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Oils!

I guess the first thing that needs to be known about making your own bath/essential oil and salts is that you need to use very little scented oil as per your other ingredients.

Most scented oils you can find in the organic section of any grocery story, a natural food store, or a shop where Zen supplies or incense are sold. Now, most of these essential oils are very refined, making them very potent. If you use too much of this refined product, you can irritate your skin. You could also forgo purchasing storebought oils and make your own. But that's another process altogether (that honestly I'm not too fammiliar with xd ). Still, this natural oil needs to be dilluted.

For this, you would use what they call "carrier oils." These specific oils are naturally oderless (or fairly close to oderless) and will help your project, be it bath salts or oils, to be consistent throughout.

Examples of carrier oils are sweet almond, apricot kernel, grapeseed, avocado, peanut, olive, pecan, macadamia nut, sesame, evening primrose, walnut and wheat germ. Most oils bought in the grocery store(ie: vegetable oil) are not cold-pressed. Instead, the oils are heated and therefore have less therapeutic benefit. Mineral oil is not used in aromatherapy because mineral oil is not a natural product. It is also said that mineral oil can prevent essential oil absorption into the skin. So don't use it, it's bad.

So remember to grab some of one of these types of oils before you start to make anything.

Basic Bath Salt Recipe

Materials:

1 Mason jar, or some decorative holder jar
2 cups of rock salt
1/2 cup of carrier oil (whatever your preference)
1-2 Tbsp. of essential oil (whatever scent you like, it can be changed around. 1 Tbsp for a more subtle scent and 2 for a little more kick.)
Food coloring to preference (optional)
Small scooper (optional)

Process:

Mix the essential oil into the carrier oil as thuroughly as you can. Then, you may add coloring to your preference. Just a couple of drops though. You don't want to come out of your bath stained pink or blue.
Then, mix the oil mixture into the rock salt, preferably using a spoon or spatula. This way, you don't absorb any oils (or coloring) directly into your skin.

**Just some tips:

If you want something fancy to put your bath salts in, check out your local craft supply shop, antique shop, second hand store or consignment shop, dollar store, or just about anywhere. You can find nifty little holders everywhere. You don't even have to use a glass jar. Try an old jewelry case, or a cloth satchel. Just remember that if you use wood or cloth lined containers, whatever you carry your scented salt in will take on that smell. So, once you put one scent in, putting in another will cross contaminate smells and could ruin your salts.

Also, be practical when adding your salts to your bath. If you want a stronger scent, then add more. If you want something more subtle, add less. There's no set rule as to how much salt you must have per gallon of water in your bath. That's just silly! Do what feels right for you. Make your own rules.

I find that the best way to add salts to a bath is to use a scooper of some sort. Weather it be a measuring spoon that you bought just for the salts, or a coffee scoop, or even a cool looking, antique spoon. Just make sure that you use something for this, and ONLY this, purpose. That way, you don't get an unpleasant salt and essential oil taste when you try to use it to measure ingredients or eat a meal. Trust me, I've done this one before. sweatdrop

These can make great gifts for showers, birthdays, holidays, or mother's day. Just put the salts in something cute, add your own touch to decorate the container, add a card and you're set.

Basic Scented Candle Recipe

Materials:

1 Candle mold/holder
Unscented candle wax
1 Tbsp of essential oil per cup of wax used. (You may add more or less, depending on the strength of scent you wish to have. It may take some tweaking, but I find that this is a pretty good ratio to go by.)
Dried herbs and flowers and coloring to preference ( Optional)
1 candle wick (or whatever number to equal one per candle that you're making)

Process:

Melt wax according to directions on packaging. Saucepans are good for this, also are crock pots. But be careful! You will have to clean out the excess wax residue on the botom and sides of your melting pot. Once the wax is completely melted (you will know this when the wax goes completely clear), add the measure of chosen essential oil as well as coloring to your preference and mix it thuroughly. Mind, you can often pick out colored wax if you don't want to risk coloring it yourself.
If you want to have dried herbs or flowers in your candle, now is the tiem to put them in. The best way to go about this is to put a little of carrier oil on the herb and "stick" it to the inside edge of the container or mold. This way, you can actually see the herbs through the wax. Now, if you wish to have it visible and throughout the candle, you may add more to the inner section of the wax once it is in the mold. Make sure that you add your wick at this time, in the center of the candle.
Make sure that you pour the wax into your mold slowly. This way, the herbs and flowers wont be detatched from the sides of the mold. Or, if you're not using any, it still will prevent splashing and making a mess outside the container.
Let the wax solidify according to directions.
When ready, light and enjoy!

**Just some tips:

If you want to know how much wax you need to get to fill a certain mold, just fill the mold with water to your desired point, and then measure that ammount of water in a measuring cup, allowing for a couple Tbsp for the scented oil. Easy. Simple, and you're far less likely to end up with a wax mess on your counter, or leftover wax in your melting pot.

Make sure you don't use fake cloth or plastic flowers or herbs. They may look beautiful and colorful, but they smell awful when they burn and will ruin your candle.

How much depends on how many candles you plan to make, and what size you want them to be. I believe that you can find candle wax at most, if not all, craft stores, and they usually come with melting instructions and dry-to-wet ratio.

Most likely, once you pour your scented wax into a mold, you're not getting it back out again unless you have experience in doing so. So, grab something nice, like a cool little jar with a "pop-top" or a small, tea-candle holder. Just something nice that you'll enjoy using again and again.

Well, Bergamot and Coriander fruit have more of a citrus scent to them. So they, along with stuff like orange blossom and lemongrass are really good for anxiety, stress and insomnia. The Coriander leaves, though, are a lot like Cilantro. They're more peppery, so they make for a good wake-up call in the morning.

I'm sure you could find something online. But if you don't buy over the internet, try a natural foods store or a Zen-type shop. Usually they're the best bet for any sort of essential oils.

Oh, I want in! heart Make a thread in the main forum, and I'll add it to the next newsletter if you want. heart *loves card exchanges* I can make little soaps or even little salve-figures. heart !

No, not mine. ^^ mine are oil-based. There's a chemical, I can't remember the name, that triggers a reaction in the soap. The chemical transforms into soap, and takes the oil with it. So all your left with is pure olive oil soap, with your scented oils and whatnot.


We should totally do a card exchange here.