My favourite bath product of all time is the Aveda brand Rosemary Mint line of body washes and shampoos. I first bought some at a girls’ weekend getaway at Ste. Anne’s Spa. My girlfriends and I bought a weekend package through an on-line auction and had an amazing couple of days away. The spa uses only that scent for their products. Every time I smell it, I think of that great weekend.
I’ve long since run out of the body wash and shampoo and I don’t live close to any retailer that sells it, so I thought I’d try to recreate the scent myself. It might take some playing around, if you attempt to do it yourself, depending on the kind of soap that you use. For the body wash part, I loosely followed the directions on One Good Thing by Jillee’s post. I had an unused shampoo bar leftover from my attempt at shampoo bar and apple cider vinegar hair washing, so I modified Jillee’s recipe slightly and came up with this:
Rosemary Mint Body Wash and Shampoo
- 1 shampoo bar (I used a Soap Works bar)
- 4 cups water
- 40 drops of rosemary essential oil
- 25 drops of peppermint essential oil
Melt the shampoo bar in a glass container in the microwave, adding just enough water to cover it. Watch to make sure it doesn’t boil over. Once it has mostly melted (you will probably have to stop and stir and few times), pour it into a pot with ~4 cups of water and continue melting the soap, stirring it constantly. Once everything seems melted, remove from heat and let cool. It will seem quite runny, but it thickens as it cools. Once cooled, I used my stick blender to really mix it up well, then added in the essential oils and stirred. If it seems too thick, add more water and blend it a bit more. Add the oils a little at a time, stopping if it seems too much, or add more if you like. The Soap Works bar had a very mild scent of its own that I needed to cover first.
I’m pleased with the end product. I smell rosemary-minty fresh. It even has a little tingle power. As an added bonus, Soap Works shampoo bar is a natural product, sold without packaging and I reused some old containers for the end product. No waste!
Linking to Frugally Sustainable, A Pinch of Joy, A Delightful Home, Six Sister’s Stuff
lightlycrunchy 
Oh, such a great idea!
Thanks! Occasionally, purely by accident, I happen on one.
Oh wow! That is really cool! Thanks for sharing and I will let you know how my first batch turns out!
Hope you like it – feel free to mess around with the amount of water and essential oil – this is what worked for this batch, but it might be different for each batch, depending on the type of soap that you use.
tingle power is good
Absolutely. Take it where you can get it.
ha ha ha (that is the old way to say lol)
Funny, we had a motivational speaker today (Deb Kimmett from The Debators and DNTO) say exactly that same line! Great minds thinking alike, eh?
what a coincidence – hope she did not copyright it
I love this! Thanks for sharing it, I will be trying it as soon as I can find the oils.
I’d love to try this. Essential oils are so expensive here, but it’s very tempting…
They are around $9-$15 here per bottle, but they last a long time. I’ve more than gotten my money’s worth with them. I use them all the time – for room fresheners, bath salts and oils (and give the bath products as gifts!)
Nice! I live their rosemary mint stuff too. Tingly!
Looks like another homerun! I love the scent of rosemary (it is to die for!) and this (as always) looks easy, simple, and wonderful! 🙂
Thanks!
I think I need to start a Pinterest board titles ‘Lightly Crunchy things I need to make’. Serious.
Me too! I LOVE Aveda but have stopped purchasing their products as I have tried to be more frugal. Heck, I’m all ready making my own soap, I can certainly make a shampoo 😉 Great stuff Heidi!
🙂
This seems so easy! It gives me so many ideas. Thank you so much.
You’re welcome! What are the ideas? I’d love to hear them.
I have so many oils that I bought from the body shop that I could use in the body wash. Also a little sea salt as a scrub and small pieces of lavender for added scent. I will let you know when I try a few out! 🙂
That does sound good. Send me a link, if you write it up. Id love to see the results.
Will do!
this is so very clever and I think would be relaxing too. I am going to give it a try. I will have to find a similar brand of soap here.
I love Aveda products. Thanks for the recipe…it sounds scrumptious.
*anna
I’m definitely interested in giving this a go. It sounds amazing and will compliment my rosemary hair rinse perfectly (which I promise to post some time soon). Thanks for sharing.
Heidi, this sounds great. I have to buy more shampoo today but now I’m thinking I may have to make it instead! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
You’re welcome!
So, I’ve been using the shampoo bar for a couple months now and I really liked only having to wash my hair twice a week….if even that much. But it seems over two months time, the “waxy residue” built up and my hair was hard and yucky, except for at the roots. I just washed it today using one of my tiny, camping shampoo back-up-emergency-bottles as I have no shampoo in the house. We’re going to a party tomorrow and I can’t go looking like that. I thought maybe if I cleaned it all out, I could start again with the shampoo bar.
Is there a difference between the bar and melting the bar into shampoo? I know you had a bit of trouble with the shampoo bar in the past. Did it do a better job melted down?
I haven’t tried it as a shampoo – it would probably give the same results – its still just the soap with water added. I’ve been using it as body wash. I didn’t like the way my hair felt either, with the bar shampoo. I will definitely use it at the cottage in the lake – but not continuosly at home. Sorry, not much help, am I?
Just glad to hear I’m not the only one having trouble with the shampoo bars. The darn thing worked so well at first!
I thought so too, at first. My hair felt really clean and soft. After a couple of weeks though it felt terrible. I still use it occasionally, just to get that really clean feeling once in a while.
How long would this shampoo last and how would you store it?
It’s just soap and water – I can’t see storing it to be any problem. There is also a fair amount of essential oil with antibacterial properties in it – so it should be fairly stable on the shelf. If you have any worries about that, you could always use distilled water. I’m using it for body wash mainly, in a family of 4 (3 who will use it) and it won’t last too long anyway. You might have to shake it occasionally in case the oils rise to the top.
[…] a small fascination with essential oils lately – see the Homemade Vapo-Rub, Lip Balm and Rosemary – Mint Body Wash and Shampoo. I also made Lemon Olive Oil Hand Gardener’s Hand […]
This must smell amazing.
[…] the price tag! So she set out to make her own. I can’t wait to try this one. Get the tutorial here. You may also […]
I really need to try this. But I think I will make the shampoo bar, myself, instead of buying one. I’ll let you know how it turns out. =)
I’d love a link to your shampoo bar too. I haven’t tried soap making yet, but I’m working my way up to it.
Can’t wait to make this one, for me and for gifting! What brand of oils did you use?
Organika – it’s the brand the local health food store carries. I haven’t tried any others.
You are so creative! Great job on this. Do you find it easier to order ‘poo bars online or buy them in store?
I just pick them up at the health food store.
I think that’s my next step in simpler living. Thanks!
Thanks for this post. Can’t wait for trying it!
J’espère que vous l’aimez.
Je vous tiendrez au courant 😉
Hey there,
Thanks for sharing this idea!
I’d not heard of shampoo bars before. I’ve Googled the soapworks bar but can’t seem to find it. Where did you get yours? I’d love to try it.
I’ve been using home made shampoo for a couple of years (baking soda and Apple Cider Vinegar) but recently I’ve been experimenting with other recipes.
If you’re interested in seeing the results then please sign up to my weekly newsletter through my website (some have been less successful than others… but I’ve learnt a thing or two thankfully!)
Oh and I can thoroughly recommend using beer as a conditioner! (I just tipped it over my head after using baking soda, worked it in and left it for 5 minutes then rinsed. Result: lovely soft hair!)
I’ve been meaning to try essential oils so those are next on the list
Cheers anyway!
Rob
Natural Shampoo Kits
Thanks. The Soap Works are a Toronto company. http://puresoapworks.com/index.htm
I found them at health food stores or the Bulk Barn.
Love this… I can smell the goodness through your post!
I am going to try this with an unscented bottle of baby shampoo. I have a huge bush of rosemary and some mint plants. Will simmer both in some water for a while and then add to shampoo. I use the shampoo as body wash also. Can’t wait to do this. Thanks for the idea. Another thing I do is this…..I took Peppermint Extract that you cook with. Added a good sprinkle to a spray bottle of water. You would not believe how heavenly it feels to use at work when I am so incredibly dirty, hot and sweaty (ugh). But that will cool you off for a good 30 minutes or so and help you feel like you have taken a shower.
I might try your trick with the peppermint extract. I hope you like your results with the baby shampoo. I’m curious to hear if it works out for you.
Yes try the Peppermint Extract spray water. Heavenly on a hot humid day.
Wow, this looks great. Do you think I could use a bar of homemade soap in place of the bar you used? I would love to try this!
I don’t see why not. It should work with any unscented soap. For at least the body wash.
Awesome! Pinning it now! 😀
I don’t see why not. It should work with any unscented soap. For at least the body wash.And if melting it in the microwave doesn’t work for it, just grate it and melt it on the stove.
Alright, will do! Thanks again! 😀
I can’t wait to try this! I’m always excited to see new ways to use the herbs I’ve gotten started growing
this sounds divine! I love rosemary and peppermint and the thought of having those scents in my hair … ah that would be lovely!
I love this stuff! I made some for a friend, and instead of using a shampoo bar I used some Johnson’s Head to Toe Baby Wash (which I always have on hand). I turned out foamy, great-smelling, and perfect for super sensitive skin! Thanks for the inspiration!
You’re very welcome!
I’ve done something similar with great success. Use it as hand soap all over the house. I make my own shampoo/body bar with the same oils. My favorite scent. For those of you who have had trouble with shampoo bars building up after a while: Try rinsing with apple cider vinegar occasionally. I usually do a couple of times a week. Stops the buildup and the smell rinses out!
Another benefit to the rosemary mint oils: I haven’t had a mosquito bite all summer!!!!! They hate the stuff.
[…] How to Make Rosemary Mint Shampoo and Body Wash […]
I don’t have bar soap, I only have liquid Dr. Bronner’s soap. How much of that should I use in this recipe?
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