http://www.care2.com/greenliving/homemade-bath-bonbons.html
Homemade Bath Bonbons
By Melissa Breyer, Senior Producer, Care2 Green Living
If only there was a silver bullet for the perfect bath. Something absolutely pure that infused the bath with emollients and natural fragrance. Something that didn’t have sneaky toxic ingredients (like parabens and synthetic fragrance) and didn’t cost a fortune. Oh, wait, there is! Homemade bath bonbons, and you can easily make them with kitchen cabinet ingredients.
Like many kids, my daughters have sensitive skin. I spent ridiculous amounts of money on very expensive all-natural bath products for them—money that was going down the drain since my youngest daughter was still a mess of itchiness post-bath. So we threw open the kitchen cabinets and started playing around with coconut oil, cream, honey and other ingredients known for their salubrious effect on skin. My daughters think this is intriguingly gross (slimy! sticky! lumpy!) and hence, they adore it. So it’s become part of our nighttime routine: We mix up a batch of homemade bath goop, the girls soak, and then step out of the bath like soft, glowing, little goddesses.
And then there was the bonbon bonus. I started noticing that my hands were exceedingly soft after their bath. Of course, I needed to ditch my commercial bath products too. So I took the plunge and started playing around with a few bath concoctions of my own. Here is my favorite formula.
INGREDIENTS
9 tablespoons virgin coconut oil (see note)
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons baking soda
3 tablespoons sea salt
3 drops ylang ylang pure essential oil (optional)
Since coconut oil has a melting point of 76 degrees F, the temperature of your oil will make a difference in the method you use. Coconut oil does not need to be refrigerated, but once you make the bonbons keep them there so that they don’t melt. You can’t start with refrigerated coconut oil because it is very hard, so start with room temperature.
If your room temperature is above 76 degrees, the oil will be liquid—you will need to stir in the ingredients and then pour the mix into an ice cube tray, mini muffin tin, or similar receptacle. Then refrigerate until hardened, remove (you may need to briefly set the container in warm water to release the bonbons) and store in a jar in the fridge.
If your room temperature is below 76 degrees, the coconut oil will be softly solid (as opposed to hard solid like straight from the refrigerator). You can mix the ingredients and then scoop by rounded tablespoon onto a baking sheet or plate to chill in the fridge. Once hardened, remove (you may need to set the sheet or plate in shallow warm water to release the bonbons, or line the sheet with wax paper first) and store in a jar in the fridge.
Dissolve one or two bonbons in your bath, get soft. Makes 12 bonbons.
Note: Coconut oil is commonly used in food, but has been used as a skin moisturizer for centuries by people living in the tropics. Studies show that it imparts significant improvement in skin hydration and increases skin surface lipid levels. Buy virgin coconut oil, which is unrefined, and if you can find it select a fair trade brand. Coconut oil is available in health food stores and some supermarkets.
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- Stacy Kraft says
- Mar 11, 2008 9:13 PM
S Al-haddad:
I am a vegan and i can answer some of your questions. I respect non-human animals for their own sake, and i don't feel that they exist for human use. Bees do NOT live to make honey for humans, they make it for themselves. The reason humans steal it (replacing it with sugar water) is because it is a magnificent product. But, a lot of commercial honey farmers, must decapitate a male bee so it will ejaculate and use its semen to fertilize the queen -- because when she lays eggs, that's the cue for the workers to start collecting pollen for the baby food -- honey. It's the human attitude that all non-humans exist for us to commodify that is really disturbing to me & i'm sure to many other vegans. you say "like it or not" - when you talk about leather, well, I DON'T LIKE IT. & I'm trying to create the world that i want to live in by being it -- by not wearing leather (. any animal that is raised for the profit that one of its products realizes is bound to be mistreated, because it is only a slave to the capitalist system. If, like Melanie says, the animals are loved and cared for on a small non-factory-farmed way, then i can see how that would be ok. i have friends with an urban farm who raise vegetables, fruit, and chickens and collect their eggs for protein in an otherwise vegan diet. There are sheep raised for fine 'Merino' wool in Australia. As lambs, they have a slab of flesh sliced off w/no anesthetic to, in vain stop infection, creating an open wound
- Lyn J. says
- Mar 11, 2008 8:54 PM
for Anna A :"no amount of thrashing has blended the oil into the blob."
you might try sticking the mixture in the fridge just for a lil bit so the coconut oil can get a lil harder if has totally melted (just cool it til it gets more of a creamy texture) then try blending it again when its a thicker mixture...it melts really easy .....
for a vegan honey substitute yes agave nectar is great for skin !! I think coconut milk would also be great in this mix!!!
- Lyn J. says
- Mar 11, 2008 8:42 PM
for S Al-haddad : in regards to vegans not using honey -- it is because during the harvest of honey some bees are killed ....and Vegans don't condone the killing of any creature regardless of size....As for leather again use of it is also supporting the industry that kills creatures.. less people that use leather and eat meat than less support for that product.As for wool that one I am unsure of the reason but I would think its due to the treatment of factory type farming practices maybe (I am not vegan but I have vegan friends and this is what I have been told) hope this clarified some of your questions....
- Anna A. says
- Feb 24, 2008 4:04 PM
"You can mix the ingredients and then scoop"....
Except, maybe with the grape seed oil some additional step or consideration is needed? I got a salty sweet blob swimming in the oil, and no amount of thrashing has blended the oil into the blob.
- Winefred Marcellin says
- Feb 22, 2008 4:55 AM
Dear Milissa,
I'm going to try the recipe,I have in fact a very sensitive skin,I tried all kind of baths with little effect.So i'll try it and let u know when I do.
Winefred.
- Melanie Longano says
- Feb 21, 2008 10:50 AM
S Al-haddad: I don't have a problem with people who live on little farms, like my father, who have their own chickens and eat their eggs. I have a problem with all the mass produced chickens who are only alive to lay eggs, their feet never touch ground they rarely see the light of day.
- Tracy Farmer says
- Feb 14, 2008 6:20 AM
your the best keep comming with new bath i deals
humble texas
- Loya Whitmer says
- Feb 12, 2008 7:52 AM
Aloha from Kauai,
Since I have a coconut tree in my back yard, do you know how to make my own coconut oil?
This sounds like a fun project since I love bath time. Mahalo nui loa, Loya
- Robin C. says
- Feb 9, 2008 9:16 PM
Harlene, thank you for informing me about the salt. It makes sense. I use it as a gargle for any type of mouth pain and it works great. Does anyone know what is the best salt to use? I have found that I really like sea salt as it doesn't have that horrible chemicle tast that regular table salt has but I am worried about my family not getting enough iodine. I need to find a better way to get iodine in out diet but until then I sometimes use table salt. Thanks for any help.
- Lisa K. says
- Feb 9, 2008 6:57 PM
Jenny you might want to consider agave nectar (health food stores) or molasses, they have a similar consistency don't know about how they'll affect your skin nutrient-wise but they won't do you any harm
Annie B.
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