3 DIY Aromatherapy Products to Support Winter Wellness + A Healthy Holiday Season.

Set Yourself Up for a Winter full of Good Health By Making + Using These 3 Wellness Supporting DIY Products.

When the hustle and bustle of the holiday season becomes overwhelming, what we really need is to press the pause button and take a moment for ourselves. In this Blog Post, we will create our own DIY aromatherapy products to provided us with a season full of self-care and good health.

Midwinter holidays are my favorite time of the year. I adore having a reason to craft gifts for my loved ones, and I find it so much more satisfying to sing around my kitchen like a happy elf while I concoct individualized creations for everyone on my list, than to fight through traffic and crowds to purchase gifts.

And what could be a better gift than an item that encourages someone to make time for self-care, such as a shower steamer, a lotion bar, or a soothing chest rub?

Aromatherapy is such a great tool to ease the body into calm. I like to think of aromatherapy as a reminder, if you will. A reminder that when you are using it, to think of nothing else. Do nothing else. Just this one moment. A Moment For You.

Just stop everything you are doing. Find a calm, quiet place. Close your eyes. Apply the product and just breathe. Enjoy this calm for 5 minutes and then return.

And one last thing, before we get to making…the Holidays are such a feast for the senses: not just for our tastebuds, but also for our eyes, ears, and olfactory system. This time of year, our public spaces are full of not only the bright lights and festive music, but perfumed everything. Unfortunately, those expensive store-bought candles, diffuser oils, and room sprays are often made with synthetic ingredients that aren’t a healthy choice, no matter how much they promise to imbue us with the spirit of evergreen forests, candy canes, and homemade pumpkin pie.

These synthetic ingredients can be stressful for our nervous system and respiratory system. Using products with natural essential oils—at home, at work, or in your car—is a wonderful alternative to scent your space with seasonal aromas as you decrease your stress level.

We chose these 4 holiday-inspired, DIY essential oil blends to reduce your stress as well as keep you healthy, so that you may find peace of mind and enjoy your holiday season. So, let’s get making!

WHAT WE WILL MAKE:

* Breathe Easy Shower Steamers
* Winter Chai Warming Lotion Bars
* All-Natural Soothing Chest Rub

DIY Shower Steamers

This invigorating blend of Eucalyptus and Rosemary helps open up the sinuses and clears out the respiratory system. The perfect companion for getting that winter gunk out, so you can breathe better and feel better.

Breathe Easy Shower Steamers

Makes seven shower steamers.

Ingredients and Supplies

• ¼ cup baking soda

• ¼ cup citric acid

• 3 Tbsp Epsom salt

• 1 Tbsp corn starch

• 1 Tbsp castor oil

• 1.5 Tbsp menthol crystals

• 15 drops eucalyptus essential oil

• 8 drops rosemary essential oil

• witch hazel (or 80-proof vodka)

• Mini muffin Pan (or other silicone mold)

• Fine mist spray bottle

• Quart-size Mason Jar (optional)

• Medium mixing bowl

Directions:

1. In a glass mixing bowl combine all of the dry ingredients together with your hand. I wore a glove for this. You can either crush any lumps with your hands or sift the baking soda before adding it to the mixing bowl.

2. Measure out menthol crystals into top of double boiler and heat until menthol crystals have turned to liquid. Remove from heat.

3. Allow to cool slightly, then stir in essential oils and castor oil and mix well with your hand until the mixture resembles wet sand..

4. Slowly pour melted mixture into dry ingredients while stirring.

5. If the mixture is too dry, then use a fine mist spray bottle filled with vodka or witch hazel to moisten the mixture. Only do 2 sprays at a time to avoid getting it too wet.

6. Once you can squeeze the shower steamer mixture into a clump that holds its shape it’s done.

7. Immediately press the mixture into your molds, pressing firmly.

8. Sprinkle a little of the optional garnish on the top and gently push in so the herbs stick.

9. Let air dry for 24 hours before unmolding and using.

To use:

• Heat up shower water

• Once desired temperature is reached and you are ready to get into the shower, add shower bomb. Keep it slightly outside of the water stream so that it lasts longer. The best place is the bathtub ledge or a shower shelf.

Pro Tip:

• The citric acid is what gives the recipe a fizzy, foaming action. If it gets too wet while mixing though, it will activate prematurely and your shower steamers won’t hold together.

• Using too much liquid will also cause them to fall apart.

• Don’t take them out of the molds too early or the shower steamers will crumble. They need 12-24 hours to fully dry at room temperature.

• Make sure the powder is thoroughly mixed before adding the wet ingredients. You can even sift the dry ingredients together first to make this easier (minus the Epsom salts).

• Don’t take them out of the molds too early or the shower steamers will crumble. They need 12-24 hours to fully dry at room temperature.

• Store these in an airtight container, like a glass Mason jar, away from heat and moisture. 

• This recipe makes 7 shower steamers if using a mini muffin pan. If you use a silicone mold the exact yield will depend on the size of your molds. 

Safety:

• Safety & Dilution: This blend was created between a 1% and 2% dilution. Please use caution if asthmatic.

• Kid Safety: Not recommended for kids.

• Shelf Life: The ingredient with the shortest shelf life remaining becomes the shelf life of the entire blend.

DIY Winter Chai Warming Lotion Bars

We all love a temperate and cozy home, but turning the heater on or lighting up the wood stove can be drying to our skin. Enter lotion bars! These delightful little skin-supporters add moisture and act as an emollient to protect the skin from the seasonal drying that happens this time of year.

For this recipe, I included skin care allies like luscious shea butter and cocoa butter that help provide deep hydration and also offer staying power. These bars smell like a comforting cup of chai. I love the scents of the essential oils used, in general, but I particularly appreciate how warming they are for the body in winter. 

Winter Chai Warming Lotion Bars

Makes about one cup of product.

Ingredients and Supplies

• 1/4 cup beeswax (or carnauba wax for a Vegan option)

• 1 Tbsp. of organic cacao butter

• 2 Tbsp. refined shea butter

• 1/4 cup organic sunflower oil

• 13 drops organic ginger essential oil

• 8 drop organic clove essential oil

• 5 drops organic cardamom essential oil

• 2 drops organic cinnamon bark essential oil

Directions.

1. Combine beeswax, butters, sunflower oil, and optional cinnamon in a double boiler over medium-high heat. Allow ingredients to fully melt. 

2. Remove from heat and stir in essential oils. 

3. Pour into mold of choice and let cool fully before removing. 

4. Store in tins or salve jars and label with ingredients and date made. 

Pro Tip: 

• Cinnamon bark essential oil is very potent. I do not recommend that you increase this part of the blend. Two drops may not seem like a lot, but it’s very strong and adds just the right amount of kick.

• You can also pour the mixture into tubes instead of molds for hands-free application!

• I prefer small molds for my lotion bars. I have found large bars get dirty over time.

Safety:

• Safety & Dilution: This blend was created between a 1% and 2% dilution. Clove and cinnamon essential oil can be irritating to some people’s skin. We added in many skin-nourishing carrier oils and butters to offset this. However, we recommend a small patch test to ensure there is no skin sensitivity.

• Kid Safety: Clove and cinnamon essential oil can be irritating to a child’s skin, so these bars are not recommended for kids.

• Shelf Life: The ingredient with the shortest shelf life remaining becomes the shelf life of the entire blend.

DIY All-Natural Soothing Chest Rub

This warming chest salve is a welcome relief in helping to ease chest tightness and encourage deep healthy breathing. The Scent of Fir, Eucalyptus, and Chamomile will transport you to a calm, snowy, winter forest.

All-Natural Soothing Chest Rub

Makes two (1 oz) tins or one tiny jar.

Ingredients and Supplies

• 0.25 oz of Beeswax

• 5 drops of Eucalyptus Globulus Oil

• 5 drops of Siberian Fir Oil or Balsam Fir

• 1.8 oz of Jojoba Oil

• 5 drops of Chamomile Roman Oil

• 2 lip balm tins (1 oz) or 1 tiny jar

Directions:

1. Melt 0.25 oz. Beeswax Pellets using the double boiler method. When almost melted, add 1.8 oz. of Jojoba.

2. When fully melted remove from heat and add the essential oils to the mixture.

3. Pour into 2 - 1 oz. Aluminum Lip Balm Tins, and allow to cool.

4. Screw the top back on. Enjoy!

Pro Tip:

• Add essential oils after you remove the mixture from the heat, to retain as much of the scents and the constituents as possible.

• Stir mixture well, before pouring into each tin to ensure proper distribution of the oils into each tin.

Safety:

• Safety & Dilution: This blend was created between a 1% and 2% dilution. Please use caution if asthmatic. We recommend a small patch test to ensure there is no skin sensitivity.

• Kid Safety: For kids between 5 and 10 we recommend; 2 drops Lavender Oil, 2 drops Siberian Fir Oil, 2 drops Roman Chamomile Oil

• Shelf Life: The ingredient with the shortest shelf life remaining becomes the shelf life of the entire blend.

What are your favorite scents to use for DIY bath and shower products?

Ever made shower steamers, chest rub or lotion bars before?

Leave a comment and let us know!

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