I have had a rough time lately, so I decided to experiment and see if I could come up with a few formulas that might help.
First I made a small batch of lotion loaded with essential oils that are thought to be anti-inflammatories, like Cinnamon Leaf and Fir Needle, with some extracts of Evening Primrose and Chamomile. To cut some of the funk from such an odd combination, since I wasn’t blending for scents, I added a little Honeysuckle Hollow FO. It sounds weird, but I swear it seems to have helped two bruises heal faster. I’ve had one for a couple of weeks now and it didn’t want to leave that gross yellow hue. Within two days of use it’s almost completely gone. I’m a pretty skeptical person, so I am leaning more toward it being a coincidence, but so far it’s helped with some of my skin irritation. If things are impressive, I hope to have it as the first product geared for people with sensitivities and inflammation, like Fibro.
Following the lotion I decided to mix my desire to try some anti-inflammatories with a new recipe I found via Pinterest for fizzy bath salts. The picture at the beginning of the post is the final result that is now residing beside my bathtub. It started out with some Epsom Salts, Citric Acid, and Baking Soda.
Then I added a few essential oils with Wintergreen as the dominant note.
Next I decided that fractionated coconut oil would fit my interests the most and then I got to blend them all together. A whisk can work decently, but I think that gloved hands break clumps and blend salts better (plus it’s kind of fun *grin*).
I wasn’t so sure if the blend would actually fizz, since it was the first time I’d ever tried any fizzy salts recipes, so I went small scale first.
I admit, I had fun. *laugh* Sometimes it is so easy to justify pampering myself since I need to test new items and don’t have many people nearby to test things when I’m antsy. (Hmmm, maybe there’s a little more to my experimenting than just a desire to keep challenging myself. *grin*) I went full scale that night and although it doesn’t fizz very long (not even as long as Alka Seltzer), it was a neat sensation. I’m super, super sensitive (part of the whole Fibro thing), so it was kind of ticklish. The combination of the ingredients, the light tickling, warm water, and a little Ballykissangel playing from across the room (I’m a little obsessed with listening to accents. Don’t judge. *grin*) I was so relaxed. The coconut oil made my skin so soft and as silky as it can be with a foot of snow outside my window, too. The only thing that concerned me was that I had a tingling sensation the entire time. I’m not sure if that’s my sensitivities or a normal thing, so there’ll be a few people testing it.
All in all I’m so happy with my experiments. I have a lot more testing before I can consider selling, especially on the salts, but it’s pretty encouraging. It is so uplifting that I might not just help people take a moment away from the hustle and bustle and pamper themselves, but I might actually help others struggling on the same journey find a little relief. The lousy few days and nights were definitely worth it for the inspiration alone.
I have some jars waiting for me to go all Crafty Cathy on, so pamper on. 🙂
Georgia's Pampering 