Check out our recipe – how to make bath bombs with natural essential oils?

Essential oils are liquid, volatile, highly concentrated aromatic substances obtained from both fresh and dried plants. Leaves and flowers are used in their production, as well as seeds, stems, roots and even bark. Essential oils are most commonly obtained through steam distillation of the plant. Another method of obtaining essential oils is the extraction process. This involves the use of various chemical compounds, in the form of solvents, to isolate the oil from the plant.

The oil obtained in this way is stored in a dark glass bottle to protect it from sunlight, which can cause it to lose its properties. An essential oil may contain anywhere from several dozen to as many as several hundred chemical compounds. These are substances that have a beneficial effect on our bodies, which is why it is really worth using them for our health. How can we benefit from their health-promoting properties? For a start, by enjoying wonderful, relaxing and therapeutic baths or showers. Read on to discover more interesting facts about natural plant oils.

How can you get rid of a cold more quickly using essential oils?

It is perfectly normal to suffer from a cough, a runny nose and all the other symptoms associated with the common cold during the autumn and winter months. We then feel run-down, with aching muscles and general weakness, and it is precisely in such situations that it is worth considering a warm bath with the addition of essential oils. This is a good way to combat a cold, which can be used alongside standard pharmacological treatment. By using essential oils, we can improve breathing through a blocked nose, alleviate headaches, reduce muscle aches, warm the body and speed up the healing process.

If you wish to use an essential oil in the bath, remember to ensure it is a natural oil, containing plant extracts obtained through distillation. Synthetic essential oils are not suitable for use in the bath and will not have any health benefits, as it is not just the scent that matters, but the active volatile compounds found in natural oils. Artificial oils have no therapeutic properties and may even prove harmful to our bodies. It is important to choose high-quality essential oils that contain no additives.

Baths with essential oils should last around 15–20 minutes. We should not exceed this time, as lying in the bath for too long, especially in hot water, is not healthy for our bodies. Whilst in such a bath, the evaporating essential oils have an inhalant effect, helping to relax and warm our bodies. The recommended bath temperature is a maximum of 45 degrees Celsius.

Lavender, thyme or eucalyptus essential oils are ideal for such baths. If you have several natural essential oils, you can successfully blend them to create an aromatic mixture of your own choosing. Add the oils to the water and stir thoroughly, or alternatively, sprinkle them onto coarse Himalayan salt and add the salt to the bath. Use no more than 10–15 drops of essential oils per bath, as there is no need for more – your nose will get used to the scent quite quickly anyway. If you’re doing this for the first time, check whether your skin starts to feel a stinging sensation. This will occur at the water’s surface, where the oils will float and coat your skin. This may indicate, for example, an allergy to the oil, which does sometimes occur, particularly in children.

And whilst we’re on the subject of children, we can also use essential oils in their baths, particularly if they have a cold. As children have more delicate skin, we should use a smaller amount of oil and also ensure that the bath temperature is around 37 degrees Celsius. The duration of such a bath for a child should not exceed 10–15 minutes.

What properties do individual essential oils have?

The good news is that many oils have similar antibacterial and antiviral properties, so they’ll help us when we’ve caught a cold, and we can choose the scent that suits us best. Below is a brief overview of the most popular oils that we can use in aromatherapy and in the bath.

• Pine essential oil– is used to treat upper respiratory tract conditions, a runny nose, sinusitis, a sore throat and flu. It is often found in blends with thyme and eucalyptus essential oils. It has antiseptic properties, clears the airways, helps loosen phlegm and reduces coughing.
• Peppermint oil– most commonly produced from peppermint. It is effective for colds, a runny nose, flu and also bronchitis. It has both expectorant and antispasmodic properties.
• Ginger essential oil– has warming, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, thereby strengthening the body’s immune system.
• Rosemary oil– is an excellent oil for inhalation when suffering from a cold or the flu. It works well for a runny nose.
• Clove oil– is most commonly used for colds accompanied by a sore throat or cough, as well as for bronchitis. When used fairly quickly at the first sign of a runny nose, it can help stop it. It has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, analgesic and expectorant properties.
• Eucalyptus oil– has antiviral and antibacterial properties. It relieves the symptoms of a cold, a runny nose and a cough. It clears the nose and makes it easier to cough up phlegm. It can be used to treat tonsillitis and sinus pain. Its effects are enhanced by tea tree oil. This is a diaphoretic oil which reduces fever and clears the nose.
• Lavender oil– is an oil that makes breathing easier. It clears the nose and works well for blocked sinuses that cause headaches.
• Juniper oil– is a gentle oil used for the common cold. It soothes a runny nose and makes breathing easier. As it is gentle, it can be tried on children.
• Thyme oil– this, in turn, is a potent oil. It is used for colds and flu. It combats bacterial and viral infections, as well as sore throats and sinus pain. It has powerful anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. It helps to break up phlegm trapped in the airways.
• Tea tree oil – is often combined with lavender oil and peppermint oil. It is used for sore throats, coughs and runny noses. It has antibacterial, antiviral, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties.
• Cajeput oil– is an oil used to treat whooping cough, pneumonia, bronchitis, flu and the common cold. It has antibacterial, antispasmodic and analgesic properties.

Bath bombs – how to make them step by step? A beginner’s guide

Whether you’re feeling the first signs of a cold or simply fancy relieving some stress after a long day at work, a bath with essential oils is a wonderful way to relax and boost your wellbeing. For centuries, women have bathed in rose petals precisely to enjoy the benefits of aromatherapy.

Today, we can enhance our bath with special essential oil bath bombs that we can make ourselves. To do this, we’ll need a few readily available ingredients:

• 2 glasses of bicarbonate of soda
• 1 glass of citric acid
• 5 tablespoons of base oil (for example, coconut oil, jojoba oil, sweet almond oil or baby olive oil)
• Natural essential oil
• A glass bowl
• A plastic teaspoon (you can also buy special moulds for making bath bombs)

If we want the bath bombs to float on the water, we can also use half a glass of cornflour or potato starch. If we’d like these bath bombs to be colourful and appealing to our children, we can use natural food colourings. This will make it much easier to persuade a child to use the bath bombs, as they’ll create an interesting colour effect in the water.

And if you’re dreaming of a truly amazing, luxurious bath, you can also use dried natural flowers and herbs. These will beautifully enhance the visual appeal of the bath bombs. An important ingredient in bath bombs, apart from essential oils, is bath salt. It has a nourishing effect on the skin and contains a range of essential minerals such as magnesium, potassium, sodium and calcium. Thanks to this, the bath bombs will help the body to regenerate even more effectively, relieve pain and ease muscle tension.

DIY – how to make bath bombs at home?

Pour bicarbonate of soda, citric acid and, if desired, cornflour into a dry bowl, then add the carrier oil and your favourite essential oil. The carrier oil serves to bind all the ingredients together, whilst the essential oil adds a lovely scent with antiviral and antibacterial properties.

Shape the balls by hand or spoon the mixture into moulds, then leave them to dry for a few hours on a sheet of dry baking paper. Lavender oil is particularly recommended for making these balls, as it moisturises the skin, as is peppermint oil, which refreshes and energises. Orange and grapefruit oils help to reduce cellulite and are also highly recommended. In addition, you can use any of the other oils listed above, which have antibacterial and antiviral properties.

Once you know how to make scented balls, you can create a whole set in different colours and scents, for yourself and the whole family. Of course, there’s nothing to stop you from buying scented balls containing natural essential oils from a shop – but make sure it’s one where you can be certain the product is of high quality. Producing essential oils isn’t cheap, so the product itself can’t be cheap either.

Can I use essential oils in the shower?

Absolutely – you can use essential oils in the shower too, although it’s not quite as straightforward as in the bath. You can use high-quality cosmetics that are formulated with natural essential oils. You can look for information about these types of cosmetics online. We can also try mixing our favourite essential oil with body wash or our favourite soap. Another option is simply to light an aromatherapy diffuser in the bathroom well in advance of your shower. This way, whilst showering and during your post-shower skincare routine, you’ll be inhaling the scent.

Summary

Natural essential oils are a blessing we should make the most of, as they are substances with proven benefits that support our body’s immune system. They are wonderfully relaxing and allow us to unwind after a stressful day. Some of them are quite potent, so let’s be careful when using them, especially the first time. An evening aromatic bath with essential oils, during the autumn months, will often be something we look forward to all day long.

"The Best Essential Oils", Iwona Konopacka-Brud and Władysław Brud, published by the Institute of Aromatherapy, 2021.

"A Handbook of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy", Valerie Ann Worwood, Vital Publishing, 2022.