Heat Wave Air-Cooling Mint Spray

Other than a good sunblock, a water mist spray is definitely also my summer essentials. But having a water mist spray is not good enough, I would like to have one that actually gives me a sense of cold breeze. Well, that’s the whole idea of creating this air-cooling mint spray, it actually leaves my skin cool for about 30 minutes. Perfect for summer and definitely a must-have survivor kit for heatwaves. Let’s shake it up!

How to DIY a heat wave air-cooling mint spray

First of all, you will need an active ingredient that can give you that cooling sensation. The 2 active ingredients that can give us a cooling sensation in my recipe are peppermint essential oil and menthol crystal. The Menthol crystals are the result of the crystallization of Arvensis Mint essential oil at a temperature of -22°C. Menthol crystallizes and forms these large, beautiful crystals. It is widely used in cosmetic formulations to relieve muscle pain. How does it work? Menthol triggers cold-sensitive receptors in the skin, resulting in a cooling sensation that feels super fresh. That’s why applying menthol topically will provide a cooling sensation due to alterations in skin blood flow. This is also why it is generally used as a decongestant that promotes the feeling of airways opening up. I have also added peppermint essential oil to enhance the cooling effect in this spray.

Speaking of menthol crystal, my first experience of using it was more than 10 years ago, when I suffered acute laryngitis for the very first time (hopefully it will also be my last time). I lost my voice for one whole month. It was horrible as I couldn’t make any sound at all. Before knowing what caused that, in the beginning, I was thinking it was just a normal sore throat. But it was so severe, I coughed so much and for a moment I was actually thinking I would lose my voice forever. I remember one of the treatments given by the throat specialist was putting 2 ~ 3 teaspoons of menthol crystal in a hot water bath bowl, place my face over the menthol steam and cover my head with a towel. And thankfully it helped a lot to relieve my throat.

Heat wave air-cooling spray ingredients

As this spray is designed to spray topically on the skin in order to achieve that cooling and refreshing effect on the skin, I would like to have some skin moisturising benefits as well, so aloe vera juice is added. Or further cooling effect, you could also replace it with peppermint hydrosol.

•  Peppermint essential oil

• menthol crystal [ US / Europe ]
• xanthan gum [ US / Europe ]

• Natural Oil-in-Water Emulsifier – turkey red oil [ US / Europe ]

• aloe vera juice or peppermint hydrosol or distilled water

• Natural Preservative [ US / Europe ]

DIY Tools & Packaging

• 250ml spray glass bottle [ US / Europe ]
• electronic balance

Heat Wave Air-Cooling Mint Spray

Recipe by CalleighCourse: Household RecipeDifficulty: Easy

Yield

250

ml

Prep time

30

minutes

Ingredients

• 10g peppermint essential oil

• 10g menthol crystal [ US / Europe ]

• 0.5g xanthan gum [ US / Europe ]

• 5ml turkey red oil [ US / Europe ]

• 200ml aloe vera juice or peppermint hydrosol or distilled water

• Natural Preservative [ US / Europe ]

Directions

• Measure the menthol crystals, peppermint essential oil, and the liquid part of your emulsifier out into a glass jar and seal it, leaving the menthol crystals to dissolve. The reason we’re doing this in glass instead of plastic is so the essential oils don’t eat through the plastic while we wait for the menthol to dissolve (this will happened when you use only pure essential oils!).
• Once the menthol crystals have dissolved (this will take about half an hour), transfer the minty mixture to a 250mL/1 cup spray bottle. Top up with xanthan gum and turkey red oil. Swirl to combine.
• Add a small amount of aloe vera juice, seal the bottle, and shake gently to combine. Add the rest of the aloe vera juice and your preservative, seal, and shake gently to combine.
• That’s it! Spritz it as needed!

Notes & Substitution

• Because this spray contains a high amount of menthol and essential oil, it is thus definitely not for babies and kids. Use it at your own risk
• As mentioned above, you can definitely substitute the proposed natural solubiliser with polysorbate 20. If you don’t want to use the solubiliser you can leave it out and just shake thoroughly before each use. That means the mixture will not emulsify at all and you’ll likely have trouble getting it to spritz evenly.
• You can also substitute menthol crystals with menthol essential oil. Ensure the bottle of menthol essential oil is sealed and place it in a hot water bath to melt, as menthol essential oil is solid at room temperature.
• Attention!!! Prior to using Menthol Crystals, a skin test is recommended. This can be done by creating a dilution of 1 part Menthol Crystal to 4 parts Carrier Oil and applying a dime-size amount of this blend to a small area of skin that is not sensitive. Menthol Crystals must never be used near the eyes, inner nose, and ears, or on any other particularly sensitive areas of skin. Potential side effects of Menthol Crystals include irritation of the skin and mucus membranes, itching, rashes, chemical burns, ataxia, soreness at the application site, abdominal pain, nausea, lethargy, dizziness, vomiting, nasal discomfort, tremors, chest hardness, inflammation of the mouth or face, coma, difficulty breathing or swallowing, and irregular heartbeat.
• Aloe vera juice could be substituted by peppermint or basil hydrosol.
• A preservative is needed in this recipe as it is a water-based spray. Opted it out you will have the risk of spraying germs and bacterias to your skin, trust me, you will not want that!

I find the cooling effect of this spray lasts for about 20 to 30 minutes on my skin. This is by spritzing it on my bare skin.  If you cover your torso and your limbs, you will likely end up with goosebumps!

Coming up, there will be a summer relaxing pillow mist, cooling aromatherapy room mists and cooling diffuser blends for this summer, stay tuned!

If you like my tutorial, please consider donating me a coffee! Cheers

Calleigh

Hi, I am Calleigh, MEng Chemical Engineering and a process engineer, and I'm here to show you how to DIY your skincare and household products with the correct formulation and using only natural ingredients. I believe that eating good food (Yes I have cooking recipes too!) and living in a chemical-free environment are the keys to having a healthy lifestyle. And that doesn't need to be expensive.