Are you interested in making homemade gifts for your family, friends and co-workers this holiday season? If so, you may want to think about making a batch of homemade baby powder or bath powder. Based on my experience, it is a very easy and fun task to complete. It will also take up very little of your time. Here’s how to do it:
In order to make your own baby powder, you’ll need a household blender, a food processor or an electric coffee grinder. Personally, I like to use an electric spice grinder to make baby powder because it doesn’t take up much room and is easy to work with. The one that I use to make homemade bath powder was purchased at a major department store many years ago. It cost me all of $20 and I’ve had it ever since.
You’ll also need a box of cornstarch, arrowroot powder or unscented talcum to use as your base. Arrowroot powder and cornstarch are available for purchase through grocery stores. You can typically purchase a 20 ounce container of either one for $3 to $5.
Unscented talcum, also known as French chalk powder and wetsuit talcum powder, may be purchased through dive shops, marine stores and retailers that sell organic baby products. If you try and purchase it through an organic baby products retailer, look for the brand Little Twig. The company produces a 4.5 ounce bottle of unscented baby powder that tends to sell for $9.
As far as the scents go, you’ll want to gather together an assortment of essential oils, orris root powder, dried flowers, herbs, spices and citrus peels. Most of those items may be purchased through craft stores and specialty retailers. If you are looking to save a few bucks on baby powder making supplies, you can even use flowers, herbs and spices from your home’s gardens. If you are in a hurry and don’t have time to dry your own flowers and herbs, commercially made potpourri and spices will also work in a pinch. Scents to consider using are lavender, gardenia, magnolia, lilac and hyacinth.
Lastly, you’ll also need to invest in decorative jars or tins to put your homemade baby powder in. If you plan on making a lot of homemade bath powders, I’d recommend buying the containers in bulk through a bottle and packaging company. In my experience, it tends to be the most economical way to go. One company that sells the containers is SKS Bottle and Packaging. If you plan on making a small amount of homemade baby powder, you may want to purchase your containers through a craft store instead.
Preparing the Work Area
Once you have all of your supplies on hand, set up your work space in an area that has good ventilation and light. If you are sensitive to smell and dust, you may also want to think about donning a dust mask. You can typically purchase dust masks through hardware stores and home improvement stores for less than $5 a box.
Making the Baby Powder
The actual powder making process is quite simple. There are also two ways to do it. The first method involves deciding on a scent and running all of the ingredients through the grinder until they are well blended. Once that’s done, place your homemade body powder into the decorative containers and do with them what you will.
The second method involves filling a decorative container with base product and then adding fresh flowers to it. Afterward, put the lid onto the container and give it a good shake. The goal is to bury the flowers inside the base product. Repeat this procedure multiple times over the course of several days. You may even need to replace the flowers a few times. Once the powder starts to smell the way that you’d like it to, remove the flowers and use the powder as desired.
To help get you started, I thought that I would also include a few recipe suggestions on making baby powder with essential oils and potpourri. To make an orange scented bath powder, combine 1 tablespoon of orris root powder, 2 tablespoons of arrowroot, 1 tablespoon of orange peel and three drops of orange essential oil together. Then run it through your spice mill until it reaches the desired consistency. If you would rather make a potpourri based baby powder, run 2 tablespoons of your favorite potpourri and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch through your spice blender. That is all that there is to making your own baby powder.
Source: Personal Experience
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