Your day is packed with little things you do to keep your body healthy, like washing your hands, brushing your teeth, taking a morning shower and so on. Everybody's personal hygiene routine is different because everyone's personal tastes and habits are unique.
Is there a way to make your routine enjoyable, eco-friendly and pleasantly aromatic? Yes, by taking advantage of the unique properties of essential oils. With a versatile range of actions and a wide variety of fragrances, they make perfect body care companions.
Essential-oil-scented hand-crafted soap recipe
This recipe simply involves incorporating essential oils into vegetable glycerine soap. You'll be delighted with the possibilities afforded by this basic soap-making method, which, unlike the cold process method, doesn't call for the soap to be dried for a long time.
The tools you'll need
- Stainless steel bowl
- Soap moulds
- Stainless steel saucepan
- Metal spoon
- Precise scale
- Thermometer
- Sharp knife
- Glass pipettes for essential oils
You'll also need solid glycerine soap and essential oils.
Suggestions for suitable and safe essential oils
- Lavender essential oil: Its floral, feminine fragrance soothes the body and mind, fosters relaxation and instills a feeling of wellbeing and harmony.
- Geranium essential oil: Its pronounced bright and lemony scent awakens the whole body—a ray of sunshine that blankets and soothes your body at the same time.
How to make it
- Disinfect your equipment and work area with alcohol.
- Weigh the soap moulds. Subtract the weight of the moulds from the weight indicated on the scale (or use the scale's tare function to set the scale to zero with the moulds on it) and add water to the moulds so that you can estimate how much soap to cut.
- Put your soap pieces in a stainless-steel bowl and set it on top of your saucepan filled 1/3 full of water.
- Bring the water to a boil and continue heating until the soap reaches the melting point (around 55°C).
- Once the soap has melted, remove the stainless-steel bowl from the saucepan and stir in 1% vegetable oil (sweet almond, for example).
- Stir gently and then add 1% to 3% essential oils to the mix.
- Pour the pleasantly scented mixture into your soap moulds. Now simply wait around 40 minutes to unmould your creations: beautiful scented soaps!
Shower gel synergy with summery citrus essences
A perfect companion for your morning shower, citrus or lemon essential oils can be added to a neutral, unscented shampoo to awaken body and mind.
Here are a few oils you can add to 200 ml of neutral shower gel:
40 drops of your choice of essential oils
- Grapefruit essential oil: With its citrusy, fresh and sparkling scent, grapefruit essential oil is a wonderful essence that revitalizes, tones and purifies the skin, while awakening the senses.
- Mandarin essential oil: Mandarin has a rather soothing, relaxing and sunny fragrance. This essence's aroma helps you relax, release nervous tension and replenish your energy. Pair with lemon essential oil for a more energizing effect.
- Lemon essential oil: Lemon is a truly invigorating tonic. Its purifying essence exudes cleanliness and lifts the senses.
- Lemongrass essential oil: Despite smelling like citrus, lemongrass is a tropical herbaceous plant whose aerial parts are used to produce the essential oil. Its very pronounced, fresh and lemony scent, not to mention its skin-soothing properties, never fail to delight vacationers and campers.
Precautions for use:
Citrus peel essential oils are photosensitizing and can irritate extremely sensitive skin. Avoid direct sun exposure for six hours after using, if possible.
Revitalizing hair mask with clay and essential oils
A hair mask once or twice a week is a pleasant and effective health and beauty treatment, particularly for toning the scalp and revitalizing damaged hair.
Here's a recipe that will make your hair soft, shiny, strong and healthy looking.
Recipe for one hair mask:
- 2–3 Tbsp. white clay
- 1 Tbsp. avocado oil
- Spring water (just enough to make a creamy paste)
- 3 drops ylang ylang essential oil
- 2 drops rosemary essential oil
Not only is white clay suitable for dry and delicate skin (and therefore for sensitive scalps), it's also gentle on dry, limp hair and is therefore ideal for soothing and remineralizing damaged hair.
It's important to add vegetable oil to the white clay to repair, nourish and strengthen the hair. Rich in vitamins A, B, D, E, K and PP (niacinamide), avocado oil is extremely beneficial for repairing damaged hair. It also has the added benefit of keeping for a long time without going rancid.
Lastly, ylang ylang essential oil makes hair shine. Its aroma blends well with the camphorated scent of rosemary, which is known for its toning properties.
Several other essential oils can be used to enhance your personal hygiene routine. I hope I've piqued your curiosity with these fragrant recipes and I wish you a pleasantly scented experience with the personal care enhancements I've suggested.
Enjoy!
References:
BAUDOUX, Dominique, Pour une cosmétique intelligente, Ed. Amyris,2015, 207.p
VALLIÈRES, Marie-Christine, Fabrication de produits de Beauté et Spa, 2016
École d'Herboristerie les Âmes fleurs.
FORTIN, Sylvie, Cosmétiques non toxiques, Ed.la Presse, 2011, 239 p.
