Flying with Essential Oils

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE traveling. One of my dreams is to be able to travel the world working and visiting with my distillers while bringing my family along for the ride. What could be better than a trip to Italy to see, touch, smell and taste organically grown bergamot? Or visiting Greece to enjoy some of the not so well-known boutique wines while assisting in Helichrysum harvest?

But I digress….

When I travel, I always bring a hydrosol, two to five essential oils or blends depending on the length of my trip, a rollerball product with essential oils, and an aroma stick (essential oil inhaler).

When flying there are a few important things I need you to understand to facilitate an enjoyable flying experience for yourself as well as those around you. Especially if you are packing your essential oil products in your carryon or personal item to board an aircraft.

Packing

If you are electing to fly with everything packed into your carry on and personal item, TSA states that each passenger is limited to only ONE quart size Ziploc to store any liquid, gel, or paste product such as cologne, beauty items or other liquid cosmetics. This includes essential oil products.

Additionally, everything must be in containers designed to under 100 ml. I am mentioning this because that lotion, shampoo, or toothpaste you made with essential oils falls under these regulations. So, if you want to bring those along with any other essential oil product, it must all fit into one quart size Ziploc to be compliant with TSA guidelines.

Additionally, you might consider double checking that the lids of any essential oils you pack in the Ziploc are secure and will not leak. If you ever have a question about a cap’s seal, you can utilize some vinyl tape to make sure no leaking occurs.

If they leak in your Ziploc, they will eat through it and inevitable end up all over your clothes and make for a very strong aroma… An aroma that can potentially create other problems for you and the others around you.

My Ziploc includes shampoo, conditioner, my mousse, lotion, one hydrosol, two essential oils, toothpaste, and one rollerball product. Could you limit yourself to just these items or would you leave hair products and bring more essential oils?

During the Flight

This is probably the most important information regarding flying with essential oils. It is important to know that an aircraft recirculates its cabin air.

If the cabin of an aircraft is recirculating its air, anything sprayed or opened like cologne can linger in the air for a very long period. Even though essential oils are very volatile and can evaporate quickly, on an aircraft they can still pose a concern.

It isn’t the smell that is the only concern here. It is the interaction of an essential oil’s chemical constituents and your elderly neighbor’s unknown-to-you medication, the healthy-looking male in his late thirties that just had a stint placed a few months ago due to build up in his artery (he’s on meds, too but you don’t know any of this!), and even the mom a few rows back who has frequent migraines… Do you see where I am going?

We do not know anything about any of our traveling companions’ potential ailments, medications, or anything else. I am stressing this because any essential oil’s chemical constituent that you are choosing to use on the plane can have unforeseen consequences. So, it is very important to make sure you are avoiding this one tiny thing….

Please do NOT open your bottle of essential oil on an aircraft. No matter how bad the smells are or how badly you think you need it. Please don’t.

A much safer option to using your essential oils on an aircraft is by using an aroma stick. You can make several of them for many different things. AND they have a much lower chance of unknowingly hurting anyone else.

Closing

To recap a few guidelines for flying with essential oils and essential oils products that are liquid, gel or paste:

• Make sure they are sealed properly.
• Use appropriate tape to secure the caps of essential oil bottles.
• Never open essential oil bottles on an aircraft.

These are not only for your comfortability and safety while flying, but for others, too.