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| Photo & Article © Debs Cook |
At some points in our gift giving endeavours we can hit a brick wall deciding what to get for Aunt Carol or cousin Lucy and we resort to flowers, potted plants or chocolates, the poor men folk get a worse deal receiving socks or aftershave. It doesn’t have to be that way, with a little careful planning, and a little time sourcing some ingredients you can make a selection of fabulously fragrant goodies for bath and body to give as gifts!
All the fragrant goodies in the photo above which includes a sugar scrub, lip balm, some bath melts and bath fizzers will appeal to chocoholics and floral bath pampering addicts alike and they can all be made in just 1 day! These homemade gifts contain no chemical nasties, they can be tailored to favourite flavours and preferred perfumes of the recipients and you can make gifting goodies for the ladies on your gift list AND the men folk as well.
The bonus is as gifts go, these items can be made any time of year for giving for birthday presents, a thank you gesture, to say get well soon, or for occasions like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. The Bath fizzers can also be made in small petit four cases and packaged in organza bags, then given as wedding favours to female guests, they can be coloured and fragranced to echo wedding décor and they make a very personal gift. I'm sharing 2 of the recipes below and maybe with some gentle encouragement I will share more!
Remember when you give your gifts to include a list of ingredients either on the product or in a little booklet that you can give with your gift. If you know that a recipient has an allergy, then don’t make items using things they need to avoid e.g. nut allergy, avoid nut based oils and use sunflower or grapeseed oil instead.
Chocolate Peppermint Lip Balm
This lip balm is really wonderful, make sure that you only use food grade essential oils to make sure they are safe for using in beauty items that may potentially be consumed. The hemp seed oil and cocoa butter are both very moisturising and contain antioxidants, they will help sooth dry cracked lips caused by winter winds.
Makes 10 x 30ml Jars
100ml Hempseed Oil
60g Dark Chocolate (at least 70% Cocoa Solids – I used 85%)
30g Organic Unrefined Cocoa Butter
30g Beeswax
1
6 Drops Peppermint Essential Oil
Method: Place all ingredients with the exception of the peppermint oil in to a heatproof glass bowl over a pan of water that comes about 2” below the base of the bowl. Stir slowly until all the ingredients are melted and the resulting mixture is smooth and dark glossy chocolate brown. Pour the mix in to a heatproof glass jug - you can skip this stage but it’s easier to pour in to the pots from a jug. Add the drops of peppermint oil and stir with a metal spoon to combine everything together, then pour in to your jar or tins.
To Use – Use a lip brush or the tip of your finger to apply a little of the lip balm to the lips. N.B. Because this lip balm contains real chocolate it may stain clothes if it gets on them, it will also give the lips a slight chocolatey look if too much is applied.
Lavender & Geranium Bath Melts
These bath melts are so fragrant and you can make them in a variety of fragrances see the suggestions below. The main ingredient in these fragrant and moisturising bath melts is cocoa butter which has several benefits to help keep your skin healthy it contains several fatty acids including oleic, palmitic and stearic acids which have antioxidant properties that can help to reduce the signs of ageing, cocoa butter can also help to reduce inflammation on the skin and soothe skin conditions such as eczema.
Makes 18 – 36 melts depending on the size of case you use.
200g Unrefined Cocoa Butter – You can use refined but the smell is better from unrefined.
100g Sweet Almond Oil
100 Drops Geranium Essential Oil
50 Drops Lavender Essential Oil
18 – 36 Pink Rose Buds for decoration
2g Beetroot Powder – Which will act as a natural colouring to give a pink colour to your melts.
You will also need: -
Foiled Petit Four Cases or Cupcake Cases
Large Heatproof Mixing Bowl
Large Pan – Big enough for the bowl to sit in and be supported by the pan rim
Wooden Spoon
Heatproof Measuring Jug
Method: These melts are very easy to make, place enough water in your pan to come 2” below the base of the heatproof glass bowl you’ll be using to make the melts, put the bowl on the pan and turn on the heat, it will take a few minutes to start to get warm.
Whilst you’re waiting for the water to heat up take about 1 teaspoon of your almond oil and place it in a cup, add the beetroot powder and stir to make your colouring. Once the water is at a steady simmer put the cocoa butter, the rest of the sweet almond oil and the colouring in to the pan and stir gently until the cocoa butter has melted and everything is thoroughly mixed.
Cocoa butter melts at around 93–101°F (34–38°C), turn off the heat and using oven gloves lift the bowl off the top of the pan. Then add your drops of essential oil, build up the layers a little at a time, remembering the important rule that you can add it, but you can’t take it away. Once you have the fragrance you like then pour the contents into a heatproof jug, you can skip this stage but I find it easier to pour the liquid into the little moulds than trying to spoon it in.
Leave the melts to set overnight, if you’re in a hurry as soon as the mix is cool, you can pop them in the freezer to harden. Note that these melts will melt at temperatures over 75°F (24°C) so don’t leave them near a radiator or in sunlight etc where the temperature can raise above this.
To Use: If you’re making mini melts then add 2-3 to the bath, simply pop into the bath just under where the hot water is running in to the bath. If you make cupcake sized melts then add 1 melt to the water. Bear in mind that when you’ve finished bathing the bath will be slippery from the cocoa butter and oil so be careful when you stand and in getting out of the bath. It should also be noted that some natural and artificial colour pigments may stain the bath, but the staining should be temporary and should clean off easily.
