Homemade Aromatherapy Vapor Shower Bomb Recipe
Let’s be real.
Self care is important, and we’ve somehow deemed that taking a bath is towards the pinnacle of self care. Especially for us moms.
But it’s hard to find time for a full-blown bath, let alone a bath tub that is actually comfortable to spend any amount of time in as a full grown adult.
Now a shower, that’s a whole other story.
What if I told you that I could take your shower game to another level?!
That’s where vapor shower bombs come in. And they’re super easy to make, and you probably already have most of the supplies at home already!
How to Make Aromatherapy Vapor Shower Bombs
You’ll need…
- Muffin tin & liners (or a silicone mold like this one)
- Baking soda (you’ll need about 2 boxes for one batch)
- Water
- Essential oils (this is the one I used, and it smells DELICIOUS)
- Oven
Step One: Mix up your shower bomb putty
Mix approximately 2 1/2 cups baking soda with water in a bowl until you’ve made a thick putty. I ended up using about 2/3 cup water total.
Don’t worry about using exact measurements, add the water slowly making sure it’s mixable without being too runny.
Step Two: Disperse your shower bomb putty into the tin/molds
How long your shower bombs will last depends on the length of shower you take and how direct you place your shower bomb under your shower head.
I filled my regular sized muffin tins approximately 3/4 full and they lasted for about 2 showers placed on a shelf out of direct water stream in my shower.
If you’re using silicone molds, you could fill them as full as you want as they won’t expand in the oven.
Step Three: Bake your shower bombs
Pop your shower bombs in the oven for 350 degrees for approximately 40 minutes.
Note: if you are using silicone molds that are substantially smaller than regular sized muffin tins, you will need far less baking time.
You want the moisture to evaporate and for them to bake completely so they come out of the liners or mold without crumbling.
Let them cool, then take them out of the liners or mold.
Step Four: Apply the essential oil fragrance
After completely cooled, add 9 or 10 drops of your favorite essential oil mix to each bomb.
Or, if you’re doing your own blend, up to approximately 10 drops of your own essential oil blend.
Allow the oils to sit penetrate the bombs for a few minutes.
I gave these as a gift in a mason jar with a little tag attached and the recipient totally thought they came from a boutique!
I swear, mason jars make any homemade gift look legit.
You might still be wondering: how do you use shower bombs?
To take your shower experience to the next level, put a shower bomb on a shelf in your shower out of direct water contact.
The moisture in the air will slowly melt the shower bomb and dissipate the essential oils and fragrance into the air.
You might still be wondering: how long do shower bombs last?
Once you make your shower bombs, they should last 6 months or longer if kept in a cool, dry, dark place.
You might still be wondering: can you use this shower bomb recipe with Vicks?
Because this tutorial calls for baking the disks before adding the fragrance/aromatherapy ingredients, I would not recommend using Vicks.
Although, there are other alternative ways of using Vicks to make shower bombs! *tutorial coming soon
Aromatherapy Vapor Shower Bombs Tutorial
Materials
- Baking Soda
- Essential Oils
- Water
Tools
- Muffin Tin or Silicone Mold
- Oven
Instructions
Step One: Mix your shower bomb base
- Mix approximately 2 1/2 cups baking soda with 2/3 cups water to create your shower bomb base putty.
Step Two: Pour your base into your tin/molds
- Spoon your shower bomb base into your muffin tins or molds
Step Three: Bake your molds
- Put your shower bombs in their molds in the oven at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.
- Let them cool completely, and then remove them from the tin or mold.
Step Four: Apply the essential oil fragrance
- Once your shower bombs are completely cooled, apply approximately 8-10 drops of essential oils to each shower bomb.
Notes
You can also use your own essential oil blends to these shower bombs!
How pretty! What a great idea! LUSH is one of my favorite little shops, but this would be really fun (and simple) to make myself.
Thanks for the idea! I'm pinning it 🙂
That's awesome! So many scent possibilities!!!
Such a neat idea!
Ooooh! I think I see a trip to Whole Foods for some essential oils in my very near future!! This is such a simple idea for some nice relaxation time. Could you also toss one of these in the bath too?
Lisa
What an awesome idea….think I will have to try these and I'm going to share this on Facebook!
I've never really explored LUSH before, but i always hear awesome stuff about it!
I wouldn't put them in a bath, essential oils can be harsh on your skin (depending on the oil and your skin). Just to be safe.
Thanks so much for sharing, Deborah!
Thank you for that info. Bre. I never thought about the essential oils being harsh on the skin. Have a great day!
Lisa
I've never heard of shower disks! I love my baths but like most people I don't have the time to take them as much as I'd like. What an awesome idea! 😀
LittleBirdBlogs
My apartment tub is shallow, so i rarely take bathes, this is the single greatest thing I've ever seen to make my showers more enjoyable, thank you soo much for this tutorial!!!!!
love this idea. Is it 350 degrees F or C?
I hadn't either until I was browsing Pinterest for homemade gift ideas. Totally agree with you on the bath thing. This is the best of both worlds!
Haha glad I could bring some joy to your showers 🙂
Good questions, it's 350 degrees F
I'm going to try this, with RC or eucalyptus ! Thanks Bre – still missing you 🙂 hope you and the beaners are good
Can you use these in the bath?
This post was really useful, thank you! I'm just getting into blogging this year so these will really help, especially being realistic/attainable about how much/how often I'm able to post 🙂
Neat idea! Going to make this as a party favor. Do you think I can add in food coloring for looks?
I wouldn't recommend it, some essential oils can be hard on the skin.
That might be cool, the only thing i would worry about is staining the shower floor.
This sounds amazing! Thanks for the idea! I love me some orange so orange oil is the one for me!
If you try it out let me know what you think 🙂
I feel like that is the key. It's disheartening when you can't keep up with posting as often as you “think” you should.
I can't go to LUSH because there products irritate my skin, but now I can enjoy a shower with the same essence as a bath bomb!! I love it!!
I decided to put more time and effort into my blog this year and just came across this post. Sometimes its hard to see posts not getting a lot of attention but your tip to be realistic is good. Nobody is going to become famous in a day.
xo,cheyenne
http://cheyenne-style.blogspot.com/
Amazing! Great idea for gifts! Thank you so much for sharing!
Love it! Thank you!
I'm surprised that you associated colored oils with impurity. That isn't the case at all. Various chemical constituents in the plants create these colors. Essential oils can be anything from clear, various shades of yellow and orange and even blue. Yes, German Chamomile is blue and it isn't the only one. I took a peek at the blend list for this oil….it has orange in it so naturally it is going to be some shade of yellow or orange depending on the colors of the other oils it is being blended with.
My mistake, thanks for the information. I guess I had just never seen one that wasn't clear.
I'm making cute little baby ones . Used lots of water… N mixed eucalyptus oil before baking… My head is spinning from all the EO!! We'll see how it goes…. Next batch I'm going by ur directions…. One will b for morning showers one for evening bathers…. Excited. Thanks Bre
Cute! I'm convinced this is the best DIY recipe I've found. You'll have to let me know how the rest turn out!
My problem is that I don't really know what my goals should be! I feel stuck and don't know where to start. 🙁 But great post once I get to that point!
A good place to start is how often you post. Are you happy with what you do now, or would you like more? Just a lil suggestion 🙂
Thanks. That is a good suggestion. 🙂 I want to do more, but I'm just not quite sure of my direction and if my content has the desired effect. I just really need to sit down and look at at what I post and see what I like, what doesn't work, what I should do more of, etc. Thanks again! 🙂
Dave Ramsey is amazing!! I love listening to his pod casts! And thank you for all of this wisdom!! I just found your blog and am falling more snd more in love with it the more I read!?
I made them and they are falling apart as soon as the water hits them. Help! What am I doing wrong?
Maybe try putting them on a shelf inside the shower instead? My shower head points almost straight down so if I put them at the opposite end of the shower, water doesn't come into direct contact with it much so they last longer.
Oh it's not too late! I'm still sick and these would be perfect. Haha! I was actually going to BUY the ones at the store, but I remember hearing reviews about them being too potent. I have some essential oils that help with being sick, like Thieves. I'm TOTALLY going to try this. Thanks for sharing.
If I had Thieves, I would have totally put that on these instead! Let me know what you think of them 🙂
So I am onmy second batch now and I have a question, how much water to how much baking soda?
You say 1/3 cup to 2.5 cups but that doesn't make the paste you show in the picture so I don't know if that is a misprint or not.
And I had a major problem getting mine out of the pan without the liners tearing because they were sticking to the wells. Please say this isn't just me. What should I do?
Hey Jen, emailing you back with my advice!
I make these as well. I also make them for congestion. I use rosemary, peppermint, and eucalyptus. Of course, you cant use them around kids under 10 because of the peppermint, but I dont have little in my house. Also, i would expect this blend to be orangy to yellowish. I would worry about it not being pure if it was any other color. Ive never used this brand, but i know it contains orange ( which produces an orangish oil) and patchouli, which depending on if it is light or dark patchouli, is brown in color and is considered one of the thicker oils. With the orange and brownish combining, this oil should definately be in the color range that it is,
I had the same problem.
I had some trouble with my liners getting stuck and not coming off of the disks after they had cooled, so I tried using some handy reusable *silicone* muffin tin liners; they are pretty fab anyway (dishwasher safe, etc.) and for this project, they were especially great because they are flexible and let me peel them right off the sides of the disk. Problem solved! Thanks for a great idea for holiday gifts!
Oh darn, I suppose mine weren’t completely cooled when I took them out. Just hard enough but still a little wet. Silicone muffin liners are the perfect solution! I think I’ll add your tip when I update the post. Thank you!
You’re welcome! I was also going to say that when I tried out my own disk in the shower I loved it, but by the second day I was sad that all of the scent was gone (having put all of the drops onto the top, I think it all drizzled away during shower 1). Soooo, another fun idea I’m going to try is mini muffin tin disks! (with silicone liners of course). That way the disks will have lots of scent and will be really cute and I can fit a lot in my mason jar. I could also use smaller mason jars because I found I had to use a huge jar in order to fit the big disk through the mouth of the jar. Just a few more thoughts 🙂 Thanks again!