Saturday, January 5, 2013

Soothing Shower Disks

When I lived at home, Dad always insisted we use Vick's Shower Soothers when we were sick.  Throw one on the shower drain and stand in a shower as hot as you could stand it for 15 minutes... and man did they work!  I started looking for Shower Soothers again about 2 years ago and never have found any.  I don't know if they stopped making them or if they're just hard to find but it's been impossible soooo I decided to create my own! 

I scoured the internet trying to find something that would work.  After joining Pinterest, I found a recipe for one on there.  I won't share the link because not only was it a fail... it was an EPIC fail!  They completely fell apart, they smelled like Rosemary (which I'm allergic to!) and if you could keep one together long enough to get it in the shower it didn't dissolve.  For those of you who have never used a Shower Soother, they are sort of like a medicinal bath bomb.  They fizz some and dissolve as you shower all the while emitting a Vick's type smell to help your head clear.  After several disastrous attempts thinking it was creator error, I gave up and tried something else.  I've taken several bath bomb recipes I found on Pinterest, combined them and adapted it to what I'm calling a Soothing Shower Disk.  They're not exactly like Vick's but they're close enough for me.  I've given them to Keaton's coworkers and our family members and everyone seems to love them.  I hope you do to!! 

Shower Soothing Disks

Ingredients:
  • 1 c. baking soda
  • 1/2 c. Citric Acid
  • 1/2 c. corn starch
  • 3/4 tsp. water
  • 1 1/2 tsp. Eucalyptus Essential Oil
  • 1/4 tsp. Lavender Essential Oil 
  • 1/4 tsp. Spearmint Essential Oil
  • 2 tsp. Vitamin E Oil
  • Rubbing Alcohol in a spray bottle
  • 7 drops food coloring (optional)
  • Muffin Tin

Put dry ingredients in a glass bowl.  I use an 8 cup glass Pyrex bowl.  Mix drys with whisk or fork until completely combined with no clumps.  Stir slowly!  If you stir too vigorously the power with fog and choke you--speaking from experience here.

Pour wet ingredients in glass bowl or cup.  Stir with spoon.



Now comes the tricky part.... With spoon, add wet to dry a few small drips at a time.  ***It's tedious I know but you really want to do this part carefully.  If the dry gets too wet at one time, the Citric Acid with activate.  It's important to keep this from happening too often.  If your Citric Acid is too bubbly, the disks won't activate in the shower and they'll grow and grow and grow and make a HUGE mess when you get them in the muffin tin.***  After a few drops are added, mix thoroughly into the dry and add a few more drops and mix again.  Keep doing this until all the liquid is added to the dry. 



Once you have the wet and dry completely combined, your mix should be somewhat clumpy.  Clumpy is such a technical term, right?  The mix should feel dry but stick together when you squeeze it.  If it doesn't clump when you squeeze it in your hand, spray ONE spray from the alcohol bottle.  Mix well.  If it still doesn't clump, spray again.  NEVER spray more than once.  ***Today's batch took 2 sprays, yesterday's batch took 10 sprays.  The amount of alcohol depends on humidity. More humidity=less alcohol*** Once the mix sticks together well, it's time to pack the muffin tins. 



Take about a handful of mix and put in one muffin cup. Each muffin cup = 1 disk.  Pack well.  Repeat until all mix is in the tin.  I usually get 7 disks from each batch. 



Set your muffin tin somewhere dry.  I set mine on the dryer (as long as I'm not doing laundry).  If your batch was "wet", you'll need to repack the disks every hour or so until they're stuck together well.  You'll know if your batch is "wet" if your disks swell.  Wait until your disks are pretty dry (3ish hours if your disks are normal, 6-8 hours if you have a wet batch) then turn your muffin tin over a cookie sheet and "pop" the disks out.



  I gently tap the bottom of each cup and my disks normally fall right out.  Place cookie sheet back in dry spot and leave 24 hours or so to cure. 



When they're finished drying completely, store in an airtight container (or a fancy ziploc bag).  I haven't tested to see how long they'll last but everything I've read says about 6 months.  I usually give mine away or use them pretty soon after making a batch. 

My notes :  1/4 tsp. of Essential Oil = about 25 drops; I use 7 drops of blue food coloring so I know what type of disk it is since I make a couple of others with different food coloring and essential oils; always use glass bowl since it's non-reactive; I don't measure essential oils but count drops instead; you can use a soap mold or silicon mold instead of muffin tin; witch hazel can be used instead of rubbing alcohol; Citric Acid can be found in the canning section of your discount store or grocery store; Essential oils can be found at a health food or hobby store, Hobby Lobby has a decent selection at decent prices; oil other than Vitamin E can be used, I use Vitamin E because I keep it on hand.  

Hope you enjoy!!  Jenn