Tag: Natural Beauty

DIY Conditioner – Rosemary Mint Hair Care Recipe – Garden Therapy
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Get healthy and shiny hair with this homemade DIY conditioner recipe. It uses rosehip seed oil, rosemary, and peppermint for amazing results that look (and smell) incredible!

I love all-natural conditioners—they have helped make my hair healthier than it’s ever been. I have thick, wavy hair that is prone to drying out and breaking. So, I need a conditioner that is thick and nourishes my hair while making it stronger at the same time. The natural ingredients in this rosemary conditioner have been essential for transforming the look and feel of my hair in the best way!

When I make my own conditioner, I am able to choose the options that work best for my hair. There are so many ingredients straight from the earth that do amazing things for my hair. I was truly shocked at how much better my hair looked once I switched to a natural hair care routine.

After a few different tries, I perfected a recipe that both smells and feels amazing. It uses a combination of pure essential oils and vegetable glycerin. It’s not overly complicated to make, and you’ll get some aromatherapy benefits from those heavenly oils as you make it, which is always a benefit!

By the way, if you need something to help keep your hair looking nice in between washes, try this DIY dry shampoo recipe too!

What is DIY Conditioner?

DIY conditioner will replace any conditioner that you use in the shower. This isn’t a leave-in recipe, you just use it as you normally would any other kind. This particular version will protect your hair from breaking, and provides some excellent benefits for your scalp too.

Here’s a closer look at the essential oils that I used and what they do for your hair and scalp. It’s fascinating how powerful and gentle they are. All of these essential oils have properties that have been used for skin health for years.

Benefits of Rosemary for Hair

Rosemary essential oil is one of my favorite oils to use in hair care products. I adore the light, clean scent and how it helps with scalp and hair issues too.

Some of the things it helps with includes:
- Increases circulation on the scalp
- Stimulates hair growth
- Relieves flakes and itch
Plus, you just can’t beat the uplifting scent of rosemary. It’s sure to perk you up when you feel drained after a long gardening session.

Read even more about the benefits and uses of Rosemary in this post.

Peppermint Hair Benefits

Speaking of uplifting and energizing scents, peppermint oil is also super beneficial for hair.

Not only is this oil filled with fatty acids that will nourish your hair, but it also has lots of minerals and nutrients too. There is calcium, copper, folate, iron, and vitamins A and C. It’s kind of like a multivitamin for your hair.

There are also antiseptic and antimicrobial properties in it that will cool the scalp and fights dandruff. I love putting it in my conditioner because it makes my hair so shiny!

Rosehip Seed Oil Benefits

Rosehip seed oil also has lots of fatty acids, vitamin A, and vitamin C. It also has antioxidants that will boost your collagen and moisturize your scalp.

It’s known that a healthy scalp means healthy hair, and rosehip oil is so good for your skin. Additionally, rosehip seed oil can also increase the strength of your hair, preventing it from breaking.

Benefits of Macadamia Nut Oil for Hair

The smell of macadamia nut oil reminds me of the beach. It has lots of the same properties as rosehip oil, but it has additional phosphorus and sodium too. It is a very nutritive, reconstructive, and hydrating oil.

What is Biotin?

Another ingredient in this DIY conditioner is biotin. Biotin is a naturally occurring vitamin that is found in eggs, milk, and bananas. It is an important part of enzymes that break down fats. All those natural fats from the oils need biotin so your body can use them effectively.

You can find these capsules online or at any store where vitamins are sold.

How to Make Your Own Conditioner

When you make your own bath and beauty products, it’s very important to disinfect your tools and workspace. Even if all of your ingredients are organic, you can still contaminate your conditioner from your clothes, hands, or even your water. That’s why I use distilled water and disinfect everything very carefully.

There are three phases: the aqueous (water) phase, the oil phase, and the cool phases. Each phase describes when to combine the ingredients.

You will measure all of the aqueous ingredients into one heatproof container. Then, measure the macadamia nut oil, BTM, and cetyl alcohol into another heatproof container. Finally, measure the ingredients that can be damaged by heat – like the preservative and essential oils – into a third container for the cool phase.

Ready? Let’s make some conditioner!

Natural Rosemary Mint Conditioner Ingredients

Makes 1 x 200g bottle

Aqueous Phase Ingredients

Oil Phase Ingredients

Cool Phase Ingredients

Make It!

Before you start, sterilize everything with alcohol. This is extremely important, so be thorough.

Next, use a kitchen scale to measure the oil ingredients in a heatproof container like a beaker.

Then, measure all of the water ingredients in another heatproof container.

Now we’ll heat both of these ingredient sets. Create a double boiler and heat both the oil ingredients and the water ingredients until they reach 160 degrees.

Keep both the water ingredients and oil ingredients at 160 degrees for 20 minutes. Similar to canning, this helps to kill off any bacteria, which is definitely crucial

Add the oil ingredients to a mixing bowl first and then pour in the water ingredients.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the ingredients. They should thicken up quickly and cool down.

Once the ingredients have reached 80 degrees, you can add the cool phase ingredients. Remember, these ingredients are heat-sensitive and will break down at higher temperatures, which is why they’re added at this time.

Continue mixing until it’s thick and fluffy. Now you can add it to a sterilized container.

That’s it! You’ll need to use this conditioner within six months.

How to Use DIY Conditioner

Use this in the shower after you use your shampoo. I like to let it stay in my hair for about five minutes to permeate. Then, rinse it off completely and then follow up with your normal hair-drying routine.

More Natural Beauty Recipes with Rosemary
Rosemary Mint Conditioner

Make your own conditioner with rosemary, peppermint, and rosehip seed oil.

Aqueous Phase Ingredients

Sterilize your equipment and workspace with alcohol.

Use a kitchen scale to measure the oil ingredients in a heatproof container like a beaker.

Measure all of the water ingredients in another heatproof container.

Create a double boiler and heat both the oil ingredients and the water ingredients to 160 degrees.

Keep both the water ingredients and oil ingredients at 160 degrees for 20 minutes. Similar to canning, this helps to kill off any bacteria.

In a mixing bowl, add the oil ingredients first and then pour in the water ingredients.

Use an electric mixer to combine the ingredients. In a large bowl, they should thicken up quickly and cool down.

Once the ingredients have reached 80 degrees, you can add the cool phase ingredients. Remember, these ingredients are heat-sensitive and will break down at higher temperatures, which is why they’re added at this time.

Continue mixing your conditioner until it’s thick and fluffy.

Pour it into a sterilized container.

Use the conditioner within 6 months.
More Plant-Based Beauty Recipes to Try

A city girl who learned to garden and it changed everything. Author, artist, Master Gardener. Better living through plants.
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Stephanie Rose

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February 26, 2026
From Body to Garden, How to Use (And Not Use) Epsom Salts

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Known for soothing aches and pains, people have been using Epsom salts for years topically on the body, ingested as a supplement, and even as a gardening secret ingredient (spoiler alert: don’t!). Most people use Epsom salts without even knowing what it truly is, so I’m breaking down some of the common myths, best uses, and Epsom salt benefits you can utilize at home.

Epsom salt was first discovered in England during the 17^th century. People soon realized there was something very special about it! Fast forward to today, and you can find it at just about any pharmacy or grocery store.

Chances are, you’ve used Epsom salts before in the bathtub, whether that was due to advice from a doctor, massage therapist, or your mom. If you are like me, at the beginning, you probably had no idea why you were doing so or what those magical crystals even were.

Today, I want to break down some of the most common uses and benefits of Epsom salt, as well as debunk some myths surrounding the use of Epsom salts in the garden. When properly used, it can be a really great ingredient to have in the home!

This post will cover…

What is Epsom Salt?

Epsom salt gets half its name from where it comes from and the other half from its chemical structure. These salts are originally found in the town of Epsom in England, where the mineral waters are very rich in Epsom salts.

And while it does have salt in the name, it’s very different from table salt. Only the chemical structure is similar.

A chemical compound, Epsom salt is made of magnesium, sulfur, and oxygen. Hence, it’s also known as magnesium sulphate. Magnesium is key to the success of Epsom salts and why it makes people feel good. Most people do not get enough magnesium in their diet.

While you can technically eat it, most people use Epsom salts externally as a bath salt. It dissolves right in the water and is used to treat many ailments. It’s easily found at grocery and drug stores in either the pharmacy or cosmetic sections.

Epsom Salt Uses

Magnesium and sulphate can be absorbed through the skin, meaning you do not need to consume them to get all the Epsom salt benefits. However, you can apply it both topically or take it as a magnesium sulphate supplement or even as a laxative.

As the fourth most abundant mineral in the body, humans require quite a bit of magnesium but few get enough of it. Adding Epsom salt to your regular routine can help you boost your mineral intake. While the best way to enhance your magnesium intake is by ingesting it, Epsom salt baths can help.

I use magnesium as the base in many of my bath salt recipes. Combined with herbs and essential oils, my baths become very therapeutic as well as enjoyable to the senses.

I also apply magnesium topically in this magnesium lotion to help soothe aches and pains before going to bed. It really has helped and remains one of my most popular recipes as others have found the benefits of adding magnesium to their routine.

While there have been few studies as to whether or not magnesium can actually be absorbed through the body, I can only speak from personal experience. It definitely does the trick for me and I have made it a part of my daily routine.

Epsom Salt Benefits

So what happens when you use Epsom salts and up your magnesium intake?

Boosts Sleep

Sleep, something we could all use more of I’m sure, can be enhanced by getting enough magnesium. The mineral helps to produce neurotransmitters in the brain that reduce stress and stimulate sleep. Likewise, low magnesium levels can result in poor sleep quality.

Relieve Aches and Pains

Many people also use Epsom salt to help with muscle aches and even relieve cramping. In fact, athletes will often soak in Epsom salt baths after exercising as part of their recovery. Lots of magnesium in the body helps your body use lactic acid and glucose.

In addition to helping muscles relax, magnesium sulphate also helps to reduce pain and swelling. Many people who suffer from arthritis and fibromyalgia use Epsom salt baths to help with their pain management. This is why I also highly suggest my magnesium lotion to help with all kinds of aches and pains.

Helps Ease Constipation

What people don’t talk about as often is how much it helps with constipation. Drawing water into your colon, magnesium sulphate helps to encourage bowel movements. For this effect, you want to take it orally rather than absorb it topically. An FDA-approved laxative, 2-6 teaspoons dissolved in water should do it!

Epsom Salt in the Garden

When it comes to using Epsom salts for plants, there are a lot of recommendations for it on the internet and social media. People tote it as their best-kept gardening secret or miracle cure they learned from their grandma. Whether or not you should use it has turned into quite a divisive topic.

And I hate to be the one to burst your Epsom salt bubble, but I would not recommend using it in the garden. Here’s why.

Blossom End Rot

One of the most common things people like to say about Epsom salts is that it helps to prevent and stop blossom end rot. This can be caused by a lack of calcium in the plant and its inability to pull enough from the soil. As we now know, Epsom salt is a fancy word for magnesium sulphate. No calcium whatsoever.

In fact, adding magnesium to the soil can actually hurt your plant when it has a calcium deficiency. The magnesium and calcium ions in the soil compete to get into the plant.

It’s actually very rare to have calcium deficiency in the garden. Blossom end rot is most commonly from improper watering. Always water at the base of the plant so it gets deep into the soil.

Pests and Diseases

Some people also claim that mixing Epsom salt in water and applying it to plants can help eliminate all kinds of pests and diseases. In reality, there’s no real evidence to support this.

When it comes to pests and diseases, there is no blanket solution. You can learn more about different natural pest control methods here.

Fertilizer

In very rare cases, you can use Epsom salt as fertilizer. It’s a soluble method of adding magnesium and sulphur to the soil. But most home gardens are not deficient in these two minerals. Typically, only very acidic and sandy soils for commercial crops would require this.

Most of the time, gardens are deficient in macronutrients such as phosphorous, nitrogen, and potassium. While people say that Epsom salts can make your roses bloom more, result in fruit bigger and more prolific, and result in lusher gardens, most of these are typically associated with macronutrients rather the magnesium sulphate.

Since it’s so water-soluble, using magnesium sulphate in the garden when you don’t need it can actually pollute groundwater.

Frequently Asked Questions About Epsom Salt

How Does Epsom Salt Work?

Magnesium sulphate can be easily absorbed through the skin, increasing your body’s overall magnesium levels. Most people, especially those after exercise, take Epsom salt baths with the salt dissolved in the water and soak in it. This can help improve muscle function and pain in the body.

Magnesium sulphate can also be ingested for use as a supplement or laxative.

What Is Epsom Salt Good For?

Also known as magnesium sulphate, Epsom salt helps to increase the overall levels of magnesium in the body. Since most people are deficient in magnesium, increased levels of the mineral can help improve sleep, pain management, nerve and muscle function, and energy levels.

How Long Should You Soak in Epsom Salt?

To reap the benefits of an Epsom salt bath, you need around 2 cups of Epsom salts for the average-sized bath. Once fully dissolved, soak yourself in the tub for at least 15 minutes to receive the effects of mineral baths.

After your bath, keep well hydrated and try to relax for at least two hours. For this reason, an Epsom salt bath is best done in the evening once you’ve done everything you need to do for the day.

When Should You Not Use Epsom Salt?

Most side effects from Epsom salts result in oral use. If taken in extreme amounts, it can cause nausea, headaches, and lightheadedness. But if taken in the right amounts according to a package or doctor, you shouldn’t experience any intense side effects.

Epsom salts should not be consumed by pregnant women, children, and those with kidney conditions. If you’re ever unsure, it’s always a good idea to consult with your doctor first.

And of course, do not use them in the garden. They provide no real value to the average home gardener and can pollute groundwater.

Can Epsom Salt Help With Constipation?

It sure can! Epsom salt is actually listed as an FDA-approved laxative.

To use Epsom salt as such, dissolve 2-6 teaspoons into an 8-ounce glass of water. Drink the whole glass and you should experience laxative effects as soon as 30 minutes later upwards to 6 hours. Just make sure you’re using supplement-grade Epsom salt. You don’t want any of the cosmetic bath salts that have fragrance and colouring.

You may experience bloating and diarrhea, known side effects of consuming magnesium sulphate. Be sure to drink plenty of water to help reduce these symptoms. It also should not be a regular solution but an occasional laxative.

I hope you have learned something new today, whether that’s the benefits of Epsom salts or to keep them out of the garden. Let me know if you have any more questions about using Epsom salts in the comments down below!

More Ways to Use Epsom Salts

A city girl who learned to garden and it changed everything. Author, artist, Master Gardener. Better living through plants.

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Stephanie Rose

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February 7, 2026
Video: Herbal Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Rinse for Healthy Hair (with Video)
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Cue the hair flip! Add this herbal hair rinse to your hair care routine and you’ll notice an immediate difference. Made from completely natural ingredients, this apple cider vinegar hair rinse works hard to correct your scalp’s pH and in turn give you stronger, healthier, and gorgeous hair.

Switching to an all-natural hair care routine is one of the best things I’ve ever done for my hair. Seriously! I was shocked at the results once I started to make my own dry shampoo, conditioner, hair serum, and now my very own herbal hair rinse.

While a ton of people are switching towards a “clean” skincare routine, I have noticed that few people have yet to embrace an all-natural hair care routine.

I could not recommend it enough. Everyone’s hair is so different and by creating your own products, you can cater to your own hair type. Curly, straight, dry, oily…there is a hair recipe for you. My ACV hair rinse is the newest step to my hair care routine and I would never do without it again!

What is Hair Rinse?

A herbal hair rinse is an added hair care step that you do while in the shower. It works to nourish the hair naturally with infused herbs. Most importantly though, it will restore and balance the pH of your hair! I’ll explain a little later why this is SO important.

I learned about using a hair rinse from my friend and Herbalist Robin from Garden Mentors. She only uses the hair rinse without any other products and she has gorgeous, shiny hair. I have been playing with recipes and testing it out with my hair for over a year and I have not been able to seamlessly make the transition to not using shampoo and conditioner.

To get there, your hair needs to get used to not having shampoo remove the natural oil. This means that your scalp will produce A LOT of excess oil for a while until it balances out again. I plan to go full “no poo” method one day, but for now, I use the rinse as part of my routine and it works wonders for me. No more itchy or dry scalp and I can go a week between washings with ease. Baby steps!

Robin has a lovely herbal hair rinse in her Etsy Shop. be sure to check it out!

It has quickly become an essential step in my natural hair care routine. By making my own DIY hair rinse, I know where all the ingredients are coming from and can avoid all the harsh chemicals and fragrances that are common in hair care products.

The Best Herbs to Add to an Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Rinse

Adding herbs to your hair rinse can make all the difference. Herbs are full of beneficial properties that once infused, can add a ton of benefits for your hair. Below, I’ve outlined some of the best herbs for hair and how they can help.

Choose which herbs will aid you best for your own customized herbal hair rinse. Ask yourself, which herb will work best for my hair type? The “best for” notes under each section will help you decide if the herb is right for you.

Horsetail

One of the most well-known herbs for hair, horsetail is probably found in some of your favourite hair care products. It has a ton of antioxidant properties which can add sheen and strengthen the hair.

It contains silica, selenium, and cysteine which are all known to promote hair growth. Overall, it is a must-have for those looking to improve overall hair condition.

Best for: all hair types and those looking to strengthen hair and promote growth.

Rosemary

Rosemary has always been a top ingredient in my hair care recipes as it works to improve scalp circulation and nerve growth. Why is this important? Improved circulation in the scalp prevents hair follicles from not getting enough blood supply and dying off, leading to hair loss.

It also has antiseptic and antibacterial properties which can aid in preventing dandruff and lice. I’d like to avoid the two as much as possible!

Best for: increasing scalp circulation and promoting hair growth.

Lavender

Aromatherapy’s most popular scent, lavender is known to have a calming effect on the body. This extends to hair as well, where its antimicrobial properties helps to calm issues like itchiness and dandruff by preventing bacteria and fungi from growing. It also works to soothe scalp inflammation and dryness.

A few studies have backed up lavender’s hair claims, where it has been known to be useful in preventing head lice and help with pattern baldness and alopecia in mice.

Best for: soothing skin irritations and irregularities due to its antimicrobial properties.

Nettles

Rich in minerals like iron, magnesium, and zinc, your hair follicles will love nettles. It’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties also work to protect the scalp from damage and promote new hair growth. This also makes it an aid in treating dandruff.

Like horsetail, it also has high levels of silica. Combined with high levels of natural sulphur, it makes the hair shinier and healthier.

Best for: dry and damaged hair as it helps to strengthen and promote growth.

Calendula

Beautiful on the outside and the inside, calendula is packed full of helpful hair properties. It is anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antiviral, making it useful in improving scalp conditions. Calendula fights dandruff, rashes, and other dry skin issues, as well as helping to speed up recovery time for wounds or damaged hair follicles.

It also contains flavonoids and carotenoids, two antioxidants that protect from sun and environmental damage to hair.

Best for: hair that needs extra protection and improving overall scalp condition.

The Benefits of an Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Rinse

Apple cider vinegar has long been a household remedy favourite. Want to preserve food? Apple cider vinegar. Want to lose weight? Apple cider vinegar. Want shiny, glorious hair? Apple cider vinegar.

Maintaining a Good pH

Apple cider vinegar is made from fermenting apples with live cultures, minerals, and acids. Like most vinegar, it is an acidic substance and contains high levels of acetic acid. While applying something acidic to your hair may seem scary, it is actually super beneficial. Here’s why!

Our hair and scalp have an acid mantle (like the rest of our skin) that requires a healthy pH balance in order to have happy hair. The normal pH of your hair should range between 4.5-5.5 when it is healthy.

However, most hair products don’t keep pH in mind; colouring, bleaching, and even something as simple as shampoo can throw the pH of your hair off balance. When hair is brittle, dull, or fizzy, it is likely more alkaline and ranges higher on the pH scale than normal.

That’s where the apple cider vinegar hair rinse comes in!

Using an acidic substance on the hair can help to balance out the hair and lower the pH. By maintaining a good pH, you are preventing unwanted hair breakage all while maintaining a healthy amount of natural oils. Sebum, our skin’s natural oil, is essential in keeping our hair glossy and strong.

Other Wonderful Hair Benefits

Beyond maintaining the pH of our hair, the apple cider vinegar hair rinse has some other benefits as well. Since apple cider vinegar is a popular disinfectant due to its antimicrobial properties, it can aid in treating itchiness and dandruff.

It is also rich in minerals, especially ones that are good for the hair such as Vitamin C and B.

Lastly, it gets out that stubborn product that won’t go away even after you give it a good scrub with your best shampoo. If you used a ton of hairspray to achieve that perfect 80’s look for Halloween or layered up on the dry shampoo for longer than you would like to admit, apple cider vinegar has your back. Since it is more acidic than regular shampoo, it can help to gently remove the product, dead skin cell build up, and grime.

Video: Watch How to Make Herbal Hair Rinse!

In this video, I’ll walk you through what a herbal hair rinse is, my favorite herbs to use, and how to make this hair rinse step by step.

Be sure to subscribe to the Garden Therapy YouTube page to get more awesome video content!

How to Infuse Your Apple Cider Vinegar

Before you can use your apple cider vinegar hair rinse, you will need to infuse the vinegar first. To do so, you will want to measure out your herbs. Choose from the herb list above and find which ones best match your hair type. By customizing your herbal hair rinse with the right herbs, you will get the most benefits.

Place your herbs in a quart mason jar or any other container that will seal tightly. Add at least 3 tbsp each of your desired herbs. Fill the jar with your apple cider vinegar and give it a good shake.

Your mixture will need to sit for 2-4 weeks. This allows the vinegar to be fully infused with the herbal properties and scents. Waiting is tough, but necessary!

After your vinegar is infused, you can strain the herbs and store the rinse in a glass bottle.

How to Use This Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Rinse

Now that you’ve been patient and your vinegar is ready to go, it’s time to use your herbal hair rinse!

1. Dilute Your Mixture

The first thing you will want to do is dilute your vinegar. While apple cider vinegar helps to balance hair, you don’t want to overdo it and make your hair more acidic or risk harming your skin.

To dilute your vinegar, add approximately ¼ cup of infused vinegar with 1 pint of water into a squeeze bottle. If after using you find that your hair is still too oily, reduce the amount of vinegar to 1/8 cup. If it feels too dry, try increasing the amount of vinegar to ½ cup.

All hair will react differently, so use your best judgment.

2. Apply to Hair

The herbal hair rinse is best applied after you have shampooed your hair. Use the squeeze bottle to apply to your roots and massage it into the scalp. Next, use a wide-tooth comb to go through the hair and get rid of all the tangles. Squish and scrunch your hair to ensure it really soaks in throughout your hair.

3. Rinse Well

Rinse out your hair well and then apply conditioner to help mask the smell. Though, after diluting the vinegar and infusing it with herbs, the smell isn’t as strong as you may think. I like to use my homemade conditioner as it has a ton of yummy essential oils to leave my hair smelling fantastic.

I use my herbal hair rinse once a week, but you can use it as often as you prefer. And voila! You should notice a huge difference in your hair pretty fast. Shiny and healthy hair is always in!

More Hair Care Posts to Read:
DIY Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Rinse

Keep your hair shiny and healthy with this simple herbal hair rinse! Apple cider vinegar promotes healthy pH while herbs are tailored to help your specific type of hair shine.

quart mason jar

strainer

plastic squeeze bottle

Herbs that Help Your Hair Goals (use at least 3 tbsp of one or several of the herbs below)

horsetail works for all hair types including those looking to strengthen hair and promote growth

lavender use to soothe skin irritations and irregularities

nettles best for dry and damaged hair

rosemary use to increase circulation and promote hair growth

calendula use for hair that needs extra protection and to improve scalp condition

apple cider vinegar

Infuse the Apple Cider Vinegar with Herbs

Choose herbs that best meet your hair goals from the above list. Measure out at least 3 tbsp of dried herbs to use.

Place the herbs in a quart-sized mason jar, then pour in enough apple cider vinegar to fill the jar.

Let the herbs steep for 2-4 weeks to get the most benefits possible.

Dilute the ACV Hair Rinse

Strain out the herbs from the ACV mixture. Discard the herbs.

In a shower-safe plastic squeeze bottle, add 1/4 cup of infused ACV with 1 pint of water and apply to hair after shampooing. Rinse well and apply conditioner.

If your hair feels too oily, reduce the amount of herbal apple cider vinegar to 1/4 cup. If your hair feels overly dry, increase the amount to 1/2 cup.
A city girl who learned to garden and it changed everything. Author, artist, Master Gardener. Better living through plants.
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Stephanie Rose

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February 5, 2026
A Sweet Homemade Honeycomb Soap Recipe – Garden Therapy

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I’m just buzzing about this honey soap because it was easy to make, and it comes with a bit of a secret. While the soap looks like a sticky block of honey straight from the honeycomb, it’s actually an aloe, cucumber, and carrot soap that I’ve mixed with manuka honey and scented with citrus. The trick to this attractive honey soap is how to get the honeycomb look without buying an expensive mold.

Homemade Honeycomb Soap

Materials

Make It!

The bubble wrap is what gives the soap its honeycomb look. I have seen some tutorials that suggest putting the bubble wrap in the bottom of the mold, then pouring the soap on top, but this did not work for me. The bubble wrap floated into the center of the soap, so I removed it and tried again. The following method works beautifully for me each and every time!

By pressing a piece of small-celled bubble wrap onto the top of the soap, the organic shape begins to take form. Cut the bubble wrap in rounds or geometric shapes that mostly fit into the molds, leaving a bit of extra plastic as a tab so you can easily grab and pull the bubble wrap off when the soap is dry. You will want to do this step first, as it will need to be done quickly when the soap is poured.

Cut up the soap base into 1-inch cubes and add them to the Pyrex measuring cup. Melt the soap base in a microwave or in a double boiler so that it is just melted. You want the soap base to melt but not cook. Remove the soap base from the microwave or off the double boiler before it starts to steam. There may be a few chunks left, but that is just fine. Those will melt if you keep stirring the soap base for a few minutes after removing it from the heat.

When your soap base is melted, add in the honey and essential oils to the soap mix. I like to add a bit of manuka honey to this soap for its antibacterial and healing properties and to add a delicate honey scent. The orange essential oil adds more sweet and bright scent that makes this soap deliciously decadent.

Pour the soap into the silicone mold and gently press a piece of bubble wrap on the top.

I like to use some geometric forms rather than rounds because I think it looks like broken off pieces of honeycomb. I like the organic, imperfect final product that it produces.

On a side note, the original post that was published here for Handmade Honey Soap was submitted as a guest post from an author and the publisher of a handmade soap book. I’m disappointed to say that the reviews of the book have been poor, both online and for this recipe in particular. I have decided to remove the original post and recreate a recipe that can be successfully made by beginners and experienced soap-makers alike. I hope that you enjoy this project!

If you liked this melt and pour soap project you will LOVE my eBook, Good Clean Fun: THE Idea Book for Creative Melt and Pour Soap Projects. Get your copy instantly here.

Please visit this post on How to Make Cold-Process Soap or visit the Natural Skincare Series of posts for more ideas on how to make natural beauty projects at home.

A city girl who learned to garden and it changed everything. Author, artist, Master Gardener. Better living through plants.

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Stephanie Rose

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January 9, 2026
DIY Gift Ideas: Natural Beauty Products to Make & Give – Garden Therapy

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Without a doubt, the holiday season can get expensive. However, most people don’t need lavish and over-the-top gifts…they prefer something from the heart! This list of DIY gift ideas covers a ton of natural beauty products to give that are beautiful, inexpensive to make, and will make anyone who receives them smile.

Most of these recipes I have spent years perfecting. Once I switched to using natural products, I was never going back. I have made it a mission to make as much of my own natural beauty products as possible.

I’ve shared a lot of beauty recipes on the blog and in my book, Make & Give Home Apothecary, but I wanted to make a nice list of some of my beauty products in one place. That way, you can get started on the holiday season with this curated list of natural beauty DIY gift ideas. So, roll up your sleeves and let’s begin!

Gifts for a Relaxing Bath

One of the best places to relax, adding a little bit of something extra to the bath is one of the best ways to unwind for the day. These DIY gift ideas for the bath are super popular because pretty much everyone can enjoy them! You can cater these recipes to have scents and herbal ingredients your giftee will love.

Lavender Bath Salts

Lavender was meant for the bathtub. This classic lavender bath salts recipe is a favourite, with lavender being a safe bet in terms of fragrance.

Bath Tea

Add a little bit of herbal relaxation to your bath with your own custom blend. Better yet, it is completely mess-free meaning no tub cleanup once you’re done relaxing.

DIY Oatmeal Bath

This recipe is great for soothing dry and irritated skin. It feels like you’re in a spa while soaking in this oatmeal bath, including a ton of aromatherapy relief.

Bath Bombs

Bath bombs bring fun to the bathtub. Not only do you get to watch them sizzle and foam, but they also provide a wonderful smell and soften the skin.

Lavender and Cocoa Butter Bath Melts

Luxurious and natural, these bath melts smell so good you’ll want to eat them! Best for the bathtub, however, it leaves the skin extremely soft and moisturized.

DIY Natural Soaps

Making your own soap may seem daunting at first, but there are a ton of different soap making methods perfect for any level of expertise. You can make your own artisan soaps that are sure to deliver on the wow factor. People won’t believe you made them yourself!

Cold process is one of the most common ways to make colourful and intricate soaps. Part art and part science, you can create a batch of soap for mulitple gifts. I have over 20 recipes to choose from.

Botanical Soap Bars

These bars are filled with flowers, greenery, and herbs for beautiful soaps inspired by nature. It uses the melt and pour method, perfect for beginners.

Lovely Lemon Balm Soap

This soap is a rich recipe, made with olive oil and a lemon-mint scent for an extremely refreshing soap to keep skin clean and soft.

Sea Sponge Soap Bars

Bring a piece of the ocean into the shower with these sea sponge bars. A natural alternative to sponges, sea sponges help to create a luxurious lather while washing.

Lavender Oatmeal Soap Cupcakes

Anyone can make these beautiful looking soaps, scented with lavender essential oil and dressed up with dried lavender buds.

Honeycomb Soap

Easy to make but super cool looking, this honeycomb soap requires no expensive mold and uses a neat hack to achieve the honeycomb effect.

Gifts for Soothing Skin

As our largest organ, we have to take care of our skin. This section of DIY gift ideas are perfect for skin all over the body, accommodating all skin types due to their natural properties. The result is smooth and glowing skin.

Flower Lotion Recipe

This liquid lotion is perfect for your face, hands, or body. It makes your skin feel wonderful, effectively moisturizing dry skin naturally.

DIY Hand Cream

Formulated specifically to treat hard working hands, this cream re-hydrates hands that are rough, dry, and starting to chap.

Coconut Oil Sugar Scrub

Exfoliating is an important step to a skincare routine. Sugar scrubs are simple to make using ingredients you can find at home, creating a gentle exfoliant.

Vanilla Bean Winter Lotion Bar

Convenient to use and packed full of healthy ingredients, these winter lotion bars are ideal for moisturizing dry skin during the cold season.

Magnesium Lotion

If you want your natural lotion to be taken up a notch, this magnesium lotion formula helps with pain management and works to improve sleep.

Romantic Beeswax Massage Balm

This is the perfect gift for your honey, harnessing the powerful skincare benefits of rose. It’s extremely moisturizing, and sure to stir up some romance.

Gifts for Smelling Great

While I’d argue that all the recipes on this list smell great, in these recipes, scent takes center stage. These recipes label everything step by step, making the process easy to follow.

Lavender and Marshmallow Root Conditioner

Gentle and pleasant smelling, this recipe is packed with herbal benefits for damaged hair, helping to strengthen it for soft and silky locks.

Essential Oil Perfume

With no icky toxins, you can feel good about spritzing your body with natural botanical fragrances, completely unique to you.

Peppermint Coconut Foot Scrub

Designed for rough skin, this helps to exfoliate dry skin and soften cracks. Plus, you get the cooling effects of the peppermint!

Coffee Bean Massage Bars

Skip messy massage oil with this coffee bean massage bar. It works to relax the body and moisturize the skin all in one go.

Aromatherapy Shower Steamers

If your giftee is not a bath person, they can still add a hint of luxury to the shower with these fragrant and fun shower steamers.

Herbal Beard Oil & Aftershave

Skip the artificial fragrances that can actually irritate the skin more and opt for this herbal beard oil and aftershave combo to soothe irritated skin after shaving.

Gifts for Luscious Lips

No one can have too much lip balm. Seriously, I have one in the bathroom, my car, my purse, and pretty much anywhere else I can put one! These recipes smell SO good and are even better for soothing dry lips.

Chai Spice Lip Balm

Do you have a chai lover on your gift list? The bold scent of chai is both earthy and sweet, making a fragrant and spicy lip balm.

Candy Cane Lip Balm

This recipe was made for the holiday season, a minty treat you can stuff the stocking with and use all year.

Honey Dandelion Lip Scrub

Dandelion, honey, and sugar make an amazing lip scrub to exfoliate the lips. The result is soft, kissable lips ready for the mistletoe.

Chocolate Mint Lip Balm

Christmas isn’t complete without a hint of chocolate. This decadent recipe lets you indulge in chocolaty goodness without the calories.

Ready for the Holidays?

If this list has you overwhelmed, perhaps you learn better by video rather than reading! My Botanical Beauty Holidays Gifts Workshop takes things slow, leading you through each recipe one-by-one with how-to videos and instructions.

Because I love them so much, my goal is to make natural beauty products accessible to everyone and this course is for the visual learner.

Plus, I include some extras include gift wrapping instructions so your gifts can look as pretty on the outside as they are on the inside.

You can learn more about the course here.

More DIY Gift Ideas!

A city girl who learned to garden and it changed everything. Author, artist, Master Gardener. Better living through plants.

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Stephanie Rose

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November 10, 2025
How to Make Lotion: Ultra Moisturizing DIY Lotion Recipe
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This homemade DIY lotion is ultra-moisturizing and full of natural ingredients that you can feel good about. If you have been wondering how to make lotion, this helpful post will walk you through the process step by step.

I like my lotions to be rich, moisturizing, and, above all else, natural. A good lotion can make your skin feel wonderful. As part of my switch to plant-based beauty products, I replaced all of my soaps, scrubs, and balms with organic and natural recipes that are skin-healing rather than just problem-masking.

This meant I needed to develop my own DIY lotion that could keep my skin healthy and moisturized while also being plant-based and economical!

This post will cover…

DIY Lotion with Natural Ingredients

In general, DIY beauty recipes are relatively easy to make. Typically you just follow the simple steps of measuring the ingredients, melting them together, and pouring them into molds or containers.

Lotions, however, are a bit more complicated to make. There are some specific steps that need to be taken in a DIY lotion recipe to ensure that you are making a good quality, safe product to use on your skin.

I often use lotion bars for moisturizing my skin, which make wonderful gifts as well since they are so pretty. To learn more about those, see my recipes for Vanilla Bean Winter Lotion Bars and Calendula Summer Lotion Bars. While these are lovely to apply all over my skin after the bath or shower, I also make a liquid lotion for use on my face and hands.

Components that Make Up a Lotion

“Lotion,” “moisturizer,” and “cream” are all names for the same product, an emulsion. Bringing together oil and water means that there are a few more elements needed than just melting together all of the ingredients like in a lotion bar. You will need an emulsifier to hold the oil and water together, a thickener to give the lotion some body, and a preservative to keep the nasty stuff out.

Don’t let that scare you though–the ingredients may be a bit more complicated, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be natural. There are plenty of eco-certified ingredients that are from all-natural sources which can be used in lotion making, even if they are not names you have heard of before!

Emulsifiers

Because oil and water are known to be unable to mix together on their own, an emulsifier is needed to help the ingredients combine and stay mixed. In natural skincare products, many people use eWax (emulsifying wax), which is sourced from naturally occurring fats and esters.

Another option, and my preferred emulsifier, is Behentrimonium Methosulfate or BTMS, a vegetable-based conditioning emulsifier. It absorbs quickly and is good for face cream. eWax, on the other hand, is thicker and heavier feeling than BTMS 25 which may be preferred for body lotion or foot cream.

Thickeners

Cetyl alcohol and stearic acid are also added to skincare products as a way to help the oil and water bind and keep it from separating, but they also give a thickness to the lotion.

There are many sources of both ingredients, so look for the ones that are eco-certified. Cetyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol that adds a lighter feeling than stearic acid. Stearic acid is a fatty acid that adds fluffiness and it has a heavier feeling than cetyl alcohol.

Preservatives

Any time you are using water in a natural beauty recipe, a preservative is essential to keep mold, yeast, and bacteria from growing. Without preservatives, a lotion’s shelf life is very short (around a week) and it needs to be kept refrigerated at all times.

There is a common misconception that grapefruit seed extract, rosemary seed extract, and Vitamin E oil are preservatives and help to prevent mold and bacterial growth. While those ingredients are wonderful at extending the shelf life of the ingredients, they are not effective at preventing microbial or bacterial growth.

There are many preservatives available on the market like potasium sorbate, sodium anisate and sodium levulinate combined, radish root ferment (Leucidal® Liquid), and Geogard ECT.

I have only tried Leucidal in my lotion recipes and it works well for me. It contains a peptide from fermenting radish root in kimchi that has antimicrobial properties. It’s eco-certified and easy to find.

Hydrosols and Essential Oils

I like to gently scent this lotion by replacing some of the distilled water with a floral hydrosol like chamomile, calendula, rose, or lavender. Hydrosols are produced by distilling fresh plant material and have similar properties to essential oils, but less concentrated. Hydrosols are a great way to get the benefits of plants that are either too expensive or not available as essential oils like chamomile, rose, and calendula.

You can also opt to add essential oils to this lotion for more fragrance. The measurement is listed in the cool-down phase for this recipe. I often make my lotion unscented or very lightly scented with a hydrosol, but you can choose to add the benefits of essential oils for your own personal skincare needs and preferences.

Avoid Contamination

Even if all of your ingredients are organic and fresh, you can easily contaminate your lotion from the workspace, your hands, the equipment, and even the water.

Be sure to clean your workspace thoroughly with alcohol, wear gloves and keep hands clean, sterilize your bowls, utensils, and equipment, and use distilled water, not tap water. Tap water can contain microorganisms that could contaminate your lotion.

Basic DIY Lotion Recipe

I’m not prone to acne but I have very dry and sensitive skin. I formulated this recipe to absorb quickly, not clog pores, and feel moisturizing without being too heavy. Personally, I often use it on my face in the morning when skin is less absorbent and use this rose lotion at night to help settle redness and inflammation from the day.

I love this DIY lotion so much that I have a bottle at my desk, on my bedside, and in my studio so I can apply lotion to my hands throughout the day. It’s very effective and I can make a large batch of excellent quality lotion without breaking the bank.

Everyone has different skin types, so this lotion may not work for you at all. Or it may be the best lotion you have ever tried. The only way you will know for sure is to give it a try.

I’ll share more recipes in the future that make some changes to this recipe for different purposes. But for now, this is my go-to basic moisturizing lotion recipe and I hope you enjoy it!

The 3 Phases of Lotion Making

Lotions are made in three phases: the aqueous (water) phase, the oil phase, and the cool phase. While these are called “phases,” they can be measured all at once.

They are separated into different phases so they can be combined at the right time. You will measure all of the aqueous ingredients like water, hydrosols, and aloe vera into one heatproof container. Then measure your oils, butters, emulsifiers, and thickeners into a separate heatproof container.

Finally, measure ingredients that can be damaged by heat like essential oils, honey, and preservatives in a third container (this one doesn’t need to be heatproof) for the cool phase.

Got it? Okay, let’s make lotion!

Equipment

Ingredients

Makes 200g

Aqueous Phase Ingredients

Oil Phase Ingredients

Cool Phase Ingredients
- 6 g leucidal
- 4 g panthenol (Vitamin B5)
- 8-12 drops essential oil of choice (optional)
Make It!

Before you start, please make sure that all of your equipment and workspace are sterilized using alcohol. It may be tempting to skip this step, but I strongly encourage you to do this and do it well.

Use a kitchen scale to measure the oil ingredients in a heatproof container like a beaker.

Next, measure all of the water ingredients in another heatproof container. In this case, I used a Turkish coffee pot.

Create a double boiler and heat both the oil ingredients and the water ingredients to 160 degrees.

Keep both the water ingredients and oil ingredients at 160 degrees for 20 minutes. Similar to canning, this helps to kill off any bacteria.

In a mixing bowl, add the oil ingredients first and then pour in the water ingredients.

Use an electric mixer to combine the ingredients. In a large bowl, they should thicken up quickly and cool down.

Once the ingredients have reached 80 degrees, you can add the cool phase ingredients. Remember, these ingredients are heat-sensitive and will break down at higher temperatures, which is why they’re added at this time.

Continue mixing your lotion until it’s thick and fluffy.

Now you can add it into a sterilized container.

If the opening to your container is quite small, then you can put the ingredients into a piping bag for frosting or a plastic zipper bag. Cut off one of the corners of the zipper bag, and it should be easy to get all of the lotion into a pump bottle with a small opening.

I like using a pump because it releases lotion without any risk of contaminating the lotion by touching it with your hands.

Use this DIY lotion within six months.

More Plant-Based Beauty Recipes to Try
DIY Lotion with Natural Ingredients

Learn how to make a DIY lotion completely from plant-based ingredients. This lotion is ultra moisturizing and soothing – make a few bottles and keep them all over your home!

Aqueous Phase Ingredients

Cool Phase Ingredients

6 grams leucidal

4 grams panthenol (Vitamin B5)

8-12 drops essential oil of choice optional, but recommended!

Sterilize all equipment, including your work surface prior to beginning.

Measure the oil ingredients in a heatproof container on a kitchen scale.

Next, measure all the water ingredients in a separate heatproof container.

Create a double boiler, and heat both the water and oil ingredients to 160 degrees. It will need to remain at this temperature for 20 minutes to kill off any bacteria.

Add the oil ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Then, add the water ingredients.

Thicken the mixture by using an electric mixer. This will also help them quickly cool down.

Once the mixture has cooled to 80 degrees, add the cool ingredients. Don’t add them before, as heat will break them down.

Mix until the DIY lotion is thick and fluffy, then scoop into a sterilized container. I recommend using a pump to eliminate bacteria from your hands entering the lotion.

Use and enjoy!
A city girl who learned to garden and it changed everything. Author, artist, Master Gardener. Better living through plants.
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Stephanie Rose

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November 1, 2025
Warming Turmeric and Cayenne Pain-Relief Balm – Garden Therapy
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Turmeric and cayenne pepper do more than make your food tasty. When applied topically, they can have major anti-inflammatory and warming properties that can help to ease pain and sore, achy muscles. Make this turmeric and cayenne pain-relief balm to keep handy for days when you need a little reprieve.

My chiropractor always says that spring is his favourite time of the year. Not because he enjoys the warmer weather, but because he gets to see all of his gardening clients!

Yes, I’m one of them, one of those gardeners who gets so excited about spring that I do way too much and end up feeling pretty darn sore and achy at the end of the day. To be totally honest, today is one of those days.

My back is aching, my wrists are sore, and even the bottom of my feet hurt. Despite proper stretching, this happens to me pretty regularly throughout gardening season, which is part of the course when you have fibromyalgia.

At the end of the day, I will often have a soak in warm water and bath salts to help with the aches. But mid-day, I just don’t have the time, so I like to use a topical warming balm for sore muscles. Which I’m going to share with you today!

Turmeric has natural anti-inflammatory properties.

Topical Pain Relief Using Herbs

Many years ago, I picked up a warming balm at a farmers’ market while on vacation. That balm worked like a dream to ease muscle pain and aches. So after I scooped out every last little bit, I headed out to my studio to formulate something that would work as well.

I’ve tried a number of different recipes that contain arnica, ginger, St John’s wort, and peppermint for pain, but I have found the most relief for sore muscles in the combination of turmeric and cayenne pepper. The turmeric works to help ease inflammation, while the cayenne pepper warms the tissue and combats pain. A winning combination!

Turmeric Applied Topically

Turmeric is quite on-trend right now, and so you may be aware of its popular anti-inflammatory properties when taken internally. As it is metabolized quickly, it’s recommended that black pepper and fat be added to your body to use the constituents.

Internally, this would take the form of a yummy Golden Milk Chai. Topically, adding a pinch of black pepper and infusing turmeric and pepper in oil over heat helps to make the most effective balm.

Cayenne Applied Topically

Cayenne may be too spicy for your palette, but it’s famed for its topical pain-relieving powers. Capsaicin is the active ingredient that, when applied to the skin, helps to block the neurotransmitters that signal pain. This has been shown to be very helpful with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis pain, herpes zoster, shingles, and back pain.

We’ll be weighing our ingredients to make everything as accurate as possible.

Warming Turmeric and Cayenne Pain-Relief Balm Recipe

In this recipe, I’ve combined anti-inflammatory turmeric with pain-relieving cayenne in coconut oil with a pinch of black pepper. Beeswax helps to firm up the balm, and organic cacao butter gives it a nice slip on the skin and leaves the skin moisturized.

Ingredients

Makes 2 x 80g jars of balm

Materials
- Double boiler
- Kitchen scale
- Pyrex glass measuring cup
- Mesh strainer
- Cheesecloth
- 2 small glass jelly jars with lids
- Spatula
- Rubber gloves
Make It!

First, go get some gloves. Most of my recipes are for home use, so I usually feel confident handling the ingredients with well-washed hands. In this case, the turmeric stains the skin, and the cayenne can warm it up too much. (I use gloves when making this balm, but not when I apply the balm to my skin.)

Weigh all your ingredients ahead of time.

Weigh all of the ingredients on a kitchen scale.

If you are using the Nature’s Way Cayenne capsules that I linked to in the ingredients, then you can empty 15 capsules for the 8 g.

Infuse the turmeric, cayenne, black pepper, and coconut oil in the top of the double boiler over the lowest heat setting for 1 hour.

Set up a Pyrex glass measuring cup with a mesh strainer and cheesecloth set inside to filter the oil.

Strain the oil through cheesecloth.

Squeeze the cheesecloth to extract all of the goodness.

Now, add the beeswax and cocoa butter to the double boiler and pour in the infused oil. Stir constantly and keep a watchful eye on the oils. You want them to just reach the melting point and not overheat.

When melted, immediately pour the balm into glass jam jars and allow to set untouched for 3-4 hours.

Let the turmeric and cayenne balm set untouched for 3-4 hours.

Use It!

Always spot test home recipes before diving in and covering your whole body with any salve or balm! To spot test, apply a little of this balm to the inside of your arm and wait 24 hours for a reaction.

To use this balm to help with sore muscles, rub a little on the affected areas and massage it in well. Apply as needed up to 4 times each day. Do not apply to open wounds, burned skin, or rashes.

The turmeric will stain your skin, but if you rub it in well, it will just look like a golden glow (as opposed to a spray tan gone wrong!). It does wash off your hands easily with some soap and a gentle nail brush, but it will also fade from your skin naturally within a few hours.

Turmeric can stain clothing, so wear like-coloured clothes when you are using this balm.

More Healing Recipes Made From Plants
Warming Turmeric and Cayenne Pain-Relief Balm

With anti-inflammatory and warming properties, this pain relief balm naturally helps to ease and soothe sore muscles, aches, and pains.

Prep Time15 minutes

Cook Time1 hour 10 minutes

Resting Time4 hours

Total Time5 hours 25 minutes

Keyword: after sun lip balm, cayenne pepper, pain-relief, turmeric

Servings: 2 80g jars

Wear gloves to prevent your skin from warming and staining.

Weigh your ingredients on a kitchen scale.

Infuse the turmeric, cayenne, black pepper, and coconut oil in a double boiler over the lowest heat setting for one hour.

Use a mesh strainer and cheesecloth to filter the oil into a Pyrex measuring glass. Squeeze the cheesecloth to extract everything.

Add the beeswax and cocoa butter to the double boiler. Add the infused oils, stirring constantly. Allow them to just melt, not overheat.

Once melted, pour balm into glass jars and let sit untouched for 3-4 hours.

Spot test the balm. Apply to sore muscles and the affected area by massaging it in well. Apply up to 4 times a day. Note that turmeric can stain clothing.
A city girl who learned to garden and it changed everything. Author, artist, Master Gardener. Better living through plants.
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Stephanie Rose

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October 28, 2025
Essential Oil Perfume: Blend Your Own Custom Scent – Garden Therapy
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Essential oil perfume allows you to enjoy the fragrance of natural botanicals without any of the icky potential toxins. Plus, it just takes minutes to put together these pretty rollerball recipes.

Roller bottles are popular in aromatherapy as a way to apply an individual dose of herbal benefits for a variety of different moods and ailments. Roller bottles can also make beautiful perfume bottles.

By replacing lab-created fragrances with naturally occurring essential oils, you’ll not only smell good but you’ll feel pretty fantastic too.

Today, I’ll share some tips on how to make your own custom scent and the base recipe I use for all my botanical perfumes.

This post will cover…

Add some colour and beauty to your perfume with real botanicals.

How to Create the Perfect Essential Oil Perfume Blend

Blending essential oils is a skill that takes practice. To get started, take a few of the scents you are usually drawn to and hold the open bottles to your nose. When you breathe in the combination of fragrances, you’ll learn what you like and what you will want to give a pass.

Understanding Fragrance Notes

Essential oils’ fragrance characteristics are classified as “notes”. Specifically, top notes, middle notes, and base notes. Here’s a bit about each one so you can start to identify them as you create essential oil perfume recipes.
- Top notes are light, fresh, fast-acting, and tend to evaporate very fast. This is usually the first scent you smell in a blend.
- Middle notes help to balance the blend. You might not smell the middle note right away, but the soft fragrance may become apparent after a few minutes.
- Base notes are very strong and heavy, grounding the blend with their long-lasting diffusion. Balance your perfume creations by blending different notes together to make the end result complex and alluring.
Some examples are:
- Top notes: bergamot, lemongrass, grapefruit, orange, geranium, peppermint, eucalyptus.
- Middle notes: lavender, rose, mandarin orange, cypress, cinnamon bark.
- Base notes: patchouli, cedarwood, sandalwood, frankincense, ginger.
Find a combination featuring top, middle, and base notes.

Essential Oil Perfume Recipe Blends to Try

There is a world of fragrances that you can create with essential oils. Here are a few combinations to get you started:

I also have a post dedicated to my go-to blends, a romantic blend and a fresh blend.

Carrier Oils

Carrier oils are oils used to suspend and deliver essential oils. They are the base that you add essential oils to so that they are properly diluted before applying to your skin, which can prevent irritation. Good choices for carrier oils are thin oils without a strong fragrance, as you want the essential oil scent to be the star.

My favorites are fractionated coconut oil, grapeseed oil, sweet almond oil, or jojoba oil for making essential oil perfume.

Some carrier oils may also have their own scent.

Great Flowers for Long-Lasting Colour

Part of the fun of this recipe is adding colourful pops of botanicals. Unfortunately, not all of the flowers that are beautiful in the garden hold their colour well when they are submerged in oil.

You can test out flower petals and leaves that you have available, or use some of these tried-and-true varieties.
- Blue and purple –Centaurea (bachelor’s button) petals
- Pink- Dried peony petals
- Yellow- Sunflower petals
- Orange –Calendula petals
Note: lavender and rose flowers would be an obvious choice if they held their colours well. Unfortunately, both quickly turn brown in oil applications and don’t look that attractive. For that reason, I do not recommend those for clear vials like this.

Calendula, peony, and centaurea petals in perfume.

How to Make Essential Oil Perfume

Now the fun part! Here’s how to make a one-of-a-kind essential oil perfume in just minutes.

Ingredients and Materials

Makes one 10 ml aromatherapy perfume

Make It!

Spend some time blending essential oils to come up with a fragrance that works for you. Collect fresh or dried petals and leaves to use in the bottles. Prepare the roller bottle by removing the lid and rollerball.

Roller balls work best for botanical perfumes.

Fill your perfume bottle with a carrier oil. Choose fractionated coconut oil if you don’t want your perfume bottle to have any colour. The other oils will be in various shades of amber and green (grapeseed oil is shown here).

I used grapeseed oil, which had a faint greenish hue.

Add 10 drops of essential oils per 10 ml bottle. With the strongest scented oils, start with only one drop and move up if it’s not strong enough. There are some scents—like lemongrass and cinnamon—that are so strong that they can take over the entire blend.

Add a combination of fresh and dried flowers, leaves, or petals into the oil to decorate the bottle.

Botanicals should not be used in any spray bottles; only roller balls.

Pop the roller ball lid onto the glass vial. Shake well to combine the oils.

Leave the blend for 24-48 hours to develop. As the oils work together, the scent will change. You may even be surprised at how different it is!

Let your perfume sit for 24-28 hours before using it.

Give It!

Package up a collection of four different scents in a kraft paper jewelry box. Use washi tape with a message (I used some that say “With Love”) to create a band on the box lid.

That’s it! Whether you keep it or gift it (or both), essential oil perfume is simple to make and will leave you feeling (and smelling!) great all day.

Other Natural Recipes to Try
DIY Essential Oil Perfume

Learn how to make a custom essential oil perfume blend using botanicals and oils. This diy makes a great gift too!

Remove the lid of the rollerball.

Fill the rollerball bottle with the carrier oil.

Add up to 10 drops of essential oil per bottle. Stronger scents like cinnamon will only need 1-2 drops as they are powerful.

Add the fresh or dried botanicals for some colour and additional fragrance.

Place the rollerball lid back on, then shake well to combine.

Apply and enjoy!
A city girl who learned to garden and it changed everything. Author, artist, Master Gardener. Better living through plants.
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Stephanie Rose

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October 7, 2025
Rosemary Lemon Soap-on-a-Rope (Including Video Tutorial!) – Garden Therapy

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Soap-on-a-rope is more than just a catchy rhyme. It’s a decorative way to display soap that also keeps it from getting soft or sitting in a little soap puddle in your shower or bath.

These rosemary lemon soap-on-a-rope stars come straight from the garden into the holiday gift-giving season. This project is extra special because it creates two types of soap in one: stars and bars!

Stars and bars? Yes! Two kinds of soap come out of this one project. First, you will cut out soap stars, and when that process is finished, you’ll add another soap to fill in the holes and create decorative soap bars. Let’s get to it, shall we?

You can also try this soap recipe using other cookie cutter shapes.

Rosemary Lemon Soap-on-a-Rope Video

Watch this video for a quick overview of how easy this project is, then follow the step-by-step instructions in the rest of this post so you can make these at home.

How to Make Lemon Rosemary Soap Bars

Now on to the recipe!

Materials

This recipe requires both a “clear” soap base and an “opaque” one.

Make it!

Cut up the shea butter soap base into 1-inch cubes and add it to the Pyrex measuring cup.

Soap will melt quickly in the microwave.

Melt the soap base in a microwave or in a double boiler so that it is just melted. You want the soap base to melt but not cook. Remove the soap base from the microwave or the double boiler before it starts to steam.

There may be a few chunks left, but that is just fine. Those will melt if you keep stirring the soap base for a few minutes after removing it from the heat.

Check your soap every 30 seconds in the microwave.

When the soap base has melted, add in half of your herbs, lemon zest, and essential oils to the soap mix. Reserve the other ingredients.

Pour the soap base into the cookie sheet and move the cookie sheet around quickly so that it fills up the entire space. It should be approximately 1 inch thick.

Sprinkle the remaining herbs and lemon zest on the top of the soap. Leave it to set on a level surface. Spray the surface with isopropyl alcohol. Note: work quickly as the soap will dry fast.

Work quickly, as the soap will cool fast.

When the soap is dry—in only about a half hour—use the cookie cutter to cut out star shapes.

Use a screw to create the hole for the twine.

Make the stars into the soap-on-a-rope by using a screw to create a hole and then tying a piece of cotton twine through the hole. The soap-on-a-rope can now be given as a gift or hung in the shower.

The finished soap-on-a-rope bars.

Now, I’ll show you how to make the bars! Melt the glycerin soap base in the microwave or double boiler as you did with the previous batch. Add the remaining essential oils and stir well.

Want more yellow colouring? Add a hint of turmeric!

Spray the surface of the star cutout soap with isopropyl alcohol to encourage the layers to stick. Pour the melted soap slowly and evenly over the star cut-out soap in the cookie sheet. The glycerin soap will fill in the stars and add another layer of thickness to the soap. Spray the surface with isopropyl alcohol again.

Make sure to evenly spread the soap to fill in all the stars.

When the cookie sheet of soap has dried, you can use a knife to gently lift the corner of the soap and pull the sheet up.

Place the soap on a cutting board and cut out rectangles or squares of soap to create soap bars. These can be used as is, or you can punch a hole in them and hang them from a rope just as you did with the stars.

Use as bars or also attach twine to make it a soap-on-a-rope.

I like the idea of wrapping them up and giving them as stocking stuffers or even tying them to the outside of a present. No matter how you decide to give them, this is a fun project to make any time of year.

If you are looking for more gift ideas, be sure to check out my melt and pour soap book, Good Clean Fun!

Good Clean Fun is filled with super simple techniques for crafting artisan soaps at home. You’ll learn how to use botanicals, essential oils, and even wild animals to spice up your soap, giving you finished projects that don’t look nearly as easy to make as they are.

More Easy Soap Recipes

A city girl who learned to garden and it changed everything. Author, artist, Master Gardener. Better living through plants.

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Stephanie Rose

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October 6, 2025
‘With sand, you can create just about anything’: Town hosts legendary sandcastle contest

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REPORTER… JOYCE KIM… SHOWS US WHY THIS EVENT… STILL IT’S A CARMEL TRADITION THAT’S BEEN STANDING TALL – AND THEN WASHED AWAY – FOR MORE THAN SIX DECADES. THE 62ND ANNUAL GREAT SANDCASTLE CONTEST RETURNS TO CARMEL BEACH THIS SUNDAY, AND ORGANIZERS SAY IT’S ALL ABOUT CREATIVITY, COMMUNITY, AND FUN. YES.” BUILDERS OF ALL AGES HIT THE SAND AT HELD ON CARMEL BEACH AS EARLY AS 7 IN THE MORNING TO CREATE THEIR ARTWORKS. “IT’S NOT ONLY CREATIVE, BUT IT’S, I GUESS MAYBE THAT’S PART OF CREATIVITY IS THE IT’S A IT’S A VERY FREE A FREE AND EXPERIENCE.” THIS YEAR’S THEME, “CARMEL’S NATURE,” INVITES CONTESTANTS TO DRAW INSPIRATION FROM THE CENTRAL COAST’S LANDSCAPES, WILDLIFE, AND NATURAL BEAUTY. “THE WHOLE FUN OF IT IS THE BUILD.IT’S THE IMAGINATION. WITH SAND, YOU CAN CREATE JUST ABOUT ANYTHING. AND IN THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT THAT WE PUT TOGETHER WHERE WE HAVE THE MOMMY OTTER, LOOKING AT HER BABY OTTER WITH THE WAVE COMING UP, AND THEY’RE JUST PLAYING IN THE SURF AND HAVING A GREAT TIME.” THE CONTEST IS HOSTED BY THE CITY OF CARMEL-BY- THE-SEA AND THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS MONTEREY BAY. WIN OR LOSE, THE TIDE WILL TAKE IT ALL AWAY – BUT T

‘With sand, you can create just about anything’: Town hosts legendary sandcastle contest

Updated: 1:18 AM EDT Sep 16, 2025

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The 62nd annual Great Sandcastle Contest returned to Carmel Beach in California, Sunday, inviting builders of all ages to showcase their creativity and enjoy a day of community fun.Builders gathered as early as 7 a.m. to craft their sand artworks.Alfred Seccombe said, “It’s not only creative, but it’s, I guess, maybe that’s part of creativity is the it’s a it’s a free experience.”Builders are drawing inspiration from the landscapes, wildlife, and natural beauty of California.”The whole fun of it is the build. It’s the imagination,” Robert Slawinski, a builder, said. “With sand, you can create just about anything.”Slawinski had a family theme in his sandcastle creation. “And in this particular project that we put together, where we have the mommy otter, looking at her baby otter with the wave coming up, and they’re just playing in the surf and having a great time,” he said. The contest is hosted by the city of Carmel-by-the-Sea and the American Institute of Architects Monterey Bay.Win or lose, the tide will take it all away, but the memories will stick.

CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA, Calif. —

The 62nd annual Great Sandcastle Contest returned to Carmel Beach in California, Sunday, inviting builders of all ages to showcase their creativity and enjoy a day of community fun.

Builders gathered as early as 7 a.m. to craft their sand artworks.

Alfred Seccombe said, “It’s not only creative, but it’s, I guess, maybe that’s part of creativity is the it’s a it’s a free experience.”

Builders are drawing inspiration from the landscapes, wildlife, and natural beauty of California.

“The whole fun of it is the build. It’s the imagination,” Robert Slawinski, a builder, said. “With sand, you can create just about anything.”

Slawinski had a family theme in his sandcastle creation.

“And in this particular project that we put together, where we have the mommy otter, looking at her baby otter with the wave coming up, and they’re just playing in the surf and having a great time,” he said.

The contest is hosted by the city of Carmel-by-the-Sea and the American Institute of Architects Monterey Bay.

Win or lose, the tide will take it all away, but the memories will stick.

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September 15, 2025
Gorgeous Lavender Oatmeal Soap Cupcakes (That Anyone Can Make) – Garden Therapy

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This lavender oatmeal soap is soothing and calming for your skin. And any recipe that uses my garden-grown lavender rates especially high in my books! Using melt and pour, this recipe is super easy to make for beginner soap makers.

Lavender is my favourite ingredient, especially when it comes to natural beauty recipes, a slight addiction which can be seen in a simple search for lavender crafts. But along with being one of my favourite scents, dried lavender buds make this soap as beautiful to look at as it feels when you lather up.

To make this soap as a gift for holiday gift-giving or for someone special, make it in cupcake moulds and then wrap it in a cupcake wrapper.

Who wouldn’t want to get a lavender oatmeal soap cupcake as a gift? I can imagine even the burliest person out there would want to suds up with these!

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Dried lavender buds are used to decorate the soap.

How to Make Lavender Oatmeal Soap Cupcakes

Making these lavender oatmeal soap cupcakes can work with both cold process recipes and with melt and pour. If you choose to make cold process soap, please follow the recipes and the instructions in this article on how to make cold process soap. Cold-process soap is my go-to skincare bar, but it does take a long time and a lot of equipment to make.

Today, I’ll demonstrate a speedier soap-making project using melt and pour soap. Melt and pour soap kits are very easy to work with and simply require you to cut up the block into cubes, melt it, add your scents, and pour it into moulds.

Materials

I used melt and pour to create the soap pictured in this post.

Make It!

The melt and pour soap base should come as a block and have a list of the ingredients. You can choose from a number of different formulations, such as glycerin soap, milk soap, and fat and/or butter-based soaps.

I chose a natural soap base that had shea butter and oatmeal in it. If you would like to add oatmeal separately, then grind a few teaspoons of organic oats and add them to the melted mixture when you add the lavender buds.

Cut your soap into small chunks to make it easier to melt.

Use a sharp knife to cut your soap base into 1-inch cubes or smaller. Put the cubes in a heatproof container like a Pyrex measuring cup and put that in the microwave.

Stir your soap mixture every minute in the microwave until fully melted.

Melt the soap base on medium-high in the microwave for 3 to 4 minutes. Stop the microwave occasionally and check the soap base. It should be melting but not steaming. Take the soap base out of the microwave before it’s completely melted and use a metal spoon to stir it until it has no lumps.

Use dried, not fresh lavender buds.

Add one teaspoon of lavender essential oil and 1-2 tablespoons of dried lavender buds.

Pour your soap into 12 equal “cupcakes.”

Stir the ingredients well and pour the soap into silicone cupcake moulds. I chose a cupcake mould that was quite tall, but I only filled each cupcake section halfway so that the soap was a nice, manageable size when finished.

Use a sprig of lavender when wrapping your soap cupcakes for a little extra pizazz.

Add a few extra lavender buds on the top of the soap if you think it needs it, and allow the soap to dry undisturbed for at least an hour. When the soap is hard, you can unmold it and use it right away or wrap it up for gifts.

A simple parchment paper cupcake liner makes a great wrapper for these lavender oatmeal soap cupcakes. I like the natural look of parchment paper, but you can use any cupcake liner that you think would add to the presentation. Use a bit of garden twine to tie it up, and if you have a stem of lavender, add that as well.

Use a parchment paper cupcake liner and twine to wrap these soaps as a gift.

Lavender Soap FAQ

Should I use dried or fresh lavender buds for soap?

Use dried lavender buds only. Fresh lavender buds are more likely to spoil in the soap and may turn brown or mould.

What kind of lavender should I use?

English lavender is typically used for crafting since it holds its colour and scent well. Some of my favourite varieties for crafting include Purple Bouquet, Royal Purple, and Folgate lavender.

Won’t the lavender turn brown in the soap?

Yes, the lavender buds will eventually turn brown after a few months. To prevent this, you can add some purple dye to the soap so the brown discolouration doesn’t show as much. I like to use ratanjot as a natural deep purple colour, and if you add it as a swirl it will work with the brown and lavender buds. You can also try swapping the lavender buds for centaurea (cornflower) petals.

For more beautiful recipes inspired by the garden, pick up a copy of my Natural Beauty Recipe Book. It comes as an instant download that is filled with 5 chapters of over 40 natural beauty recipes for the whole family.

More Soap Recipes to Try

A city girl who learned to garden and it changed everything. Author, artist, Master Gardener. Better living through plants.

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Stephanie Rose

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August 26, 2025
Nourishing and Natural Hair Serum Recipe with Rosemary and Jojoba
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If you only use shampoo and conditioner, or [gasp] shampoo alone as your hair care routine, then please let me introduce you to hair serum. A hair serum is an essential product for shiny hair and a healthy scalp. This natural hair serum recipe is made with a few ingredients like rosemary, lavender, jojoba oil, and argan oil each specifically included for their herbal benefits to hair.

If you’ve never used a hair serum, you might not know how beneficial it is! This natural hair serum recipe couldn’t be more versatile. It can be used in many ways to treat many different hair types.

If you have a dry scalp, massaging with this hair serum is a great way to rehydrate it. A scalp massage with this hair serum can also stimulate the hair follicles.

Beyond your scalp, this hair serum is ideal for putting in your hair itself, and it can be used in a number of different ways. It can be applied to dry hair to help with flyaways and frizz control.

Or it can be applied to wet hair, either as an oil treatment to protect it when blow-drying or to leave in and help curls to set.

This hair serum can work in many different ways for both short and long hair and even no hair! We spend so much time washing the natural oils that protect our hair, so a hair serum helps to replenish and protect hair, bringing it back to life with the benefits of herbs like rosemary and lavender.

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The Benefits of My Natural Hair Serum

This hair serum is made with the jojoba oil and argan oil with the addition of rosehip seed oil and essential oils.
- Jojoba oil is the closest to our skins own sebum and so it is tolerated well by most people and a good carrier oil for hair and scalp treatments.
- Argan oil is full of vitamins and nutrients that help t make hair softer, shinier, more manageable and less frizzy.
- Rosehip seed oil is rich with antioxidants that help with the hair follicles and stimulate hair growth.
Herbs like rosemary, lavender and helichrysum are often used in hair care products for their antibacterial and antifungal properties that stimulate the scalp and repair the strands.
- Rosemary is known as the herb for hair. It’s a circulatory stimulant and can often be used to promote hair growth and follicle health. It’s antibacterial and antifungal, which can help with conditions that make the scalp itchy. And it stimulates shine, especially in dark hair.
- Lavender also has antibacterial and anti-fungal properties, but it is also very calming and can reduce inflammation.
- Helichrysum helps to stimulate hair growth, aids in reducing inflammation, and supports the skin and hair.
Together, these natural oils are SO healthy for your hair.

Natural Hair Serum Recipe with Rosemary and Jojoba

I used to spend a small fortune on a yummy-smelling hair oil that I bought from my stylist. I ran just a small dab of it through my wet hair before drying, and it made my hair silky and smooth.

But after a few months of using it, my hair was dryer than ever, and it seemed like it wouldn’t absorb the oil or even water any longer. A peek at the ingredients in the hair “oil” alerted me to why.

I was coating my hair in silicone. This made my hair shiny and smooth at first, but soon, each hair was so coated in silicone that it would no longer absorb water. Clearly, it was time to make my own hair serum.

Ingredients

See exact measurements in recipe card below.

Jump to Recipe

Make It!

Add all ingredients into a 1 oz glass jar with a pump or dropper. Shake to mix.

To Use
- For dry, itchy scalps and follicle treatment, apply two drops to the palm of your hand. Rub the drop between both hands and use your fingertips to massage it into the scalp. If possible, allow the treatment to stay on overnight, then wash as usual in the morning.
- For flyaways and frizz control, apply 1-2 drops evenly to dry hair after styling.
- For a deep oil treatment before blow drying, apply 1-2 drops evenly to wet hair.
- To help set curls, apply 1-2 drops evenly to wet hair before drip drying.
I have naturally curly and dry hair, and this has made the world of a difference for it.

Natural Hair Serum FAQ

Can I use olive oil instead of hair serum?

Olive oil won’t damage your hair, but it’s quite a heavy oil. It might make your hair too oily after using it. I prefer this combination of oils since it’s lighter but effective, and they all contain special benefits specifically for hair.

Can I use a hair serum daily?

You definitely can! I tend to apply my hair serum after I wash my hair (which I don’t do every day). It can also be useful for styling, which you may or may not do every day. The amount you use will depend on how dry your hair is, but I tend to just use 1-2 drops for everyday use.

What does a hair serum do?

A hair serum will help to keep your hair moisturized, much like conditioners, but you usually don’t wash it out. It can be used a deep treatment, or can help to smooth out hair while blow drying. Most hair types can benefit from using a hair serum.

More Haircare Recipes to Try

Natural Hair Serum With Rosemary and Jojoba

Full of antioxidants and with antibacterial and antifungal properties, this natural hair serum will leave your hair feeling healthy and shiny.
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Stephanie Rose

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September 12, 2024
Fresh Rose Deep Hydration Face Cream Recipe – Garden Therapy
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This rose face cream recipe is made specifically to penetrate deeply and hydrate the delicate and sensitive skin on your face. It’s made with all-natural ingredients at a fraction of the price of designer night creams. It’s a rich cream, but it absorbs quickly and is non-greasy. It works beautifully for my dry, sensitive skin when used in the evening after a deep cleanse.

Plants are wonderful at letting us know just what they are best used for. Rose petals may not be the colour of skin, but the velvety smooth feeling of a rose petal is what healthy skin feels like.

There’s a reason I have many skincare products with rose!

Roses are wonderful for the skin, but they are even more perfect when used front and center for the sensitive and delicate skin on your face. I have written plenty about my love for roses and their healing benefits.

This rose face cream is one of the daily products I use, especially in the winter when my dry, sensitive skin needs some extra loving. And I’m going to let you in on the recipe!

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Why Timing is Important When Applying Face Cream

Just as the best quality ingredients are essential in skin care products, it’s equally important to apply the right type of product at the right time of day. Throughout each day, our skin is going through different functions as directed by our circadian rhythms.

In the morning, our skin is least likely to absorb rich ingredients and it is more likely to have a reaction. Wash with a gentle cleanser and apply a light moisturizer in the morning to set your skin up for the day.

In the evening, the skin is ready to drink in the herbal properties of healing plants. At this time of day, it’s a good idea to do a deep cleanse with a gentle soap and a sea sponge to scrub away any dry skin and dirt.

Then, give your whole face a quick spritz with rose water and witch hazel toner. Finally, apply this silky rose face cream, and your skin will feel like a rose petal.

My evening routine of rose soap, rose water toner, and rose face cream.

Rose Face Cream Recipe

If you’ve never made lotion before, I recommend you check out this post for a more detailed description and FAQ about the process. This facial cream is a special recipe that is designed to moisturize your skin without clogging pores.

For exact measurements, see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Jump to Recipe

Aqueous Phase Ingredients

Oil Phase Ingredients

Cool Phase Ingredients

Make It!

Before you start, please make sure that all of your equipment and workspace are sterilized using alcohol. It may be tempting to skip this step, but I strongly encourage you to do this and do it well.

Use a kitchen scale to measure the oil ingredients in a heatproof container like a beaker.

Weighing your ingredients makes the recipe more accurate.

Next, measure all of the water ingredients in another heatproof container. In this case, I used a Turkish coffee pot.

Using containers with a pour spout makes it easier to transfer ingredients later on.

Create a double boiler and heat both the oil ingredients and the water ingredients to 160 degrees.

Keep both the water ingredients and oil ingredients at 160 degrees for 20 minutes. Similar to canning, this helps to kill off any bacteria.

Keep the oil and water ingredients separate while heating.

In a mixing bowl, add the oil ingredients first and then pour in the water ingredients.

Use an electric mixer to combine the ingredients. In a large bowl, they should thicken up quickly and cool down.

Mix until well combined.

Once the ingredients have reached 80 degrees, you can add the cool phase ingredients. Remember, these ingredients are heat-sensitive and will break down at higher temperatures, which is why they’re added at this time.

Add in the cool phase ingredients no sooner than when the mixture is at 80 degrees.

Continue mixing your lotion until it’s thick and fluffy.

Now, you can add it to a sterilized container.

Pour into a container with a pump for easy use.

FAQ About Rose Face Cream

What is the shelf life of rose cream?

With the leucidal, the shelf life is about 6 months. While it can go for longer, I find that the properties change after 6 months and the key ingredients don’t work as well.

How to use rose face cream?

I apply this rose face cream in the evening after I wash my face with a gentle soap and apply rose water toner. It can also be applied in the morning, but I find that my skin absorbs the benefits best at night.

What are the benefits of rose cream?

Roses have anti-inflammatory properties, which make them good for reducing puffiness and redness and evening out overall skin tone. They also have natural oils that hydrate the skin and reduce dullness.

As an antibacterial, they’re great for treating acne. They also can be used to help heal scars, stretch marks, and prevent wrinkles.

More Rose Plant-Based Beauty Recipes
All-Natural Rose Face Cream

This rose face cream harnesses the healing power of roses, making your skin feel as smooth as a petal.

Aqueous Phase Ingredients

Sterilize all equipment and your workspace with alcohol. Do not skip this step!

Use a kitchen scale and weigh out all the oil ingredients. Place in a heatproof container.

Weigh all your water ingredients in another heatproof container.

With a double boiler, heat both your oil and water ingredients separately until they are 160 degrees. Keep them at 160 degrees for twenty minutes to kill off any bacteria.

Place the oil ingredients then the water ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer to combine until they thicken.

When the ingredients have reached 80 degrees, add in the cool phase ingredients. Don’t add them any earlier or the ingredients will break down.

Continue mixing until the lotion is thick and fluffy. Place in a sterilized container.
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Stephanie Rose

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September 5, 2024
Calendula Lotion Bars for Soothing Summer Skin – Garden Therapy
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Calendula is more than just a garden beauty; it also has a long-standing reputation as a natural anti-inflammatory skincare treatment. These calendula lotion bars are the perfect way to treat sensitive, sun-kissed, or dry skin that needs a little bit of extra summer loving.

Calendula is one of my favourite herbs to grow. It looks beautiful in the garden, works as natural pest control, and is one of THE best skincare herbs you can find. What is there not to love!?

Each summer, I begin my calendula harvest by making a batch of these calendula lotion bars. These lotion bars are made with grapeseed oil infused with calendula petals to give them a beautiful golden hue and all the delightful skin properties of calendula.

Easy to use, these summer lotion bars glide on your skin easily, are absorbed quickly, and don’t leave you with a greasy feeling.

Here’s how to make them!

For this recipe, you’ll want to use dried calendula.

Why Make a Summer Lotion Bar?

During the summer, we put our skin through a lot. We expose it to the sun’s rays. We spend days at the beach swimming in salt water, which is drying on the skin, and we generally spend a lot more time playing outdoors, which is wonderful but can lead to more scrapes, bruises, and minor cuts than usual.

Calendula-infused lotion bars heal and moisturize skin without the heaviness of my winter lotion bar recipe that I use during the colder months.

Calendula is a prolific bloomer, and just a couple of plants will get you plenty of dried flowers to use for your lotion bars.

Calendula for Skin Care

Throughout history, calendula has been used in ointments, salves, and poultices to treat burns, wounds, bruises, and inflammation of all kinds. Calendula speeds up the growth of tissue, which means that it does wonders for healing minor cuts and scrapes quickly.

It is also moisturizing and extremely gentle, so it is a good choice for children or those with sensitive skin. This lotion bar harnesses the healing and moisturizing powers of calendula and is perfect for summer skin.

Use calendula flower heads harvested just before they fully open.

Oils for Lotion Bars

There are a number of oils that can be used to make lotion bars. I like this combination for the texture, hydration, and quick absorption.

Grapeseed Oil

Grapeseed oil is a by-product of winemaking made by pressing the natural oils out of grape seeds. The oil doesn’t have much of an aroma and is very light, quick to absorb into the skin, and full of antioxidants. Grapeseed oil is good for facial products and those with oily skin since it is so light and will hydrate skin without feeling greasy.

Coconut Oil

Coconut Oil contains a high amount of fatty acids, has antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, and smells like a tropical vacation. When combined with other ingredients, it is especially effective at moisturizing the skin. Coconut oil is good for hydrating sun-damaged skin and helps prevent the look of aging. Unrefined, virgin/extra virgin coconut oil is best for use in homemade skincare products.

Cocoa Butter

Cocoa butter comes from (you guessed it!) cocoa beans. It is an edible fat and is the main, essential ingredient in chocolate, which is why it smells so delicious. It is wonderful for hydrating skin and it contains antioxidants which you can absorb through your skin.

It is a solid at room temperature, but heating it will transform it into a liquid so that it can be combined easily with other ingredients for a beauty recipe. Cocoa butter has a strong chocolate aroma that holds well in recipes. If you don’t care for the scent, it can be purchased in a processed form that has the scent removed. I use organic, raw cocoa butter that adds a mouth-watering aroma to the end products.

We’ll be infusing the calendula in the oils to harness its healing properties.

Calendula Lotion Bars VIDEO

If you aren’t sure if you can make these lotion bars this gorgeous at home, have a look at this video by Erin from the Impatient Gardener website and YouTube Channel.

Erin made the recipe on camera, and it’s fun and hilarious to watch. Erin is self-proclaimed to be not crafty at all, so she is a bit out of her element, and you just have to watch the video to the end to see her reaction!

Read more about Make & Give Home Apothecary here.

Calendula Lotion Bars Recipe

Now that you have seen in the video, it’s surprisingly easy to make these lotion bars. Let’s walk through the step-by-step instructions with photos to help you out as well!

Using a flower silicone mould gives these calendula bars a beautiful finish.

Ingredients

Makes eight 57.5 gram bars

Materials

Make It!

Infuse the grapeseed oil with calendula petals as described in this post.

Weigh your ingredients and add them to the top pot of a double boiler.

I use a scale for the most precise measuring.

Stir the ingredients in the double boiler until they have all melted together.

Make sure your container has a spout for easy pouring later on.

If you’re adding calendula petals and lavender essential oil, stir them in at this time. Pour the ingredients into the silicone mould, dividing the contents equally.

Add the essential oils and calendula petals after you remove the melted oils/butter from heat.

Leave the lotion bars undisturbed until they are set. If you are making them in a warm room, move the silicone tray into the fridge to firm up.

Ensure the bars are completely cooled before removing them from the mould.

Remove from the mould and store them in the refrigerator when not in use.

Since these have a low melting point, keep them in the fridge so they hold their shape.

Gift It!

Package up one lotion bar in a metal tin on a bed of shredded paper and calendula petals. Create a 2.5” round craft paper canning lid label on a printer and use a 2.5” hole punch to cut out a perfectly round circle. Add the label on to the top of the tin and the lotion bar is ready to give.

Calendula Lotion Bar FAQ

What is the shelf life of calendula lotion bars?

The product will last as long as the soonest expiry date on the ingredients. For example, if the coconut oil has the soonest expiry date, that will be the expiry date for the entire finished product.

Learn more about the shelf life of homemade beauty products here.

Can I substitute the coconut oil for something else?

I would add olive oil or sweet almond oil as a replacement. However, you may want to add a bit of beeswax to firm up the bar when it’s at room temperature if you’re replacing the coconut oil.

Can I substitute shea butter for the cocoa butter?

Shea butter is not as hard as cocoa butter, and it doesn’t melt at the same temperature. You can try it, but I would add some beeswax.

More Ways to Use Calendula
Calendula Lotion Bars

These lotion bars are light yet moisturizing, ready to keep your sun-kissed skin feeling fresh and well cared for.

Infuse your grapeseed oil with calendula prior to starting the recipe.

Weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale.

Stir together your ingredients in a double boiler over medium heat until melted.

Remove from heat. Mix in dried calendula petals and lavender essential oil (both optional).

Pour lotion bars into silicone mould, leaving undistrubed until set.

Once set, remove lotion bars from mould. Keep stored in the fridge,
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Stephanie Rose

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August 8, 2024
How to Make a Foaming Soap Dispenser + an All-Natural Foam Soap Recipe – Garden Therapy
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Making your own all-natural foaming hand soap costs a fraction of store-bought options, takes mere seconds to make, is healthy for your skin, and you can customize the scent to be whatever you choose. All that should be enough to get you excited, but making your own dispenser also reduces unnecessary waste! In this post, I’m going to show you how to make an easy foaming soap dispenser and give you my favourite recipe for a luxurious and eco-friendly foaming soap.

If you follow along on Garden Therapy you know that I scrapped the store-bought beauty products and make all of my own natural skincare products.

Somehow along the way, I became addicted to foaming hand soap. At first, I thought that I was cheating on my homemade soap bars. All-natural homemade soap is so much better for my skin than store-bought liquid soap. But the foam. Oh, the foam. It’s so luxurious!

This post will cover…

I made my own dispenser out of a Mason Jar.

How to Make a Foaming Soap Dispenser

I set upon the task to make a homemade foaming hand soap recipe and came up with some fun and foamy soap that I’m proud to wash with.

Of course, I needed a stylish container and pump that I could refill, so I made one from a Mason jar and a foam soap pump from a disposable bottle.

I’ve shared how to make one today so you can reduce the waste of buying disposable foam soap dispensers by replacing them with a reusable DIY version.

First, I’ll show you how to make the Mason jar foaming soap dispenser, and then I’ll share my basic foaming hand soap recipe.

There are a number of options for a permanent foaming soap dispenser. You could certainly just buy one, as there are some pretty nice ones out there on Amazon like this one, this one, and these ones. You could also just refill the disposable foam soap bottle with my foam soap recipe below.

Or you can make one inexpensively using an attractive mason jar and the pump from the disposable ones.

That’s what I did. Here’s how you can, too.

Materials

Any plastic foaming dispenser should work for this project.

Make it!

First, look for a disposable foaming hand soap bottle. I chose a Method one because I liked the look of it. You only need the nozzle and foaming mechanism, so remove that from the bottle.

Next, cut a hole in the middle of the snap lid to fit the soap pump into. The easiest way to do this is to use a hammer and nail to pierce a few holes in the center of the snap lid. Then, squeeze the metal snips in to cut out a hole.

Your circle doesn’t need to be perfect. It will be covered by the pump.

Cut the hole large enough that the thinner bottom part of the pump fits into the hole, but small enough that the top of the pump sits above it.

Trim the straw length is necessary.

Insert the pump into the snap lid, top the Mason jar, and twist on the ring to see how it fits. Trim the length of the straw to fit if necessary.

I didn’t need to glue down my dispenser, it fit just right.

How to Make Foam Soap

Make your own foaming hand soap by using this recipe:
- 60% water
- 20% prepared liquid soap*
- 20% air
*I use this liquid castile soap, which comes concentrated and needs to be diluted. I prepare the castile soap according to the instructions on the package and use that for my 20%. If you like it a bit more creamy, use a bit less water. You can replace 5% of the water with more soap.

If you are using unscented castile soap, add 5-6 drops of essential oils to the recipe for a personalized scent. I like these scents in my DIY foaming hand soap:

I have also made this recipe with herbal tea. As it has botanical elements, it doesn’t last as long. Make it in small batches and it’s a wonderful way to change up and infuse your foam soap.

You can also check out my recipe for lime and rosemary foaming hand soap.

You can also think of it as 3 parts water, 1 part air, and 1 part soap.

FAQs About Foaming Hand Soap

How does the pump work?

The pump is made of two parts, one for soap and one for air. It injects air into the soap when it goes through the pump, making it lather.

What are the benefits of foaming soap?

I wrote at the beginning that making your own foaming soap is both less expensive and less wasteful than buying pre-made foaming hand soap. It’s very easy to make as you simply dilute liquid soap and water at the appropriate ratio. You can also reduce waste by refilling a container as opposed to buying a new one each time.

Finally, if you use natural Castile (olive oil) soap as the basis of the recipe, it’s very gentle on the skin and all-natural.

Will regular soap work in the foaming dispenser?

No, regular soap is too thick for a foaming dispenser, you need to reduce the viscosity by diluting it in water.

Is foaming soap less effective than regular soap?

Yes, if not used properly. Dirt and germs are removed from skin in the process of lathering up with soap so if that lathering is already done for you, it can be less effective at cleaning to use foaming soap.

That being said, proper hand washing is the variable. If you apply any soap and lather for 20 seconds, rinse well, dry your hands, and then apply hand cream, you will have clean, soft, well-cared-for hands no matter which soap format you choose.

Do you need to add a preservative?

Despite adding water, I don’t add any preservatives. When I make my soap, I do a small batch that lasts me about a month or so, but I’ve had it last over six months.

It’s important that when you’re making it, you ensure that the container and all the tools used have been sterilized so that you’re not inviting any additional bacteria into the container once it’s sealed off.

Do the Mason jar lids rust after being cut?

They do. When I refill the soap, I just wash off the rust with a nail brush. I need to sterilize the container to prevent bacteria anyway before the next batch, so it’s not a big deal.

If the rust bothers you, you can also seal it with spray paint.

More Soap Recipes to Try

If you are also interested in bar soap, check out these recipes:
Foaming Hand Soap

How to make all-natural foaming hand soap with Castile (olive oil) soap

60 % water

20 % prepared Castile soap

20 % air

5-6 drops essential oil

Prepare a clean jar with a foam soap pump. Measure out the percentages of the space inside the jar to determine amounts.

Fill the jar 60% of the way with water.

Prepare Castile soap according to the instructions on the package – it comes undiluted so this prepared soap mixture is what you use to fill up 20% of the jar. If you like it a bit more creamy, replace 5% of the water with more soap.

Leave the top 20% for air.

Add essential oils of your choice.

Add the soap pump and shake to combine.

Shake regularly to ensure the essential oils are dispersed before using.
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Stephanie Rose

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July 26, 2024
Aloe Vera Benefits: How to Use Aloe Vera for Sunburns
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Aloe vera is one of the true super plants. This plant is perhaps best revered for its ability to relieve pain from a sunburn. While this is certainly one of the uses, aloe can also do so much more. Read to learn about using aloe vera for sunburns, other aloe vera benefits, AND aloe vera plant care.

When I was a kid (a freckly, redheaded kid at that), I fondly remember visits to my grandmother’s place at the beach. She lived in a warm city where the sun shone relentlessly in the summer despite the fact that it was windy enough to keep us cool.

This meant more hours of fun in the sun, which was more than my skin could reasonably handle. Even when I did put on sunscreen and reapply regularly, the sun would win out by the end of the day. I would be left with those bright pink shoulders that radiated heat up to my ears!

With one aloe vera plant, you can get many sunburn treatments.

That was when my brilliant grandmother would cut off a little piece of her aloe vera plant, split it open with a knife, and apply it to my shoulders. It stung just a bit right at first but then cooled the sunburn down. The relief came almost instantly, and when I woke up the next morning, my shoulders were pink but not inflamed and not radiating heat like the sun.

That’s because aloe vera is a powerful anti-inflammatory, and it is most potent when applied directly from the plant. Since then, I’ve always kept at least one aloe vera plant growing in my house and have had some that have grown and provided me with the healing gel for many years.

Here’s a taste of what we’ll be covering today…

The main draw to aloe vera is its antiinflammatory properties.

The Quick History of Aloe Vera

Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis) is one of the oldest plants on record to be noted for its healing properties. This plant is native to eastern and southern Africa—even Cleopatra and Nefertiti used it to help maintain their youthful appearance. Due to its highly adaptable nature, it has since been cultivated around the world.

There are many different kinds of aloe plants, but aloe vera refers to Aloe barbadensis.

Aloe Vera Plant Care: How to Grow Aloe Vera

Aloe vera, a succulent with thick, gray-green leaves that have serrated edges, is very easy to grow. Simply treat it like you would any indoor succulent or cactus, except that it is much more forgiving of low-light conditions.

To keep your aloe very happy, plant it in well-draining soil that is preferably equal parts potting soil and sand. The plant likes tight spaces and has shallow roots, so plant it in a pot that’s just big enough not to tip over from the weight of the plant.

Aloe plants prefer bright, indirect light. Keeping them in sustained direct light can cause the leaves to dry out too much and turn yellow.

As for water, aloe likes to have a good, thorough drink every couple of weeks with their soil drying thoroughly in between waterings.

If you tend to keep the soil moist and begin to notice brown or limp leaves, your aloe may have root rot. Simply back off the watering a little and let its soil dry out before watering again.

Check out this post for a full, detailed guide on how to care for aloe.

In my climate, I grow aloe vera as a houseplant.

Aloe Vera Benefits and Side Effects

In addition to its soothing, anti-inflammatory properties, aloe vera is also used as a powerful laxative. However, as a laxative, it can be too effective. Aloe vera can cause intestinal cramping and griping if you take too much of it, so be conservative.

Additional internal benefits of using aloe include:
- Aiding indigestion
- Reduce inflammation
- Prevent and reduce the size of kidney stones
Externally, aloe can be used to help alleviate sunburns, wounds, frostbite, dermatitis, skin disorders, and burns from radiation therapy.

If you have lots of burns to treat, putting your aloe vera gel in a bottle is a great idea.

Different Uses For Aloe Vera

Aloe vera truly is a super plant! Here are a few powerful ways to use it.
- Relieves the pain from sunburns. Perhaps the most widely known use for aloe vera, this plant helps cool the skin and speeds up healing. It can also help reverse sunburn blisters if applied before they develop. Keep reading on to find out more.
- Relieves the itch from bug bites. The plant’s anti-inflammatory properties help relieve sunburns and the itching, swelling, and redness caused by bug bites.
Aloe is naturally anti-bacterial and contains antiseptics.
- Helps to cleanse and speed up the healing of wounds. Aloe is anti-bacterial and contains antiseptics which help clean cuts and wounds by killing bacterial and fungi. Aloe also helps promote quicker healing of wounds.
- Cleanse and moisturize skin. Aloe’s pH level closely matches our skin, enabling it to gently (but thoroughly) cleanse our face while also closing pores and tone skin. Its anti-inflammatory qualities can also help prevent breakouts. Try it in this DIY liquid hand soap.
- Helps reduce visibility of wrinkles, stretch marks, and scars. Aloe was called the “plant of immortality” by the Ancient Egyptians and helps promote skin tissue repair and healing.
How to Use Aloe Vera Plant For a Sunburn

The healing power of plants cannot be denied, especially when something as simple as an aloe vera plant can provide great relief to something so painful: sunburned skin. A classic use of aloe (and probably one of the most common aloe vera benefits), this sunburn remedy is one that I have been using for as many years as I can remember.

To use aloe vera gel on a sunburn is simple.

Cut a piece of aloe vera off of the plant with a sharp knife. Cut the tip off of one of the leaves; it can be as large as the whole leaf or as small as just part of the tip.

Place the cut piece on paper towel and let sit from 10 minutes to allow the dark yellow latex to drain. After 10 minutes, you can wipe the sides of the cut which will remove the latex from the inner filet. The latex can stain skin and clothes and can cause skin reactions in sensitive people.

Don’t forget to drain the latex from the aloe before you start using it.

Pro Tip: If you cut a section of a leaf off at an angle (and don’t cut the whole leaf off), the end of the leaf will seal up from the latex (that’s what it’s for!) and it will be available for cutting another time again.

Then, take a paring knife and split the leaf in half so that the gel inside has the most surface area. Take the leaf and rub it directly on the burn.

Note: de sure to test a small patch of skin before applying it en masse. Some people have allergies to aloe vera straight from the plant and you don’t want to cause a worse reaction!

Caution: do not use aloe vera on deep wounds.

You can also put the leaves in the fridge and use them as a cold gel to soothe the burn. It will feel good but will not add any additional healing properties so this isn’t an essential step.

Compost the leaves when you’re finished applying the gel to your skin and repeat every six hours if you’re still looking for relief from a nasty sunburn. Please note that this is for a typical sunburn. Serious burns with blisters, a headache, or severe pain should be seen by a doctor.

By putting the aloe in the fridge, the cool gel will feel nice on your skin.

Preventing Sunburns

Luckily, now that I am older and wiser, I no longer burn. Not because my skin has changed, but because I know the secret tips to keep my skin healthy:
- Staying out of the sun between 11:00 A.M. – 3:00 P.M. on hot days
- Wearing long-sleeved clothing and a wide-brim sun hat
- Always wearing sunscreen on exposed skin (even if it’s cloudy out)
For more tips on sun safety, please check out this article where I tell you all my must-know hacks and tips.

Preventing sunburns rather than treating them is much better for your skin.

FAQ About Using Aloe Vera

Is the yellow liquid in aloe vera bad for skin?

The yellow liquid that comes out of aloe is the plant’s latex. It can cause reactions to people with sensitive skin, as well as can stain the skin and your clothes. Before applying the aloe plant to your skin, you want to leave the aloe cutting on a paper towel for ten minutes to let the yellow latex drain out.

Can aloe vera reverse sun damage?

Aloe vera is amazing for the skin, helping to heal burns and wounds, clear acne, moisturize skin, and more. It can also help to reduce the visibility of scars and wrinkles, which can be a side effect of too much sun exposure.

What is the best aloe vera for sunburn?

While there are many aloe plants, aloe vera refers to the Aloe barbadensis plant. If you don’t have an aloe plant and are looking for the gel to apply to your skin, look for pure aloe vera gel (I usually shy away from that dyed green stuff).

I hope that this information about aloe vera and my instructions on using it for sunburns help you as much as they have helped me for all the years that I got sunburned. Now that you know some aloe vera benefits, I hope you’ll try growing one of your own (it’s great for green thumbs and black thumbs alike!).

More Summer Sun Recipes from the Garden
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Stephanie Rose

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July 17, 2024
Lavender + Marshmallow Root Homemade Conditioner for Dry Hair – Garden Therapy
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This sweet-sounding concoction is not a confection; it’s an herbal recipe for soft and shiny hair! Lavender works to strengthen and marshmallow root coats hair while soothing scalp dryness and inflammation. It has a gentle and pleasant aroma that will make this homemade conditioner your new favourite hair care recipe.

Not to brag or anything, but I get a lot of compliments on my hair. I’ve always had long, brown, wavy hair, and it’s gone through a journey, that’s for sure.

I used to rely on commercial shampoo and conditioner. From sulphates to parabens, many people are finding the ingredients used in commercial products to do more harm than good.

When I switched to using my own recipes, I immediately noticed how much healthier my hair was. So now, when people compliment my hair, I say thanks and give them this recipe!

Here’s how you can make your own conditioner and harness the powerful properties of marshmallow root and lavender for your hair.

My collection of homemade conditioner and lotions! I really do rely on them every day.

Before You Begin: Homemade Conditioner and Lotions

Homemade conditioner is easier to make than you might think. When I first started making my own herbal skin and hair care, I was a bit intimidated by making lotions and conditioner. It all seemed to be a bit too complex and I feared that I wouldn’t get the technique quite right.

After taking some beginner, then advanced classes, I realized that it’s not only a pretty simple process once you get the hang of it, but that you can make really high quality products for wayyyyy less money than something similar would cost to buy.

If you are a soap maker, then you know that soap making is expensive. And if you are not a soap maker, you have certainly seen the price tag on a bar of artisanal soap. Quality ingredients come with a price tag, and the labour (and love) involved in making soap is quite involved as well.

But lotions, well, that’s a whole different story. A lotion is mostly water. The little bit of oil, emulsifying wax, and other ingredients you use are so small that they barely add up. And yet the final lotion or conditioner is so rich and luxurious, you would think that so much more went into the recipe than it did.

Buying the initial ingredients might be pricey, but they will last you a while and create many batches of high-quality conditioner.

Conditioner is mostly water; once you have the initial ingredients, it doesn’t cost much to make yourself.

Lavender + Marshmallow Root Homemade Conditioner Recipe

I’m sometimes surprised to hear that not everyone uses conditioner. I would be lost in a rat’s nest of tangles and frizzy hair without it! Hair conditioner has that wonderful nourishing ability to coat each strand of hair so that it can easily be detangled while reducing split ends and nourishing dry hair.

Marshmallow root is a mucilaginous herb that is often used on its own as a natural hair conditioner. In this recipe, I have used prepared marshmallow root tea to replace part of the water in the conditioner.

This recipe is great for dry hair that needs moisture treatment. Use the conditioner for a few weeks, then switch to another recipe (like this rosemary one) when the hair is repaired.

If this is your first time making lotion or conditioner, please first read THIS POST on How to Make Lotion to read about the ingredients, the three phases, and see the step-by-step photos of how it is done.

Marshmallow root forms a protective layer on skin and hair when used.

Equipment

Ingredients

See the recipe card below for complete measurements.

Jump to Recipe

Aqueous Phase Ingredients

Oil Phase Ingredients

Cool Phase Ingredients

Don’t like the smell of lavender? Try a different essential oil instead, such as peppermint or rosemary.

Make it!

The day before, prepare the marshmallow infusion by filling a 250ml / 1 cup mason jar with cut and sifted marshmallow root and filling the rest with lukewarm water. Add a lid and steep overnight. In the morning, strain out the root and use the liquid for lotion.
1. Sterilize all of your equipment and workspace with alcohol.
2. Use a kitchen scale to weigh the oil ingredients in a heatproof container and weigh the water ingredients in another heatproof container.
3. Create a double boiler and heat both the oil ingredients and the water ingredients to 160 degrees F.
4. Keep both the water ingredients and oil ingredients at 160 degrees F for 20 minutes.
5. In a mixing bowl, add the oil ingredients first and then pour in the water ingredients.
6. Use an electric mixer to whip the ingredients in a large bowl.
7. Once the ingredients have reached 80 degrees, you can add the cool phase ingredients.
8. Continue mixing your conditioner until it’s thick and fluffy.
9. Add the conditioner into a sterilized container with a pump. I used this one from Ikea!
Make sure to sterilize the container with alcohol before pouring your conditioner in.

FAQ About Making Homemade Conditioner

How much marshmallow root do I use for this recipe?

I don’t measure the amount of marshmallow root by weight. Instead, I simply use enough to fill a 250 ml Mason jar. For more on how I measure herbs for my recipes, check out this post.

Is this a leave-in conditioner?

No, use this conditioner after washing your hair. Leave it in for 2-3 minutes before rinsing out.

Where can I find these ingredients?

I’ve linked all of the ingredients to Amazon, and they should redirect to your country whenever possible. If you’re still having trouble sourcing these ingredients, you should be able to find them at some refillery stores or at a soap-making supply store in your area. Call and ask!

Try These Lotions, Creams, and Conditioners
Lavender and Marshmallow Root Homemade Conditioner

This herbal recipe is ideal for dry hair, creating soft, shiny, and stronger hair.

Aqueous Phase Ingredients

Make your marshmallow root infusion the day before. Fill a 250 ml Mason jar and all lukewarm water until it reaches the top. Add a lid and let it steep overnight. In the morning, strain out the root and use the liquid for the lotion.

Use alcohol to sterilize your equipment and workspace.

Use a kitchen scale to weigh out all your ingredients. Place oil ingredients in a heatproof container and water ingredients in another heatproof container.

Use a double boiler and heat both your oil and water ingredients to 160 degrees F, keeping both separate.

Keep them at 160 degrees F for 20 minutes.

Add the oil ingredients to a mixing bowl, followed by the water ingredients.

Use an electric mixer and whip the ingredients.

When the ingredients are 80 degrees F, add in the cool phase ingredients.

Whip until it’s thick and fluffy.

Add the conditioner into a sterilized container. Use conditioner within six months.

For more detailed information on the lotion/conditioner making process, please visit this post: https://gardentherapy.ca/natural-lotion-recipe/
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Stephanie Rose

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July 12, 2024
Sunscreen Lip Balm Recipe: How to Make Natural Lip Balm with SPF
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Most of us remember to slather on sunscreen when we are exposed to the sun, but what about our lips? Yes, your lips can get sunburned! Thankfully, the solution is easy: make a batch of this DIY all-natural lip balm with SPF.

Before you head out in the sun, do you cover your skin with sunscreen? We all know the importance of taking care of our skin when it comes to the powerful rays.

But what about your lips? Applying sunscreen meant for your skin directly to your lips doesn’t taste very good. Plus, it dries out your lips and dulls the shine.

Instead, try this homemade sunscreen lip balm with SPF. It will protect your lips and make them kissably soft, and it’s made of all-natural ingredients!

Here’s what we’ll be covering today…

Should Lip Balm Have SPF?

Most of the lip balm recipes I make have some sun protection inherently in the oils and wax. Most days of the year I am confident that my lips are protected just by using these.

But in the hot summer months, when the UV levels are through the roof, I bring out the big guns: this sunscreen lip balm recipe.

Many ingredients in natural lip balm recipes provide a degree of SPF. Some oils, such as raspberry seed oil and olive oil, are said to add sun protection properties.

This recipe is based on a basic lip balm recipe, using soft oils like wheat germ, jojoba, and shea butter, each of which has SPF properties.

Many oils naturally have SPF in them.

Essential Oils in Sunscreen Lip Balm

It’s important to also note that there are ingredients that can accelerate the sun’s effects. Phototoxic essential oils typically run in the citrus family (lemon, lime, bitter orange, mandarin leaf, and grapefruit).

For this recipe, I’ve only used essential oils that are known to help with sun protection.

Sweet orange oil is generally considered not phototoxic, which is why it is included in this lip balm with SPF. Vanilla essential oil is also included, resulting in a lovely creamsicle flavour.

This lip balm recipe smells and tastes like a creamsicle.

How Much SPF is in This Lip Balm?

Making sunscreen or sun protection products at home is a solid way to add sun protection and one that I use for my fair, freckly (read: easily burned) skin.

Even so, I would not venture a guess as to what the SPF is of a homemade recipe. I can say that I have been using this recipe on my own lips for years and have not burned them once.

Plus, I can feel good about the ingredients that go into the recipe and on my skin. My general rule of thumb is to stay out of the sun when the UV is strongest and take steps to protect my skin (and lips) as naturally as possible.

As with all home recipes, test a bit on your skin and see how you react. Those with sensitivities, who are pregnant or breastfeeding, and for use on children should take caution and check with their health care professional.

Stay out of the sun during its peak afternoon hours, even with SPF on.

Sunscreen Lip Balm Recipe

This recipe makes six standard-sized tubes of lip balm with SPF. If you need more or less, you can adjust the recipe accordingly.

Ingredients

Materials

If you can’t get these tubes, you can also use small metal tins.

Make it!
1. First, infuse olive oil with calendula by following these instructions.
2. Measure all of the ingredients into a small double boiler or a Turkish coffee pot. I like to use the Turkish coffee pot because it has a pour spout. I can heat the oils up quickly and then pour them easily into the tubes.
3. Once the oils, waxes, and butter have all melted together, turn off the heat and add in the essential oils. Stir well with a small spatula.
4. When everything is thoroughly mixed, use the spout on the Turkish coffee pot to pour the lip balm into the tubes. Fill each tube to just above where the center screw is.
5. Let the lip balm cool, and then warm up the remaining mixture in the pot so that you can top off each one of the tubes. Filling the lip balm tubes in two steps ensures that you won’t have a large depressed area with a hole in the center of the lip balm. If this still happens, then you can always add a little bit more lip balm onto the top of the depressed area and use a lighter to melt it onto the rest of the lip balm. If this recipe is just for your own use (and you don’t really care what it looks like), then just fill up each one of the tubes the first time; it won’t affect the final product’s function or usefulness.
I left mine plain, but you can add a cute decorative label if you’re gifting some of these lip balms.

FAQ About SPF Lip Balm

Do you really need SPF lip balm?

Absolutely. The skin around your lips is very thin and contains little melanin (the pigment in our skin that naturally protects against the sun). This makes the skin on your lips very susceptible to sun damage and skin cancer.

How much SPF is enough for lip balm?

SPF 15-30 is usually all you need for a lip balm. While I can’t say the SPF of this lip balm specifically, I have never gotten a burn while wearing it.

How long does lip balm with SPF last?

The general rule of thumb is that you should reapply any kind of SPF every two hours, give our take depending on if you’ve been swimming or sweating, or in this case, eating or drinking.

More Ways to Stay Safe in the Sun
DIY Lip Balm with SPF

This all natural sunscreen lip balm is made with ingredients that you can feel good about.

Measure each ingredient, except the essential oils, and add them into the double boiler.

Melt together the ingredients over low heat.

Turn off the heat, then stir the essential oils in.

Once the lip balm ingredients are fully integrated, carefully pour the mixture into the empty lip balm tubes.

Allow them to harden, then apply to lips before sun exposure!
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Stephanie Rose

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July 5, 2024
Is Your Perfume Poisoning Your Family?
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If you’re a perfume wearer, can I be the one to tell you that it doesn’t smell good. I know you may love it. It may feel like your safety blanket, a second skin, part of your brand or identity or maybe makes you feel fancy. To anyone who doesn’t wear a conventional, chemical-based perfume, what you actually smell like is a chemical shit storm. It’s gross. I am not just saying that to stir the pot. If you are a perfume wearer, there is a good chance that I cringe at the thought of you coming over, or giving me or my kid a hug. I don’t ever want to hug you because I don’t want to have your fragrance on my clothes and in my hair all day. I don’t want you to hang your coat next to mine, as mine will pick up the smell.

Those chemicals are potent and persistent.

Perfumes and fragrances are extremely popular. I know there are many people who can’t even think about leaving the house without a little spritz. By 2025, the global fragrance market, which includes perfume, deodorant and antiperspirant, is predicted to be worth over USD$92 billion. Perfumes tend to draw on essential oils in their formulations, but also include a number of chemicals (many known and probable carcinogens) that are outright health hazards.

Fragrance is referred to as the new second-hand smoke. And for very good reason. This isn’t just about you and your preferences. Your perfume habit affects everyone around you – including children who are at the highest risk health-wise.

What is Perfume Made Of?

You may have seen a number of names for products, including perfume, eau de parfum, eau de toilette (you know this means toilet water, right?) and eau de cologne. They get these names by the concentrations of essences or oils the product contains. Perfume has the highest concentration of oils/essences, while eau de cologne has the least. Cologne is also typically associated with men, and perfumes with women.

It gets a little confusing when perfumes are also called fragrances. Fragrance, as a term, is used interchangeably with perfume to refer to the entire bottle or product, and fragrance is also an ingredient found in products. But it doesn’t quite end there – fragrance, in and of itself, is an umbrella ingredient that can include thousands of chemicals that are untested and potentially unsafe. Fragrance is listed instead of each individual ingredient so companies can protect their trade secrets or signature scents.

A study of 17 popular name brand fragrances found, on average, 14 secret ingredients per product that were not listed on the label but found through testing. You can read an extensive report on the risks of fragrance, including assessments of popular products, right here. The Canadian version is here.

Government Regulations for Perfume

The laws around perfumes and fragrances depend on where you live. The United States has a very relaxed approach to cosmetics, while Canadian and EU laws are more strident.

I’ve included some highlights below, but in general, the perfume industry is self-regulating. Countries like Canada and Europe, as well as the US, consult The International Fragrance Association (IFRA) and the Research Institute for Fragrance Materials (RIFM) for advice on safety standards. RIFM uses experts that aren’t affiliated commercially with perfume companies and publishes in peer-reviewed journals.

United States: Perfume Regulation Highlights
- Cosmetic ingredients, except for colour additives, do not need FDA approval before going to market.
- Fragrance, which can be a collection of natural and synthetic ingredients, is allowed to be listed only as ‘fragrance’ on the label in order to protect trade secrets.
- The FDA prohibits misbranding (false labelling) or adulterating cosmetics, and will take companies to court if they violate this. You can read more about how the FDA defines misbranding and adulterating here.
- According to the FDA: “Companies and individuals who manufacture or market cosmetics have a legal responsibility to ensure the safety of their products. Neither the law nor FDA regulations require specific tests to demonstrate the safety of individual products or ingredients. The law also does not require cosmetic companies to share their safety information with FDA.” (bolded emphasis mine)
- The FDA doesn’t require allergen-friendly labelling for cosmetics. If citizens have a fragrance allergy or sensitivity, the government recommends choosing fragrance-free products, reading labels and calling companies for information. But if you have a fragrance allergy and the FDA doesn’t require all of the ingredients in fragrances to be listed to protect a company’s trade secrets, how can we know if a product is truly safe?
Basically, what we have going on is an honour system. If the government doesn’t require companies to show their products are safe or share their data, where is the accountability? If I gave you a math test without asking you to show the steps you used to get to the final answers and didn’t even ask you to hand in the test for review at all, how would I know you actually knew the math? Except, in this case, there is more at stake than numbers.

Canada: Perfume Regulation Highlights
- Canada consults the IFRA and RIFM for safety data.
- Cosmetic products sold in Canada must meet the requirements of the Food and Drugs Act and the Cosmetic Regulations. Ingredients must be disclosed and labelled.
- Canada has a Cosmetics Ingredient Hotlist that lists all prohibited and restricted ingredients. Prohibited ingredients cannot be used at all, while restricted ingredients can only be used under certain conditions or concentrations.
- If Health Canada finds a fragrance ingredient unsafe, it will prohibit use and put it on the hotlist. However, “components of a fragrance can be listed as individual ingredients or can be listed under the term ‘parfum’ “. You’ll still need to delve into labels and ask more questions if you see the word ‘parfum’, as parfum could be a compendium of more ingredients.
- Health Canada regularly reviews ingredients and the scientific data around them to assess safety.
Common Toxic Ingredients in Perfume

Here are two charts shared in this report.

Common Perfume and Cosmetic Ingredients That Can Impact Our Health:

I delve into the health risks of ingredients to avoid in personal care products in more detail here, and let’s talk about some fragrance/perfume specific risks below.

Health Risks of Perfume

Aside from the health risks of common ingredients in perfumes and other scented personal care products (fragrance, parabens, etc.), there is evidence that fragrances can cause or aggravate certain health conditions. Remember, this isn’t just about you but affects everyone who can smell you – your partner, children, co-workers, friends, that little old lady beside you on the bus.

These include:
- Headaches: A study of 200 migraine sufferers and 200 participants with tension headaches found that odours from perfume can trigger migraines within minutes.
- Contact Dermatitis: Fragrances are one of the most common causes of contact dermatitis and contact allergies. A number of studies that use patch tests show that physical exposure to perfumes and fragrance ingredients can cause contact dermatitis, exacerbate eczema, and cause rashes.
- Asthma: One study of perfume strips showed that inhaling perfume can exacerbate symptoms and cause airway obstruction in asthma patients, while another found that perfume can instigate asthma-like respiratory symptoms. In a 19-year surveillance of workplace asthma in California, researchers discovered that fragrance used at work was commonly associated with work-related asthma (WRA), and that 242 of the recorded cases of WRA were linked to perfume or cologne. Finally, in a self-reported national survey of just over 1,100 people, 46.2% of asthmatics reported adverse effects after being near someone wearing a fragrance product – and 35.4% said they missed out on work or lost jobs due to workplace fragrance exposure.
- Respiratory Issues: In a study that compared healthy volunteers to people with perfume-induced respiratory issues, blood tests showed an increase in histamine production in the group with respiratory issues. Histamine is part of our immune response to pathogens in our bodies and can cause inflammation. People with respiratory and lung issues also report being affected by scents and perfumes.
- Endocrine Disruption: Many of the chemicals used in perfumes can alter the endocrine system. A study that tested a range of 213 household and personal products found a number of endocrine-disrupting chemicals including BPA, phthalates, parabens and fragrances. In an analysis of 5 different types of phthalates in 47 brands of perfumes, researchers said they found ‘considerable amounts’ of phthalates in all brands, and a few had phthalate amounts that were above threshold limits.
- DNA Damage: In a follow-up study by the researchers who tested phthalates in 47 perfumes, they discovered that all the perfumes they tested induced DNA damage.
Better Alternatives to Conventional Perfume

What do you do if you love perfume, but not the health risks?
- DIY Perfume. Make your own scents using high-quality essential oils. You can mix and match to suit your tastes and mood! Here is one to start off with.
- Buy Non-Toxic Perfume. Read labels and source companies that use ingredients you trust. As you may already know, I am a huge fan of Living Libations*. Their perfumes and colognes use pure essential oils. They aren’t overpowering and don’t last forever after you apply them, and that’s OK.
Free Resource Library

Enjoy more than 40 downloadable guides, recipes, and resources.

Why Are We Using Perfume?

Interestingly, the FDA says, “If a product is intended to be applied to a person’s body to make the person more attractive, it’s a cosmetic under the law.” Fragrance falls under this category of products.

And hey, I know that we want to feel good about ourselves and look great, and how we smell is a part of that. Yet painting over foul smells with perfumes and fragrances isn’t going to resolve the source of that smell – so what is the underlying issue here? Is there a bigger health problem that needs to be addressed? As I’ve written before when talking about hair, skin, and beauty products, much of our success relies on what we do internally from the inside out.

Resolving body odor may be as simple as taking a shower, or the solution may involve a deeper dive into diet and lifestyle practices.

Creating a Fragrance-Free Work Environment

Depending on where you live there may or may not be policies in place restricting fragrances in the workplace. In recent years there has been an increased awareness about fragrance sensitivities, and you’ve probably seen signs posted in doctors’ offices, community centres, gyms, yoga studios, and schools requesting scent-free environments. If this is something you’d like to implement at your workplace, the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety has detailed tips about how to create a scent-free policy.

Further Reading on Fragrance and Personal Care Products

Adjusting our perfume habits can be challenging at first. Once you go unscented or use naturally scented options, it’s often hard to return to those conventional products! You’ll start to smell them for what they really are.

*This post contains affiliate links

Free Resource Library

Enjoy more than 40 downloadable guides, recipes, and resources.
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Meghan Telpner

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February 27, 2024
Is Your Perfume Poisoning Your Family?
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If you’re a perfume wearer, can I be the one to tell you that it doesn’t smell good. I know you may love it. It may feel like your safety blanket, a second skin, part of your brand or identity or maybe makes you feel fancy. To anyone who doesn’t wear a conventional, chemical-based perfume, what you actually smell like is a chemical shit storm. It’s gross. I am not just saying that to stir the pot. If you are a perfume wearer, there is a good chance that I cringe at the thought of you coming over, or giving me or my kid a hug. I don’t ever want to hug you because I don’t want to have your fragrance on my clothes and in my hair all day. I don’t want you to hang your coat next to mine, as mine will pick up the smell.

Those chemicals are potent and persistent.

Perfumes and fragrances are extremely popular. I know there are many people who can’t even think about leaving the house without a little spritz. By 2025, the global fragrance market, which includes perfume, deodorant and antiperspirant, is predicted to be worth over USD$92 billion. Perfumes tend to draw on essential oils in their formulations, but also include a number of chemicals (many known and probable carcinogens) that are outright health hazards.

Fragrance is referred to as the new second-hand smoke. And for very good reason. This isn’t just about you and your preferences. Your perfume habit affects everyone around you – including children who are at the highest risk health-wise.

What is Perfume Made Of?

You may have seen a number of names for products, including perfume, eau de parfum, eau de toilette (you know this means toilet water, right?) and eau de cologne. They get these names by the concentrations of essences or oils the product contains. Perfume has the highest concentration of oils/essences, while eau de cologne has the least. Cologne is also typically associated with men, and perfumes with women.

It gets a little confusing when perfumes are also called fragrances. Fragrance, as a term, is used interchangeably with perfume to refer to the entire bottle or product, and fragrance is also an ingredient found in products. But it doesn’t quite end there – fragrance, in and of itself, is an umbrella ingredient that can include thousands of chemicals that are untested and potentially unsafe. Fragrance is listed instead of each individual ingredient so companies can protect their trade secrets or signature scents.

A study of 17 popular name brand fragrances found, on average, 14 secret ingredients per product that were not listed on the label but found through testing. You can read an extensive report on the risks of fragrance, including assessments of popular products, right here. The Canadian version is here.

Government Regulations for Perfume

The laws around perfumes and fragrances depend on where you live. The United States has a very relaxed approach to cosmetics, while Canadian and EU laws are more strident.

I’ve included some highlights below, but in general, the perfume industry is self-regulating. Countries like Canada and Europe, as well as the US, consult The International Fragrance Association (IFRA) and the Research Institute for Fragrance Materials (RIFM) for advice on safety standards. RIFM uses experts that aren’t affiliated commercially with perfume companies and publishes in peer-reviewed journals.

United States: Perfume Regulation Highlights
- Cosmetic ingredients, except for colour additives, do not need FDA approval before going to market.
- Fragrance, which can be a collection of natural and synthetic ingredients, is allowed to be listed only as ‘fragrance’ on the label in order to protect trade secrets.
- The FDA prohibits misbranding (false labelling) or adulterating cosmetics, and will take companies to court if they violate this. You can read more about how the FDA defines misbranding and adulterating here.
- According to the FDA: “Companies and individuals who manufacture or market cosmetics have a legal responsibility to ensure the safety of their products. Neither the law nor FDA regulations require specific tests to demonstrate the safety of individual products or ingredients. The law also does not require cosmetic companies to share their safety information with FDA.” (bolded emphasis mine)
- The FDA doesn’t require allergen-friendly labelling for cosmetics. If citizens have a fragrance allergy or sensitivity, the government recommends choosing fragrance-free products, reading labels and calling companies for information. But if you have a fragrance allergy and the FDA doesn’t require all of the ingredients in fragrances to be listed to protect a company’s trade secrets, how can we know if a product is truly safe?
Basically, what we have going on is an honour system. If the government doesn’t require companies to show their products are safe or share their data, where is the accountability? If I gave you a math test without asking you to show the steps you used to get to the final answers and didn’t even ask you to hand in the test for review at all, how would I know you actually knew the math? Except, in this case, there is more at stake than numbers.

Canada: Perfume Regulation Highlights
- Canada consults the IFRA and RIFM for safety data.
- Cosmetic products sold in Canada must meet the requirements of the Food and Drugs Act and the Cosmetic Regulations. Ingredients must be disclosed and labelled.
- Canada has a Cosmetics Ingredient Hotlist that lists all prohibited and restricted ingredients. Prohibited ingredients cannot be used at all, while restricted ingredients can only be used under certain conditions or concentrations.
- If Health Canada finds a fragrance ingredient unsafe, it will prohibit use and put it on the hotlist. However, “components of a fragrance can be listed as individual ingredients or can be listed under the term ‘parfum’ “. You’ll still need to delve into labels and ask more questions if you see the word ‘parfum’, as parfum could be a compendium of more ingredients.
- Health Canada regularly reviews ingredients and the scientific data around them to assess safety.
Common Toxic Ingredients in Perfume

Here are two charts shared in this report.

Common Perfume and Cosmetic Ingredients That Can Impact Our Health:

I delve into the health risks of ingredients to avoid in personal care products in more detail here, and let’s talk about some fragrance/perfume specific risks below.

Health Risks of Perfume

Aside from the health risks of common ingredients in perfumes and other scented personal care products (fragrance, parabens, etc.), there is evidence that fragrances can cause or aggravate certain health conditions. Remember, this isn’t just about you but affects everyone who can smell you – your partner, children, co-workers, friends, that little old lady beside you on the bus.

These include:
- Headaches: A study of 200 migraine sufferers and 200 participants with tension headaches found that odours from perfume can trigger migraines within minutes.
- Contact Dermatitis: Fragrances are one of the most common causes of contact dermatitis and contact allergies. A number of studies that use patch tests show that physical exposure to perfumes and fragrance ingredients can cause contact dermatitis, exacerbate eczema, and cause rashes.
- Asthma: One study of perfume strips showed that inhaling perfume can exacerbate symptoms and cause airway obstruction in asthma patients, while another found that perfume can instigate asthma-like respiratory symptoms. In a 19-year surveillance of workplace asthma in California, researchers discovered that fragrance used at work was commonly associated with work-related asthma (WRA), and that 242 of the recorded cases of WRA were linked to perfume or cologne. Finally, in a self-reported national survey of just over 1,100 people, 46.2% of asthmatics reported adverse effects after being near someone wearing a fragrance product – and 35.4% said they missed out on work or lost jobs due to workplace fragrance exposure.
- Respiratory Issues: In a study that compared healthy volunteers to people with perfume-induced respiratory issues, blood tests showed an increase in histamine production in the group with respiratory issues. Histamine is part of our immune response to pathogens in our bodies and can cause inflammation. People with respiratory and lung issues also report being affected by scents and perfumes.
- Endocrine Disruption: Many of the chemicals used in perfumes can alter the endocrine system. A study that tested a range of 213 household and personal products found a number of endocrine-disrupting chemicals including BPA, phthalates, parabens and fragrances. In an analysis of 5 different types of phthalates in 47 brands of perfumes, researchers said they found ‘considerable amounts’ of phthalates in all brands, and a few had phthalate amounts that were above threshold limits.
- DNA Damage: In a follow-up study by the researchers who tested phthalates in 47 perfumes, they discovered that all the perfumes they tested induced DNA damage.
Better Alternatives to Conventional Perfume

What do you do if you love perfume, but not the health risks?
- DIY Perfume. Make your own scents using high-quality essential oils. You can mix and match to suit your tastes and mood! Here is one to start off with.
- Buy Non-Toxic Perfume. Read labels and source companies that use ingredients you trust. As you may already know, I am a huge fan of Living Libations*. Their perfumes and colognes use pure essential oils. They aren’t overpowering and don’t last forever after you apply them, and that’s OK.
Free Resource Library

Enjoy more than 40 downloadable guides, recipes, and resources.

Why Are We Using Perfume?

Interestingly, the FDA says, “If a product is intended to be applied to a person’s body to make the person more attractive, it’s a cosmetic under the law.” Fragrance falls under this category of products.

And hey, I know that we want to feel good about ourselves and look great, and how we smell is a part of that. Yet painting over foul smells with perfumes and fragrances isn’t going to resolve the source of that smell – so what is the underlying issue here? Is there a bigger health problem that needs to be addressed? As I’ve written before when talking about hair, skin, and beauty products, much of our success relies on what we do internally from the inside out.

Resolving body odor may be as simple as taking a shower, or the solution may involve a deeper dive into diet and lifestyle practices.

Creating a Fragrance-Free Work Environment

Depending on where you live there may or may not be policies in place restricting fragrances in the workplace. In recent years there has been an increased awareness about fragrance sensitivities, and you’ve probably seen signs posted in doctors’ offices, community centres, gyms, yoga studios, and schools requesting scent-free environments. If this is something you’d like to implement at your workplace, the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety has detailed tips about how to create a scent-free policy.

Further Reading on Fragrance and Personal Care Products

Adjusting our perfume habits can be challenging at first. Once you go unscented or use naturally scented options, it’s often hard to return to those conventional products! You’ll start to smell them for what they really are.

*This post contains affiliate links

Free Resource Library

Enjoy more than 40 downloadable guides, recipes, and resources.
[ad_2]

Meghan Telpner

Source link
February 27, 2024