Category: Recipes & Tutorials

Back in the early 80’s when I was still a small child, my Mum used to sprinkle epsom salts in my bath. Now, the next generation on is doing the same thing to their kids! It’s long been known that epsom salt has abilities as a natural remedy for so many ailments. Exfoliating, soothing and moisturizing, it’s the perfect addition to scrubs, soaks and soap.

This recipe “jazzes” up the old epsom salt slightly, making bath time a little bit more fun!

Ingredients

1 cup epsom salt
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup citric acid
1/4 tsp fragrance oil
Food colouring (optional)

Directions

Measure your dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and combine with a whisk until there are no lumps.

If you want to colour your bath salts, add a few drops of food colouring and mix with your whisk immediately. When you add the colouring the mixture will start to fizz. This is a mini reaction between the water in the food colouring, and the baking soda/citric acid. Mix the colour in well until the colour is even and there are no lumps. Use your hands if you need to – it’s kind of like mixing the butter into the flour when making scones!

Add your fragrance oil and mix thoroughly with your whisk.

To package the fizzy bath salts, spoon the mixture into a plastic bag, twist the top and secure with a piece of cellotape. Tie a cute little bow with a piece of ribbon and voila!

These make a great little gift for someone, or to use for yourself. You can make any different colour or fragrance combination. This is an inexpensive, fun project which the kids will love!

Now for the really fun part… testing!

Since I don’t have a bath in my workshop, I had to settle for a giant bowl. I sprinkled a small handful of the fizzy bath salts and this is what happened…

You get all the benefits of the epsom salts, with a little bit of fun added in too!

Enjoy!

Two of my closest friends are expecting babies in the next couple of weeks so I though I’d come up with a recipe that might help their growing tummy’s! It’s not just good for expectant Mums either, this recipe is full of butters and oils which are known to be excellent dry skin healers.

Because this is a 100% oil and butter recipe with no water, it can tend to feel a little on the greasy side. Personally, I only use it on my really dry areas such as my heels and elbows and stick to a lighter lotion recipe for the rest of my body, but this is such an easy recipe you’ll have to try it out for yourself!

Ingredients
Fills 2 x 200g containers

150g Cocoa Butter
150g Shea Butter
40g Olive Oil
25g Sweet Almond Oil
1Tbsp Tapioca Powder (optional, it helps to cut down the greasy feeling)
1tsp Fragrance or Essential oil (optional)

Directions

Weigh out your olive and sweet almond oils into a heat safe bowl.

Add your cocoa butter and melt in the microwave on 30 second bursts, stirring in between, until the cocoa butter is almost melted.

Add your shea butter to the rest of the melted oils and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir thoroughly to combine. You may need to put your oils back into the microwave for another 30 seconds. Be careful not to over heat the shea butter as it can leave your body butter feeling grainy. Melt until the shea butter has softened (not completely melted.)

Add your fragrance or essential oils and tapioca powder and mix until combined well.

Use a stand, or a hand held mixer to whip your oils until they’re combined. Start out on low speed so you don’t have oil splatter everywhere!

If you find that your oils are too liquid, put the bowl in the fridge for 5 or 10 minutes to help the butters solidify. If you have a thermometer, check the temperature. The butter starts to whip really well at around 16 degrees Celsius.

Once the butter starts thickening, slowly increase your mixer speed to medium and whip until all the butters are completely combined and the mixture starts to look light and creamy. Kind of like pudding!

Pour into containers and allow to harden before use. This will melt as soon as it touches your skin and is extremely nourishing for your skin.