Sure, we all know that lavender essential oil can alleviate stress and that tea tree oil can kill fungus. But, did you know that peppermint oil can cure hiccups in virtually no time? How about the fact that grapefruit oil is the perfect product for washing your fruits and vegetables?
In addition to their numerous health benefits, essential oils come in handy for a wide range of common troubles. From removing sticker residue to freshening your breath, essential oils can do it all!
21 Weird and Surprising Uses for Essential Oils
1. Use Lavender Essential Oil before Bringing Your Pet to the Vet
Lavender essential oil’s calming effect on a person’s nervous system is well-known. But, did you know that lavender oil can calm a pet as well? The scent affects humans and animals alike. If your pet is stressed out because of a visit to the vet or an animal outside, let them smell some lavender essential oil and watch as they slowly calm down.
How to Use
When your pet is feeling stressed out, pour about five drops of lavender essential oil into the tank of an oil diffuser and fill the rest of the tank with water. Then, plug the diffuser into an outlet and allow the lavender-scented vapor to fill the room in which your pet is occupying.
Alternatively, you can make a calming spray by combining ten drops of lavender oil and water and pouring this mixture into a small spray bottle. You can spray a small amount of this mixture into the air around your pet.
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2. Use Lemon Essential Oil to Clean Crayon and Marker Stains
Thanks to lemon essential oil, you don’t have to sweat if your child’s need for artistic expression means that your walls and tables are covered in crayon and marker doodles. Lemon essential oil is a solvent that can completely remove these types of stains. In fact, the oil can even remove permanent marker stains on clothing!
How to Use
Pour about eight drops of lemon essential oil onto a clean cloth. Then, wipe the stain using this cloth. If the stain is on an article of clothing, gently dab the stain and wait for thirty minutes before rinsing out the lemon essential oil.
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3. Enjoy Some Aromatherapy when You Light a Fire
There’s nothing like a roaring fire in the middle of winter. Few people know that you can use essential oils to enhance this wonderful experience. By pouring a few drops of lemon essential oils onto a log, the smoke from the fire will fill the room with a glorious aroma. If you’re using your fireplace during the winter, we suggest using warm and spicy oils like cinnamon, clove and frankincense.
How to Use
Before starting a fire in the fireplace, pour a couple of drops of some essential oils of your choosing directly onto the log. Then, sit back and enjoy the wonderful fragrance that slowly drifts across the room.
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4. Use Lemon Essential Oil to Remove Gum from Hair and Fabric
As we stated earlier, lemon essential oil is a powerful solvent that can dissolve all kinds of sticky substances. If you have the misfortune of finding a piece of gum in your hair or on your carpet, you can use this essential oil to remove it in no time.
How to Use
Pour about five drops of lemon essential oil directly onto the gum. Wait about thirty seconds so that the oil has time to absorb into the gum. Then, slowly work out the gum with a paper towel or cloth. If the gum is in your hair, you can gently comb it out.
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5. Use Peppermint Essential Oil to keep Spider Mites off of Your Houseplants
Few things are more upsetting than finding a population of spider mites feeding on your precious houseplant. These mites reproduce like crazy while they suck the life out of your beautiful plants. Fortunately, peppermint essential oil is a powerful mite repellent that will keep those creepy crawlies far away from your precious indoor garden. Plus, the oil won’t harm your plant in any way or emit toxic chemicals like some popular insecticides.
How to Use
Place an oil diffuser within a couple of feet of your plants. Then, fill the tank of the diffuser with water and add about five drops of peppermint essential oil. Turn the diffuser on. Those mites will be history!
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6. Use Tea Tree Essential Oil to Freshen Up Your Gym Shoes
If you’re the type of person who likes to stay active, it’s likely that your gym shoes are far from fresh-smelling. When our feet sweat, we create an environment for our shoes in which bacteria can thrive. Of course, this means that those shoes are going to smell. Luckily, tea tree essential oil can completely eliminate that nasty bacteria while masking any odors with its potent minty aroma. Plus, the oil’s anti-fungal properties will protect your precious feet against fungal infections.
How to Use
Mix together about two tablespoons of baking soda and five drops of tea tree essential oil. Then, sprinkle this mixture into your shoes. The baking soda and tea tree oil mixture will slowly absorb into the material.
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7. Use Peppermint Essential Oil as a Sugar-Free Breath Refresher
If you care about having fresh breath but aren’t thrilled about the high levels of sugar found in most gums and mints, try using peppermint essential oil instead. Just place a drop or two onto your tongue and feel your entire mouth tingle within seconds. Peppermint has a strong enough aroma to mask bad breath. Additionally, the oil’s antimicrobial properties will take care of any bacteria that is lingering inside of your mouth.
How to Use
After removing the cap of your peppermint essential oil bottle, pour one or two drops directly onto your index finger. Then, press your index finger firmly against the center of your tongue. If you have a toothache or gum pain, you can dab a drop onto the inflamed area as well. The oil’s anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties will take away the pain almost immediately.
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8. Use Lemon Essential Oil to Clean Greasy Pans
Nothing is more frustrating than spending hours cooking a magnificent meal and then having to aggressively scrub the grease off of your pots and pans. Luckily, lemon essential oil makes removing grease a piece of cake. The citric acid in the oil breaks down grease molecules quickly, allowing them to rinse out with ease.
How to Use
Fill your pot or pan with water. Then, pour several drops of lemon essential oil directly into the water. Let the pot or pan soak for about five minutes before rinsing out the water and scrubbing the pan. If the grease is still holding on for dear life, you can pour a couple of drops of lemon essential oil directly onto the greasy area and scrub it out.
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9. Use Tea Tree Essential Oil to Clean a Recent Piercing
Many people mistakenly believe that you should use rubbing alcohol to heal a recent piercing. The problem is that rubbing alcohol is a harsh product that can irritate the skin severely, preventing it from healing and creating excessive scar tissue. Tea tree essential oil, on the other hand, is gentle enough to clean a piercing without irritating the skin. The oil’s anti-fungal, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties give it the ability to heal the hole quickly while preventing infections of all kinds.
How to Use
Once each day, pour about three drops of tea tree oil onto a cotton ball. Then, firmly hold the cotton ball against the piercing for about fifteen seconds.
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10. Use Essential Oils to Make Silk Flowers Smell Real
There’s no shame in using silk flowers instead of real ones. Fresh flowers are incredibly expensive. Plus, they require a level of care with which many people aren’t comfortable. If you want to make your artificial flowers seem even more authentic, try dabbing them with some floral-scented essential oils. Most people will never know that your flowers aren’t real!
How to Use
Pour a few drops of a floral-scented essential oil onto a cotton ball. Then, gently wipe the petals of the flowers with the oil-soaked cotton ball.
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11. Use Patchouli Essential Oil to Mask Cooking Smells
Have you ever hosted a dinner party after frying something in oil or cooking fish? If so, there’s a good chance that your kitchen smelled far from fresh by the time that your guests arrived. The sad reality is that no matter how tasty our food is, sometimes the cooking process creates odors that are anything but appetizing. If you want to mask those smells before your friends begin to show up, you can use patchouli essential oil as a deodorizer. This potent-smelling oil can overpower even the most offensive smells in your kitchen.
How to Use
After you’re done cooking, pour into a small saucepan about one cup of water. Then, add about ten drops of patchouli essential oil. Put the mixture on low heat and allow it to simmer until it has completely evaporated.
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12. Use Tea Tree Essential Oil to Create Your Own Hand Sanitizer
If you like to keep your hands free of germs, tea tree essential oil is a must-have product. When combined with aloe vera gel, the oil acts as the perfect hand sanitizer that you can bring with you everywhere you go. The oil’s antibacterial, anti-fungal, antiviral and antimicrobial properties give it the ability to kill a wide variety of icky germs.
How to Use
Purchase a squeeze bottle that can hold about ten ounces of liquid. Into the squeeze bottle, pour about twelve drops of tea tree essential oil. Then, fill the rest of the bottle with aloe vera gel. Give the bottle a good shake before liberally applying it to your hands.
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13. Use Grapefruit Essential Oil to Cure a Hangover
Delicious grapefruit essential oil can dramatically reduce the symptoms of a hangover when taken the morning after a long night of partying. The oil’s antioxidant properties can alleviate those awful aches and pains while the oil’s stimulating properties allow your mind to feel alert and energized. The vitamin C in grapefruit oil helps to replenish the nutrients that are lost after downing a few cocktails.
How to Use
Into a small glass, pour about two drops of grapefruit essential oil. Then, fill the rest of the glass with water. Stir the water and oil together before drinking the entire contents of the glass. Do this first thing in the morning for the best effects.
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14. Use Cinnamon Essential Oil to Stop Sugar Cravings
The need for sweets can make it difficult to maintain a healthy body weight. Plus, high sugar intake can wreak havoc on your physical and mental health. Whenever your sweet tooth starts begging you for a special treat, try inhaling some cinnamon essential oil. The oil has been found to eliminate sugar cravings almost immediately.
How to Use
Whenever you feel a sugar craving coming on, simply remove the cap of your cinnamon oil bottle and hold the bottle up to your nose. Breathe in through your nose slowly until the craving dissipates.
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15. Use Basil Essential Oil to Train a Cat
Did you know that cats absolutely hate the scent of basil? Therefore, basil essential oil is the perfect way to teach your cat to behave. By creating a spray of basil essential oil and water, you can control your cat’s behavior in a completely ethical way.
How to Use
Into a small spray bottle, pour about ten drops of basil essential oil. Then, fill the rest of the bottle with water. If your cat does something naughty, spray the mixture in their general direction. They should stop immediately.
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16. Use Clove Essential Oil to Squash a Cigarette Craving
No one ever said that quitting cigarettes is easy. There are loads of products out there that are designed to kill those pesky cravings. However, not all of these products are exactly good for you. That’s why clove essential oil is the best choice when trying to calm that need for a smoke. The oil has been found to eliminate cigarette cravings within seconds when inhaled through the nose.
How to Use
When you’re craving a cigarette, twist the cap off of your clove essential oil bottle and hold the bottle right below one nostril. Take slow, deep breaths until the craving has vanished.
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17. Use Lemon Essential Oil to Remove Residue from a Sticker
Who hasn’t gone slightly insane when trying to scrape the residue of a price tag off of a box or a ceramic dish? It seems like no matter what you do, there’s still that patch of white that will never go away. Well, you may be surprised to learn that lemon essential oil can dissolve that annoying residue within seconds. Because the oil is a solvent, it breaks down that sticky adhesive so that the paper can easily peel off.
How to Use
Simply pour one or two drops of lemon essential oil directly onto the residue. Wait about ten seconds before rubbing the residue with a cotton cloth. The residue should come off with ease.
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18. Use Peppermint Essential Oil to Soothe a Sunburn
Sometimes, no matter how much sunscreen we apply to our bodies, we come home from a day spent outdoors with a painful sunburn. Luckily, thanks to peppermint essential oil, you can achieve complete relief from that burning pain quickly. The oil has analgesic properties that allow it to cool and numb the skin when applied directly onto the affected area.
How to Use
Combine two tablespoons of olive oil and five drops of peppermint essential oil. Then, dip your fingertips into the oil mixture and massage the sunburn for about thirty seconds.
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19. Use Peppermint Essential Oil when Studying for a Big Test
Peppermint essential oil has been extensively studied for its effects on the mind. The oil boosts memory function and alertness when inhaled through the nose. Therefore, this oil will give you the brainpower that you need when you’re studying for a big test.
How to Use
When you are studying for a test, fill the tank of your oil diffuser with five drops of peppermint essential oil and water. Plug the diffuser into an outlet and turn it on. Try to sit as closely to the diffuser as possible while you study.
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20. Use Peppermint Essential Oil to Put an End to Aggravating Hiccups
Everyone claims to have a trick when it comes to getting rid of hiccups. However, these tricks rarely work. One thing that does work, however, is peppermint essential oil. The oil’s antispasmodic properties will stop the spasm that’s causing the hiccups while the oil’s ability to treat indigestion will heal whatever is going on with your digestive system.
How to Use
When you have the hiccups, pour two drops of peppermint oil into a small drinking glass. Then, fill the rest of the glass with water. Quickly drink this mixture.
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21. Use Grapefruit Essential Oils to Wash Your Produce
With its anti-fungal, antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, grapefruit essential oil can clean your fruits and vegetables without covering them in toxic chemicals.
How to Use
Fill a dish basin with water. Then, pour about eight drops of grapefruit oil into the water. Soak your produce in this water and oil mixture for about five seconds.
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Summary
Where would we be without essential oils? These non-toxic and affordable products can make our lives easier in so many ways. If you’ve ever tried one of these brilliant hacks, tell us about it in the comments section below!