DIY Shower Steamers

Ingredients

• 2 cups baking soda (that’s one 16-oz. box)
• 1 cup citric acid
• Witch hazel
• Essential oils of your choice
• A silicone muffin pan (or something similar)

Directions

1. Measure the baking soda and citric acid into a bowl, and mix until well combined.
2. Add your essential oils. You can use up to two teaspoons. Stir to combine. If you’d like to color your steamers with food coloring, add that now, too.
3. Lightly spritz the surface of the mixture with witch hazel. Then, give it a good stir.
4. Continue spritzing and stirring until you end up with a consistency of wet sand. It should hold together. Just be careful not to spray it too much. You don’t want your shower steamers to fizz before you use them in the shower.
5. Then, divide your shower steamer mixture between the cups of a silicone muffin pan. Press it in with your hands or the back of a spoon, so it’s firmly packed. This recipe makes eight steamers.
6. Allow the steamers to dry. Then, remove them from the muffin pan (they’ll pop right out if you used a silicone pan). Store them in an air-tight container until you’re ready to use them.

Homemade Lip Balm

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons beeswax pastilles
• 2 tablespoons shea butter
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 30+ drops essential oil

Lip Balm Instructions

1. Melt beeswax, shea butter and coconut oil in a double boiler or small glass bowl over a small pot of boiling water, stirring constantly until melted.
2. Remove pan from heat but keep over the still-hot water to keep the mixture melted.
3. Add essential oils to your preference. I just added peppermint in this recipe. I recommend adding a few drops at a time and testing a tiny amount on your arm to make sure the scent is to your liking.
4. Once you’ve added the essential oils, use the pipette or a dropper to fill the lip balm tubes. This must be done quickly since the mixture will start to harden as soon as it is removed from the heat.
5. Let tubes sit at room temperature for several hours until cooled and completely hardened before capping them.

Notes:
Use an extra teaspoon or two of beeswax if you prefer a thicker and longer-lasting lip balm or slightly less if you prefer a smoother and softer lip balm. Since there are no water based ingredients, you can re-melt and add more of each ingredient during the melting process until you get the exact texture you want. When experimenting, I’ve put a few drops of the melted mixture onto a piece of parchment paper and let harden in the fridge so I could test it before putting the mixture into tubes. Have fun with it! This makes 12-14 tubes.