Attention: If your skin can be described as red, itchy, irritated, chapped, or dry, you should give this soak a go. It’s cheap, extremely easy to throw together, and it feels great on angry skin. It’s inspired by a remedy my mother used on me when I was a kid; a simple oatmeal bath for my annually enraged eczema. Every winter, my elbows, knees, and arms would flare up with itchy red splotches, and this quick bath soak made it feel so much better. I remember watching my mom sprinkle in the mix, and the soothing scent of oatmeal that filled my bathroom. I still associate the smell with selfcare, today. She bought little packets from the store, and when I figured out they were just made with colloidal oats, I knew I could make it cheaper and even better. This DIY will take you all of five minutes once you get your supplies. You really don’t need much, and can make a lot of soaks at once! So, without further ado, here it is: how to make a soothing bath soak!
Since this soak is 100% powder, it has a great shelf life that can be extended further with proper storage. I recommend storing yours in sealed containers to keep out moisture, and suggest placing them in a cabinet or dry closet to ensure the medicine in the herbs stays potent (light degrades some phytocomponents). I included a few good jars below in my ingredients list, one of which I use and love for gifting and selling (the clear jars)! They make adorable presents, and are so easy to throw into a selfcare or spa-day themed basket.
So, what do you need to make these luxurious soaks?
Three ingredients. Colloidal oat powder, whole milk powder (or a nourishing plant milk powder such as coconut milk powder), and calendula powder.
That’s it!
I like to mix together 1 part calendula, 1 part colloidal oats, and 1 part whole milk powder to make my soaks, but you can play around with this ratio to find your personal sweet spot. You can also add things like rose petals, arnica powder, and other soothing ingredients for an extra fabulous experience, but these three basic ingredients are all you need to get incredibly silky, soothing bath. If you choose to use calendula petals, or whole flowers of any kind, I recommend putting your soak into a cloth bag/teabag before tossing it into your bath. It makes clean up so much easier!
When I made my soaks, I bought everything (30 jars included) for $72.33, and have the supplies to make about 20 soaks. I bought my ingredients and jars in bulk via Amazon!
I have a few affiliate links to Mountain Rose Herbs below. I prefer buying from Mountain Rose Herbs when I can, simply because the quality of the products I have used from them is outstanding, and their packaging makes storing herbs easy and hassle-free! They also provide a great price for bulk buying, often cheaper than Amazon and other online retailers.
That said, there are a few things from Amazon that Mountain Rose herbs doesn’t carry! I included those links for you, as well as some botanical options from Amazon. All prices reflect the current cost as of today (04/21/2022). All prices are subject to change and availability. I bolded all of my top choices!
A quick note: Below are a few affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase using them, at no extra cost to you. By purchasing using my affiliate links, you’re supporting my blog without having to spend any extra money! How cool is that?
Shopping List
- Colloidal Oat Powder on Amazon ($16/12 oz.)
- Colloidal Oat Powder on Amazon ($8/5 oz.)
- Calendula Powder on Mountain Rose Herbs ($9.25/4 oz, $28/16 oz )
- Calendula Powder on Amazon ($13/4 oz.)
- Dried Calendula Flowers on Mountain Rose Herbs ($8.25/4 oz., $25/16 oz.)
- Dried Calendula Flowers on Amazon ($12/4 oz.)
- Whole Milk Powder on Amazon ($12/12 oz.)
- Whole Milk Powder on Amazon ($18/32 oz.)
- Coconut Milk Powder on Amazon ($15/16 oz.)
Optional Additions to Try
- Cloth Drawstring bags (for easy cleanup of whole flowers, petals, etc… just pour your soak in here and toss it into your bath! You can also use it to gently scrub your skin!)
- Arnica Flowers on Mountain Rose Herbs ($12.75/1 oz., $39/4 oz., $120/16 oz.)
- Rose Petal Powder on Mountain Rose Herbs ($26/4 oz., $79.50/16 oz.)
- Rose Petals on Mountain Rose herbs ($24.75/4oz., $76/16 oz.)
- Whole Rose Buds on Mountain Rose Herbs ($18.75/4 oz., $57.50/16 oz.)
- Lavandin Flower Powder on Mountain Rose Herbs ($8.50/4 oz., $26/16 oz.)
- Chamomile Flower Powder on Mountain Rose Herbs ($9.75/4 oz., $30/16 oz.)
Container Options
- 4 oz Clear Jars on Amazon ($27/30 count)
- 3 oz. Mini Mason Jars (Clear) on Amazon ($14/12 count)
- 4 oz Amber Jars on Amazon ($24/12 count)
- 8 oz Clear Jars on Amazon ($31/12 count)
- 8 oz Amber Jars on Amazon ($21/12 count)
- If you have a few empty sauce jars, clean them out and use them for personal use! I have a few soaks stored in glass salad dressing bottles, and they actually look quite cute! If you finish a jar of peanut butter or Nutella, you can also upcycle these for yourself!
And there you have it; you can create your very own soothing bath soak, and it takes less than five minutes to throw together! Don’t forget to pin, comment, and like this post to see more! If you like this DIY, check out my recipe for silky lip balm here!
