Peppermint essential oil is one of my favorite essential oils and one I use most often. I love summertime too, but with this time of year comes to some woes particular to warm weather, extra celebrating, and more traveling. Thankfully, Peppermint essential oil can be a remedy for these woes, and I’ll share them in this post.

Peppermint essential oil is a natural product that comes from the leaves of peppermint plants. It has a half-life of a couple of hours on average. The Peppermint essential oil uses mentioned in this post can be repeated as needed. If the oil gives you a headaches, nausea, or irritated skin, then give it a break becomes it means you have used too much at once.

7 Tips on How to Use Peppermint Essential Oil for the Summer

1. Before Exercise and Sports Activities – Pour one drop of Peppermint essential oil in the palm of your hand, rub your hands together, and cup your hands over your nose and mouth. Then, inhale a few times. This simple process can help your body get more energized for a great workout and make you feel rejuvenated!
2. Keep the Ants and Spiders Away – Peppermint essential oil can help keep the spiders and ants away. You can make a quick and easy bug spray recipe in a spray bottle. To every cup of water, add a few drops of Peppermint essential oil. Shake the bottle right before use, then spray your door frames, floor cracks, and even the plants in the garden. 
3. For Car or Motion Sickness – Add a drop of Peppermint essential oil to your hand and inhale using the same recommendation as before exercise. It’s great to bring Peppermint essential oil with you for a trip to help out when you’re in the uncomfortable position of becoming car sick. This can be done for kids ages 10 and up, and adults. Lemon or Spearmint essential oil should be used for kids between the ages of 2 and 10 for car sickness. Bring lemon slices in a bag for babies 2 and under to get a whiff.  Lemon essential oil and a regular lemon are safer on little one’s lungs.
4. For Head Tension – I’ve heard many moms say they are looking forward to their kids getting back to school because it can get crazy in the house having the kids home all summer. If that’s you, Peppermint essential oil can help ease head tension. The oil needs to be diluted since it is strong and can make the eyes water if applied too close to the eyes. For a 10 mL rollerball, add 6-10 drops of Peppermint essential oil and fill the rest with a carrier oil like fractionated coconut oil. Then, apply to both temples of the head, forehead, and back of the neck.
5. To Cool Down – Peppermint essential oil can be cooling when you used in a low dilution. If you’ve spent too much time outdoors, use a rollerball of Peppermint essential oil topically on your skin to cool down. Use the same recipe included in the head tension section above for kids ages 10 and up, and adults. Patchouli essential oil can do the same thing and is better to use for kids between the ages of 2 and 10.
6. For a Refreshing Dessert – Add a drop of Peppermint essential oil to homemade vanilla or chocolate chip ice cream to add a delightful peppermint flavor that is so refreshing when it’s warm outside. Depending on the amount of ice cream you may want to add more than one drop, but taste it each time you add a drop to make sure it’s not too much
7. To Aid Digestion – Summertime can be full of extra celebrating that includes more junk food, eating, and treats! Use a ready-made rollerball of Peppermint essential oil (6-10 drops of essential oil to 10mL of carrier oil) and apply topically over the abdomen. This can be soothing as it helps the body aid in digestion.

An important note is that essential oil companies vary in their quality. Some companies don’t sell their essential oils for therapeutic use. Find a company that you trust and is providing you an obvious benefit when using essential oils. I have found doTERRA essential oils to have high-quality oils for therapeutic use, and they are my number one choice for a recommendation.

I hope you found these 8 Peppermint essential oil uses for summer helpful. You can use this post as a reference to start using Peppermint essential oil for your summer right away!

Related post on Aroma Mama: Essential Oils for the Summer

Update Notes:

This post was originally written in July 2017.  It was updated in June 2019.