How to Make Your Own Shower Gel & Scented Spray

Homemade shower gel can be stored in glass bottles.

Shower gel and body spray are nice little luxuries that can make shower time a little more fun. At the same time, these products can be costly at retail outlet stores. They may also be filled with ingredients that are difficult to recognize when reading the labels and may include harsh chemicals, detergents and alcohol, which is drying to the skin. When making shower gel and body spray at home, you're in charge of the ingredients, packaging and labeling. Give them away for a thoughtful gift or keep them all to yourself.

Things You'll Need

• 1/2 cup unscented shampoo
• 1/4 cup distilled water
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 10-15 drops essential oils or fragrance oils
• Food coloring (optional)
• Glass or plastic bottle with lid
• Glass or plastic bottle with spray top
• Labels (optional)

Instructions

Shower Gel

1. Place 1/2 cup unscented shampoo, 1/4 cup distilled water and 3/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl and mix together. Unscented shampoos are often made with less chemicals and include brands such as Earth Science, Nature Clean and Abba.

2. Add 10-15 drops of essential oil or oils to the mixture. Essential oils come in a wide variety of floral, citrus and herbal scents such as lavender, basil, geranium, thyme, orange, rosemary and grapefruit. Essential oils can be found in most health food or organic food stores. Fragrance oils may be slightly less expensive and come in many scents as well, including kiwi, strawberry and vanilla.

3. Experiment mixing various scents by combining small drops together on a piece of paper. Try mixing floral and herbal scents, for example. Stir the drops into your mixture once you have decided upon a scent combination. The final mixture should contain a total of 10-15 drops. At this point, you may also choose to add food color to the mixture to give it a delicate color.

4. Package the finished shower gel by pouring it into your glass or plastic bottle. Apply a label if desired. Labels can be handwritten or created on the computer and printed off.

Body Spray

1. Add distilled water to your glass or plastic spray bottle container. Leave approximately one inch of space at the top.

2. Add 10-15 drops of essential oils or fragrance oils in the scent combination of your choosing.

3. Fill the bottle the rest of the way with distilled water and close the container.

4. Label the spray bottle of body spray if desired.

References

• Pioneer Thinking: Scented Shower Gel Recipe
• My Beauty Recipes: Homemade Shower Gel Recipe
• Pioneer Thinking: Body Spray
• Chickens in the Road: Homemade Vanilla-Scented Body Spray

Resources

• Refreshingly Free