DIY Salon & Spa Items Series: Essential Oils

DIY Salon & Spa Items Series: Items You Can Make For Your Business

Having a salon and spa, you need to think of new innovative ways to make your business appealing and creative to gain more product sales or to keep your customer retention. One simple way is to show your customers that you are capable of making something for their treatment that they can either take home as a gift or to purchase afterwards, or have handmade luxury items as a special touch of aesthetics in your facility.

These items can consist of lotions, oils, scrubs, masks, etc. You can either purchase pre-made items with chemicals or unknown unnatural ingredients, or you can make something yourself with all natural ingredients and label it as handmade from your business.
Part 1 of our series will be how to make different essential oils and their uses:

DIY Essential Oils

Oils are a great way to provide benefits through the air and your skin to your body either though inhalation for aromatherapy during facials or red light sessions, massage sessions, baths, and room sprays. These oils will consist of all natural substances extracted from grasses, flowers, herbs, and spices to soothe, relax, energize, the body and emotion levels.
Oils can be purchased at most health food stores or ordered online. To determine what types of oils you would like to provide or make, here is a list of most common essential oils and their properties (most of these you might already have):

Oils to Use 

• Ajowan – improves circulation, alleviates muscle pain
• Aniseed – aids in cramping & indigestion (do not use if pregnant)
• Basil – soothing agent, muscle relaxant, toning
• Bay – stimulating, energizing
• Bergamot – soothing, antiseptic (for air)
• Black Pepper – muscle relaxant
• Carrot Seed – muscle relaxant, soothing agent, skin conditioner
• Cedarwood – deodorant, soothing agent, skin conditioner, antiseptic
• Celery Seed – toner
• Chamomile – muscle relaxant, skin conditioner
• Cinnamon Bark – skin conditioner, anti-inflammatory agent
• Citronella – skin conditioner, bug repellent
• Clove – muscle relaxant, soothing agent
• Copaiba Balsam – increases circulation, reduces stress
• Cypress – antiseptic, astringent, soothing agent, skin conditioner
• Eucalyptus – antiseptic, soothing agent, skin conditioner
• Evening Primrose – great for dry skin and eczema
• Fennel – muscle relaxant, soothing agent, antiseptic
• Frankincense – skin conditioner, soothing agent
• Ginger – astringent
• Grapefruit – soothing agent, astringent, skin conditioner
• Jasmine – emollient, soothing agent, antiseptic
• Lavender – muscle relaxant, skin conditioner, soothing agent, astringent
• Lemon – soothing agent, antiseptic
• Lemongrass – skin conditioner, soothing agent, muscle relaxant, antiseptic
• Lime – skin conditioner, soothing agent, antiseptic
• Mandarin – skin conditioner, soothing agent, antiseptic
• Neroli – antiseptic, emollient
• Nutmeg – skin conditioner, soothes irritated skin, muscle relaxant
• Orange – skin conditioner, soothing agent, antiseptic
• Patchouli – anti-inflammatory agent, antiseptic, astringent
• Peppermint – emollient, antiseptic, muscle relaxant
• Rosemary – skin conditioner, soothing agent, antiseptic, muscle relaxant (do not use if pregnant)
• Sage – soothing agent (do not use if pregnant)
• Sandalwood – skin conditioner, soothing agent, antiseptic, emollient
• Spearmint – emollient, astringent, soothing agent, muscle relaxant
• Tea Tree – antiseptic (sparingly on sensitive skin)
• Thyme – antiseptic, toner
• Vanilla – emollient
• Ylang-Ylang – reduces stress and tension

Be sure to ask your customers what they are currently in the mood for to determine what oils/room sprays to use during their session.

Essential Oil Uses & Dilution Rate

Always check the dilution rate for the purpose of your essential oils.

Inhalation – Just a few drops on your pillow or towel over your face during a massage or facial. (Diffuser recipes below)

Room Spray – 15 drops into half ounce of alcohol into a spray bottle and fill the rest with water. You can use as often as desired.

Bath – 5-10 drops per 20 minute bath. (Bath recipes below)

Massage –Essential oils should not be applied directly to the skin in their pure state, so you should mix it with carrier oils. Carrier oils are high in fatty acids, vitamins, and moisturizing nutrients which is great lubrication for customers’ skin.

Different carrier oils will have different benefits:

• Almond oil – for softening all skin types, relieves itchiness
• Avocado oil – easily absorbed, great for dry skin and prematurely lined skin
• Calendula – heals cracked skin and rashes
• Carrot seed oil – rejuvenates, reduces premature aging, scarring, itching, and restores elasticity
• Coconut oil – great for cracked, brittle skin and retaining moisture
• Grapeseed oil – for full body massage purposes, easily absorbed, odorless which is great to mix with
• Hazelnut oil – good for oily skin, easily absorbed
• Jojoba oil – anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory
• Olive oil – great for disinfecting, healing chapped skin
• Rosehip – promotes tissue regeneration for scars, burns, and wrinkles
• Sesame oil – natural sunscreen, odorless great for mixing

15 drops to one ounce of carrier oil. (Usually 2-3 drops of oil per teaspoon of carrier oil, 7-8 drops of oil per tablespoon, 15 drops of oil per ounce of carrier oil.)

DIY Diffuser Recipes

1. Wake Me Up Combo – equal parts Lemon & Peppermint
2. Odor Attacker – equal parts Lemon, Orange, Frankincense OR Rosemary, Citronella, Lemon, and Cinnamon Bark
3. Happy Clean Combo – equal parts Lemon, Orange, Grapefruit
4. Just Breathe – equal parts Bergamot, Ylang Ylang, Patchouli, OR Frankincense and Bergamot
5. Sweet Dreams Combo – equal parts Chamomile, Bergamot, Clary Sage
6. Concentration & Memory Blend – Peppermint and Orange (2-3 drops each), or try 4 drops Rosemary, 6 drops of Lemon and 4 drops of Cypress.
7. Respiratory Blend – equal parts Rosemary, Clove, Eucalyptus, Cinnamon
8. Immune System Support – equal parts Lemon, Lime, Peppermint, Rosemary and Eucalyptus

Get creative and try to make some of your own. Make your own salon/spa’s brand oils unique to your business to use.

Store all DIY oils used for the following purposes in a glass jar in a cool, dark place. They generally keep for 12 months, but some will lose potency after 6 months and most expire after 2 years. It’s natural for oils to change color over time, but they’re still effective.

DIY Oil Diffuser

If you don’t have a diffuser after you create your oils,make your own DIY oil diffuser with only a handful of items you might already have at home.

A reed diffuser only consists of: a glass jar, wooden or bamboo reeds/skewers, carrier oil such as almond, calendula, or jojoba oil, and your pre-made essential oil.

In the jar, gently mix about 20 drops of essential oils per ¼ cup carrier oil. Place the reeds in the oil and let the ends soak for a few hours. Then flip them to expose the oil-soaked ends which will fill the air with your desired scent.

Whenever the fragrance seems to fade and the oils are dried at the end, just simply flip the reeds to refresh the air of your oils.

 

DIY Bath Oil Recipes

Baths with essential oils are a great way to tone skin and find a remedy for any skin issues you and your customers may be having. To avoid ending up with an oil film on top of the water, tell me them to add a dollop of gentle shampoo as their adding 5-10 drops of their oil to the water.

1. Tranquil Bath – 1 part Orange, 3 parts Neroli
2. Morning Wake – 5 parts Rosemary, 2 parts Lavender
3. Relief Soak – 1 part Eucalyptus, 4 parts Thyme
4. Euphoria Water– 1 part Honey, 1 part Bergamot, 2 parts Neroli, 3 parts Ylang-Ylang
5. Oil Bathe for Oily Skin – equal parts Cypress & Orange
6. Sweetness for Dryness – 1 part Almond oil (see carrier oils above), 2 parts Sandalwood
7. Citrus Soothe – 1 part Lemon, 1 part Orange, 2 parts Lavender

 

DIY Massage Oil Recipes

Essential oils are used in massage sessions to relieve anxiety, stress, and increase blood flow, lymph production, drainage, ease pain, and soothe skin and soreness. Always apply the oils to your hands before directly to the skin. These recipes will be great for massage with a partner or apply to your skin before you put comfy clothes on during a hydro massage. (Read above about Massage Uses for Oils & Dilution)

1. Basic Massage – Carrier Oil: ½ cup Grapeseed oil, Essential Oil: 4 drops Lavender, 4 drops Sage
2. Joint Rub – Carrier Oil: 2 ounces Jojoba oil, Essential Oil: 12 drops Thyme, 12 drops Cedarwood
3. Warm Spice – Carrier: ½ cup Coconut oil, Essential Oil: 3 drops Cinnamon, 5 drops Orange, 2 drops Nutmeg, 4 drops Vanilla
4. Citrus Flower – Carrier Oil: ½ cup Olive oil, Essential Oil: 2 drops Sage, 2 drops Jasmine, 8 drops Bergamot, 2 drops Ylang-Ylang, 2 drops Grapefruit
5. Morning Blossom – Carrier Oil: ½ cup Almond Oil, Essential Oil: 2 drops Ginger, 7 drops Bergamot, 5 drops Frankincense, 2 drops Neroli, 2 drops Mandarian
6. Pain Relief – Carrier Oil: ½ cup Grapeseed oil, Essential Oil: 3 drops Chamomile, 2 drops Sandalwood, 2 drops Lemon, 2 drops Neroli, 2 drops Ajowan

Hope these simple recipes will help you decide how easy it is to make something luxury for your salon and spa for your customers. This will make your business seem for prestigious and make the customers gain your trust from your natural handmade products.

Keep an eye out for our next DIY blog in the DIY Salon & Spa Items Series to learn more of what you and your staff can make for new products for your salon and customers.

Our second DIY Blog: DIY Tanning Enhancers

 

Secrets of the Spas – Catherine Bardey – Black Dog & Leventhal Publihes INC. 1999
https://helloglow.co/5-benefits-diffusing-essential-oils-8-recipes-need-try/
https://helloglow.co/how-to-make-your-own-reed-diffuser/
http://www.naturallivingideas.com/make-natural-massage-oils-9-recipes-get-started/