The dreaded cold and flu season upon us, and nothing feels more soothing to a stuffy head and achy body than a hot shower with aromatherapy shower steamers containing sinus-clearing essential oils like eucalyptus, peppermint and tea tree. True confessions – I’m a Vicks fanatic. My dad always had some on hand to combat any stuffy nose or aching ear, so I find the menthol and eucalyptus essential oils scents especially soothing.
Whenever V is sick we take a lot of steamy showers with her, trying to keep her respiratory system clear so she can recover quickly and hopefully stay out of the hospital. The idea of adding essential oils for Vicks-like aromatherapy shower steamers has been on my mind for a while now, and I’ve been on a quest to find the right recipe for shower steamers. After much trial and error (like the ones that fizzed all over my counter before they set) I have finally found a recipe that works and can keep you from learning what doesn’t.
DIY Aromatherapy Shower Steamers Recipe with Essential Oils
- 1 cup Baking Soda
- 1/4 cup Citric Acid
(it makes them fizz and is found with canning supplies – I got it at WalMart, it’s also on Amazon
- About 80 drops total of Essential Oils – I used eucalyptus, peppermint, and tea tree oils
- Witch Hazel
in a spray bottle
, use as needed (it helps moisten the mixture without activating the citric acid like water dose – I learned this the hard way)
- Silicone Baking Cups
– These Oval Molds
are nice, too.
Makes 6 shower vapor disks.
Sift the baking soda and citric acid into a glass bowl (a plastic bowl will retain the scent from the essential oils). Wearing gloves, drop in you oils in a little at a time and mix with your gloved hands as you go. It’s really important that you drop in the oils little by little, if the mixture gets too damp at any time the citric acid will activate and start fizzing the your shower vapor disks are ruined. I used about 80 drops total – lots and lots of drops with lots of mixing. I basically kept dropping in oils until the mixture started to stick together when I squeezed it in my hand, just barely damp all the way through. If your mixture needs more moisture, spray the mixture lightly with the witch hazel while you continue mixing with your gloved hand.
The mixture is ready when it slightly stays together when you squeeze it. Don’t let it fizz!
When your mixture slightly holds together when you squeeze it in your hands, then pack each silicone baking cup with 1/3 cup in each baking cup, pressing the mixture in firmly, packing it down with a metal measuring cup so they are really packed tight. You want them to hold together and fizz slowly in the shower, so the harder packed you get them the better.
Pack the ingredients firmly so they last longer in the shower.
Let them set for a bit, maybe an hour or two, then gently pop them out and cover them overnight or put them in an airtight container so moisture doesn’t get to them. If they get any moisture and fizz, they’re pretty much ruined. I left mine in a cold oven overnight to let them dry out, but then my oven smelled very strongly like eucalyptus when my family went to bake a pizza. That was not so popular.
Let the vapor shower steamers set for an hour or so.
To Use the Aromatherapy Shower Steamers
When you are ready to get in the shower, place a shower steamers in a place where it will get splashed from the shower to activate it, but not in the direct shower stream or it will fizz out too quickly. I put mine in the soap dish in my shower, it seems to get just enough water to work well, and it’s up closer to my head where I can enjoy the aromatherapy more.
