Hello there! I hope you had an amazing weekend. I don’t know about you, but I have seen a lot of FB and Insta posts with sick people over the last few weeks. A lot. It makes sense… these crazy drastic weather changes in so many areas seem to cause more sniffles than usual. Not that I want winter to linger on any longer, but can it PLEASE make up its mind already! Staying or going??
Whenever I get congestion or a runny nose, I like to use vapor shower cubes to help clear out my sinuses and to help me breathe a little easier. The ones that you can buy at the store are filled with so many ingredients that I have no idea what they are, so therefore I don’t really feel like inhaling those while I take my soothing shower to try to feel better.
After using my Congestion Relief Pillow Spray, I decided I should take a go at making the other soothing relief I get, my own all natural vapor shower cubes!
These are made from simple ingredients that you likely have on hand in your pantry, along with essential oils. I really like the combo of Eucalyptus, Lavender and Tea Tree essential oils, but if you don’t want to get all of them, I found Eucalyptus and Tea Tree oils to be the most clearing. If you’re an essential oil newbie, this is a great little variety pack with a great value.
Soothing Vapor Shower Cubes
Makes 12 cubes
Ingredients/Supplies
- 1 cup baking soda
- 1/2 cup citric acid
- 1/4 cup corn starch (or you can also use arrowroot powder)
- 80 drops Eucalyptus Essential Oil
- 50 drops Peppermint Essential Oil
- Spray bottle with witch hazel or water
- Silicone mold (I just used a mini muffin man for these but any small silicone mold will work)
Directions
- Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Incorporate oils slowly into dry mixture. Introducing too much moisture at once can cause the shower fizzier to react prematurely.
- Spritz the mixture with water gradually and combine quickly after each spray. Continue to spritz until the mixture feels like damp sand (not wet!)
5. Press mixture into molds and allow to dry for 24 hours.
6. Gently press shower tabs out of molds once dry.
To use: Add a few more drops of essential oil just before using. Place on the floor of an already warmed shower in stream of water; close to drain. Gently breathe in and out of your nose to experience soothing relief. Relax and please feel better soon!
Store in an airtight glass container.
These are great to have on hand for your next cold or allergy bout and also to deliver to sick friends or family; they will thank you in abundance! You can get the printable label here.
Thanks for stopping by today… I hope you stay healthy and never need these (although they’re so relaxing that you can still enjoy them even if you don’t NEED them)!
Brooke says
Can I add coloring to this?
Lydia says
Hi Brooke! You can but if you have tile and grout in your shower you would only want to use soap colorant; food coloring could discolor the grout.
Sarah says
Hi there! So excited to make these. Do you need to use a carrier oil in these if i’m using pure eucalyptus oil?
Lydia says
Hi Sarah! I would recommend it still because otherwise it would take a TON of eucalyptus oil!
Audra Bach says
I haven’t made these yet, but plan to. I am reading the comments.i would think peppermint oil would work as well. It is really strong. I usually put a drop of it in the bottom of the tub when showering with water at the bottom. This helps when I am sick. I would think adding it to these would help a lot.
Lydia says
Hi Audra! I love peppermint oil and I think it would work just as well, too. Enjoy! 🙂
Rebecca Driskill says
I just made these and they’re kinda crumbly, a couple of them broke. Do you know if there’s something I can do differently the next time I make them? Thanks.
Lydia says
Hi Rebecca! At what point did they crumble, getting them out of the mold? If so, what type of mold did you use?
Elizabeth says
Hello, how do you store these? I have been looking at different recipes and one said to keep them in the fridge!?
Lydia says
Hi Elizabeth! I just keep them in an airtight container in the medicine cabinet and that has worked great.
Kat says
I made these for the first time. I used 350 degrees for 20 minutes. They did not harden. Do you think it safe to assume they needed more oven time? I left them out overnight in the molds too. Any advise?
Lydia says
Hi Kat! I’m sorry they didn’t harden! They must need more time… ovens and altitude can effect the time requirement, that’s the only thing I can think of! Keep me posted so we can troubleshoot further if need be! Happy holidays! 🙂
Debi says
Are the shower tabs safe for children age 3 up?
Lydia says
Hi Debi, as long as the children don’t handle them directly it would be safe. You just wouldn’t want them to touch them and then rub their eyes.
Kay says
Hi Lydia what is the shelf life for these
Lydia says
Hi Kay! I noticed that they lost their scent after about 8 months, you could always just add some more oils in that case. I wouldn’t use them after a year or so.
Jamie says
Can u use menthol crystals dissolved into the water before pouring it into the mold, since the crystals give more of a small. I know people use them in their homemade chest rubs
Lydia says
Hi Jamie! I’m not 100% on that since I’m not familiar with how menthol crystals might change the texture to harden into the tabs although I would think it would work just fine. I’d love to hear back how it worked if you do try it. Thanks for stopping by! – Lydi
Ari says
Can you use the vapor rub instead of the essential oils?? Or no
Lydia says
Hi Ari! I haven’t tried using VapoRub but it might be good to try a small batch to make sure it works… I’m just not sure if it would harden up as much. Let me know how it goes, I’m curious too!
Hil says
These are so cool!!! You should come link them up at the Bloggers Spotlight tomorrow night 🙂
http://www.raisingfairiesandknights.com
I love all things with essential oils, these are amazing!
Ida says
Hello – I did try making these and even added more drops of essential oils(before going in oven and after they came out of the oven) . I placed them by the drain – but did not notice much of a scent – I followed your recipe exactly – any other ways of making these?
Lydia says
Hi Ida, I’m sorry you couldn’t smell them! 🙁 I had another reader email me that they wanted a stronger scent so they added some Vick’s Vaporub (the cream) into the mixture and the cream-gel like texture apparently made it not drain as quickly so the scent lasted longer she said. Maybe you could try that and let me know how that goes for you? Thanks for letting me know!
Deb Salerno says
Another recipe I read said to add the 3 drops of 3 oils once out of the oven. I was wondering if some of the oils might lessen when in a hot oven, you know, kinda diffusing out ??? Your opinion ?
Stephanie says
The essential oils ingredients above, is that per cube once the baking soda mixture is poured?
Thanks!
Lydia says
Hi Stephanie! The quantity is the total for the whole batch. If you’d like to add more just before use though, you could add another drop or 2 of one of the essential oils.
Carly Jones says
So how do you divide each oil by the
Total number of cubes?
Lydia says
Hi Carly! No need to divide them when mixing, they can all just go in the mixture. You can just add a little extra before using for max scent and relief. Enjoy! 🙂
Ana says
Well then your directions are wrong, bc you say to add the oils to the top of the mixture after they’re in the muffin tins. which is it?
Lydia says
Hi Ana, as I mention in the directions adding them to the top at the end is just for extra scent, it isn’t necessary but I do both for maximum aromatherapy! 🙂
Michelle says
Hello! So how many drops do you recommend of the eucalyptus oil? It’s blank here in the recipe. Thank you!
Lydia says
Hey Michelle! Oh my goodness thank you so much! I didn’t realize it wasn’t there! Oops! I use 4 drops of eucalyptus oil. Thanks again, now I added it to the recipe! 🙂 Enjoy!
Aimée says
Have you used these without the extra drops of essential oil right before use? I’d love to make some as gifts, but the recipients probably don’t have essential oils to add before use. Thanks!
Lydia says
Hi Aimee, I haven’t tried them without the extra, but what I would suggest in this case is adding in a little more essential oil into the batch so that there will still be plenty of scent in case they can’t add the extra before use. Thanks for reaching out!
Prairie Gal Cookin says
This is such a great idea – Love your pictures too!!
Thanks so much for linking up over at Sunday’s Simple Homemaker on Prairie Gal Cookin! Please feel free to drop in and leave a link or two on this week’s link-up, we’d love to see what you’ve been up to! http://www.prairiegalcookin.com/sundays-simple-homemaker-2nd-weekly-link-up/
Lydia says
Thanks so much! And I will definitely do that!
OMG Lifestyle Blog says
Never heard of these but it makes so much sense! Thanks for sharing.
Lydia says
You’re welcome, thanks for stopping by!
Brianna says
I wish I had these last week when I had a nasty cold! Thanks for the tip though I can use them next month when the weather changes again and I get my April congestion.
Lydia says
I get the same thing in the spring Brianna, at least we will be armed and ready, right? 😉
Whitney says
What an awesome natural recipe. You made them look so professional. Thanks for the tip.
Lydia says
Thanks so much Whitney!