Nobody likes being bitten by insects and small children, who are prone to scratching bites, should be top priority for protection. Unfortunately, many commercial insect repellents contain chemicals (such as DEET). While there is little evidence to suggest identifiable health risks, DEET does come with a long list of warnings and precautions.
Here at GECCO, if there’s a natural alternative, that’s where you’ll find us elbow deep in eco ingredients! Thankfully, making your own all-natural insect repellent needs only a short ingredient list … so you’ll be pleased to know you can keep your elbows free. Here we have two different recipes; one for fabric and one for the skin.
Skin Safe Spray
- Distilled water
- Witch Hazel or rubbing alcohol
- Dried herbs
- Boil 1 cup of distilled water and add 3-4 tablespoons of dried herbs. We recommend a mix of citronella, lemongrass, lavender or catnip, with either spearmint or peppermint- or both!
- Mix well, cover and let cool down.
- Strain the herbs out of the mixture and mix the water with one cup of witch hazel.
- Pour it into a spray bottle and store it somewhere cool – the fridge is ideal!
Cloth Spray
The use of essential oils directly on delicate skin can cause irritation. As such, we recommend using this spray only on your clothing or accessories:
- 100 drops various essential oils
- 1 tablespoon vodka or rubbing alcohol
- 1/2 cup water or vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon vegetable glycerin (optional)
- Place approximately 100 drops of essential oils in a glass spray bottle- make sure it’s glass! You can use a combination of any of these bug-repelling oils; citronella, lemongrass, clove, rosemary, tea tree, eucalyptus, catnip, cedar, lavender, mint or geranium.
- Add vodka and witch hazel, then shake vigorously.
- If you’re using vegetable glycerin, add it in now. It’s not necessary, but it does help stop the ingredients separating.
- Shake before every use
