home spa aromatherapy blends

As a continuation of my home spa and self-care encouragement, I wanted to share some scoop I found on aromaweb.com. What a riveting website! I can't wait to get my hands on some essential oils and solitary bath time surrounded by lavender scented candles. Yum.

To create a calming blend:
Ingredients:

1 ounce carrier oil such as sweet almond
10 drops Roman Chamomile
5 drops Lavender
Directions: Mix the oils well and add to a clean, air-tight dark glass container. Massage gently into the feet of the individual who requires increased calm. Giving yourself a foot massage with this relaxing oil is also delightful. Roman Chamomile has a strong sedative effect, so do not plan to drive or concentrate after using this blend.

If you prefer to make a diffuser blend, make a blend with a ratio of 2 drops Roman Chmomile to 1 drop Lavender and add to your diffuser.

To create a bath oil:
Ingredients:

2 ounces carrier oil such as sweet almond
20 drops lavender or 15-20 drops of your own blend of essential oils (be sure they are EOs that do not provide skin sensitization)
Directions: Blend the oils together and store in an amber or cobalt glass bottle. Do not use all 2 ounces of bath oil in one bath. After you have drawn your bathwater, add about 1/4 ounce (7-8ml) of the bath oil blend to your bath water. If you intend to use this bath oil with children, ensure that the oils that you have selected are safe for administration to children and use a smaller amount of the blend in the child's bathwater.

Mix well to ensure that the blend has dispersed well in the tub and hop on in. It's best to add the bath oil just before getting in the tub instead of while the water is running so that the oils don't evaporate before you get into the tub. Using this bath oil blend is safer than adding pure essential oils directly to the bath water. This is because the essential oils can settle in one spot on your skin and cause irritation.

To create bath salts:
Ingredients:

3 cups Dead Sea salt, regular sea salt or Epsom salt, or a blend of two or three of these salts. Sea salts typically come in several grain sizes. Combining multiple grain sizes can make your salts more appealing. Keep in mind, however, that more course grains do take longer to dissolve in the tub.
15-24 drops of your selected essential oil or essential oil blend. Be sure and take heed in the safety data for the oil(s) you choose to use.
1 tablespoon fractionated coconut oil or other carrier oil for moisturization (optional)
Directions:

Place the salt mixture into a bowl. Add the drops of your chosen essential oils. Mix very well with a fork. Add the mixture to a pretty jar, salt tube, or container that has a tight fitting lid. After a day, you may wish to mix well again to ensure that the oils have blended very well.

Add 1/2 - 1 cup of the salts to running bath water. Mix well to ensure that the salt has dispersed well in the tub before entering. To keep the essential oils from evaporating too quickly, you can add the bath salts just before getting in the tub instead of while the water is running. Sitting on undissolved chunky bath salts can be painful, so make sure the salts have dissolved well before entering.

To Color to Your Salts:

For the most natural bath salt recipe, leave your bath salts uncolored. Certain more exotic salts such as Hawaiian Red Sea salt (a lovely reddish/rust color) and Black Sea Pink salt (a soft pink color) have their own unique color and can be used.

If you would like to add color to your salts, FD&C liquid dye or mica powder can be added before you add the essential oils. When adding FD&C grade liquid dye, be sure to add only a drop at a time and stir well. When adding mica powder, only add a tiny amount (1/16-1/8 a teaspoon is usually sifficient) and stir very well. Using too much dye or mica powder can discolor the water and discolor skin, so be very careful. Leave bath salts at a soft pastel color. Darker salts may lead to problems. It is also important that you make sure that you are using skin-safe colorants and that the user of your bath salt blend does not have any allergies or sensitizations with the colorant that you have chosen.

WANT MORE RECIPES? The Complete Book Of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy by Valerie Ann Worwood contains over 600 recipes and synergies plus a wealth of practical aromatherapy information.

Oh, and don't forget to sip your favorite chamomile tea while relaxing in your chamomile and lavender infused bath!