essential oils for seasonal allergy relief

This post was most recently updated on March 19th, 2019

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of these links I may receive a small commission, at absolutely no extra cost to you. In an effort to provide the best opportunities for saving money, time, and stress to my readers, I  only promote products and services I use and/or really love. You can read my full disclosure here.

If you would like to know how we collect, use, and protect any data you provide, please read my Privacy Policy.

Thank you so much for helping me earn a living as a stay at home mom!


Spring, aka allergy season is my most hated time of the year. Elm pollen is everywhere and for 4-6 weeks, I am a sneezy, itchy-nosed, watery-eyed, stuffy-headed hot mess. Do you suffer from seasonal allergies? Abject misery, am I right? I prefer to use essential oils for seasonal allergy relief. And because I so love a good natural home remedy for seasonal allergies, I keep these essential oils in my stash at all times.

I use an ultrasonic diffuser in every room in my house. They are especially helpful in the bedrooms, because trying to sleep when you can’t breathe is a little tricky. I use them year round, and faithfully during the ‘dark time’ (ie. Late February to early April, when the elm pollen is rampant), and I leave them going all day and night.

essential oils for seasonal allergy relief

My Favorite Essential Oils for Seasonal Allergy Relief

Lavender, Peppermint, Lemon, and Frankincense – these oils, used together in the diffuser form an ‘allergy bomb’, helping ease my most annoying symptoms.

What’s So Special About These Oils?

Oh, baby! These particular oils are some of the most powerful – yet versatile – essential oils around. They are also some of the easiest to find and most affordable oils, making them absolute “must have” oils for your collection, especially when you’re on a tight budget.

Here’s why:

  • Lavender: (Lavandula augustifolia) has anti-inflammatory and anti-septic properties, which make it helpful for soothing swollen, irritated sinuses & nasal passages. It has a relaxing fragrance and also helps ease sinus pain and pressure that seasonal allergies can cause.
  • Peppermint: (Mentha piperita) helps clear nasal passages to relieve stuffiness and acts as a powerful decongestant, mucolytic (which means it can expel … snot – ew, I know), and expectorant. It has anti-bacterial properties to help prevent an allergy from becoming something more serious. Its fresh, clean fragrance is also a great mood lifter, which is nice when you’re feeling crabby about feeling crappy. (Avoid using peppermint oil on children under age 6.)
  • Lemon: (Citrus lemon) is a fantastic boost to your immune system. Its anti-infectious, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, & anti-septic properties work to promote white blood cell formation, improving your body’s natural immune function. Yay! And again, the fresh aroma is an instant mood lifter.
  • Frankincense: (Boswellia carteri) is a powerful expectorant and immune system support. It doesn’t have the most amazing fragrance, but blended with the other oils I’ve mentioned, it adds a potent boost of allergy relief.

Use Essential Oils Topically, Too

My husband and oldest son always seem to get chest congestion as a symptom of seasonal allergies, which can potentially turn into pneumonia – they are both susceptible to that because they’ve had it before. So I also apply Frankincense (diluted with a carrier oil, like coconut oil) on their chests and the bottoms of their feet. If they are really suffering, I diffuse an oil that has specific respiratory-supporting properties like Myrtle, Eucalyptus Radiata*, or Ravensara. But Frankincense is an excellent option, especially when you’re on a budget and trying to get the most out of every single oil in your collection.  It is incredibly versatile!

* Avoid using or diffusing Eucalyptus essential oil varieties on children under the age of 10. The high cineole content can be harmful to young respiratory systems. Myrtle is a better choice for children with respiratory issues – it is gentler and has a lower cineole content, while still being very effective. Learn more about essential oil safety and use by reading this Essential Oils Desk Reference

essential oils

While Lavender, Peppermint, Lemon, and Frankincense are single oils, I love essential oil blends, too. Most of the time, getting a pre-blended essential oil is less expensive than trying to make your own. Buying several single oils to make your own blend can run into a lot of money. And unless you’ve studied extensively to understand the chemical makeup of each individual oil, and how they work together, it’s difficult to know how much of each oil you need to add to the blend.

Some of my most loved essential oil blends are Breathe Ease®, Immune Strength®, and Fortify®. The first blend is a respiratory blend that works really well for chest congestion and colds. The other two are formulated to boost the immune system and when diffused, kill germs in the air to prevent sickness. I seriously cannot live without these oils. They can be diffused into the air, or applied topically when diluted properly with a carrier oil.

essential oils for seasonal allergy relief

A Few Words About Essential Oil Brands

I get most of my oil blends from a company called Rocky Mountain Essential Oils, and I cannot speak highly enough about them. Their oil quality is superb, so I can trust I’m getting the most pure oils possible. I also purchase essential oils from a few other places that I trust for their outstanding quality and customer service, and I would be happy to share those with you – just send me an email!

It’s so important to do your own research and find an essential oil brand that offers you the most pure, unadulterated oils. Equally important is to keep in mind that more expensive does not necessarily mean higher quality. There are a ton of essential oil companies out there, and some are quite a bit less expensive than others, while still maintaining excellent quality. Don’t let anyone – including me! – tell you where you must or must not buy from.

I personally, tend to stay away from MLM companies, simply because I feel like their higher prices are due more to their need to pay distributors’ commission than the purity and quality of their oils. But I have friends who use oils from ‘the big 2’ and swear by them.

What To Look For in an Essential Oils Company

When choosing where to buy essential oils, I look for the following:

  • Sourcing – Where does the company get their oils? Where are the plants grown? Look for plants that are grown organically and/or in their native area.
  • Processing – What process is used to distill or extract the oil from the plant? Look for companies that do NOT use heat processing, as heat can damage the therapeutic properties of the oil.
  • Labeling – Does the company include a list of ingredients? Labels should list each oil, using the scientific name, as well as any carrier oil (such as fractionated coconut oil) in each bottle. You should also find the country of origin, where the oil was distilled.
  • Purity – The company should have testing in place to assure the consumer of the purity and quality of each oil. Words to look for: Unadulterated, Therapeutic Grade, 100% Pure. A reputable company will also have a guarantee of purity and authenticity for its oils.
  • Testing – Does the company provide samples of its oils to be tested for quality and purity? And do they make those results available to the consumer? Look for links on the company’s website to batch test results, either directly, or by contacting customer service. An independent, third-party entity should be doing the testing – you cannot fully trust a company that tests its own oils and vouches for their purity.

Okay, I didn’t really mean to go into a big old thing about the essential oils industry … but, I get pretty excited and carried away. Never can have too much information, right?

Anyway … I hope I’ve provided you with a natural option, using essential oils for seasonal allergy relief in your home. I can’t promise you’ll feel 100% better, but I can promise they will help relieve your symptoms and make those weeks of allergy season more comfortable for you and your family.

If you have a favorite tip for seasonal allergy relief, for the love of all that is good on this earth – share it! Don’t leave us all suffering and miserable, when you may hold the key to health!  Seriously, I would love to hear what helps you feel better when you’re experiencing seasonal allergy symptoms. And if you try my favorite essential oils, tell me what you think – did they help you out?

Hang in there, my friends … summer is coming and we’ll hopefully all be feeling less stuffy and sneezy by then.

Love & Blessings,

That Farm Mama

Facebookpinterestrssinstagram

21 thoughts on “Essential Oils For Seasonal Allergy Relief”

  1. I like the atypical addition of Frankincense because it reduces inflammation/stuffiness. When I had a relentless cough due to post-nasal drip, a full-strength swipe across the bridge of my nose helped immensely. Copaiba is phenomenal too and I’ll sometimes apply it neat up inside my nostrils when they’re completely closed because it’s so gentle that it doesn’t tingle like Frankincense. An aromatherapist suggested that German Chamomile and Tea Tree oil are even better than Peppermint in Lemon for allergy blends but Lavender is pretty standard since it helps drain the sinuses. So many people have success with the standard LLP (Lavender, Lemon, Peppermint) blend that the difference in effectiveness is probably marginal with those other suggestions and everyone is different so it’s fun to play around until you find your Holy Grail. 🙂

    1. Hi Jenny — I love Frankincense & Copaiba both. I have added Copaiba to the roller bottles I make for my husband, who suffers from a lot of sinusitus. He says it makes a huge difference. I have to say, I thought about trying your suggestion of Tea Tree instead of Peppermint, just to see how it worked. But I love the aroma of the Lemon, Lavender, Peppermint blend so much, I just couldn’t do it. lol You’re completely right, though – it is fun to experiment with oils. 🙂

  2. Hi there, I have just begun getting into essential oils and have bought them from a non-mlm company. I tried the link to email you to find out more but it didn’t work for me. I am trying Eden’s Garden? They are therapeutic grade and do testing. Lots of great reviews. Any thoughts on this brand? Much more affordable than the mlm’s. I debated between EG and Rocky Mountain oils and decided EG for the first go around. My email is [email protected]. Thank you for your post and your thoughts.

    1. Hi Jennifer! I will check my email link and make sure it is working properly – thank you for letting me know it isn’t working.

      With regards to your question about Eden’s Garden, I do not know much about this brand. I have heard of them but have never used them myself. I would love to know what you think of the oils you order from them, after you’ve had an opportunity to try them out. With essential oils, the most important thing to look for, of course, is purity and honesty in the company’s testing practices. If your research has shown them to do the third party testing, and you have access to those results, that is a good place to start. I will do some research myself into the brand, and maybe try some of their oils to see how they compare to the oils I use from Rocky Mountain and other companies.

      One company I did not mention in my post, but that I have purchased from and been very happy with is called Miracle Botanicals. They are a smaller company and do not offer a huge variety of oils, but they are really high quality and they have excellent pricing and customer service.

      I’m sorry I wasn’t able to answer your question more thoroughly. Please keep in contact and let me know how your essential oil journey progresses.

    1. I’m so glad you are enjoying it Kandiss! I diffuse it to help with our allergies, but the truth is, it smells so fresh and spring-like, I would diffuse it even if we didn’t have allergy problems. Happy Oil-ing!

  3. I have seasonly Allergies and some days they drive me up the wall but I don’t know this until the day of. I do have some oils but I need to know what kind of carrier oil to use and should it be in a pot or defusser?

    1. Hi Jenny! If you are diffusing your oils, you don’t need to use a carrier oil. You can just add the oils to water in your diffuser and go! If you happen to be using a nebulizing diffuser (the kind with the aquarium-type pump required) you don’t even need water – just add oils and turn it on. You will want to use a carrier oil when you apply any oils topically, to your skin. Because essential oils are so strong, the carrier will help prevent skin irritation. It also helps your oils go further, saving you money. Yay! And, this will also help the benefits of the essential oils last longer. My favorite carrier oils are fractionated coconut oil, avacoado oil, grapeseed oil, and sweet almond oil. Money saving tip: I get my avocado oil at Aldi – it’s the same oil I cook with!

  4. I did this Allergy mixture yesterday and I LOVE it!!! My daughter came for a visit and ended up taking one of my diffusers and my extra oils so she could do it at her house. LOVE the smell and truly heleped with my allergies. I canot wait to try your other combinations.
    Thank you

    1. I’m so happy you found relief using this blend, Kimberly! It’s one of my very favorites – I’ve been diffusing it in pretty much every room in my house for weeks.

  5. I love your site and your information it’s very helpful. What are the amount of each oil you use for the allergy blend if you don’t mind me asking.

    1. Thank you so much, Darlene! In my 150 ml diffusers, I use 3 drops each of Lavender & Lemon, and 2 drops each of Peppermint & Frankincense. If you have a 500 ml or larger diffuser, you might want to add an extra drop or two of each.

  6. I am just getting into essential oils and had no idea there was a blend for allergies! I am beginning to learn that there is an essential oil blend for almost everything! I am trying to go a little more ‘green’ in my household with lots of things and if I can put this together for my kids instead of loading them up on OTC allergy medication, I am all for it! Great article, I am pinning to refer to later!

    1. Oh, Nikki — there IS an oil for everything! lol I hope this helps your family with their seasonal allergy woes. I diffuse in all my kids’ rooms as well as every other room in the house during spring. Sometimes, the pollen count just gets so high where we are that we have no choice but to resort to allergy meds, but honestly, that doesn’t happen very often. Good luck to you!

  7. This is my favorite allergy blend minus the Frank bc I just can’t afford it! The only blend that works on my son is RC from YL though. Thanks!

    1. Thank you for your comment, Leah. RC and Raven are both solid respiratory blends, but I really do enjoy the versatility of Frankincense. I’m sorry you feel it’s not affordable, though. I have found it to fit well within my small essential oils budget, which is why I recommended it in this blend. One of the things I love most about essential oils, is their ability to work in so many ways for different people. I hope you continue to enjoy your oils in good health!

    1. I’m so happy you found it helpful, Shae! I love my oils so much and sharing them with others is a joy.

  8. Awesome article…. I understand your pain.. I get very bad and painful allergies myself.. I’m a huge fan of lavender and lemongrass…
    Thanks for the other recommendations- definitely something to look into.. .

    1. Sonya – I love lavender, but I can’t stand the smell of lemongrass. lol But … I might be willing to put up with it if it helps my symptoms. I will have to try it to see. Have a blessed day!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.