More Bicarbonate of Soda

Now that the better weather is beginning and we are considering sandals (well I am) it may almost be too late to start worrying about the look of your feet and toes (if you do want to begin a foot care regime check back regularly because my next post is about footcare).  But if you suffer from Athletes foot then using bicarb as a powder on your feet and between your toes after your shower (dry carefully first of course - even to the point of using a hair dryer on your toes for a few minutes) can be helpful.  As with all natural solutions it can take several weeks of daily application of bicarb to clear up a bad bout of athletes foot.  You should continue the treatment (daily) for several weeks after the affliction appears to have gone, this will help prevent re-infection.  After this a once a week treatment may be sufficient.

Sunburn - to relieve the pain of sun or wind burn.  dissolve 100g of bicarbonate of soda in a tepid bath and soak for about fifteen minutes.  Pat the skin dry and apply an after sun cream.

Bath Bombs - These are very popular nowadays and so easy to make at home - well I say easy, but I have often had problems with getting them to set but if they do crumble it's just as nice to put them in a bag and bash them with a rolling pin into dust - fizzy dust sprinkled onto the bath works just the same as the bath bomb.

Ingredients: 4oz bicarbonate of soda, 2oz citric acid, 1 tsp sunflower oil, approximately 10 drops essential oil. (some other recipes call for dried flowers or lavender buds etc... I hate bits floating in my bath so I leave these out).  A mould - plastic cups or silicone cup cake moulds will work.  I do not like to colour my bath bombs, preferring them natural, but any cosmetic grade colourant will work (most suppliers will advise you on which are the best - but remember when it comes to colour, less is more).  You could even give a little vegetable colourant a try just be aware that it could make your mixture a little wet (in this case work fast and use less vegetable oil).

Method:  Mix the bicarb and citric acid together well.  Add the vegetable oil and the essential oil and mix with your hands until really well incorporated.  The mixture should start to clump together when you squeeze or press it with your hands.  It should still be very crumbly and only sticking together when you squish it very hard.  Begin to pack it into your mould.  You need to really pack it tightly - squishing and squashing. Once you think you have it dense enough leave it somewhere very dry for an hour or two and then carefully remove it from the mould (a bit of gentle tapping should do it) then leave it for 24 hours in a nice dry airy place.  Your bath bomb is now ready to use or to wrap up as a gift.  If youa re giving it as a gift do remember to list the ingredients so that the recipient knows what you have put in it.

Cleopatra's Goat Milk Bath

Bathing in Goat Milk

How decadent is that? Give yourself the Cleopatra experience by mixing up your very own goat milk powder for the bath. It's easy and it helps with enumerable skin ailments. Excema is most definitely eased by gentle regular bathing in goat milk - you might like to try drinking the goat milk too if you suffer particularly badly with this. A goat milk natural soap is also a good idea, if you don't want to make your own natural soap there are a number of small hand made soap companies who specialise in goat milk products.

The fat content of goat milk is particularly high and adding it to your bath is very good for improving the texture and condition of dry or mature skin. Although it is easier kept in it's dry form you could simply pour fresh milk into the bath. Add a couple of drops of an appropriate essential oil and off you go! But you can improve on that quite a bit.

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Luxury Bath Milk

Ingredients100grams Goat Milk Powder
50grams Epsom Salts
100grams Sodium Bicarbonate
2ml in total Essential Oils (or blends) of your choice. 

Method
Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and mix very well with a wire whisk or spoon. The better you mix the better the end product will be. In fact, mix some more, you really can't mix enough. Once you feel that the essential oils have been well encorporated pop the mixture into a clean, dry apothecary jar or suitable container.

Leave it for 24 hours to let the essential oils settle and then use a couple of tablespoonfuls per normal size bath. After soaking in the bath for at least 15 minutes your skin will feel beautifully baby soft and supple.

Of all my bath powder recipes this is the one that got me the most compliments from friends and relatives... and it's so easy to do!

Bath Oils with Dispersant

Using A Dispersant with your Bath Oil

A dispersant? What is that? Well, you know when you buy a bath oil and it looks milky when you pour it into the bath and feels soft on your skin but not greasy in quite the same way as oil alone. That is because a dispersant or emulsifier has been added to the bath oil.

These emulsifiers are not 'natural straight off the tree' ingredients. They are also not natures own emulsifier - bees wax. They have been synthesised in the laboratory and can include natural ingredients but are not generally thought of as 'natural'.

As such, they tend to find favour with those people who are not so strict about using all-natural ingredients, but if they are a step too far for you, then simply stick to the bath oil recipes in my previous posts.

The dispersant that I am using here is not the only one available. There are others, suppliers are usually only too happy to recommend usage levels for their products, so you can substitute another brand - usually with successful results.


The dispersant (liquid emulsifier) that I am going to use is called Polysorbate 80. It is not a totally natural ingredient. It's constituents are sorbitol, ethylene oxide & oleic acid (polyoxyethylene-20 sorbitan monooleate). Only the oleic acid is derived from vegetable oil.
Now don't be frightened by the chemical names... everything in nature has a chemical name... after all if I said it was oleic acid you would wonder what on earth that was wouldn't you? Oleic acid is a constituent of some vegetable oils.  Do not assume that because it contains synthetic ingredients, they are bad for you... similarly you shouldn't assume that all natural ingredients are good for you.  I do intend to do a post at some stage about the most commonly found cosmetic ingredients and how they fall into the natural or not category... but you will have to bear with me... these things take time!

The dispersant (polysorbate 80) helps the oil to combine with the bath water. It 'disperses' the oil  evenly through the water which helps it to reach all the parts of your body. The water looks milky and when you come out of the bath and pat your skin dry you do get the lovely soft feel of the oil but you don't get the heavy or tacky drag of neat oil on your skin.

The choice to use this ingredient is, I suppose down to where you personally draw the line.

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Rose Geranium & Melissa Dispersant Bath Oil

Ingredients200 ml Avocado Oil
10ml Polysorbate 80 (you may need to Google for a supplier
near you)
1ml Vitamin E
3ml Rose Geranium Essential Oil
2ml Melissa Essential Oil

Method
In a clean sterilised glass container mix together the avocado oil and the polysorbate 80. The polysorbate 80 does not dissolve into the oil so it needs to be very well mixed through - even though you may not see it because it is the same colour as your oil. Next add the essential oils and again mix very thoroughly. The trick to successful outcomes is always in the mixing. Finally add the vitamin E. You may find using a disposable syringe for the vitamin e a good idea as often it is very gloopy and can be difficult to measure. I use disposable syringes for measuring nearly all my small ingredients by volume... of course if you are measuring by weight... you need a very accurate small set of scales... try jewelry scales... they work really well.  Plastic disposable syringes are available online from some pharmaceutical companies.

Decant the mixture into a nice bottle and label it carefully, let it rest for 24 hours before using for the first time. To use: give it a shake (just in case any of the mixture has separated... remember you may not be able to see the polysorbate because it is the same colour as the oil, before pouring a couple of teasponfuls into an average size bath. Get in and enjoy! Provided you do not get any water into the bath oil bottle you should not need to use a preservative in this mixture.

Bath Oils

Make your own Luxury Bath Oil

Making your own bath oil is easy. Very easy. At it's most basic, a bath oil is simply a small quantity of oil poured into your bath. Done!
 
Yes, I know, as soon as you get in, all the oil sticks to the edge of the bath and stays there! Well we can do something about that... but lets keep it basic for the moment and then move on from there.

If you have chronic dry skin, there is nothing more wonderful than an oily bath. The combination of the warm water and the oil is amazing. If you keep massaging the oily water over your skin while in the bath, when you step out (carefully of course because the bath is slippery) your skin glistens. It's lovely! And it's so simple.

And don't think that you need to spend a lot of money on special oils. Sunflower oil from the cooking oils section of the supermarket will work perfectly well and so will rapeseed. Add a little lavender essential oil to it and you have a product as good as any you can buy. It really can be as simple as that.

Lets take the simple oil one step further. What if you want to infuse a medicinal herb in the oil first? Yep you can do that. Make sure that you know exactly which herb you are going to use and remember that it is important to correctly identify the herb since mother nature gives us nasty stuff as well as nice. Directions for macerating herbs in oil will be find in my previous posts under the herbs label.


If you choose an aromatic herb or flower to macerate you will get some scent in your bath oil too. But it is usually very delicate - which is fine but if you want a little more of an impact then combine your macerated oil with a complimentary essential oil blend. It is very important to make sure that you dry the herb or flower prior to macerating. Otherwise the water content in the plant ends up in your bath oil where it can start to breed germs and bacteria. Not good.

Here are a couple of basic bath oil recipes to get you started:

Rose Geranium & Ylang Ylang
Ingredients
250ml Sunflower Oil
3ml Rose Geranium Essential Oil
2ml Ylang Ylang Essential Oil

One pretty bottle (can be recycled if you wash well and sterilise first - either boiling for 5 minutes or use Milton baby sterilising tablets. Make sure it is perfectly dry before decanting the oil.


Method
In a clean glass jug or bowl mix the oil and essential oils together. Pour into a clean bottle and label. Leave for at least 24 hours before using. A teaspoonful or two is enough for an average sized bath. Don't forget to clean the bath really well when you are finished as essential oils (in any product, not just this one) can discolour your bath over time.

To Vary
Choose a different blend of essential oils. There are suggestions for essential oil blends here in some of my previous posts.



Grapefruit and Lavender Bath Oil


Ingredients
250 ml Sweet Almond Oil
2 ml Grapefruit Essential Oil
3 ml Lavender Essential Oil

One pretty bottle (can be recycled if you wash well and sterilise first - either boiling for 5 minutes or use Milton baby sterilising tablets. Make sure it is perfectly dry before decanting the oil)

Method
In a clean glass jug or bowl mix the oil and essential oils together. Pour into a clean bottle and label. Leave for at least 24 hours before using. A teaspoonful or two is enough for an average sized bath. Don't forget to clean the bath really well when you are finished as essential oils (in any product, not just this one) can discolour your bath over time.  Decorate your bottle with a spray of lavender tied with raffia and you have a wonderfully unique gift.

To Vary
Choose a different blend of essential oils. Choose a different vegetable oil.

Next Post:  Using a dispersant to blend your bath oil - no more oil stuck to the sides of the bath.

Shea Butter for the Bath

Shea Butter Bath Soak for Dry Skin

This is truly the height of luxury and extravagance as well as being the most glorious gourmet feast for dry, parched skin!
Ingredients
100g Organic Shea Butter (the shea butter should be a pale cream to white colour and smell slightly nutty as well as being pliable or crumbly in texture)

250g Sea Salt Flakes (if you can only buy the salt in large chunks then you will need to whizz it for a while in a food processor or liquidiser in order to grind it a little finer)

5ml Rose Otto Essential Oil

1 tsp of dried rose petals ground to a powder (combine them with the sea salt in the food processor or use a pestle and morter to get the petals as fine as possible). This is optional

Method
Using a metal spoon begin by creaming the shea butter in a bowl until it is very creamy in texture. Add the salt a little at a time along with the rose otto essential oil. Continue to cream it together until all of the salt and shea butter are combined. Decant into a jar and allow to rest for at least 24 hours before use. Don't forget to include the ingredients on the label along with instructions for use. i.e.  Crumble a teaspoon or two under a running tap into a normal size bath of warm water. Soak for at least 15 minutes and then pat the skin dry. Be careful on exiting the bath as the shea butter could make it slippery.

To Vary  Any type of salt or combination of salts could be used and any essential oil or blend of essential oil. For suggestions of blends of essential oils go to the Aromatherapy and related pages.

Detox Bath Salts

The detoxifying effect of epsom salts is truly amazing - although to work really well you need to use very large quantities of epsom salt (and this should not be done if you suffer from high blood pressure), even a small amount used regularly seems to have a cumulative effect.
Ingredients
500g Epsom Salts
zest of one unwaxed lemon (optional)
5ml Rose Geranium essential oil
5ml Lemon essential oil
1 tsp of Calendula petals (Pot Marigold petals) (optional)

Method
Mix the zest of the lemon into the epsom salts in a glass or china bowl. Add the calendula petals if you are using these. Combine the essential oils and mix with a wire whisk into the salt. Mix really well - the art of good bath salt making is in the mixing.

Decant the salts into a jar or container and decorate and label. Don't forget to put the ingredients on the label and the directions for use: 1 tablespoon of salts poured under running water in an average size bath is sufficient.

To Vary
10ml of Vegetable oil or Liquid Glycerine can be added to this recipe. It makes the salts slightly sticky and less free-flowing but don't let that put you off. If you have dry skin choose a suitable oil from the skincare oils post and allow the salts to dry on greaseproof paper for 24 hours before putting them into the jar.   Or

Use the zest of an orange and combine with sweet orange essential oil.

Bath Salts as Gifts

Whichever type of salts you decide to use as your base ingredient for your bath salts recipe - this has got to be the easiest and most effective homemade beauty recipe on this website! All you need is a fancy jar to put them in and a little ribbon or lace and you have a delightfully aromatic gift. Don't know what to give your child's teacher at the end of term? Well look no further...

Basic Lavender Bath Salts

Ingredients200g Coarse Sea Salt
200g Epsom Salts
100g Dead Sea Salt
5ml liquid Glycerine (optional)
10ml Lavender Essential Oil

Method
Combine the salts together in a glass or china bowl or jug. Do not use plastic bowls or spoons since the essential oils can discolour these. (And always remember to clean the bath thoroughly after using the salts since prolonged use of essential oils can discolour your bath too!)

Sprinkle on the lavender essential oil and liquid glycerine if using. With a wire whisk carefully mix the ingredients until everything is well combined. Mix really well. The better you mix the better the end product. If you have used liquid glycerine the salts mixture may feel a bit wet or sticky. If so, you can dry them by spreading them onto greaseproof paper and leave for 24 hours.

Pack the salts into a fancy apothecary jar or container and label it. Include ingredients on your label in case the person you are giving them to is allergic to anything and directions for use. i.e. A tablespoon of scented bath salts poured under running water is plenty for an average bath.

A single sprig of fresh lavender can be inserted into the jar for decoration. I tend not to include actual lavender buds in any of my recipes since they do not look nice once they are floating on the top of the bathwater, however if you like this sort of thing, remember less is better... you don't want it to look like a swarm of ants in your bath!

Leave the salts in the jar for at least 24 hours to allow the essential oil to settle down before using in the bath.

To Vary
Absolutely any pleasant smelling essential oil or blend of essential oils can be used in this recipe. Just be guided by your nose... if it is a very strong smelling essential oil then you may wish to use slightly less than the recommended 10ml.

The liquid glycerine can be replaced with a similar quantity of vegetable oil - choose one that suits your skintype.There are plenty of suggested essential oil blends in one of my earlier posts (just click on essential oils on the label cloud above) and more information about vegetable and plant oils for use in skincare... again look for the label that applies and click.

Coming up next a recipe for detox bathsalts.

Epsom Salts

 A Miracle Cure that Seems to Work!

Epsom salts or more accurately Magnesium Sulphate is the second-most abundant element in human cells and the fourth-most important positively charged ion in the body, so it's little wonder this low-profile mineral is so vital to good health and well being. Magnesium, the major component of Epsom Salts, also helps to regulate the activity of more than 325 enzymes and performs a vital role in orchestrating many bodily functions, from muscle control and electrical impulses to energy production and the elimination of harmful toxins.
Believe it or not but you can increase your magnesium levels from soaking in a bath enriched with magnesium sulphate crystals, commonly known as Epsom Salt. Information obtained from The Epsom Salts Council.

Finding epsom salts in reasonably large quantities is often tricky, the chemist usually sells it in 50g to 100g quantities, which is really too small for bath salt making.You should try Googling for a mail order company that sells it in 2kg packs or more - anything less is really not useful.

When I was a child, Epsom Salts were used in my home as a cure for the common cold. A very hot bath laced with a large handful of Salts was prepared, the idea being to immerse in it for as long as it was possible, with top-ups of very hot water to ensure that the temperature of the body was kept high. Copious sweating is the result. After a while the sick person is dried off and wrapped in thick blankets and put to bed with a warm bedpan for company and hot toddy (whisky, lemon and hot water... if you were an adult), the sweating no doubt continues and upon waking in the morning the cold has miraculously disappeared. 

We now know that extremely hot water is not good for the skin, it accelerates the aging process and should be avoided if at all possible. But certainly Epsom salts dissolved in the bath in large quantities will make you sweat copiously and I know in our house many a cold was cured in this way. (NB. It is not a good idea to use very heavy doses of salts in your bath if you suffer from high blood pressure or a heart condition, if in doubt check with your doctor). 

While increasing your magnesium levels, Epsom Salt also delivers sulphates, which are extremely difficult to get through food but which are readily absorbed through the skin. Sulphates serve a wide variety of functions in the body, playing a vital role in the formation of brain tissue, joint proteins and the mucin proteins that line the walls of the digestive tract. Sulphates also stimulate the pancreas to generate digestive enzymes and are believed to help detoxify the body's residue of medicines and environmental contaminants.

A variety of factors contributes to a magnesium deficiency. Intensive farming practices deplete magnesium from the soil, and magnesium is not a standard component in most fertilizers. Therefore, a diet that would have supplied enough magnesium a century ago may not supply enough today.

Of course it isn't simply the salts that work their magic on you. Full immersion of the body in water at least once a week is, in my opinion, a necessity for continuing good health. There are documented health benefits to full immersion (hence the continuing popularity of spa’s and resorts like the dead sea) however few of us have access to a bath large enough for this in our own homes. Discounting any medical benefits, bathing is mentally calming and restorative, a bath before bed helps aid restful sleep and promotes a feeling of well being. For more information on water and it's benefits take a look at the post on toning the skin.

It may be a tall tale that Archimedes leapt out of the bath shouting eureka ‘I’ve found it!’, but it is very understandable. How many really good ideas surface while lounging in a warm bath? It is a truly meditative environment which can effect not only the health of the body but also the soul – and sometimes it’s the only place to get any peace from our busy lives.

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I do not agree with taking the mobile phone into the bathroom, I also do not think you should be able to see a television from the bathtub! A little restful music, or even thought provoking radio will not interrupt or spoil the occasion in any way and adding a beneficial substance to the water can only enhance the experience.

Use Epsom salts alone or mixed with appropriate essential oils to help with jetlag, vdu stress and general overwork and tiredness. Although the amount required is actually quite large. I have found that even very small amounts taken in a regular daily bath will have a cumulative effect. If you have any health concerns at all do check with your health professional.

The Mustard Bath

Among the Victorian guaranteed cures for many ailments was the mustard bath. It worked in a similar way to epsom salts by producing heat and sweat which helps to detoxify the body. Certainly if you are feeling cold and unwell a warm bath can be most welcome, the water need not be too hot, since the mustard draws the blood to the surface of the skin generating heat as it does so.

If a little eucalyptus essential oil is added it will also act as a decongestant for natural relief from that bunged up feeling. For some the mustard can be a touch irritating so if you have particularly sensitive skin I would avoid it. I also would not recommend it be used for children.

Mustard Bath Recipe

8 ounces Epsom Salts or common kitchen salt3 ounces Mustard Seed crushed to powder
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger infused in a small cup of warm water for 20 minutes.
5 drops of eucalyptus essential oil

Pound the mustard seed until reduced to a powder. Combine the mustard seed powder with the mineral salts and stir well. Add the eucalyptus essential oil to the warm water with the ginger and then mix in the dried ingredients.

Draw a warm bath and add the mustard mixture and stir well. Soak for a minimum of 15 minutes.
In general the heat from this type of bath will very quickly destroy any health benefits from essential oils but you may still find that the addition of something like eucalyptus or peppermint will help clear the nasal passages (albeit briefly) or simply use something that you enjoy to try and make the experience a little more pleasant.

After your bath it is essential to wrap up warm and take a hot drink with you to bed - and perhaps even a hot water bottle. you are supposed to feel very warm and even better if you are sweating. More often than not it is the raised temperature that kills off all the germs. As always.. if you are not otherwise in very good health do check with a qualified health practitioner before using the mustard bath recipe. If you are suffering with a really bad cold you have several options to help clear it out of your system quickly. A steam bath or Sauna is worth a try or you could give an Epsom Salts Bath a go. That's an easy recipe which I shall give you in the next post.

Bathing without Bubbles!

Bathing without Bubbles for the Health of your Skin

You may think that the old fashioned once a week bathing routine has gone by the wayside. No, no, no! Well perhaps it has in your house. Nowadays we mostly shower once a day using shower gel or soap and think of a bath as an occasional aid to de-stressing. It is great for de-stressing but should not be left for the occasional pamper session. The once a week bath needs to make a come-back and establish itself firmly into your skincare routine.

This post is called bathing without bubbles... what have I got against bubbles you may ask? Well in general nothing, but in particular, substances called sodium laureth sulphate or SLS or SLES can be very drying for the skin.    These chemicals can be synthesised from natural sources such as plants and vegetables, but have undergone a great deal of 'jiggery pokery' in the lab. This can make them fall into the grey area between natural and non natural - it's down to your definition of what natural means to you.
Indeed you can get some very mild surfactants nowadays that cause much less skin problems than Sodium Laureth Sulphate - but it is up to you to decide whether ethically you wish to use it, and how often to use it, depending upon it's effects on your skin.

 If you suffer from very dry skin and your usual product of choice in the daily shower is something containing sodium laureth sulphate, then you would benefit from changing to a natural soap. I have known people stop using body lotions altogether simply because they changed to a natural soap and found their skin simply did not need moisturising to the same degree. It only takes a two week trial to discover if it works for you. What have you got to lose?


For your once a week pamper session you have many choices, again depending upon your skin type or your preference.

Bath salts are considered a little old-fashioned, but like many old-fashioned things - they really do work.
It is very simple to make your own bath salts and very easy to tailor the ingredients to suit your skintype.


Bath Oil is very much back in favour due I think to the increase in dry skin - following on from the use of too many soap-detergents like shower gels. It is very easy to make yourself and need not break the bank. Bath Tea This is perhaps the oldest additive you can add to your bath. The choice of herbs and flowers is vast so you are only hindered by your knowledge. Easy to follow instructions to make bath tea coming soon.

Bath Fizzies Sometimes called bath bombs or fairy dust, these fun bath products are among the simplest to make and can be made from the most natural of ingredients. 

Mustard Bath Get rid of those cold and wet wintertime blues with the ultimate in kick starting your personal central heating. The mustard bath is alive and well... but only in winter!

Bath Milk You don't have to be Cleopatra to discover the amazing benefits of bathing in milk - and if you use powdered milk you don't need to worry about it going off either!

Bath Melts Perhaps less well known than bath bombs but just as easy to make.

More recipes for bathing without bubbles coming soon!

Bath Melt Recipe

Making a Bath Melt Could Not Be Easier!

A bath melt is definitely one of the easiest toiletry recipes to make at home. They are solid at room temperature and so can be stored in the bathroom cabinet ready to use. The principle is the same for all the recipes - you may find that only the base oil and essential oils change.

Use a cookie mould (mold) to set the melt or any other container that you think will give you the correct size. Some moulds intended for melt and pour soap also make good containers for melts.

Remember when you use the melt, the bath will become slippery so you should always exercise caution when getting in or out - and if you use essential oils do clean your bath thoroughly afterwards as they can discolour the bath!

Pam's Lavender Cocoa Butter & Honey Bath Melt

This was the very first bath melt recipe I invented. The lady it was created for worked with me at the time and suffered from chronic dry skin. She was delighted with the resultsIngredients
85g Cocoa Butter
5g Sweet Almond Oil
5g Honey
5g Powdered oatmeal
2ml Lavender Essential Oil  

Method
Place all ingredients except the essential oils into a bain marie over a low heat until melted. A bain marie is a pot of water on the cooker top with another pot inside. You place the ingredients into the smaller pot and allow the heat from the water in the pot below to melt them. In this way the ingredients do not come into contact with direct heat.




Once the mixture has melted remove it from the heat and allow to cool until thick before adding the essential oils. Stir well and then pour into patty tins or something suitable for use as a mould. Cup cake papers can be nice too! Place the melts into the refrigerator to go hard. These bath melts do not set totally solid because of the honey, they were a bit like soft fudge.  If you prefer a harder product then simply leave out the honey from the recipe.To use
Crumble a small amount into the warm bath. It is not necessary to use the whole thing in one go (although you can if you want to!) In this way it will last for as many as three or four baths.

The above recipe is quite a small amount, but it is best to trial a small quantity first to make sure that you like it. If you do, you can always increase the recipe size for the next time!
To Vary Use different essential oils (check out the blends suggested in my more recent posts) or change the sweet almond oil for something more suited to your skin type.