Have you ever tried an essential oil infused bath?

No? You’re missing out on one of the most exquisitely relaxing experiences life has to offer.

Maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration (although maybe not), but either way, start using essential oils in your bath. In this post, you’ll learn about a bunch of fantastic ways to infuse your bath with essential oils, including:

• How to safely use essential oils in the bath
• Why you shouldn’t add essential oils directly to the bath
• A delightful bath infusion recipe (2 minute prep time!)
• How to make essential oil bath bombs

Sound good? First, let’s cover a few ground rules…

How to Safely & Properly Use Essential Oils in the Bath

Essential oils in the bath are great. Well, the right amount of essential oils. Take great care with the amount you’re adding—for example, it’s not hard to believe that too much peppermint essential oil in the bath could quickly become an unpleasant experience, especially for your sensitive areas.

As with any essential oil recipes that are intended to make contact with your skin (topical application), “less is more” is a good rule of thumb. Start out with less than you think you need and only increase amounts incrementally.

Finally, a word of warning. There’s quite a bit of discussion online about using essential oils in the bath, and a method that gets bandied about all the time is to “simply” add your essential oil of choice directly into the water.

Here’s why that’s bad advice…

Why You Shouldn’t Add Essential Oils Directly to Your Bath

It’s not particularly dangerous, but it’s not going to make for the most consistent bathing experience. This is because essential oils aren’t water-soluble, meaning that they won’t become properly diluted.

You know the old saying, water, and oil don’t mix? That’s what’s happening here.

Basically, you’ll have little bits of essential oil floating around the surface of the bath, rather than dispersing properly. For a full-body bathing experience, this is less than ideal.

When you mix essential oils with something else that helps it disperse into the water, the experience is much, much better.

So, what’s the best way to help the essential oil disperse properly? Unscented liquid castile soap. Dr. Bronner’s is a popular choice.

For the uninitiated, (real, organic) castile soap is made from vegetable oils, has a remarkable cleaning ability, and thanks to its biodegradability and nontoxic nature, is quite safe for children and pets (it makes an appearance in a recipe in our post about essential oils for pets).

Easy 2-Minute Essential Oil Bath Infusion Recipe

Infusing your bath with essential oils is very easy. Get yourself a container and mix the following:

• 1 tablespoon jojoba oil
• 1 tablespoon liquid castile soap
• 3-5 drops of your preferred essential oil(s)

Mix well. Optionally, you can also add this recipe to 1 cup of Epsom salts. The magnesium in Epsom salts is very relaxing for your muscles, give it a try!

Good essential oils for the bath include:

• Lavender
• Roman chamomile
• Frankincense
• Rose
• Clove
• Citrus (in moderation)
• Peppermint (in moderation)

Mix and match as you like!

Have a bit more time on your hands? Give this next one a shot:

How to Make Essential Oil Bath Bombs

Bath bombs are amazing. These fizzy little “bombs” smell great, make fun fizzing bubbles, and really add the finishing touch to a perfect bath. Make sure you prepare them a bit ahead of time since the recipe will take a while to dry—it’s so worth it. They also make awesome gifts.

Making essential oil bath bombs is surprisingly easy. Here’s what you’ll need:

• About 30 drops of your preferred essential oil. Great choices here are eucalyptus, lavender, or citrus, but anything you like will work.
• 2 cups of baking soda. You probably already have this.
• 1 cup of citric acid. Citric acid is extracted from citrus fruits and comes in a powdered form. It can almost always be found at your local health store or places like Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods.
• 2 tablespoons of water.
• 2 bowls for mixing.

Add the baking soda and the citric acid to one bowl, and the water and essential oil to another. Mix the contents of each bowl, then begin slowly adding the essential oil and water to the baking soda and citric acid.

Stir until the ingredients become malleable and pack them together into little balls about two inches in diameter. Set them out on a plate or other clean surface and wait at least 12 hours for them to dry completely.

The next time you bathe or shower, toss one of them in for an amazingly refreshing, aromatic experience.

What Are Your Favorite Essential Oil Bath Recipes?

Have you successfully used essential oils in the bath or shower? What kind of essential oil do you like best? What are your favorite recipes? Let us know in the comments below or drop us a line on Facebook.

Happy essential oil bathing!