinuses and refreshes our mood. Frankincense is also one of the best essential oils for allergies and asthma. Asthma is such a cruel disease. Surely there is nothing more frightening than not being able to breathe. Essential oils not only calm the symptoms but they also calm the emotional panic that can also make the asthma worse.
Frankincense slows the breath, opens the airways, decongest the sinuses but also brings a profound sense of peace. Frankincense essential oil immediately brings about a spiritual tranquility close to that when you meditate or pray. It calms the entire system, hopefully bringing back equilibrium.
Often it can be a good plan to blend frankincense essential oil with Melissa for its antihistamine properties, and lavender and chamomile for their abilities to calm, and maybe also something grounding like Vetiver, Galbanum or Jasmine essential oil.
8. Sweet Basil Essential Oil
Another of the best essential oils for allergies is sweet basil. It unblocks the sinuses and is marvelous if you are starting to feel a bit drowsy from medications or from the lavender and chamomile, or you need to be a bit more on top of your game. Sweet basil is invigorating and powerfully active, making you feel more motivated and able to concentrate better.
9. Helichrysum Essential Oil
We have included helichrysum onto the list of the best essential oils for allergies because it acts as an overall tonic to the system. There is research that suggests there may be familial links underlying allergies and connections to conditions like eczema. This Atopic Link is also thought to be connected to Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, where the liver has become toxic and is no longer working as effectively as it should do. Helichrysum essential oil is a wonderful tonic in these situations.
It is particularly good for skin allergies, improving the skin condition in eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis, as well as being extremely fortifying for digestive issues. In both cases, again, we would suggest combining with one of the calming chamomile essential oils.
Where To Apply The Best Essential Oils For Allergies?
Essential oils are absorbed through the skin and into the blood system. If you have an occasion when it is difficult to be able to apply your essential oils directly onto the sinuses (like if you have a full face of makeup, for example) then know that if you apply them anywhere in the body they are going to start doing the job alone.
In these situations, apply diluted essential oils onto the inside of the wrist where you can see the good blood supply, on the blue veins, and although the oils obviously won’t reach the sinuses as fast as if they would if you had applied it directly, they will still find their way through.
Applying Essential Oils for Allergies and Sinuses
The olfactory nerves are the only nerves in the body that do not have to go through the spinal column to get to the brain. They are housed within the sinus cavities and so have a direct route to the part of the mind that not only affects memory but also emotions. This means that when we apply the essential oils on the sinuses, they are not only going to have a physical effect but they will, almost immediately, have emotional and mental effects too.
The sinuses are like empty caverns in our skulls designed to resonate with our voices. This is why we sound so strange when we have blocked noses. There are four of them that go right across the top and back of the head. Essential oils will be able to clear that space quite quickly if we apply them directly, but it’s not easy to reach all of them.
When we apply essential oils, of course, we will have great effects by massaging them into the scalp, however, the best way to apply them is to rub them over the forehead and underneath the cheekbones.
The Best Essential Oils for Allergies Combinations: DIY Recipes
Combinations of The Best Essential oils for Allergies: Hay fever, cat hair, dust, etc.
Sinus Symptoms Allergy Rollerball
- 10ml Jojoba Carrier Oil (Simmondsia chinensis)
- 2 drops Melissa Essential Oil (Melissa officinalis)
- 4 drops German Chamomile Essential Oil (Chamomilla matricaria)
- 2 drops Frankincense Essential Oil (Boswellia carterii)
Method of Application: Rub onto the forehead, especially under the eyebrows where there are sinus acupressure points, and over the cheekbones.
Safety: Not suitable for use in the first 16 weeks of pregnancy.
Best Essential Oils for Allergies: Skin Flare-Ups
- 2oz Aqueous Cream (Available from the pharmacy)
- 1 tsp Avocado Carrier Oil (Persea americana)
- 1 drop Melissa Essential Oil (Melissa officinalis)
- 1 drop Helichrysum Essential Oil (Helichrysum splendida)
- 1 drop German Chamomile Essential Oil (Chamomile matricaria)
Method of Application: Rub onto the forehead, especially under the eyebrows where there are sinus acupressure points, and over the cheekbones.
Safety: Not suitable for use in the first 16 weeks of pregnancy.
Best Essential Oils for Allergies - Digestive
- 10ml Grapeseed Carrier Oil (Vitis vinifera)
- 3 drops Helichrysum Essential Oil (Helichrysum splendida)
- 1 drop Roman Chamomile Essential Oil (Anthemis nobilis)
- 1 drop Cardamom essential Oil (Elettaria cardamomum)
Method of Application: Rub onto the forehead, especially under the eyebrows where there are sinus acupressure points, and over the cheekbones.
Safety: Not suitable for use in the first 16 weeks of pregnancy.
Conclusion
The best essential oils for allergies are a combination of melissa, lavender and chamomile essential oils supported by frankincense or myrrh for sinus allergies. Support them with helichrysum and cardamom for digestive flare-ups and helichrysum for skin.
