Hi everyone and welcome to day two in the #AtoZChallenge. Today, I want to go into one of the creative pursuits I’ve been keeping the longest, even though I no longer really do it much anymore: bath and body care product making.
I started bath and body care product making in 2016 when in the psychiatric hospital. At first, I made all kinds of products, including body lotions. That, I wasn’t too good at, since it requires using both water and oil and specific techniques, including heating the water and keeping it at a certain temperature (70°C if I’m correct) for a while before adding the water to the oil tiny bits at a time. It also requires the use of an emulsifier, since water and oil won’t combine together without one.
Later, I decided to make just body butters, which include just oils, butters and possibly beeswax or another wax if you want to create a vegan alternative.
I created a few body scrubs using sugar or ground coffee, but didn’t like those. Other exfoliants, like jojoba pellets, are extremely expensive. Of course, most store-bought body scrubs use nano beads, but these are bad for the environment. Not that I’ve ever found them sold anywhere anyway.
Since moving to the care facility in 2019, where we have a bathtub, I have also occasionally made bath bombs. A bath bomb is made with two parts sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and one part citric acid (this is what makes the bath bomb fizz). Some people add cornstarch, but I’ve learned this will get moldy easily and I don’t personally see the advantage. Since both baking soda and citric acid are dry ingredients, you’ll need a spray bottle of demineralized water to help the ingredients stick together. Then you will of course need to add a colorant, fragrance oil and possibly other additives such as Epsom salt, almond oil, etc. The hardest part I’ve found was molding the bath bomb neatly. Of course, I chose a heart-shaped mold, not just a simple ball or egg.
Eventually, I discovered that the main aspect I like about bath and body care product making, is the fact that you can add essential oils or essential oil blends to your products for a nice smell and possibly therapeutic effects (if that’s what you believe in). In 2021, I did my entire #AtoZChallenge on essential oils and aromatherapy, so check back there for information on specific oils.
A Multitude of Musings 