Soap Sponge DIY: An Easy Way to Exfoliate Skin & Reduce Plastic Waste

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February 20, 2020 By Rebecca D. Dillon 3 Comments

Learn how to make a soap sponge to use as part of your daily skin care routine. These soaps are dual purpose with an exfoliating sponge and a soap in one product. With proper care, your homemade soap sponges will last about two months. And they offer a number of benefits, not just in skin care, but for the environment as well. Keep reading to discover the benefits of soap sponges, plus how to make your own with just two simple ingredients and a sponge.

The first time I saw a soap sponge in a soap making group on Facebook, I was intrigued. Was it a solid bar of soap with a sponge inside? Would that even be comfortable to use? How do you make one without making a mess?

Since I love playing with all things soap, I decided to take on the challenge and teach you how to make a DIY soap sponge without making a mess.

I was pleasantly surprised that a DIY soap sponge wasn’t messy or hard to make. It was actually one of the easier melt and pour soap making projects that I’ve done.

Unlike DIY loofah soap, which is a loofah embedded inside melt and pour soap, a soap sponge is a sponge that is infused with soap. It’s still soft and squishy, so it feels like and works like, well, a sponge.

Why Use a Soap Sponge?

First off, you may be wondering, what is a soap sponge? A soap sponge is exactly what the name implies. It’s soap in a sponge. So like body wash on a loofah, soap sponges lather and cleanse skin when used. But what are the benefit of using a soap sponge over traditional body wash?

They help reduce plastic use.

Going completely zero waste is nearly impossible. Everything comes in packaging even if it’s just the supplies for production. While bar soap and even syndet shampoo bars are a great way to reduce waste in your daily bath and beauty routine, not everyone loves bar soap.

There are a lot of body wash fans out there. This can make reducing plastic waste even more of a challenge. However, an easy way to ditch your plastic body wash bottle is by using a soap sponge! What makes this even more amazing, is that you can make your own DIY soap sponges yourself, at home.

Once the soap is gone from your soap sponges, you can reuse the sponges for household cleaning, such as tackling your grungy toilet or shower door.

They offer gentle skin exfoliation.

Another benefit of soap sponges is that they offer the added benefit of daily skin exfoliation without any extra steps.

Every day, skin cells die and rise to the surface of your skin before they eventually fall off. These dead skin cells make your skin look dull and sometimes feel itchy. The sponge I used exfoliates the skin to remove this top layer of dead skin cells.

Unlike a body scrub, this sponge is a gentle exfoliant. It’s safe for both kids and adults, even for sensitive skin. It gently removes dead skin cells without causing redness or irritation.

You won’t notice a big difference the first time you use it, but after several uses your skin will start to look brighter and healthier.

How to Make a Soap Sponge

The Best Sponges for Making Soap in a Sponge

I bought a set of 5 soft sponges to make my soap sponges. They are made with natural fibers and soft to the touch. They also have a rope in them so you can hang the sponges to dry after you use them.

These sponges are shipped in a vacuum sealed bag. As soon as I cut open the bag, they puffed up but they were deformed. I soaked them in water and squeezed them, and they looked great. Let them dry completely before dipping them in the soap.

The sponges I used measure 5.12 inches x 3.5 inches x 2 inches. If you use smaller or larger sponges, you may need to adjust the amount of melt and pour soap that you use.

Choosing Your Melt and Pour Soap Base

Since my sponges were multicolored, I decided to use a clear melt and pour soap. I didn’t add any colorant, but you can if you use a solid color sponge.

I used Crafter’s Choice clear melt and pour soap. Their clear soap is very clear and doesn’t set up too fast. It gives a decent lather for a melt and pour soap, so it makes a good soap for the bath. This brand also offers a number of options, including all natural options as well as bases with additives like aloe, shea butter, goat milk and even oatmeal.

While Stephenson’s also offers natural melt and pour soap bases, their bases tend to cool and set up more quickly. Therefore, I do not recommend their bases for this particular project.

Add a Natural Essential Oil Blend

Because I shower in the mornings, I wanted a fresh scent that would lift and lighten my mood. What better way to start a day, right? So I used the Happy Joy blend from Simply Earth. (It’s a recent, and one of my favorite additions, from their monthly essential oil recipe box.)

A blend of geranium, sweet orange, grapefruit, and ylang ylang, this natural essential oil blend works wonders at helping to get me motivated to start my day! It’s a light and fun scent. Plus, it’s also a synergy that can help boost your mood and uplift your spirits. I have a roller with this blend as well, and I keep it by my desk so I can use it while I’m working.

The Happy Joy essential oil blend is only kid safe for children over 10. Therefore, if you’re giving your DIY soap sponges to a child, try a kid safe essential oil blend. Alternately, you can also use a fragrance oil instead.

Ready to make your very first soap sponge? You can find the tutorial for making soap sponges below. But first, I wanted to share a few soap making tips before your get started.

Tips for Making Soap Sponges

I used sponges with a rope in them. The rope got dipped in the soap with the sponge, and it was fine. It got firm, but it wasn’t completely hard. The soap will dissolve the first few times you use it anyway.

You should be practicing safe soap making even with melt and pour soap. Always use heat proof gloves and eye protection when making a soap sponge because the soap is hot and can splatter. These gloves are PVC coated and liquid and heat resistant.

I put a clothes hanger on my cupboard knob and used S hooks to hang my soap sponges after they were done. They didn’t drip much, but I had newspapers on the counter to catch drips.

You will have some soap left over. Pour it into a small mold to use as a hand soap or save it for the next time you make soap sponges.

Unlike cold process soap, melt and pour soap doesn’t need time to cure. It’s ready to use as soon as it’s cool.

Soap Sponge Recipe

Ingredients:

2 sponges
8 ounces clear melt and pour soap
½ teaspoon Happy Joy essential oil blend

Instructions:

Use a digital scale to weigh out the melt and pour soap base. Then, using a sharp knife, cut the melt and pour soap into one inch cubes.

Next, combine the melt and pour soap cubes in a heat safe container. Melt the soap in the microwave in 30 second bursts until melted. You’ll want to stir the soap between each interval to help the soap melt faster, and ensure even heating.

Once the soap base melts, carefully remove the soap from the microwave. I recommend using a tea towel to handle the container as it may be hot.

Then, add the essential oil blend to the melted soap base. Stir well for at least 30 seconds to combine.

Now, while wearing heat resistant gloves, dip each edge of the sponge into the melted soap. Then dip the top and the bottom.

Squeeze gently to remove excess soap.

Repeat the process until the sponge will no longer hold any additional soap. Each sponge should soak up about 4 ounces of the melt and pour soap base.

If necessary, gently reheat the soap if it starts to solidify during the process.

Once you’ve completed making a soap sponge, hang to dry.

Your DIY soap sponge is ready to use once it’s cooled and hardened completely. However, I recommend waiting a day prior to use.

How to Use A Soap Sponge

The soap sponge isn’t a solid piece of soap, so it feels more like a sponge than a bar of soap. To use, just wet it and squeeze it to make a lather. Then use it like you would any soap.

How to Care for Soap Sponges

Water is the enemy of melt and pour soap. If you let this sit in water, the soap will dissolve quickly. To help it last longer, set it on a soap dish or hang it where it won’t get hit by water.

If you hang it up between uses, it should last about two months.

Yield: 2 Soap Sponges

DIY Soap Sponge

Make a dual purpose DIY soap sponge to use as part of your daily skin care routine to exfoliate and cleanse skin in one easy step for beautiful, glowing skin. An easy melt and pour soap recipe for beginners.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Active Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Difficulty Easy

Materials

8 ounces clear melt and pour soap
½ teaspoon skin safe essential oil blend

Tools

2 bath sponges with rope
heat resistant PVC coated gloves
knife to cut soap
scale to weight soap
microwave
bowl

Instructions

Cut the melt and pour soap into one inch cubes.
Melt in the microwave in 30 second bursts until melted. Stir between each interval to help the soap melt faster.
Remove the soap from the microwave carefully. Add the essential oil and stir well for at least 30 seconds.
Wear heat resistant gloves and dip each edge of the sponge into the soap. Then dip the top and the bottom. Squeeze gently to remove excess soap. Repeat the process until you each sponge is filled with half of the soap.
Hang to dry.

Zero waste skin care recipe for a DIY soap sponge. Learn how to make a soap sponge to use as part of your daily skin care routine. These soaps are dual purpose with an exfoliating sponge and a soap in one product. With proper care, your homemade soap sponges will last about two months. And they offer a number of benefits, not just in skin care, but for the environment as well. Discover the benefits of soap sponges, plus how to make your own with just two simple ingredients and a sponge.

Love this easy melt and pour soap making project for making DIY soap sponges? Then be sure to pin this recipe to Pinterest for later. And check out my Pinterest board for Easy Melt and Pour Soap Recipes for Beginners.

More Melt and Pour Soap Projects

If you enjoyed this tutorial and recipe for making DIY soap sponges, then you may also want to explore some of these other easy melt and pour soap recipes for beginners.

Discover more of my soap making projects by following me across all your favorite social media platforms. You can follow Soap Deli News blog on facebook, twitter and instagram. You can also find me on Blog Lovin‘. Or sign up to receive an email whenever I share a new post!

Filed Under: Bath & Beauty Recipes, DIY Craft Project, Soapmaking Tagged With: bath and body, crafts, diy, easy, eco-friendly, gift idea, melt and pour soap, melt and pour soap recipe, melt and pour soapmaking, natural skin care, skin care recipes, soap tutorial, soapmaking, zero waste

Essential Oil Perfume Recipes: How to Make Natural Fragrances Using Essential Oils

February 10, 2020 By Rebecca D. Dillon 8 Comments

Learn how to make natural essential oil perfume recipes for beginners. If you love fragrances, but want a non-toxic alternative to synthetic fragrances that can trigger allergies, headaches and skin irritation, then this post is for you! Discover how to make natural fragrances using essential oils with this collection of essential oil perfume recipes, natural essential oil blends for perfumes, and perfume making tips for beginners that will save you money.

I love fragrances. Unfortunately, not all fragrances love me. Synthetic fragrances, especially, have been known to give me a raging headache. Everything from fake vanilla to heavily scented floral scents can trigger trigger sinus problems, allergies and headaches that last for days. They can also cause unfortunate skin reactions. If you have sensitive skin, then you know just how troublesome skin reactions from artificial fragrances can be. Growing up, I definitely struggle with itchy skin from everything from laundry detergent to lotions. It was not fun.

So rather than risk a reaction from store bought perfumes, I prefer to make my own essential oil perfume recipes. By choosing certified organic essential oils, I know that I’m getting a safe product that I can trust when properly diluted. And, because I know exactly what essential oils I’m using to make my essential oil perfumes, I can avoid those that irritate my sinuses or cause allergic reactions. Store bought perfumes just don’t offer the same transparency. Because fragrances are considered proprietary, I have no way of knowing what chemicals or other ingredients are used to create that particular scent. Therefore, the best way to avoid this is to make my own.

How to Make Essential Oil Perfumes

I’ve made a number of perfume recipes over the years. Some of those perfume recipes contained fragrance oils I’d used during my soap making days. So I knew they didn’t trigger a reaction. Others, however, I created with only a blend of essential oils. There are a lot of essential perfume recipes online. You can basically use any essential oil blend recipe you like. Simply add it to perfumer’s alcohol, a pre-made fixative base or to a carrier oil such as fractionated coconut oil (also known as Isopropyl Myristate) or jojoba oil. (Learn more about how to use perfume fixatives for lasting scents.) You can also make a basic salve base, which is 3 parts carrier oil to 1 part beeswax, with the addition of your essential oil blend for a solid essential oil perfume.

Continue reading for my essential oil perfume making tips for getting the perfect scent, even if you’re terrible at blending essential oils. Plus discover my collection of natural essential oil perfume recipes and tutorials to help you create your favorite new, custom scent!

Perfume Making Tips (That Save You Money!)

I want to start by sharing some easy perfume making tips for your essential oil recipes. I’m sharing these tips first, because if you’re like me, by the time you read through the other stuff you may feel so overwhelmed you decide to give up before you get started. And that is the last thing I want you to do. Sometimes you just need some baby steps to get your feet wet before you’re comfortable going full force into a new art or hobby.

1. Use plant based, all natural fragrance oils for your essential oil perfume recipes.

I am not the best at figuring at top, middle and base notes for my own essential oil perfume recipes. To be honest, I find it all to be a huge challenge. Not to mention the investment of time I don’t have. Therefore, when I make my own essential oil perfume recipes, I’ll often use an essential oil blend recipe that I’ve found elsewhere.

Sometimes, however, I find that I want a more complex fragrance blend than what I can make myself. I mean, perfumery is seriously an art. It takes a lot of time, knowledge and money to perfect the perfect scent. Essential oils on their own are expensive. So messing up when crafting a custom essential perfume recipe can be devastating on several levels. No one wants to blow money on a perfume scent that has to be tossed. Therefore, when I want a more complex natural essential oil blend, I like to turn to plant-based, all natural fragrance oils.

There are a few soap making companies that now offer all natural fragrance oils. While they do cost more than their synthetic counterparts, they’re still definitely a lot cheaper than trying to formulate your own.

Right now, Wholesale Supplies Plus seems to offer the widest range of 100% natural fragrance oils. They were one of the first soap making companies to take notice of the need for all natural fragrances and started offering this line years ahead of much of the competition. While these fragrances start at around double the cost of synthetic essential oils, the quality more than makes up for the difference. There’s also the added bonus of not having to spend a LOT more money buying all the essential oils you’d need to create just a single essential oil blend for your perfumes.

Their natural fragrance oils are plant-based aromatics made using pure essential oils and aromatic isolates derived solely from natural, raw botanical sources. Plus, all of their natural fragrance oils are certified to be free of synthetic ingredients. Their current lineup of all natural fragrance oils includes scents like honey blueberry lavender, green tea & rose, gooseberry & birch water, coconut & white tea, lavender & coconut milk, jasmine vanilla and mango smoothie.

I love that the Wholesale Supplies Plus website is geared towards beginner to intermediate crafters with affordable pricing. So it’s easy to find the IFRA maximum skin exposure levels for each of their fragrances. This allows you to easily determine skin safe dilution for your essential oil perfume recipes. There’s even a fragrance and essential oil calculator located on the product page for each of their essential oil based fragrance oils so you can quickly pick the right ratio for your essential oil perfume formulations.

2. Use a fixative base with your essential oil perfume recipes so they last longer.

Essential oil perfume fixatives are a must for long lasting perfumes and fragrances. Fixatives work in your essential oil perfume recipes to slow down the degradation of more volatile oils used in your perfumes. Thus, they essentially slow down evaporation rates. This ensures that your scents last longer when applied to skin. Therefore saving you money as you won’t need to reapply your perfumes as often.

There are a number of essential oils that function as fixatives in your essential oil perfume recipes. You can find out what essential oils work as fixatives in perfumery outlined here. Each of these essential oils not only extends the life of your perfumes, they also add a distinct note to your fragrances. Therefore it is important to choose which essential oils to use as fixatives based on the notes in your essential oil blends. You’ll want all the fragrance notes, obviously, to work in harmony for the best scents.

If you aren’t a pro at blending essential oils and don’t have the time or money to further your knowledge and experiment, there is a simple alternative. An easy way to incorporate a fixative into ANY essential oil blend is to purchase a natural perfume fixative base. Essentially, these bases are like little solid perfumes. You simply pick a scent note that works with your essential oil perfume recipes. Then, apply the fixative base prior to application of your perfume. By doing this, you not only extend the life of your perfume, you can also use different bases with the same essential oil perfume blend to create different scents.

I’m fond of the fixative bases available from Wild Veil Perfume. This shop offers a wide selection of fixative bases to choose from in different scent notes. Some of these include botanical musk base notes, earthy base notes, conifer base notes, spicy base notes, tea base notes and more. In addition, you’ll also discover a nice collection of absolutes and resinoids you can use to formulate your own essential oil perfume recipes.

How to Formulate Custom Essential Oil Perfume Recipes

If you want to formulate your own custom, essential oil perfume recipes, then you first need to learn the art of blending essential oils. As with fragrance oils, you can’t just throw any scents together that you like. They need to work well with another so you get a pleasing aroma.

Essential oils come in a variety of scent notes straight from nature. They can be woodsy or herbal, citrus or grassy, floral or spicy. Learning which essential oils blend nicely together does take some research, however. There’s no magical way to know what essential oils blend well together without taking the time to learn. An easy way to discover which essential oils blend well is to conduct an internet search. You can also purchase books on essential oils that teach you the basics of essential oils and blending.

An easy way to get started is to pick an essential oil you are fond of to be the heart of your essential oil perfume recipe. A popular choice, for example, is lavender essential oil. Then look up what essential oils blend well with lavender. You’ll get a long list of all the essential oils that blend well with the one you’ve chosen when you search. This gives you a good idea of where to get started in choosing the essential oils to blend with the lavender to compliment the scent.

For example, Mountain Rose Herbs, a popular source for certified organic essential oils, tells me that lavender essential oil blends well with bergamot, black pepper, cedarwood, chamomile, clary sage, clove, cypress, eucalyptus, geranium, grapefruit, juniper, lemon, lemongrass, mandarin, marjoram, oakmoss, palmarosa, patchouli, peppermint, pine, rose, rosemary, tea tree, thyme and vetiver essential oils. It also tells me that it’s aroma is sweet, floral and herbaceous — information that can help me decide how to formulate the essential oil perfume blend.

Unfortunately, blending essential oils is a lot more complicated than that. (And one of the reasons why, as a beginner, you may want to start by using existing essential oil blends for your essential oil perfume recipes.) In short, you need to choose top and base note essential oils that are harmonious with lavender essential oil, which is your middle note.

But here’s more on that.

Understanding Essential Oil Notes for Basic Perfumery

When using essential oils for natural perfumery, you need to choose your essential oils based on their rate of evaporation, or what is called their volatility. The volatility of essential oils are separated out into three categories. These categories are known as top notes, middle notes and base notes.

Top note essential oils evaporate the fastest as they contain the smallest molecules. While, middle note essential oils typically last several hours. The base note essential oils, on the other hand, contain the largest molecules and therefore evaporate the slowest. The natural fragrance of base note essential oils can last a full day or more.

When formulating custom essential oil perfume recipes, you’ll want your recipes to consist of all three notes for the longest lasting scents and a complex aroma. This can vary depending on your formulation of essential oils used — some essential oils are much stronger than others — as well as personal preference. However, there is a loose guideline for blending top, middle and base note essential oils.

Your top notes in your essential oil perfume recipes should consist of 10%-30% of the essential blend. While the middle notes, which are the heart of your perfume, should make up anywhere from 30% to 50% of your perfume blend. Finally, the base notes should consist of 15%-30% of your perfume essential oils recipes. Many base notes are also fixatives, such as patchouli essential oil.

Top Notes:

Top note essential oils are typically more light and airy essential oils. They introduce you to the scent of your essential oil perfumes. Usually thin and mobile, top notes often display diffusive, sharp, penetrating, uplifting, refreshing or light properties.

Common examples of top note essential oils include the following:

Basil essential oil
Bergamot essential oil
Eucalyptus essential oil
Fir & Pine essential oils
Galbanum resin
Juniper essential oil
Laurel Leaf essential oil
Citrus essential oils such as Grapefruit, Lemon, Lime, Mandarin, Tangerine & Orange
Neroli essential oil
Palmarosa essential oil
Mint essential oils such as Peppermint & Spearmint
Petitgrain essential oil
Sage essential oil
Verbena essential oil
Yuzu essential oil

Middle Notes:

As previously stated, the middle notes are the heart — and most important part! — of your essential oil perfume recipes. These essential oils should be the focal of your essential oil perfume blend, with the other essential oils being chosen around these middle notes. As your middle notes are often full bodied and complex, you want your top and base notes to harmonize, balance and complement with the middle notes you choose.

Popular middle note essential oils used in essential oil perfume recipes include:

Black Pepper essential oil
Cardamom essential oil
Carnation essential oil
Cassie essential oil
Chamomile essential oil
Cinnamon essential oil
Clary Sage essential oil
Clove essential oil
Coffee essential oil
Cypress Leaf essential oil
Fir essential oil
Balsam essential oil
Geranium essential oil
Ginger essential oil
Helichrysum essential oil
Jasmine essential oil
Lavender essential oil
Lemongrass essential oil
Lotus essential oil
Melissa essential oil
Orange Blossom essential oil
Rose essential oil
Rosemary essential oil
Tuberose essential oil
Ylang Ylang essential oil

It’s important to keep in mind that black pepper, cinnamon and clove essential oils are skin irritants. Therefore, they should be used in very small amounts as part of your perfume formulations.

Base Notes:

The foundation of your essential oil perfume recipes are the base notes. These essential oils tend to have dense, heavy and strong aromas that support your overall perfume formulation. Deep and tenacious, these essential oils may also include your fixatives. (Learn which essential oils are fixatives here.)

The following essential oils, absolutes and other botanical aromas are popular base notes as part of formulations for essential oil perfume recipes:

Agarwood essential oil
Fossilized Amber Oil
Ambrette essential oil
Amyris essential oil
Angelica Root essential oil
Balsam of Peru essential oil
Cedarwood essential oil
Cistus essential oil
Cocoa absolute
Elemi essential oil
Fir essential oil
Balsam absolute
Frankincense essential oil
Labdanum resinoid
Liquidambar essential oil
Liquidambar Oleoresin
Myrrh essential oil
Oakmoss essential oil
Orris root extract
Patchouli essential oil
Sandalwood essential oil
Tobacco absolute
Tonka Bean absolute
Vanilla absolute
Vetiver essential oil
Violet Leaf absolute

If you’d like to learn more about creating custom essential oil perfume recipes, then check out this post on how to create custom essential oil blends from Mountain Rose Herbs, as well as this post from Hello Glow on how to blend essential oils.

How to Make Essential Oil Perfume Recipes 3 Ways

Now that you understand the basics behind blending essential oils for custom essential oil perfume recipes, you’re probably wondering how to actually make perfume. Obviously you can’t use your essential oil blends neat (or undiluted) on skin. This can cause skin sensitivities and irritation and in general is just a terrible practice. Therefore, you’ll want to dilute your essential oil blends for your perfume recipes so they’re skin safe.

There are three basic ways to create the perfect essential oil perfume recipes. You can make essential oil perfumes using either oil, alcohol or a solid perfume base. Before blending your essential oil perfume blend you created with oil or alcohol, you should allow your perfume recipe to first age for two to three weeks in a dark or amber glass bottle.

Oil Based Roll On Essential Oil Perfume Recipe

To make an oil based perfume, you simply mix your perfume essential oil blend with a carrier oil of your choice. Jojoba oil, sweet almond oil and fractionated coconut oil are all popular bases for oil based essential oil perfumes. You will want to use a carrier oil with little to no fragrance in order to avoid having it come through with your chosen aroma. Alternately, you can also use 100% cyclomethicone or a blend of equal parts cyclomethicone to your carrier oil of choice. (Cyclomethicone is a synthetic silicone commonly used in cosmetic applications for skin and hair care as well as perfumery.)

Your essential oil blend for your oil based essential oil perfume recipes should comprise of between 15%-30% of your chosen carrier oil. (If you are using essential oils that are known skin irritants or have a lower maximum usage rate per IFRA guidelines, then stick to the lower end of that percentage.)

To make your oil based perfume, simply add the essential oil blend to a rollerball bottle. Then follow with your chosen carrier oil. Swirl to mix, then cap and label your rollerball bottle.

Alcohol Based Essential Oil Perfume Recipe

Creating perfume using an alcohol base is similar to creating a perfume oil. Simply combine and swirl the essential oil perfume blend at the decided ratio to perfumer’s alcohol in a glass beaker, once aged. Then store your finished essential oil perfume in a glass perfume bottle or spray perfume bottle. (These perfume atomizers are also super cute! As are these best selling quartz gemstone perfume bottles.)

Solid Essential Oil Perfume Recipe

A simple recipe for making a solid perfume base is to combine 3 parts beeswax to one part carrier oil. (You can use carnauba wax as a vegan alternative. However you should reduce the wax in this case by 25% as carnauba wax has a higher melting point.) Once you’ve determined the percentage of your aged essential oil blend you’d like to use, mix the carrier oil you’ve chosen with the essential oil blend in a glass beaker or container. Then set aside.

Now melt the beeswax in a double boiler over medium heat. Once the beeswax is completely melted, immediately stir in the combined essential oil blend and carrier oil mixture. Continue stirring until the beeswax remelts, then pour right away into small glass cosmetic jars.

Let your solid essential oil perfume sit until fully hardened, then screw on the lids.

Essential Oil Perfume Recipes for Natural Fragrances

Here are some easy and fun essential oil perfume recipes. These recipes are perfect for beginners. While some of these perfume recipes contain fragrance oils in lieu of essential oils, you can swap out the fragrance oils with any essential oil of your choice, using the above guidelines for making essential oil perfumes.

Or get started with a beginner’s natural perfume kit. This DIY essential oil perfume kit contains 36 essential oils that are commonly used to create custom, natural fragrances.

Essential Oil Blends for Perfumes

Alternately, try one of these essential oil blends for perfumes. These essential oil perfume recipes use essential oils that are easy to source and readily available. They are also great essential oil blends for beginner perfumers.

Totally Chill Essential Oil Perfume Recipe

18 drops Grapefruit essential oil
8 drops Lavender essential oil
8 drops Sweet Orange essential oil
4 drops Clary Sage essential oil
2 drops Roman Chamomile essential oil

Lemon Crush Essential Oil Perfume Recipe

15 drops Lemon essential oil
9 drops Rosemary essential oil
6 drops Neroli essential oil

Paradise Bliss Essential Oil Perfume Recipe

18 drops Grapefruit essential oil
8 drops Lavender essential oil
8 drops Sweet Orange essential oil
5 drops Clary Sage essential oil
2 drops Roman Chamomile essential oil

Unisex Woodland Spirit Essential Oil Perfume Recipe

20 drops Sweet Orange essential oil
10 drops Virginia Cedarwood essential oil
6 drops Peppermint essential oil
4 drops Rosemary essential oil

The Spice of Life Essential Oil Perfume Recipe

15 drops Bergamot essential oil
12 drops Sandalwood essential oil
6 drops Vanilla absolute
3 drops Clove essential oil

Men’s Essential Oil Cologne Recipe

12 drops Patchouli essential oil
12 drops Bergamot essential oil
6 drops Vetiver essential oil
6 drops Bay Laurel essential oil
2 drops Neroli essential oil
2 drops Ginger essential oil

Grounded Earth Essential Oil Perfume Recipe

12 drops Virginia Cedarwood essential oil
9 drop Palmarosa essential oil
9 drops Patchouli essential oil
3 drops Neroli essential oil
3 drops Vetiver essential oil

Love is in the Air Essential Oil Perfume Recipe

20 drops Rose essential oil
10 drops Vetiver essential oil
10 drops Lime essential oil

The Sensuous Woman Essential Oil Perfume Recipe

12 drops Bergamot essential oil
10 drops Coriander essential oil
8 drops Neroli essential oil
6 drops Rose essential oil
4 drops Jasmine absolute

Books on Making Essential Oil Perfume Recipes

Ready to learn even more about making essential oil perfume recipes? Try one of these books on making essential oil perfume recipes to take that knowledge even further.

Organic Perfume by Kaylee Evans
Perfumes, Splashes & Colognes by Nancy M. Booth
Homemade Perfume by Anya McCoy
Perfume: The Art and Craft of Fragrance by Karen Gilbert
Make Your Own Perfume by Sally Hornsey
Essential Oil Perfumes by Scott Jenkins
Mixing Essential Oils for Magic by Sandra Kynes

If you loved learning about how to make custom essential oil perfume recipes, then be sure to pin this tutorial to Pinterest for later reference. You can also discover more of my beauty and skin care projects and recipes by following me across all your favorite social media platforms. You can find Soap Deli News blog on Blog Lovin‘, facebook, twitter and instagram. Or sign up to receive an email whenever I share a new post!

Filed Under: Bath & Beauty Recipes, DIY Craft Project Tagged With: crafts, diy, essential oil, essential oil blend, essential oil recipes, essential oils, fixatives, perfume, perfume making, perfume oil, solid perfume

Herbal Bath Soak DIY for Valentine’s Day Gifts, Mother’s Day or Wedding Favors

February 7, 2020 By Rebecca D. Dillon 6 Comments

Create a simple DIY herbal bath soak for someone special in your life. It’s an easy way to remind best friend, mother or even your overworked coworker not just that they are important to you, but also that they are totally deserving of self care. Whether you need gifts for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s day or wedding favors for your friends and family, this easy herbal bath soak is ready to gift in just 5-minutes or less!

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, you may be looking for a quick and easy last minute Valentine’s day gift idea. These DIY herbal bath soaks are the perfect relaxing, bath time treat to help your BFF or loved one celebrate the holiday self care style. Or, keep this easy idea in mind for spring wedding favors or even DIY Mother’s day gifts this May.

This test tube style herbal bath soak DIY uses pre-blended relaxing bath herbs from Mountain Rose Herbs. However, if you already have organic herbs and botanicals on hand, you can customize the herbs that go into your bath soak to suit your taste. I chose to use the relaxing bath herbs for their robust floral fragrance and natural beauty. Made using only certified organic herbs, this herbal bath soak contains a blend of organic Chamomile flowers, organic Lavender flowers, organic Comfrey leaf, organic Rose Petals, organic Hops flowers, organic Passionflower and a blend of true essential oils.

If desired, you can also add cosmetic bath salts to your herbal bath soak. Simply layer the relaxing bath herbs with bath salts of choice in between each layer. You can learn more about the different types and benefits of cosmetic bath salts here. Plus discover two relaxing salt bath soak recipes with essential oils including an herbal bath soak recipe with lavender, rose and calendula petals.

Here’s how to put together your own DIY herbal bath soaks for holiday gift giving or wedding favors.

DIY Herbal Bath Soak

Supplies & Materials:

3 oz. Relaxing Bath Herbs
Large test tubes with cork stoppers
Jolee’s Mini Repeats Hearts Stickers, or similar

Directions for Assembling Your Herbal Bath Soak:

Using a large funnel or a rolled up sheet of paper, simply fill each test tube with the relaxing bath herbs.

Insert the cork into each test tube to close.

Then place a sticker on the end of the corks.

If desired, you can also tie a ribbon around the top of the test tubes.

That’s it! It really is that quick and easy to make your own DIY herbal bath soak gifts. (Sometimes packaging is everything!)

Love my easy DIY herbal bath soak gifts? Then be sure to pin this project to Pinterest for later!

More Relaxing Bath Time Recipes

If you’d like to try other ways to enjoy a relaxing soak in the tub, then try one of these other herbal skin care recipes. These relaxing bath time recipes are also perfect for gifting, and as always, a lovely self care treat!

If this project peeked your interest to learn more about the herbs found in Mountain Rose Herbs’ relaxing bath herbs, then you may be interested in taking an herbal course in botanical skin care. You can find a review of a botanical skin care course that I completed recently here.

For more great self care recipes and projects from Soap Deli News, be sure to follow me on Blog Lovin‘, facebook, twitter and instagram. Or sign up for my newsletter.

Filed Under: Bath & Beauty Recipes, Holiday DIY, Homemade Gift Ideas Tagged With: 5-minute crafts, bath and body, bath recipe, bath soak, botanicals, easy, gift idea, herbal, herbal baths, herbs, Mother's Day, Mother's Day gifts, self care, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day gifts, wedding favor, weddings

Sleep Rollerball Recipe: A Simple Essential Oil Blend To Promote Restful Sleep

February 6, 2020 By Rebecca D. Dillon 5 Comments

Learn how to make an easy, 2-ingredient sleep rollerball recipe with a simple essential oil blend for sleep. A natural way to promote restful sleep, this essential oil blend is kid-safe and can be used even if you are pregnant or nursing. Plus discover tips on how to get a good night’s sleep by simply changing a few of your daily habits.

Using Essential Oils for Sleep

There are a lot of factors that affect one getting a good night’s sleep. For me, living with fibromyalgia has a huge impact. While I’ve worked hard to find successful ways to manage fibromyalgia symptoms, I still have bad days. Between the barometric change in pressure (rain, rain, go away) and Aunt Flo making a visit that coincides with that, I’ve been struggling hard the past few days. Not only does this mean having to step back a bit from the blog and exercise a bit of self care, it also means that I have to find ways to ensure I’m getting the best sleep I possibly can.

Previously I made an aromatherapeutic insomnia sleep spray to help promote sleep. Made with a simple essential oil blend of vetiver, lavender and ylang ylang, this sleep pillow spray works wonders. However, I know not everyone loves the ways these essential oils smell. Some people hate the scent of lavender essential oil, while others find vetiver too earthy and overpowering. That, and vetiver can give you some pretty wacky dreams. (Kind of like melatonin has a tendency to do.) Therefore, I thought I’d also share an easy sleep rollerball recipe as another natural alternative to help with sleep.

My sleep rollerball recipe requires only the purchase of a single, sleep essential oil blend. This makes this project cheaper than buying multiple essential oils up front. Rather than a blend of lavender, vetiver and ylang ylang essential oils that I used previously, this sleep essential oil blend contains lavender, grapefruit, ho wood and bergamot essential oils. It smells heavenly and it’s also child safe for kids ages 2 and up, when properly diluted. Additionally, it’s also safe if you are pregnant or breastfeeding — and a lot of us know how exhausting both of those prospects can be. Plus, by utilizing the aromatherapeutic of essential oils, there are no pills to swallow or drug interactions to worry about.

This super simple, sleep rollerball recipe is one of the recipes from a past Simply Earth essential oil recipe box. I love how easy Simply Earth makes it to get started using essential oils by including six recipes in each of their monthly boxes, in addition to the essential oils and other materials you need to create them. If you think you might be interested in giving their recipe boxes a go, then be sure to use coupon code: SOAPDELIFREE when you sign up here. You’ll score a free bonus box (with rollerball bottles, coconut oil and more) valued at $40, along with a coupon for $40 off your next order. (I used mine to score this awesome essential oil diffuser.)

Otherwise, you can simply purchase Simply Earth’s sleep essential oil blend here without having to sign up for anything at all. Or straight up purchase their pre-made Sleepy Rollerball and you’re good to go with no extra work necessary.

Here’s how to make Simply Earth’s easy, sleep rollerball recipe. (And don’t forget to check out my tips for getting a good night’s sleep after the recipe for more ideas on how to get a restful night’s sleep!)

Sleep Rollerball Recipe

Ingredients:

9 drops Sleepy essential oil blend
10 mL sweet almond oil

Instructions for making this sleep rollerball recipe:

Add nine drops of the sleep essential oil blend to a 10 mL rollerball bottle.

Then fill the remainder of the bottle with sweet almond oil. Then swirl to mix.

Cap the rollerball bottle before screwing on the lid.

How to Use Your Sleep Essential Oil Blend:

To use your aromatherapeutic sleep essential oil blend you made from this sleep rollerball recipe, simply apply to pulse points as needed to promote a restful sleep.

Don’t want to use this sleep essential oil blend in a rollerball bottle? Learn how to use this sleep essential oil blend to create an aromatherapeutic sleep pillow spray here. Or simply add a few drops of the sleep essential oil blend to your diffuser to promote a restful night’s sleep.

Alternately, you can also try this aromatherapy roll on recipe for rest and relaxation. It’s made with an essential oil blend for sleep that includes lavender, mandarin, bergamot and ylang ylang essential oils.

Looking to learn even more about essential oils and their aromatherapeutic benefits? Be sure to check out Simply Earth’s new Essential Oil Hero Course. This extensive course on essential oils not only provides you with recipes and the knowledge you need to use essential oils safely, it also comes with a fabulous essential oil starter kit. And, there’s even the option to pay for the course over time. Learn more here.

But, before you leave, check out my tips on getting a good night’s sleep below!

Tips for Getting a Good Night’s Sleep

While products such as melatonin, herbal supplements and even aromatherapy — like my sleep rollerball recipe — can help promote a restful night’s sleep, there are also simple activities and changes you can make in your day to day lifestyle to help you get a good night’s sleep. Following are a few simple tips to help you sleep better naturally.

Stay active and exercise daily, even if you’re just taking a walk around the block.
Ditch electronic devices two hours before bedtime. That means no tv, video games, computers or cell phones.
Increase your time outdoors. Two hours of sunshine a day can improve your quality and duration of sleep by up to 80%.
Skip caffeinated beverages all together. If this isn’t doable, then avoid drinking any beverages with caffeine after 2pm or at least seven hours prior to your normal bedtime.
Don’t drink alcohol. The consumption of alcohol can seriously disrupt your sleep patterns as well as reduce your body’s natural melatonin production.
Avoid eating meals before going to bed. Your last meal of the day should be at least three hours before hitting the hay. Otherwise, it can disrupt hormones and affect sleep quality.
Stick to a consistent schedule. Keeping a regular schedule by getting up and going to bed at the same time everyday can help you get consistent, better quality sleep.
Need a nap? If you must take a nap during the day, limit that nap to no more than a half hour.
Make sure you’re getting all the vitamins and minerals your body needs by taking a daily multivitamin or supplements. Low levels of things like B6 and magnesium can definitely affect sleep quality as well as your ability to fall asleep.

Do you have tips for getting a good night’s sleep? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!

And don’t forget to pin this easy sleep rollerball recipe to Pinterest for later. (You can also find and follow on me on Pinterest here.)

For more ways to use essential oils for home, healthy and beauty, be sure to follow my Essential Oils Pinterest board. Or for more great recipes and projects from Soap Deli News, be sure to follow me on Blog Lovin‘, facebook, twitter and instagram. Or sign up for my newsletter.

Filed Under: Bath & Beauty Recipes, Health & Wellness, Lifestyle Tagged With: aromatherapy, essential oil blend, essential oil recipes, essential oils, health and wellness, healthy living, herbal remedies, home remedies, home remedy, natural alternative, natural remedy, self care, simply earth, sleep, wellbeing, wellness

Essential Oil Remedy for Cold and Flu: Cold Rollerball Recipe to Support Immunity

January 23, 2020 By Rebecca D. Dillon 9 Comments

Tackle your cold and flu symptoms and get natural relief with this essential oil remedy for cold and flu. This easy cold rollerball recipe supports your body’s immunity. It can also help to soothe cold symptoms by offering congestion relief in addition to aiding focus and energy. (After all, we all feel run down when we’re sick!)

Aromatherapeutic Essential Oil Remedy for Cold and Flu

With cold and flu season especially bad this year, not to mention that new coronavirus now making rounds in the United States, I’ve taken extra steps to naturally support my body’s immunity. I’ve taken both elderberry syrup as well as fire cider preventatively, as well as to reduce symptoms when I do catch a cold. (There’s been some nasty illnesses being passed around here in Virginia. Luckily, I’ve managed to avoid catching the flu thus far.) While fire cider is pretty amazing at offering both immune support as well as relieving nasal congestion, occasionally you need a little extra boost. This is where aromatherapy steps in.

This easy 4-ingredient, aromatherapeutic cold and flu remedy essential oil blend recipe offers natural cold relief throughout the year. Simply mix the ingredients together in a rollerball bottle and apply to pulse points. Or use the essential oil blend for cold and flu in the recipe below in your diffuser for simple, natural cold relief.

Cold Rollerball Recipe: Easy Essential Oil Remedy

Ingredients:

1 drop Peppermint essential oil
1 drop Pine Scotch essential oil
3 drops Mandarin essential oil
10 mL fractionated coconut oil

Instructions for this essential oil remedy for cold & flu:

To make this easy essential oil remedy for cold and flu, add the essential oils to a 10 mL rollerball bottle using a dropper or pipette.

Then fill the remainder of the rollerball bottle with fractionated coconut oil.

Place the rollerball cap onto your bottle, then swirl the essential oils and fractionated coconut oil to mix.

How to use your cold rollerball recipe:

To use, simply apply this aromatherapeutic, essential oil remedy blend to pulse points for congestion relief, focus and energy.

You can also use this cold and flu essential oil blend, sans the fractionated coconut oil, as an essential oil diffuser cold remedy. Simply add a few drops to your diffuser for easy, hands off congestion relief for cold and flu symptoms.

This essential oil remedy for cold and flu and cold rollerball recipe is safe for kids ages ten and up. It has a shelf life of 2 years.

This easy cold rollerball recipe is just one of the amazing essential oil recipes that can be found in the monthly Simply Earth essential oil recipe box. However, you don’t need to be a subscriber to purchase their essential oils and essential oil blends. They even sell the other ingredients you need to make their amazing, essential oil recipes, including the fractionated coconut oil and rollerball bottle called for in this cold rollerball recipe.

Should you decide to subscribe, however, you’ll receive either the current monthly box (if it’s not sold out) or their awesome essential oil starter box. Using coupon code: SOAPDELIFREE means you’ll also get a free bonus box along with a coupon for $40 off your next order of anything your heart desires. (I used mine to buy their sweet essential oil diffuser I’d been eyeing for some time.) Learn more here.

Yield: 1 - 10 mL rollerball bottle

Essential Oil Remedy for Colds

Tackle your cold symptoms and get natural relief with this essential oil remedy for colds. This easy cold rollerball recipe supports your body's immunity.

Active Time 2 minutes

Total Time 2 minutes

Difficulty Easy

Materials

1 drop Peppermint essential oil
1 drop Pine Scotch essential oil
3 drops Mandarin essential oil
10 mL fractionated coconut oil

Tools

10 mL rollerball bottle
dropper

Instructions

Add the drops for each essential oil to a 10 mL rollerball bottle.
Fill the remainder of the rollerball bottle with fractionated coconut oil.
Place the rollerball cap onto your bottle, and swirl to mix.

Notes

To use, apply to pulse points for congestion relief, focus and energy.

Cold Rollerball Recipe to Support Immunity: Essential Oil Remedy for Cold and Flu.Tackle your cold and flu symptoms and get natural relief with this essential oil remedy for cold and flu. This easy cold rollerball recipe supports your body's immunity. It can also help to soothe cold symptoms by offering congestion relief in addition to aiding focus and energy. This easy 4-ingredient, aromatherapeutic cold and flu remedy essential oil blend recipe offers natural cold relief. #essentialoils

More Essential Oil Remedies for Colds and Flu to Support Immunity

If you like this essential oil remedy for colds and flu, then be sure to check out these other essential oil remedies for cold and flu season. You’ll just love these easy essential oil recipes that support health and wellness.

Cold Relief Bath Soak Recipe with Essential Oils
Breathe Easy Essential Oil Blend for Cold Relief
DIY Shower Steamers with Menthol Crystals
Essential Oil Diffuser Blend for Colds and Flu

Other Cold and Flu Home Remedies to Try

While they don’t contain essential oils, here are some other wonderful, natural ways to fight colds and flu and support your body’s immunity.

How to Make Custom Herbal Tea Blends for Colds & Flu
Homemade Elderberry Syrup Recipe for Immune Support
Fire Cider Vinegar Recipe for Natural Cold Relief
Cold Relief Bath Soak Recipe with Eucalyptus
Homemade Cold Remedy Drink Recipe with Ginger

If you like this essential oil remedy for cold and flu, be sure to pin it to Pinterest to save for later. You can also follow me on Pinterest for more great DIY ideas and other natural essential oil remedies.

Also, don’t forget to follow Soap Deli News on social media for more great health and wellness recipes & projects. You can find me on facebook, twitter and instagram. Or sign up to receive an email whenever I share a new post!

Filed Under: Bath & Beauty Recipes, Health & Wellness, Lifestyle Tagged With: aromatherapy, cold relief, congestion relief, diffuser blends, essential oil blend, essential oil recipes, essential oils, flu, health and wellness, healthy living, winter