Are you hoping to make a Thieves oil blend and need a great recipe? You’re in the right place!
Crafting your own version of the popular Young Living Thieves essential oil is a great way to save money, and also have the peace of mind that you know exactly what is in the blend.
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In this blog post, I will discuss the five essential oils that are used in the Young Living thieves oil recipe. I will also provide a master blend recipe, and a few additional tips on how to create your own DIY thieves oil.
What is the Thieves Blend?
Thieves oil is used as a natural alternative to help boost the immune system and support respiratory health. The blend is made up of essential oils that have been traditionally used to help ward off sickness and infection. The essential oil company Young Living is the original creator and distributor of the thieves oil blend. They hold a copyright for the use of the name “Thieves”.
Many other oil brands have since created their own versions of Young Living Thieves. These oil blends are certainly also fantastic to use if you’re looking for a quick alternative. But if you don’t have the time or money to invest in a thieves essential oil blend, make sure to try my homemade thieves oil recipe. It’s definitely the cheapest way to go!
Ingredients in Thieves Oil
Do you love the smell and therapeutic properties of thieves oil? Me too!
To start, I will explore what makes the original Thieves oil blend so amazing, and explain why the thieves oil ingredients work so well together.
There are five different essential oils in the Young Living Thieves oil. They are listed below along with a brief description of what each oil does for us.
Clove Essential Oil
Clove essential oil.
Get it here
Clove bud essential oil (Syzigium aromaticum) is high in eugenol, a natural phenol that gives the oil its distinctively spicy smell. Eugenol has been shown to have powerful antioxidant, antimicrobial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties. This essential oil has traditionally been used to support the immune system.
Cinnamon Bark Essential Oil
Make sure you get Cinnamon Bark essential oil.
Get it here
Cinnamon bark essential oil (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) has a spicy, sweet smell that is energizing and uplifting. It is warming and can help improve circulation. Cinnamon oil is also antiseptic and can be helpful for respiratory infections.
If you’re hoping for a DIY thieves oil blend as close to the original, make sure you get Cinnamon bark and not Cinnamon leaf essential oil. They both carry the same latin name so you’ll have to read the descriptions really closely to learn whether or not a supplier has used the bark or leaf of the oils.
The oil I’ve picked above from REVIVE essential oils is the correct one.
Eucalyptus Essential Oil
This organic Eucalyptus oil is of variety Radiata.
Get it here
Eucalyptus essential oil (Eucalyptus radiata) has a minty, camphoraceous aroma and is commonly used to help relieve respiratory congestion. It is also a great choice for use on sprains and bruises. Eucalyptus oil has antimicrobial properties that make it effective against a wide range of bacteria, viruses, and fungi.
Rosemary Essential Oil
Rosemary Essential oil from REVIVE oils.
Get it here
Rosemary essential oils (Rosmarinus officinalis) are a powerful antioxidant that helps protect the body from free radicals. It also has anti-inflammatory properties that help to reduce inflammation in the body. Rosemary oil is also known to improve cognitive function and memory, making it a great choice for people who are looking to improve their mental clarity.
Lemon Essential Oil
Lemon oil is quite inexpensive.
Get it here
Lemon essential oil (Citrus limonum) is a powerful antibacterial and antiviral agent. It helps fight infection and viruses, boost immunity, and aids digestion. This oil is also known for its ability to cleanse and purify the air.
DIY Thieves Blend Recipe
The popular Young Living brand Thieves oil is perfect for use during the winter months when cold and flu season is at its peak.
To make your own version of “Thieves”, you will need an empty, clean 5 ml amber glass bottle.
The beauty of creating your own blend, is that you can always mix in a few more drops of one oil or another, should the scent notes not quite be to your liking… yet!
In it, add the following essential oils:
Thieves Oil Ingredients
- 10 drops Rosemary Oil
- 20 drops Eucalyptus Radiata Oil
- 25 drops Cinnamon Bark Oil
- 35 drops Lemon Oil
- 40 drops Clove Bud Oil
Depending on the brand of oils you’re working with, your recipe may end up not completely filling the 5 ml amber glass bottle. This is because different oils have different thicknesses, varying from batch to batch. On average though, if you follow my recipe, you should end up with a bottle that is 90%-100% full. That is what I have tested at home with my recipe. But should yours be different, you can always adjust the blend recipe by a few drops of each ingredient if needed.
The oils in my DIY Thieves recipe are in their very nature already quite harmonious together and all support your well-being in similar ways. You’re not going to be able to do this wrong! The only way I’d buy a pre-made Thieves copycat blend instead would be to save time.
Instructions
- Buy a a clean 5ml essential oil bottle to hold your essential oil blend. You could also re-purpose a previously used oil bottle. Just make sure it is cleaned thoroughly and sterilized, so that none of the scent notes could still be lingering in there from its previous contents.
- It’s also nice to have a good, new dropper for your own blend. You can get them in any size, from 1 ml and up, mostly in packs of a few at a time. Get what suits your needs, depending on whether you make a lot of one blend, or maybe you prefer just making sample sized DIY blends at home.
- Mix the drops of each oil per the recipe above.
- Shake well before use.
- Enjoy!
How to Use Thieves Oil
“Thieves” is a blend of essential oils that has been used for centuries to support wellness and to purify the air. It’s an inexpensive way to keep your home smelling fresh during cold and flu season. It is also a popular addition to homemade cleaning products.
Thieves oil can be diffused in a diffuser or applied topically with carrier oils like coconut or jojoba oil. This amazing essential oil blend can be used in a number of ways:
Apply to your body
Use a diluted thieves oil blend on your wrist for improved immune function.
You can apply thieves oil to your chest, back, or feet—anywhere you’d like. But anytime you’re using oils topically (on your skin), make sure you are using a diluted thieves oil blend. This means, you have to mix your DIY thieves oil with a carrier oil like fractionated coconut oil before applying it to your skin.
Start with one teaspoon of carrier oil and 3 drops of thieves oil. This is a 2% dilution rate, which is appropriate for most of the general adult population. Rub the blend of essential oils into your skin, using circular motions.
Diffuse
Add thieves oil to your diffuser.
When diffusing thieves oil, start with 4-5 drops in your diffuser. If you have a cold or the flu, you can diffuse Thieves around the clock. But if you have children, pets or elderly people living in your home, use special caution. Diffusing thieves oil blend for more than 30 minutes at a time could irritate their respiratory systems.
Make a Room Spray
Use thieves oil to make a homemade aromatherapy room spray.
Thieves oil can be used to make a simple room spray. Not only does it smell really good, it’s also good for when you have cold and flu. Simply follow this quick recipe for an essential oil room spray and use your DIY Thieves essential oil blend with water in a spray bottle. It’s ok to use your thieves spray all the time, even if you’re not sick. Its oils are a great support to your immune system at any time of the year.
Why Make Thieves Oil
There are a few reasons why it’s better to make your own thieves oil blend:
First off, it’s more affordable than buying the pre-made version from Young Living oils. Even though you can find some really good Young Living Thieves alternative blends from different essential oil companies, nothing beats the price point of DIY blending.
Next, you will know exactly what ingredients are in the blend. Being aware of your blend ingredients is a powerful thing! You can make sure your blend is absolutely free of fillers or additives, and doesn’t contain any amount of carrier oil. And, you’ll be able to customize the thieves oil recipe to fit your needs, whether you’re looking for an extra immune boost or just something to help with respiratory issues.
And finally, it’s just really fun and empowering to make your own blends! It’s a great way to get creative and learn more about essential oils and their uses. Plus, it’s really a lot easier than you may think.
Have fun!
P.S. Are you going to make this thieves oil recipe? Let us know how you like it in the comments below.
Great recipe. It smells even better than the version I usually buy from Youngs Living. Thank you for posting this recipe.
Hi Michelle, thank you so much for circling back and letting me know! I’m so glad you enjoy my DIY Thieves blend!
How do you adjust recipe for a cleaning version?
Hi Carol. You’d still make this same recipe in a master blend bottle, and then use about 25 drops of your master blend in a DIY cleaning spray recipe like the one I have here.
I’d like to know how to make a 10 ml roller bottle for both adults and children with the thieves blend that I will make myself. Can you help? I’d greatly appreciate it.
Hi Michelle. Great question! To make your Thieves roller bottle, simply create the master blend recipe above, and then use 6-9 drops of that master blend in your 10 ml bottle. I have a few more resources published for roller bottles: How to Make a Roller Bottle and my Dilution Rates Guide.
Wouldn’t it cost the same to buy all these single oils as it would to buy one pre-made blend of the actual Thieves blend?
Hi Sheri, that’s a great question! Perhaps all the 5 bottles you’d buy individually would cost the same, but making one bottle of DIY master blend would not use all of the contents of each individual bottle… thus, you’d be left with more oils individually, than if you’d just get 1 bottle of the Thieves blend. An average bottle of 10 ml oil (any oil) has about 200 drops in it. My recipe above uses between 10-40 drops of a single bottle only. It’s a great question though… I should post the math of this approach soon, too!
Thank you for this wonderful money saving post! From now on I shall be making my own Thieves. In the past I have always bought it as I love the smell and knowing that it is one of the better oils for cleaning and disinfecting our home.
I have followed along with you Emma for a number of years and have gained a much better understanding of how–when and the benefits of using Essential Oils.
Thank you again for sharing.
Yvonne
Hi Yvonne, thank you so much for this comment and feedback :). I’m happy to share essential oil tips anytime! I am also glad to hear you’ll be making your own version of Thieves oil from now on. I do the same, and then I’m way more liberal with using it, too, in my cleaning spray or diffuser etc.