Thoughts on making shower steamers

[nadsnads]

On my quest to make my shower smell like a spa, I made shower steamers based on a recipe i had found on this forum. The house smelled amazing, and it reminded me of a crisp winter morning up North.

As I was mixing up the batter, I thought it was quite a lot of essential oils and expensive menthol crystals to be pouring (quite literally) down the drain, so I did the math:

For this batch of 600g I ended up needing 15g menthol crystals and 20g EOs. My menthol crystals cost around 7.3 USD/2oz and a mix of peppermint and eucalyptus would roughly cost 11$/100ml. That's like 4.1$ for this whole batch which yields 32 small steamers, not counting the other less expensive ingredients. If you want to add shipping/tax at 15% that would be 4.7$.

That means 15 cents per shower or maybe 30 cents if you want to get fancy and use up 2. I think it's not so bad after all.

I've also experimented with a peppermint/eucalyptus shower spray (polysorbate, alcohol) recipe where you'd spray it on the walls, but since it doesn't have any menthol the effect isn't as strong. That one's a lot more economical but I also forgot to write it down and now i no longer remember the right proportions.

Apparently you can also just pick eucalyptus branches and hang them in your shower to scent it?? I'm experimenting with that this week, but I doubt that I'll like this more than shower steamers.

 

[Misschief]

On my quest to make my shower smell like a spa, I made shower steamers based on a recipe i had found on this forum. The house smelled amazing, and it reminded me of a crisp winter morning up North.

As I was mixing up the batter, I thought it was quite a lot of essential oils and expensive menthol crystals to be pouring (quite literally) down the drain, so I did the math:

For this batch of 600g I ended up needing 15g menthol crystals and 20g EOs. My menthol crystals cost around 7.3 USD/2oz and a mix of peppermint and eucalyptus would roughly cost 11$/100ml. That's like 4.1$ for this whole batch which yields 32 small steamers, not counting the other less expensive ingredients. If you want to add shipping/tax at 15% that would be 4.7$.

That means 15 cents per shower or maybe 30 cents if you want to get fancy and use up 2. I think it's not so bad after all.

I've also experimented with a peppermint/eucalyptus shower spray (polysorbate, alcohol) recipe where you'd spray it on the walls, but since it doesn't have any menthol the effect isn't as strong. That one's a lot more economical but I also forgot to write it down and now i no longer remember the right proportions.

Apparently you can also just pick eucalyptus branches and hang them in your shower to scent it?? I'm experimenting with that this week, but I doubt that I'll like this more than shower steamers.

I sell my 50 gm shower steamers for 3 for $10. They're packed in a macaron box, one each of 3 scents - lavender, lemon, and eucalyptus and all include menthol.

 

[nadsnads]

I sell my 50 gm shower steamers for 3 for $10. They're packed in a macaron box, one each of 3 scents - lavender, lemon, and eucalyptus and all include menthol.

Does the lemon scent come through at all? I'm finding the menthol tends to overpower eucalyptus quite a bit.

 

[Misschief]

Does the lemon scent come through at all? I'm finding the menthol tends to overpower eucalyptus quite a bit.

According to my daughter (I don't use them; I'm a bath person), yes, the EO's do come through.

 

[nadsnads]

Here's the recipe i used

 

[Misschief]

Mine is very similar.

 

[LucyFae]

Mine is similar as well, except I use kaolin clay after a lot of experimentation.

The menthol crystals are pricey, but a 1lb bag makes a lot of steamers. I bought my last order of crystals from Natural Bulk Supplies which I've found to be cheaper than most other places, unless you're buying a significant amount from somewhere like jedwards. I think my order a few months ago, the menthol was like $23/lb with shipping. I did a $100+ order, but if I bought only 1lb of crystals with shipping, it's $28, which still is far cheaper than the almost $60 something per pound you're currently paying. That was my first order with them and it was a good experience, and I got a $5 off email when I signed up to make an account, just in case you were looking for a new supplier.

I've made them without menthol crystals, but the results weren't nearly as good.

 

[nadsnads]

Mine is similar as well, except I use kaolin clay after a lot of experimentation.

The menthol crystals are pricey, but a 1lb bag makes a lot of steamers. I bought my last order of crystals from Natural Bulk Supplies which I've found to be cheaper than most other places, unless you're buying a significant amount from somewhere like jedwards. I think my order a few months ago, the menthol was like $23/lb with shipping. I did a $100+ order, but if I bought only 1lb of crystals with shipping, it's $28, which still is far cheaper than the almost $60 something per pound you're currently paying. That was my first order with them and it was a good experience, and I got a $5 off email when I signed up to make an account, just in case you were looking for a new supplier.

I've made them without menthol crystals, but the results weren't nearly as good.

I'll try adding kaolin clay next time, and thanks for the supplier recommendation. I don't sell anything so I'll have to see if they have small quantities.