I’ve struggled with sleep this past year, so I’ve tried all the things…keeping the bedroom more tidy, leaving the bed when I wake up (instead of laying there frustrated that I can’t get back to sleep), and consuming less caffeine and alcohol. All of these things have been helpful to me.
Anyway—when I saw the pillow mist, I loved the idea of it and started using it. It had a nice citrus scent, which doesn’t necessarily sound like a scent that would help you sleep, but I really loved it anyway. When the bottle ran out, I decided to try making my own. I was already buying supplies to make a face mist, so I thought, “why not?”. But when I looked at the bottle to see what ingredients were in it, I found that there was actually a lot of artificial stuff that I didn’t even know was in there. So, of course, I was even more excited to make something with natural ingredients.
Here’s what I came up with!
Supplies:
-a glass mist bottle
–tiny funnel
-distilled water
–lavender essential oil
–orange essential oil
–chamomile essential oil
Use the funnel to add 20 drops of lavender oil, 15 drops of wild orange and 10 drops of chamomile to your bottle. Fill the rest with distilled water. Shake before each use.
If you want a much stronger scent, you can always add more drops, but I suggest starting with these.
Cheers to bedtime rituals! If you have any secrets to a good night’s sleep, I’d love to hear them. xx- Elsie
ps—Once you buy the ingredients, you’ll have plenty to make lots of bottles. They also make great gifts!
Credits// Author and Photography: Elsie Larson. Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess Actions.
37 Comments
One question – where did you get your cute eye mask?? I love it.
This is a great idea, thanks for the tutorial 🙂 I wonder, could you use rubbing alcohol instead of water so the mist would evaporate quickly and not dampen your pillow? or is there something potentially harmful about that? I also ditto Katrina’s question about the eye mask, I’ve been hunting for one just like that 🙂
Have you found that the oils leave any type of residue on your pillow cases? That would be my only hesitation!
You can use alcohol. I make a linen spray with distilled water, witch hazel, and essential oils. The witch hazel is a bit milder and doesn’t have a smell. It’s also good for your skin. My “linen” spray also gets used as spray for my hair, face, body, couch, etc.
I was just about to ask the same question! I can imagine a grease stain forming eventually.
I love this! I’m thinking I’ve been using pillow mist all wrong, haha! I use a mist on all the sheets when I make the bed, but sprucing it up nightly sounds like a much better idea. The scent you put together sounds great, too!
-Molly
http://www.modcircus.com/
I’m so gonna try this! I’ve just recently started learning about essential oils and have been using lemongrass, peppermint, and eucalyptus on sore muscles and joints. I had a pillow mist I loved using years ago and that I couldn’t find again. Now I’ll try to recreate it!
xo Ida
Wow this looks great I’ll give it a try!
I love this!! What size bottle do you use? Just to gauge how much water to use to the oil quantities.
I’m totally going to make this! It’s perfect to give your sheets a little refresh in between washings!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
I’ve struggled with sleep for a long time, and somehow happened on something that works for me. I don’t remember how it even happened, but my husband and I started listening to comedians on pandora. We started doing it at night, and listening to voices, but not having a tv there, helps me a ton. Takes my mind off serious things, but doesn’t make me focus to the point of being awake. I listen as I fall asleep and usually only get through one section, and if I wake up in the middle of the night, I turn it back on and go right back to sleep. Music doesn’t work, but for some reason, jokes do. might be worth a try….
I’ll have to try this soon! I love lavender!
I love your tutorial, I love that the ingredients are natural!
I LOVE that you use doTERRA oils!! My family is actually at the Utah convention now!!!
That’s amazing! I’ve been making my own pillow mist for a couple of years now and even my boyfriend looks for it every night and asks if I already spritzed the pillows 🙂
That’s amazing! I’ve been making my own pillow mist for a couple of years now and even my boyfriend looks for it every night and asks if I already spritzed the pillows 🙂
Massaging your hand and feet with oil and wipe of with damp cloth would be a good addition to you night routine. This releases alot of tention in the body and makes me sleep better!
/Jeanette
I love the idea of a bedtime ritual! And I think this would make a great christmas present! (Yeah I know, fall has just started and I already think about christmas. This is crazy!)
Do you have issues with the alcohol drying out your skin? Does the alcohol make the scent stronger?
This does sounds wonderful, I too have difficulty falling asleep. I have silk pillow cases and am worried about the build up of the oils on the pillow case. I have several bottles of essential oils, maybe applying a bit of the mix of oils suggested (lavender, orange and chamomile) on my neck behind my ears would give the same effect as misting the pillows, without staining the silk cases.
I have never heard about something like a pillow mist, but it sound like a perfect idea! For me sleeping is some kind of ritual and thinking of my pillow smell like heaven makes me love my bed even more! I will definitely try it:)
What size is the bottle you are using? I maybe missed that but otherwise I don’t know how much distilled water to use to “fill the rest of the bottle”. I really want to make these for a “Girls Weekend” to give as gifts. Thank you for the recipe and idea! Barbara
Will definitely try this out, thanks for the tips!
http://pantsforlife.com
This is a brilliant idea! I love my lavender pillow mist, but I’ve never thought of making my own. I will have to try this out!
moosmusing.com
So cool. I seriously wanna’ try that, I mean who wouldn’t???
My MIL Hausa pillow must that I LOVE using when we stay at her house, now I can make my own! Thanks for sharing!!!!!
Instead of using alcohol, use cheap vodka(no smell) or even orange flavored vodka, It does’t leave your pillow or linens wet. It too makes a nice face mist. Some people use it to make perfumes. Or loo spray!
Love this. Will try soon!
http://www.PreciousS2Photo.com
Thanks for the tutorial! I am going to whip this up for my 10 year old who is no bedtime fan. Maybe his very own mist will help.
I make lots of balms with essential oils, so this mist is right up my alley!
I’ve never heard of pillow mist, but after reading this I know i want to use it!
Laura
http://thefoxtrails.blogspot.com/
This is such an awesome idea!
I went to the link for the bottle she has used and it says it holds 8oz.
I’m new to your blog and so glad I found it! I will be following now to see more of your creativity.
What a wonderful idea ~ thanks so much for sharing! I have a very difficult time falling asleep as well as staying asleep. I love B&BW Lavender/Vanilla shower gel and the lotion! Of course, one could make their own I’m sure with essential oils. Taking a nice shower before bed, using these products and listening to a meditation CD are helpful for me. I also burn a white candle earlier while I’m reading, doing my gratitude journal, prayers, etc.
xo
Pat
P.S. Oh yes, do you mind sharing where you bought the eye mask?
This sounds lovely! I should try it since I already have the oils. 🙂
Substitute half the water for witch hazel. Water and oil don’t mix so the oil will always just be sitting on top of the water in the bottle and in turn just sit on top of the pillow. Using witch hazel, rubbing alcohol, or vodka will help the oil mix into the water and actually penetrate the fabric making the scent last longer. I’ve always used witch hazel in my linen sprays so I’m not sure if using only water would leave residue.
Also, it’s a pretty good idea to do small patch tests of the diluted essential oils on your skin before you start spraying it all over your bed. You never know how your body will react to a new substance, especially potent ones like essential oils.
This is a great idea, but I would advise your readers that citrus oils are toxic to cats. So, if you have kitties and want to try this don’t let them into the room for about 45 minutes after it’s sprayed.
I love this! I am totally going to try this!