- July 9, 2021
- Modified On: September 13, 2022
- by Amy Gorin, MS, RDN
- 0 Comments
How to Make Aromatherapy Shower Melts
Making DIY shower melts is easier than you think! Pick an energizing or calming essential oil to make aromatic shower fizzies.
Thanks to the folks at NOW® for sponsoring this blog post! All opinions, as always, are my own.
Making your own shower melts is so easy. Let’s get started!
Ingredients
Thankfully, you only need a few ingredients to make shower melts. Here they are:
Citric acid
This is one of the key ingredients you’ll need to get that fizzy action that makes shower melts so fun. I used NOW Citric Acid. FYI that citric acid acts as a natural preservative, which helps the shower melts last longer.
Baking soda
This is the other ingredient that makes the fizzy action possible in shower bombs!
Food coloring
This isn’t 100 percent mandatory, but use it if you want your shower melts to be colorful. Liquid or gel food colorings work best.
Essential oils
These are what provide the aromatherapy benefit to the shower melts. There are many, many options out there—and you can choose what essential oils you’d like to use based on the desired effects.
Here are some of my favorite oils to use when making shower melts.
Aromatherapy benefits
There are so many options for what essential oils to use when making your own shower melts. Below are a few of my favorites.
You’ll see that all of these are NOW Essential Oils. There are so many essential oil options out there.
I choose these because I know that the oils are analytically tested for identity, purity, and adulteration—so essentially, you’re getting the highest-quality oils.
Lemon oil (energizing)
I played around with several essential oils while making this shower melt recipe, and this was my hands-down favorite.
I get such an invigorating feeling from lemon essential oil. I used NOW Essential Oils Lemon, which is 100 percent pure lemon oil and helps provide a refreshing, cheerful, and uplifting feeling.
Rosemary oil (energizing)
I love the scent of rosemary and find that a shower bomb made with rosemary essential oil is a perfect way to wake up.
I used NOW Essential Oils Rosemary, which is thought to have purifying and uplifting attributes. If you’d like to mix oils, this one pairs well with peppermint oil.
Peppermint oil (energizing)
Shower melts made with peppermint essential oil are going to be my go-to when I have a migraine or headache from now on!
I also find peppermint to help me concentrate. I used NOW Essential Oils Peppermint, which provides a revitalizing, invigorating, and cooling effect.
Ylang ylang extra oil (calming)
I first heard about ylang ylang essential oil years ago from an aromatherapy expert, who told me that this is the perfect essential oil to bring on an airplane flight because it is so calming!
I used NOW Essential Oils Ylang Ylang Extra, which provides soothing, comforting, and even romantic effects.
Lavender oil (calming)
When I think of lavender essential oil, I can’t help but think of Bruges, a city in Belgium filled with lavender-scented everything.
I used NOW Essential Oils Lavender, which is soothing, normalizing, and balancing. If you like to take nighttime showers, this could even help you sleep. You can feel free to combine the lavender oil with chamomile oil.
Chamomile oil (calming)
If you’ve only ever experienced chamomile through tea, you’re in for a treat. Chamomile essential oil has relaxing, calming, and even revitalizing attributes. I used NOW Essential Oils Chamomile.
P.S. Want to buy any of these ingredients? Use code AMYGORIN for 20 percent off at NowFoods.com!
Shower melt tools
The only tools you will need to make shower melts are silicone molds, a spray bottle, and a cookie rack.
Silicone molds
You’ll find so many silicone molds sold at stores like Amazon and Michael’s. Because I made the shower melts in this blog post during the summer, I wanted to use cute summer shapes like pineapples and flamingos.
But if I was making shower melts at a different time of year, I might instead opt for flowers, hearts, or stars. Just make sure you use silicone molds that have a flat bottom.
Spray bottle
You don’t absolutely need this tool, but you can buy it for about a buck and it’s super helpful to moderate the exactly right amount of water to use in your shower melt recipe.
Disposable gloves
Making shower melts is messy! Citric acid can dull a manicure, and getting food coloring all over your hands is just plain undesirable.
Cookie rack
Using a cookie rack to dry your shower melts on will help them dry more quickly.
Step-by-step instructions
Making your own shower bombs is surprisingly easy—and you can even get children involved in the activity.
To make shower melts, first, find a silicone mold you like, with smallish shapes (no more than a couple of inches in any direction).
Then combine the citric acid and baking soda together, and mix in food coloring, essential oils, and a little water. You’ll want to combine the mixture with gloved hands.
Finally, place the mixture into silicone molds, and make sure the mixture is compact. Now comes the part where you need to be patient! Let the mixture sit for several hours, then place it on a cookie rack to finish drying.
Troubleshooting tips
Because ingredients and environments—think humidity—differ, you’ll see notes throughout this shower bomb recipe that are ranges instead of exact amounts.
This recipe is foolproof—I made it many times before getting it exactly right for you. However, there are a couple of things that can go wrong during the process! Let’s talk about those things.
Water in shower bombs
Using too much water in your shower melt recipe can quickly make the melts too wet—leading them to fizz prematurely and not dry as well as they should. This can make them crumbly, which of course isn’t ideal.
Not compacting the bombs
Another thing that can make your homemade shower melts crumbly? Not patting down the mixture into the molds. This is really important to make the shower melts compact enough.
Using the wrong kind of food coloring
I tried making this shower fizzies recipe with powdered, liquid, and gel food colorings. My findings? Do not use powdered!
I had attempted this because a lot of the natural food colorings out there are powdered. But the powder doesn’t mix in well with the other powders in the recipe. You want to go with gel or liquid food coloring.
Natural essential oils are highly concentrated and should be used with care. Do not exceed dilutions recommended for this recipe.
For adults only. Keep out of reach of children. Not for internal use. Avoid contact with eyes. Consult healthcare practitioner before using if pregnant/nursing. Not intended for use with pets.
FAQ
Shower melts—aka shower bombs, shower fizzies, shower steamers, and shower soothers—are tablets or “bombs” that dissolve in the shower when they get wet.
Because shower melts are infused with aromatherapy, they’re a great way for you to get the benefits of aromatherapy while you are showering.
Shower melts can be infused with energizing or calming aromatherapy—or even essential oils that both energize and calm at the same time!
Is a shower melt basically a bath bomb that goes in the shower? The short answer: Nope.
While shower melts and bath bombs share many similarities, several differences exist between the two.
Because a bath bomb is intended to make direct contact with the skin, it contains fewer essential oils than a shower bomb. Too much essential oil making direct contact with the skin can be irritating.
Also, the shape of bath and shower bombs are different. Shower bombs are flat so they won’t roll around in the shower, while bath bombs tend to be round. They’re made differently, too.
Bath bombs typically contain a moisturizing carrier oil because they’re making direct contact with your skin.
Of course, the best way to use a shower melt is to let it fizz in the shower with you. Place it in a part of the shower that will get wet but not soaked. Then, enjoy your shower!
The shower melt will slowly dissolve—and while doing so, it will emit a wonderfully soothing aromatherapy-infused fragrance. Ahh!
Depending on the size and aromatherapy strength of a shower melt, you can place one or two melts on the floor of the shower. Both hot water and steam will help dissolve the melt and release the essential oils within the melt.
You can also package up a few shower melts in a plastic bag, and tie the package up with a ribbon for bridal shower or engagement party favors or even stocking stuffers.
Or you can place several in a mason jar and give to your friends and loved ones for holiday presents.
Storing your shower melts is so easy! They can be kept for up to six months in an airtight glass jar. I recommend keeping them in your bathroom so that you remember to use them.
I like to store my shower melts in the bathroom in a pretty canister on the countertop. I’ve found that round glass containers work best for this.
The containers not only make the shower melts easily accessible but also help your bathroom countertop look pretty.
More homemade gift ideas
If you like making these shower melts, you’ll also want to DIY some other homemade presents:
- Homemade Pizza Seasoning Recipe
- Pretty Cheap DIY Engagement Party Favors
- No-Pectin Blueberry Jam
- Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Orange Cake
- Vegan Linzer Cookies with Prune Jam Filling
Aromatherapy Shower Melts
Equipment
- 1 silicone mold
- 1 spray bottle
- 1 pair disposable gloves
- 1 cookie rack
Materials
- ¼ cup citric acid
- ½ cup baking soda
- Essential oil, as needed
- Water, as needed
- Liquid or gel food coloring, as needed
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, use a spoon to combine citric acid and baking soda.
- Add in food coloring as desired. Combine mixture with clean hands, using gloves if desired.
- Add drops of essential oil as desired, 5-20 drops, depending on strength of the oil. Combine mixture with hands.
- Using a spray bottle, add in water as needed, about 3-5 sprays, one at a time. Combine mixture with hands. The mixture should feel like damp sand.
- Using fingers to make the mixture compact, place mixture in a silicone mold. Let the mold sit for 2-3 hours or more, then remove. Place on a cookie rack overnight to fully dry.
- When using shower melts, place in shower where melts will get wet but not drenched.
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