Essential Oil Blends So Good You'll Want to Use Them All Day Long

Essential oils (often referred to as “EO’s”) are popular alternatives to using artificial fragrances and are commonly used in the home as well as commercially produced skincare products like soaps, facial mists, bath treatments, and room sprays. We love using essential oils here at Bend Soap Company because they’re a clean and natural way for us to infuse our products with lovely aromatic scent. Essential oils also contain plant compounds that have been known to offer extra benefits for the skin and body. 

Aside from using a single essential oil on its own, like with our Lavender scented products, we also enjoy combining different EO’s together to create more robust scents that provide a variety of aromatherapeutic benefits. This is called “synergy” and it’s kind of like when you combine coffee and chocolate — it creates something greater than the sum of its parts. 

Today we’re going to dive into a few different essential oil combinations that have been known to improve mental health, encourage relaxation, and promote a restful night’s sleep. We’ll even share a few EO combos that may even help you soothe those muscle and body aches you’ve been dealing with. No matter which you choose, any of these essential oil combos go above and beyond to give you an amazing aromatherapeutic experience.

But First, What Are Essential Oils? 

Essential oils are highly concentrated botanical liquid extracts derived from various parts of plants including fruits, flowers, roots, barks, and seeds (just to name a few). They’re available in a variety of scents and each offer unique aromatherapeutic properties.

Here at Bend Soap Company, we take a lot of pride and care to craft products that are nourishing and safe for all types of skin. When it comes to giving our products an aromatherapeutic boost, we always steer clear from any synthetic or toxic fragrances and will often use high-quality essential oils that are often steam-distilled to obtain the highest levels of purity. Because these oils are the distilled aromatic essences of plants, they’re complex and contain many molecules — in some instances 100+! As a result, they have complex aromatherapeutic effects that can impact your mood and overall well being in various different ways depending on the oil and the application. 

The Benefits of Blending & Mixing Different Essential Oils

While each essential oil is different, there are a variety of benefits that they can offer. Your nose knows that aromatherapy is first on the list — essential oils smell amazing and can produce different moods and effects depending on the oil. Different EO properties can also offer benefits for your skin, like being antimicrobial and astringent (AKA ideal for acne-prone skin!).

Because essential oils are so complex and contain so many different molecules, they have the remarkable ability to increase — or, in some cases, even diminish — the effects and actions of those molecules that make them up when blended together. For example, you can deepen the effect of relaxing oils when they are used alongside each other. 

Essential Oil Combos for Improved Mental Health & Well Being

With everything happening in our busy lives, it’s important to make sure that we’re taking the time to practice self care (no matter how big or small it may be) and are staying on top of our mental wellbeing. October just happens to be the National Depression and Health Screening Month which makes it a great opportunity for all of us to start having conversations about mental health, be it with yourself or with a friend or loved one. You can even create a custom blend of essential oil to help promote mental wellbeing or give someone a Bend Soap Co. product made with essential oils known to promote mental clarity with a thoughtful note. 

Feeling the school or work struggle? 

Enhance your focus and mental acuity with a blend of rosemary, lemon, and eucalyptus found in our All Shield Goat Milk Soap. In a 2018 study, rosemary EO was shown to help improve memory and focus, while eucalyptus EO stimulates mental energy. When used in parallel with other uplifting scents, like orange and lemon, keeping your showers and sinks supplied with a bar of All Shield soap can offer a sense of calm, focus, and clarity back to your day. 

Ready to get creative?

If you're looking to tap into your creative side or just need a mood boost, grapefruit and ylang ylang is a combo that truly delivers! Together, they have been known to help soothe your nervous system while inspiring you to create. Ylang ylang has been found to decrease depression, boost self-esteem, and alleviate anxiety, while the citrus scent of grapefruit can help to lift spirits. You’ll be starting your morning off with a (sudsy) smile when you use our Honey Grapefruit Goat Milk Soap. Want a super mood lifter? Give our Lemongrass Goat Milk Soap a try. Made with lemon, lime, grapefruit, and lemongrass, this scent is a sure-fire way to brighten your bath or shower. 

🛈 Pro Tip: Add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to our Unscented Goat Milk Lotion to create a totally custom lotion scent you’ll want to re-apply all day long. Read more here.

Want to feel more grounded?

Another essential oil combo that’s been said to help calm the nervous system is clary sage, pine, rosemary, and ylang ylang, all of which are found in our Mt. Bachelor Pine Goat Milk Soap. This scent also happens to be a perfect wintery cozy blend! Clary sage is very “grounding” to the nervous system as it can help calm anxious minds give a sense of well being and ease. It’s the perfect scent for the upcoming holiday season!

Essential Oil Combos for Relaxation and Sleep

Let’s do a little free-association: when you see the word “relax”, what scent comes to mind? 

If you thought of lavender, you’re not alone! Lavender has long been known as being an essential oil that’s synonymous with feelings of peace and tranquility. If you love lavender, try this for deeper relaxation: draw a bath with our Vienna Rose Milk Bath, then dry off and hydrate with our Lavender Goat Milk Lotion. Geranium rose has been shown to have soothing psychological effects just like lavender. You’ll find that both can be deeply relaxing. 

Breathing in the scent of lavender has even been shown to enhance your sleep cycle, particularly if your sleep is disrupted by stress. For an extra boost, try spritzing a combination of water and lavender essential oil onto your pillow before bed.

Essential Oil Combos for Soothing Aching Muscles  

Dealing with a few aches and pains? Essential oils may be able to help with that, too! Some of the most effective oils for soothing sore, overworked muscles are peppermint, eucalyptus, and lemongrass. These oil combinations are found in many Bend Soap Co. products, but also in the CBD products made by our partner company, Country Lane CBD. If you haven’t checked out their products yet, be sure to do so here.

Try this easy at-home remedy to help ease aches and pains: 

1. Prepare a milk bath using our Eucalyptus Spearmint Milk Bath (or Country Lane’s Refresh-Mint Goat Milk CBD Bath) and hop in.  
2. Soak for at least 15-20 minutes, taking a few minutes to gently massage any of your sore muscles.
3. Hop out of the tub, dry off, and seal in all of that moisture with a bottle of goat milk lotion.  For some extra added relief, apply Breath Well Salve to any problem areas. This product isn’t only a must for when you have a cold or congestion — it’s packed with essential oils like peppermint and lavender which have been known to ease muscle pain and inflammation. 
4. For even more soothing relief, apply the Country Lane Joint and Muscle Gel which is made with a special blend of warming capsicum and camphor oil with full spectrum CBD. 

Key Takeaways About Essential Oils

Stepping into the world of essential oils can be a bit overwhelming for the newbie (there is SO much information to take in!) but just start with the basics and work your way up. You’ll be surprised by how much you can learn from trying out different scent combinations on your own and learning what your body responds best to.

• Essential oils are known for their soothing effects on the mind and body.
• Combining essential oils in a purposeful way can increase their effects.
• The best essential oils for improved mental clarity are rosemary, eucalyptus, lemon, orange, grapefruit and ylang ylang, and clary sage.
• The best essential oils for relaxation and a more restful night’s sleep include lavender and geranium rose. 
• To soothe aching muscles, try peppermint, eucalyptus, lemongrass, lavender, or rosemary. A topical CBD gel can also help with aches and pains. 

Back to You 

Essential oils can be so much fun to experiment with! You can start collecting quality oils and using them in a variety of ways: add them to diffusers, combine them with your favorite skincare products, and more. When purchasing single bottles of essential oils, always purchase them from a company you trust that’s transparent about how they process and source essential oils. Start with one or two oils that appeal to you, or grab a combination that specifically addresses an area of health you are seeking help in. Whichever way you go, there’s no wrong way to mix and match different essential oils. 

Comment below: What’s your favorite essential oil OR essential oil combo and why?