How to Make Your Own Thieves Oil for Under $12 a Bottle

How to Make Thieves Oil for CHEAP (without losing quality)

Learn how easy and inexpensive it is to make your own Thieves oil blend (for $30 cheaper!). This traditional Thieves oil recipe is amazing for cleaning, disinfecting, clarifying, and reducing inflammation. Add this DIY Thieves oil to cleaners, hand soap, hand sanitizer, laundry detergent, and so many other things to fight illness naturally without toxins.

“Take your finger out of your nose, and go wash your hands.”

I felt like a broken record. This little phrase on repeat also brought on a flood of tears from my 2 year old son. Every time. Like washing his boogery finger was unjust capital punishment.

More than once he ran his hand on the wall allllllll the way down the hall to the bathroom sink.

My body shuttered, I couldn’t help it. And you bet I had to clench my teeth to keep from yelling, “no, no, no no!!” He was finally calm from his outburst. The last thing we needed was for me to scream at him.

So I watched his finger trail along the wall.

And then researched how to make disinfectant. Now. Yesterday.

Boogers aren’t the only gross thing in my house

Did you know your kitchen sink has more germs than a toilet seat? Or that one germy door knob can infect your whole household? OR that you can catch some diseases simply by breathing (which, last time I checked, is key for living).

As a mom of four children, I feel like these facts are understatements. As soon as we had just one child, my hunt for ways to effectively clean my house began.

I became aware of how many germs were everywhere and I wanted so badly to protect my child from as much sickness as I could.

But I was also looking for natural ways to eradicate the germy-germs. So I asked my “crunchy” friends and “crunchy” Facebook community what they use.
The most common answer I got?

Thieves oil blend.

Of course I had to look into buying this incredible germ-killing oil. And do you know what I found?

A really expensive essential oil blend (hahaha).
But do you know what else I found? It’s really effective.

I started making my own blend because I already had many of the essential oils used in the Thieves oil blend. It worked just as well as the pre-made one.

If you’re interested in learning more about this essential oil blend that combats germs, inflammation, and airborne disease (and is all-around AMAZING at disinfecting your home naturally), keep reading, mama.

Oh, and let’s save $30 a bottle, shall we?

Related Post: Kill Those Germs with this EASY Homemade Disinfecting Spray

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase, but you will not be charged a penny extra! And mama, I never recommend products I don’t love or believe in.

Thieves Essential Oil Blend

If you’re in the natural green cleaning scene, you’ve probably heard of Thieves Essential Oil.

But it’s not just for cleaning and disinfecting.

Thieves oil is a miracle worker when it comes to fighting cold and flu.

• Diffusing it allows you to breathe in the antibacterial properties.
  
• Adding a few drops to a carrier oil and rubbing it on your ears and temple can help ward off those sick-inducing germs.
  
• It can also be used in a chest rub to relieve coughing.

Read next: How to tell if your essential oils are FAKE or the real deal

The History (myth? legend?) of Thieves Oil

Young Living currently has a corner-on-the-market with Thieves oil blend, but they’re actually not the creator of this blend. Its history goes much farther back. And I find the story fascinating.

Folklore says that back in 1413, when the Bubonic Plague (also known as the Black Death) was sweeping France, four thieves were imprisoned for stealing from wealthy dying or dead people–most of whom had the bubonic plague.

The penalty for their crimes was to be burned alive. However, the judge was so intrigued as to how these thieves had been around the plague without catching it, that he said he would not burn them alive as long as they told him their secret.

The thieves were perfume and spice traders who could no longer find work due to the ports closing. Using their former knowledge, they concocted an essential oil blend and wore it on their temples, ears, hands, feet, and on a cloth inside their masks. This kept them from contracting the Black Death.

Also, the judge kept his word and didn’t burn the Thieves alive. They were hanged instead (yeesh!).

Ever since, this blend of essential oils has been used for its anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, clarifying, and immune-boosting components. Whew! 

Main Components of the Traditional Thieves Oil Recipe

There are five essential oils within the Thieves oil blend:

1. Clove
2. Lemon
3. Cinnamon
4. Eucalyptus
5. Rosemary

It can be made with varying amounts of each, but the greatest quantity is of clove and lemon.

Eucalyptus is considered unsafe for children under the age of two, so some opt to leave out the eucalyptus for safety reasons. 

Uses for Thieves Oil Blend 

• Add it to a homemade disinfectant for a power-punch to bacteria
  
• Mix it with a carrier oil, like grapeseed oil, and put on areas of inflammation on the skin
  
• Diffuse Thieves oil to help clear phlegm and fight airborne illness
  
• Add to a homemade chest rub to fight a bad cough
  
• Dilute it with water to make your own natural bug repellent
  
• Add it to your homemade laundry detergent to help sanitize clothes, bedding, and towels
  
• Create your own anti-fungal foot treatment by adding Thieves oil to a carrier oil and rubbing it on affected areas

Money Saving Tip: Grove has the best deals on natural cleaning supplies, like my favorite kitchen scrubber and walnut sponges

You can get a sustainable living kit free when you spend $20

The free kitchen kit includes:

• Grove Recycled Trash Bags
• Grove Glass Soap Dispenser
• Grove Gel Hand Soap
• Grove Walnut Scrubber Sponges
• Grove Flour Sack Towel

Making your own Thieves Oil Blend

It’s really easy to actually make your own Thieves oil blend. And I happened to do all of the cost breakdown to see if it actually saves me money to do it this way or not.

Yeah. It does.

Like, a lot.

Making your own homemade Thieves oil blend will save you over $20 if you’re a Young LIving member. Well, because I’m not a Young Living member, it saves me $33.98 a bottle. I’m always up for saving that kind of money.

For this recipe you’ll need quality clove, lemon, cinnamon, eucalyptus, and rosemary essential oils. If you are buying all of these oils for the first time, the initial cost might hurt a little, but the savings quickly make up for it. 

Things to Look For When Choosing an Essential Oil

1. Therapeutic grade

2. Botanical name listed (ex: instead of just being labelled “peppermint” it should also include “menthe piperita”)

3. No other ingredients listed (no carrier oils)

4. Brand website states it’s GC/MS tested

5. Organic when possible

Checking the brand’s web page before you buy for all of these points will help you find a quality essential oil that is pure and the most potent.

Two of my suggestions from personal use are Plant Therapy and Zongle Therapeutics. 

Lemon Lavender and Peppermint Set

Our Lemon, Lavender and Peppermint set is one of our most popular sets! These three oil… [More]

DIY Thieve Oil Price Breakdown

The cost depends a bit on what brand of essential oils you buy. This price list is all organic essential oils purchased from Zongle Therapeutics. The cost will be even less if you purchase some non-organic. It’s up to your preference.

Per recipe, it will cost…

Clove essential oil: $2.66

Lemon essential oil: $1.85

Cinnamon essential oil: $5.19

Eucalyptus essential oil: $1.26

Rosemary essential oil: $ .78

Total: $11.74 for 15mL

Compared to $45.72 for a 15 mL bottle, that’s $33.98 in savings! Ca-ching!

DIY Thieves Blend Recipe

What you’ll need:

1. 15 mL glass bottle, dry and clean  (I reuse ones from previous oils after sanitizing them in boiling water and allowing them to dry completely.)
2. Small funnel if using measuring spoons
3. Measuring spoons (optional. You can also just drop oils into glass container)

With the small funnel on the clean bottle add:

• 1 tsp clove essential oil (92 drops)
• ¾ tsp lemon essential oil (82 drops)
• ½ tsp cinnamon essential oil (52 drops)
• Scant ½ tsp eucalyptus essential oil (42 drops)
• ¼ plus 8 drops rosemary essential oil (32 drops)
  
  

Close the lid tightly and shake well to combine all of the oils.

Tada. Done!

Use it in foaming hand soap, laundry detergent, homemade disinfectant, or in a diffuser.

What’s your favorite way to use Thieves oil?