Essential oils used when taking a bath or shower have a double effect: they simultaneously have a great effect on your skin and have an aromatherapeutic effect on your emotional state, mood, and psychological balance. With the help of essential oils, you can relax, soften the skin, get rid of irritation and redness, collect yourself after a long hard day, and restore inner harmony. All you need is to choose and use essential oils correctly.
The benefits of essential oils
Studies on oils and their components prove their high therapeutic and cosmetic effectiveness. Numerous experiments have proven that the best way for the body to absorb volatile substances is through inhalation. Our lungs quickly absorb the gaseous substances and deliver them through the bloodstream to various organs and systems. Inhalation of air enriched with aromatic molecules has a beneficial effect on your psycho-emotional and physical condition. Using essential oils in the shower is an excellent method of combining the useful with the pleasant. Put the chosen fragrance (3-4 drops) onto a piece of cloth, a sponge, or a cotton pad and place it nearby while you take a shower. Don’t apply pure undiluted products on the shower curtain or plastic or glass doors of the cubicle, as this will leave a residue that’s hard to get rid of.
Taking a bath with essential oils
To prepare a soothing therapeutic bath, dissolve sea salt in warm water and then add 8-10 drops of essential oil. It’s best to take a bath for about 20 minutes, in practice 15 to 30 minutes. Immediately after getting out of the water, blot your skin with a towel, but so that it remains damp. Apply some light body oil or moisturizing cream to moisturize your skin and keep it fresh. Important: do not add bath oil or any other oil to the bath, as it will cover the skin with a thin film and prevent proper absorption of the essential oils.
Taking a shower with essential oils
An effective, pleasant and very simple way of aromatherapy is to use essential oils in the shower. This method allows you to use up to 20 drops of essential oil at a time, but it’s recommended to start with a smaller amount, 3-5 drops. This way you’ll test the way your skin responds to certain essential oil and exclude the possibility of a negative reaction. Application is very simple and especially suitable for those essential oils that can be applied directly to the skin in an undiluted form. Using pure essential oils is more effective than using them in combination with a carrier oil (which reduces the absorbability of the skin by covering it with a thin oily film).
How does it work?
Take your favorite essential oil with you in the shower. Take a shower, turn off the water and without wiping yourself, start applying the oil to your body from the bottom up: one drop on your shins, under your knees, on your thighs, and higher on your stomach and chest, shoulders, forearms, neck. Gently massage each drop of essential oil onto wet skin. Only a little essential oil can be applied to the face: don’t put drops of oil on it but run your palms over your skin. Do this only if it’s a very mild, non-irritating essential oil, such as lavender.
Which essential oils are the best to use in the shower?
Lavender is the perfect essential oil for beginners. It’s safe, relaxing in every sense, and not irritating to the skin.
Chamomile reduces stress, soothes the skin, and leaves you feeling especially carefree.
Sage relaxes and nourishes without irritation.
Eucalyptus is gentle on the skin and has a strong antiviral effect.
Geranium is safe and nourishes the skin, improves mood, and relaxes.
Spruce tones the skin and is good for colds. It’s necessary to test on the skin before application: some oils can irritate the skin a little.
Myrtle is excellent for the lungs while being very gentle on the skin, softening it.
Petitgrain effectively relieves stress and relaxes.
Pine is excellent for toning and energizing without getting you overexcited. Usually doesn’t irritate but it’s better to test it on the skin.
Tea Tree cleanses and disinfects, safe for the skin.
Palmarosa strengthens the immune system and fights viruses, but can cause warming, slightly irritating sensation; very good to use with lavender.
Because you can only spend so much time in the shower, use fragrances with high and medium volatility. They start working very quickly.
To give yourself an energy boost in the morning and tune up for a productive day, use orange, lemon, mint, or rosemary. If the purpose is to calm down, relieve tension and stress, it’s a good idea to use lavender, Roman chamomile, melissa, or geranium.
During the colder season, inhalation of tea tree, eucalyptus, lemon, or fir during morning and evening water rituals can be a good technique to prevent colds.
Methods to use essential oils in the shower
A simple and pleasant way to use aromatherapy in the shower is to add essential oils to your personal hygiene and body care products. To create personal fragrance-based products for therapeutic purposes, use a neutral soap, gel, or oil base that you can trust.
Shampoo
Bergamot, lime, melissa, juniper, rosemary, and tea tree are appropriate to add to the shampoo base if your scalp tends to be oily. For problems with dryness, consider cabrueva, sweet orange, Roman chamomile, palmarosa, sandalwood, and ylang-ylang. Rosemary, bay, black pepper, laurel, nutmeg, and myrrh are applicable for hair growth and against hair loss.
Shower gel
It’s worth making several shower gels. Use energy-boosting blends in the morning. Some of the oils that will be good for this are lemon, bergamot, vetiver, green mandarin, litsea cubeba, and neroli.
For evening ceremonies, use lavender, lemon, ylang-ylang, sandalwood, geranium, or neroli.
Thanks to these fragrant essences, you can influence lymphatic drainage in the tissues and fight swelling in the body. Red juniper, blue cypress, niaouli, and frankincense can do the job. Even a light massage in the direction of lymph flow will prevent varicose veins and congestion in tissues.
After exercising, use salt scrubs with ginger, marjoram, black pepper, or fragonia. Their ingredients promote muscle relaxation and relieve post-workout pain. Feel free to take a jar of sports scrub to the fitness club.
Scenting towels
If you don’t have time for a full-fledged aromatherapy session, use a towel scented with your favorite essence. The warmth and humidity of the bathroom will make the fragrance unfold in seconds and release its most precious properties. Stay enveloped in this fragrance for a few minutes and realize that even such a short aromatherapy ritual will give true pleasure and benefit.
Important reasons to use the benefits of aromatherapy while bathing or showering
This is the time that you devote only to yourself. Leave all thoughts of work and family behind, distract yourself from everyday chores. Just relax. It really is a moment of pure bliss!
You can also benefit your skin by periodically changing the temperature of the water. Cold or at least cool water stimulates blood circulation.
Under the influence of heat, active substances penetrate through the skin, mucous membranes, and respiratory system more easily. An aromatic bath acts as an inhalation!
Aromatherapy shower or bath helps to relax, and therefore it helps you to go to sleep. This is why it’s best to do it just before going to bed. Depending on the selected essential oil, it’s also an excellent invigorator, in which case it makes sense to take it in the morning, before starting a hard day.
A bath allows you to completely cover your skin with essential oil, and if you don’t rinse afterward, you can take full advantage of all the benefits of aromatherapy, snuggling up in your bathrobe afterward.
The water envelops the body like a cocoon: anxieties dissipate and muscles relax.
You can mix several essential oils; it will be even more beneficial: their healing properties will successfully complement each other. But don’t mix more than 3 essential oils at the same time, especially if you’re inexperienced in aromatherapy. Not all fragrances and their components always work well together. Mix 10 drops of a fragrant essence with a tablespoon of bath soap, vegetable oil, castor oil, or milk if you don’t have anything more suitable on hand. Mix 4 drops for children, 6 drops for adults with a teaspoonful of bath base, vegetable oil, or milk per full bathtub.
When showering, 1-2 drops per regular dose of shower gel will be quite enough.
