Bergamot & Lemongrass Shower Steamers (Moon Cake Press)
I love making shower steamers, I love gifting shower steamers and I love using shower steamers. That's why I am writing this post on this lovely product and also because I got a super cute rabbit moon cake press mold. My shower steamer recipes call for a combination of menthol crystals and essential oil or an essential oil blend. You can check my previous posts on shower steamers ( Calm and Comfort Lavender and Rosemary &Menthol).
The recipe I am sharing today calls for a refreshing tandem of citrusy bergamot, balancing lemongrass, stimulating grapefruit, and last but not least, spicy-hot cinnamon essential oils. You can use a different essential oil blend or a fragrance oil instead. My batch makes 5 rock-hard mooncake pressed shower steamers.
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How to use a shower steamer?
Option Number 1 - simply place it on the shower floor away from the direct stream of water.
Option Number 2 - hang it on the shower faucet in an organza bag. This is how I use my shower steamers because this method allows them to dry in between uses so I can get 2-3 aromatherapy sessions instead of one.
What molds can we use?
Mooncake press molds. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes and are very affordable and easy to find.
2. Plastic Molds
3. Silicone molds. They're a little bit trickier to use so I don't recommend it for beginners.
4. 3-D Shower Tab molds. They can are available on Etsy. Cada molds store also offers a great variety of 3D Printed Bath Bomb and Shower Steamer molds.
Shower Steamer Recipe
280g Baking Soda
6g Kaolin Clay
50g Tapioca Starch (or Cornstarch)
5g Alcohol (91%) - for dissolving menthol crystals
5g Menthol Crystals (you can add more menthol crystals if you want - up to 30g)
4g Bergamot Essential oil
5g Lemongrass Essential oil
2g Grapefruit Essential oil
0.5g Cinnamon Essential oil
5g Polysorbate 80 (to disperse mica colorant and slow down the fizzing reaction)
0.2g green mica (you can use a different colorant
2-3g of water (you might need more or less water than me depending on the humidity
140g Citric Acid
INSTRUCTIONS
Dissolve your menthol crystals in alcohol. Breaking the crystals in smaller pieces and warming them up a little really speeds up the dissolving process.
2. Sift all of your dry ingredients except for citric acid into a large mixing bowl.
3. Mix your essential oils, polysorbate 80, and mica in a measuring cup.
4. Add your essential oil blend mixture into the dry ingredients and mix very well. Make sure there're no clumps left.
5. Add your dissolved menthol crystals, 2-3ml of water and mix well.
6. Once your liquid ingredients are well combined with your dry mixture you can add citric acid. Weigh 140g Citric acid and add it to your shower steamer mixture. Mix well. You will feel immediately how the texture changes from soft and crumbly to a well-sticking, fluffy, consistency. If you feel that your batch is still too dry then add a few spritzes of alcohol or water and mix quickly. If you want to use a moon cake press then your mixture should be a little bit wetter than usual.
7. Make a hard clump test. Squeeze some mixture in your hand to create a clump and drop it into your bowl. It should stay together and not break into pieces or crumble.
8. Fill your molds with shower steamer mixture until it overflows the mold and then push the mixture down with the palm of your hand. Now place the mooncake press on a cutting board layered with some parchment paper, push down very firmly. While pressing on the handle, slowly lift the moon press up to release the shower steamer. If you find that your designs are not coming out as clean as you would like them to you can prep your molds with Cyclomethicone or dust them with cornstarch.
9. Place your shower steamers in a dry place for 24-48 hours or until they are completely dry. I like to put mine in an airtight container.
I hope you have enjoyed this post! Let me know if you have any questions about this recipe and drop your suggestions for the new post in the comment section down below.
Useful Posts
Calm and Comfort Lavender & Lemongrass Shower Steamers
Bath Bomb Adventures Part II. Making Embeds.