Aromatherapy DIY: Making Something Special

by Stephanie C.

Have you ever wanted to try your hand at making something using essential oils? Whether it’s to save money or to make special handmade gifts for your friends and family, we at Amrita are happy to help.

Some people like to make soaps, candles or their own moisturizers and add their favorite essential oils to them. There are lots of recipes online you may like to try.

For most of the essential oils, Amrita has a special tabbed section which describes the other essential oils it blends well with under the Blends With tab. In terms of essential oil recipes, we have lots of suggestions in our Blend This With This... section.

WHY MAKE YOUR OWN MOISTURIZER?

I’ve recently found out that most commercially bought moisturizers - even the more natural scent-free varieties - contain mineral oils or mineral oil based synthetic preservatives. These harsh chemicals are not absorbed by the skin and clog the pores. Because they are mineral based, they also contain toxic trace elements. I will have to make my own to make sure that I am not exposing my skin to these sorts of chemicals.

Amrita's moisturizers don't contain mineral oils. I already use Amrita's Chamomile Facial Crème as it is good for sensitive skin and it contains Helichrysum and Amrita's Myrrh Facial Crème for mature skin - both of which I love. But these are just face creams and I need something I can use in large quantities as I have extremely dry skin and my skin specialist says I have to moisturize my whole body every day, which means I go through a lot of moisturizer. I could use one of Amrita's wonderful body oil blends, but even when I was having an Ayurvedic panchakarma treatment where oils are massaged in for a couple of hours each day, my skin was still dry at the end of the day.

I’ve just bought some organic jojoba oil, shea butter and cocoa butter and I am planning to try melting them (if I can set up a double-boiler by putting a small saucepan inside a larger one) and mixing them with some essential oils to make my own moisturizer. I think this will work well for my skin, because moisturizers contain things like jojoba which is a liquid wax rather than an oil.

WHICH ESSENTIAL OILS ARE GOOD FOR DRY AGING SKIN?

I could use carrot essential oil which would be rejuvenating for my aging skin. But it doesn’t have a really pleasant odor so although putting it on my face at night works well, covering my whole body with it might not be such a great idea. Instead I think I will use organic rose geranium which as it says on our dry skin page is good for dry skin and wrinkles and which I know smells great because my mother used to grow it in her garden. Whenever I walked by, I used to crush some of its fragrant leaves in my hand and smell them. The essential oil is extracted from the leaves via steam distillation.

I might also add some palmarosa essential oil because it has a sweet, floral, rosy scent, and is good for dry skin. I could add jasmine essential oil which is also good for dry skin. This is a very common plant in parts of Australia where I am from. The parents of one of my best friends at school used to have masses of it growing over the fence in their yard and it used to waft in through the French doors whenever I visited my friend. Later on I also grew it myself as well and I know how divine its smell is. This blend would also make a nice gift for friends as it would smell great.

WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH WHAT YOU MAKE?

Some people like to sell their handmade products. My hairdresser has recently taken to making soaps and candles as a way to supplement her income. I bought one soap that she had made in a pretty shape to give as a gift to my mother-in-law. Some of the therapeutic effects of the essential oils are maintained when you use them in soaps although to a lesser degree than if you use them in other ways (see How to use essential oils for more details). And in candles the effect is lesser still. But on the plus side, the effect of using natural essential oils is better than the detrimental effects of using other man-made fragrances.

This is the first in a series of more detailed blogs we are going to write about using essential oils for soaps, candles and moisturizers. But I know many of you have probably already started doing your own experiments using our Amrita's essential oils, so I would really appreciate it if you could share these below by commenting on this blog. That way we can all help each other and improve our daily lives.

Disclaimer: The statements made in this blog have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They are not intended to diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. If a condition persists, please contact your physician or healthcare provider. The information provided is not a substitute for a face-to-face consultation with a healthcare provider, and should not be construed as medical advice.

Original Published: 2015-05-28 / Last Modified: 2021-10-11