Traveling with Essential Oils

I Never Leave Home Without Essential Oils.

Traveling gives the opportunity to experience new foods, new cultures, and new people. Essential oils can be life savers while on the road. But some people get really worried about traveling with essential oils, so let’s talk about what I have learned in all of my travels with essential oils.

Whenever you travel, take the essential oils that you use the most with you, and be sure to screw the lids on tightly. Nothing is worse than opening luggage and realizing that an entire bottle has spilled during the journey.

Car Journeys

When on a car journey, it is important to not leave your essential oils in a hot car. Heat changes the chemical composition of oils and this can change the aroma or the effect on the body. Some essential oils oxidize in response to heat, which may increase the risk of skin irritation (eg. angelica, celery, cypress, fir, myrtle, spruce, tea tree, and more). Another great tip for car journeys is to bring along a cotton pad or car diffuser. You can make a simple diffuser simply by dropping a few drops of essential oil on a cotton pad and placing it in the air vent of your car. Orange, tangerine, and other lively essential oils can reinvigorate the environment and help keep you alert on the road.

Air Travel

If you are traveling with essential oils on a plane, you may bring them in your carry-on luggage. Most suggestions of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) state that you can bring no more than a quart-sized bag full of liquids, and these are limited to 3.4 ounces or less.

How Many Can I Bring?

In my travels, I have found that (in the United States) the TSA doesn’t care that much about the number of small liquids, but they do care if the liquids are larger than 3.4 ounces. TSA Precheck is also very beneficial for frequent travelers because you don’t have to remove the liquids from your bag.

In London, on the other hand, security will make you throw away any liquids that do not fit into a single quart-sized bag or are over 3.4 oz. (and they are not nice about it at all). Other airports and security agents completely vary: from almost no security in some African nations, to arguably the strictest airport security in the world in Srinagar or Tel Aviv. If I am in an airport I don’t know well, I find it is easier just to ask a security agent.

If you want to take more essential oils than will fit in a quart-sized bag, you may consider getting some very small vials and a carrying case. There are so many carrying cases out there that can easily fit in a carry-on or in checked luggage. I find soft side cases a bit easier to manage in luggage, but hard side cases are more durable and more easily lockable.

But What About X-Rays?

There are some people who worry that sending essential oils through an x-ray scanner will change the frequency of the essential oils. In my experience, I have never noticed a change in aroma or effectiveness after sending an essential oil through an x-ray scanner, even after repeated exposures to x-rays.

Some People Give the Advice to Never use Essential Oils on a Plane

I find this to be rubbish advice. I have used essential oils on hundreds of flights, and I have never once received a complaint. In fact, it is much more likely to strike up a conversation than garner ire from the person next to you. I love a drop of cinnamon bark or eucalyptus essential oil on a scarf, and frequently use cinnamon and clove essential oils in alcohol to spray down tray tables. I use the same mixture to spray my hands after using the airplane bathroom because some studies have shown that the water on the plane is so dirty you may walk away with more bacteria after washing your hands that before washing. (It is non-potable for a reason, for real, don’t brush your teeth with that water please. It is super gross).