Today I’m sharing the very recipe that kickstarted my journey into a life of creating more and consuming less. It’s funny that it’s such a simple recipe – but it carries a big story for me.
In 2010, my youngest was born. At the time, I was detoxifying my home after learning that a trusted brand of baby products I’d used on my firstborn was full of strange chemicals which, had I known, I could never imagine putting on her skin…
I started looking to natural options – but I soon realised that it wasn’t going to be easy to make the switch.
I spent a lot of time and money buying “natural” products – only to find out later that they weren’t as wholesome as the label promised. There’s a lot of dodgy marketing out there, legal loopholes and complicated ingredient listings – how are we meant to navigate that just to buy a simple soap? It took me years to work this out, but at the time I was just confused by it all…
And then, one day I came across a bath tea – a product to bathe your baby with. Made with simple ingredients that I understood, it was the real deal! It looked amazing – until I saw the price! At $5 per bath, it wasn’t going to be an everyday option for us. I felt gutted that I couldn’t give my baby these better products.
The alternative was to continue using conventional products – but that just wasn’t an option anymore. The image of a mother, lovingly rubbing a petrochemical byproduct onto her baby’s skin just made zero sense to me!
And in that moment – I think out of pure frustration – something clicked.
As I looked at this bath product, for the first time I saw the ingredients list as a recipe. I said to myself, hold-on, I have all of these ingredients in my kitchen right now!
I had no idea what I was doing – but I knew that they list out the ingredients in order of amount, from most to least. So I used that as a guide, walked into the kitchen and started mixing.
That night, in my baby’s bath – I placed my own little packet of homemade bath tea into the warm water. It instantly released a milky cloud, and I could smell the lavender and cacao. Her skin felt like velvet, so soft – and smelling of real flowers! This is exactly how it should be! I felt this incredible sense of empowerment. There was another option – I can make it myself! That feeling changed everything for me and sent my life on a whole new, and very unexpected path!
So this is the recipe that launched it all! Since then, I have not altered the recipe – it’s a classic – it works – it’s amazing. I still use it for my girls and really, no matter your age, your skin will absolutely love it!
- Oats – when oats come in contact with water, it releases a gel which is soothing and healing for our skin. It calms redness, irritations, itchiness and leaves you feeling silky and soft.
- Lavender – a cleansing herb, lavender is antimicrobial and very healthy for our skin.
- Cacao butter – a natural fatty emollient, it feeds your skin healthy vitamin E and hydrates the skin deeply.
Silky Oat Bath Tea Recipe
- 1 cup oat flour ((you can blend dry oats in your blender))
- 1/4 cup dried lavender buds
- 2 – 3 tbsp cacao butter (shaved)
- empty tea bags or filter bags
- glass jar to store your finished tea bags
- In a large bowl, blend all of your ingredients together
- Fill a tea bag with the blend. Depending on how much you stuff it, you can make 6 to 8 large teabags with this recipe.
- Fill a bath with hot water, place the tea bag to steep for a minute. You can then add a bit of cold water to cool the bath if it’s too hot for a baby.
Singapore, to find empty tea bags, look in Daiso. For glass jars, buy from Le Bono Collection.
You can store your Silky Oat Bath Tea in a sealed container, it will last for for months. They make a great gift for newborns, but also adults too!
At the start, making was a way for me to enjoy these natural products – without the price tag. But with time, it became more than that.
I learned that simplifying – buying less into the excess – affords you the freedom to make better choices. You begin to surround yourself with things that have meaning, and that changes your view.
Sure, it feels good to bring home something new – whether you intended to buy it or not. A promising shampoo, a cheap perfume, a new nail polish… But, these impulse buys are what drain you, your wallet and fill your home with clutter – unnecessary and potentially toxic things.
I’ve learned a simple lesson, that has changed my view:
Buy less stuff, buy better quality. This doesn’t need to mean more expensive, quality has a story that you feel moved by. It can be a $4 dollar bracelet you bought on holiday from a street vendor, or $40 dollar bath product handmade in small batches. It’s not the object and it’s not the price – it’s your connection to it that defines its value.
And because you spend time making things, you’ll know it when you see it.
I hope you’re getting as excited about getting hands-on as I am. Just get started, and you could have your first natural skincare product in just 5 minutes!
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18 responses to “Silky Oat Bath Tea Recipe”
Great giveaway, is it open to people in the US? If not I have the recipe now I can make on my own and giveaway for Christmas presents. Thanks
Hi Saniel – yes it’s open world wide 🙂 Please do enter! Good luck
Hi there, I changed upon your blog whilst looking for natural products for my toddler. I love yr blog! I am from Singapore, may I know where can I get dried lavender buds and shaved cacao butter? 🙂
Hi! I am considering making some of these as a gift, but I had a question – how well do those teat bags keep the mixture inside? I don’t want to give a gift that ends up making a mess of their tub or clogging the drain!
Hi Storm! Yes, these make perfect gifts – no mess at all. The tea bags are brilliant for keeping everything in. Give it a try! 🙂
In the description it says these will last for months is that 4 months or just months?
Hi April,
Because there’s no water content, it can go from 6 months to a year – but where I live it’s super humid, so I don’t push it past 4 months… Hope that helps!
This recipe sounds awesome! However, I only have a baby bathtub at home. Should I cut the amount per teabag? Do you also have a homemade shampoo for kids?
Hi Wanni! When you make it please share your thoughts!! You can make a smaller amount, but for your first try, keep it as it is for now and see how it goes. You can’t really over do it 🙂 I used to used a baby bathtub for my newborn and now that their older, I still don’t fill up the tub all the way…
Look forward to hearing what you think!!
Hi I’m trying to make my own household cleaners and it was you who got me inspired! I started out with the lavender vinegar cleaner… Love it!
Would like to try making this too! Where can I get cacao butter in SG though?
Hi Cherlyn – I’m so excited to hear it! You can find cacao butter at Real Food Grocer, maybe give them a call to check: http://www.realfoodgrocer.com/contact_us.html
or you can order through iHerb
http://www.iherb.com/Sunfood-Raw-Cacao-Butter-1-lb-454-g/50400
Happy making!
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Hi, love the recipe and can’t wait to make. I’m also thinking to make as gift for baby shower, does it work in a mesh cotton drawstring bag? Thanks
Hi! That’s so great – I love gifting them too! As long as the holes are small enough to hold in the contents 🙂 I’ve used muslin cloth bags and fillable tea bags with good results!
Hi! what kind of tea bag do you use? Wondering what the best option would be since it will be soaking in her bath. Would hate to pack amazing clean ingredients in a bag full of anything yucky!
Hi Savannah! I use muslin, Unbleached, cotton bags – they work really well! I get them on Anazon. But you can also use fillable tea bags which are food safe 🙂
[…] Back when I first became interested in natural skincare, I was so inspired and eager to make changes! […]