Last week I updated my basic bath oil recipe, and while it’s absolutely lovely I wanted to take it one step further. By combining both an oil and a water part, you can get a super interesting layered bath oil that looks way more impressive than it is difficult to make.
I’ve been obsessed with bath oils of late. Like everyone else I’ve been stuck inside a lot, so I’ve made it my mission to turn my home into my own private spa.
You Will Love This Bath Oil
This beautiful layered bath oil is comprised of a water and oil part for an impressive finish, gorgeous aroma, and amazing skin softening properties.
You will love the way it looks in the bathroom. It takes next to no time to make and on top of giving the bathwater a wonderful aroma, your skin will feel soft, smooth and moisturized.
It’s super simple to make and looks way more complicated than it actually is. It’s just another great treatment that turns an ordinary bathing session into a relaxing pamper session!
One of the truly great things about this diy product is how customizable it is! You can literally use any oils you have at home to make it. However, keep in mind that some ingredients are inherently better than others.
The Best Oils
So let’s talk about all the lovely things you can throw into this gorgeous recipe.
You can use any liquid oil here. In fact, it’s a good way to use up any oils that you have hanging around. Just remember that oils with strong odors may affect the scent of the finished product, and darker oils will change its appearance.
Here are a few of my favorites, you can use one or more. You can also experiment with oils that I haven’t suggested, although I really would stay away from oils that are very strong smelling, Sesame oil would be an example.
For more info on these oils check out my carrier oil guide.
Sweet Almond Oil
This oil is suitable for any skin type. It’s light and is absorbed quickly into the skin and doesn’t have much of an odor. So it will hold the fragrance well. Almond oil is high in vitamins A and E and has some great cleansing and moisturizing benefits.
Sunflower Oil
Another pale and low odor oil. It’s suitable for all skin types but is particularly useful on dry, damaged or irritated skin. it’s packed full of vitamins and is very economical to buy.
Fractionated Coconut Oil
Although I’m not using this oil in my recipe below, It is one I use regularly due to its very clear appearance. So when it’s mixed with a colored water base it looks striking. It also has some decent qualities for greasy skin, by helping to unclog pores and clear up acne prone skin.
Preservatives
When you mix water and oil you will always need to use a preservative. I’m using plantaserve P (saliguard PCG) in this recipe as it disburses brilliantly in the water, leaving it crystal clear. If you can’t get hold of this Optiphen is a good alternative.
Essential Oil vs. Fragrance Oil
The choice of oil is up to you. The obvious difference is that fragrance oils are synthetic and essential oils are natural.
Beyond this there are other considerations to make. For instance, products that contain essential oils need to be kept away from sunlight, and also need to be stored in PET plastic bottles. Fragrance oils, however, don’t need this.
Nevertheless, essential oils have many active properties that your skin can benefit from, whereas fragrance oils only impart a scent to your product and nothing more.
Essential oils can be very powerful, so it is very important to work with them carefully and to not overdo it. If you like very strong fragrance, you may wish to consider using a fragrance oil instead.
Dyes and Colorants
Try to match the color with the scent you choose. For example, a floral scent would match nicely with pink or purple, peppermint with green and red with strawberry.
There are so many lovely colorants available to buy, that you could give the oil a different look every time you make it!
And don’t go overboard with the color in this bath oil recipe or you might find that you end up with a color mark around the bath or towel.
Important: As this is an oil-based treatment it may make the bath slippy so take care when climbing in and out!
Gorgeous Layered Bath Oil Recipe
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Ingredients
- 40 gram Distilled Water
- 10 gram Glycerine
- 26 gram Sweet Almond Oil
- 22 gram Sunflower Oil
- 1 gram Preservative
- 1 gram Vitamin E Oil
- 2-5 drops Liquid Soap Dye
- 10 drops Essential Oil or Fragrance Oil
Instructions
- For the water part, you will need to combine the water, glycerine, and preservative. The preservative can take a minute or so to clear.40 gram Distilled Water, 10 gram Glycerine, 1 gram Preservative
- If you are using a colorant, such as liquid soap dye, add it to your water part.2-5 drops Liquid Soap Dye
- In a separate beaker, mix all the oils together.26 gram Sweet Almond Oil, 22 gram Sunflower Oil, 1 gram Vitamin E Oil
- Add the essential oil (or fragrance oil) to the base oil, then stir to disperse.10 drops Essential Oil or Fragrance Oil
- Pour the oil part into a glass or PET plastic bottle.
- Pour in the colored water part and let them separate.
Notes
- How To Use Your Bath Oil:Â Shake the bottle well, then add two tablespoons to a warm bath. Swish the water around to try and disburse the oil in the water.Â
- Important: As this is an oil-based treatment it may make the bath slippy so take care when climbing in and out.
Final Thoughts
I hope you can see that although this recipe looks impressive which makes it a unique gift idea, it’s actually pretty easy to make! I had a lot of fun making this and I’m sure you will too.
But as much fun as it is to make, nothing beats slipping into a soothing hot bath that is full of your favourite, skin loving ingredients!
You can also combine this with some other amazing bath products such as these DIY bath bombs or perhaps some lovely bath salts. There’s a lot of choices when it comes to bath and body product recipes, many of which you can find right here on savvyhomemade!
I love this recipe and I can’t wait to try it! What are your thoughts on including dried botanicals (just for looks)?
Sounds like a lovely idea. I would match botanicals with whatever essential oils you’ve added to your bath oils. Could look gorgeous!