This soothing oat bath and body oil was born from a recipe request from Claudia, who loves Aveeno’s Skin Relief Shower and Bath Oil. She said that it was fantastic for dry winter skin and even helped with her son’s eczema. Taking a look at the ingredients, first first one is mineral oil, so it’s not hard to understand why she’d prefer a more natural alternative (that and the $30 for 300mL/10fl oz price tag!). So, let’s make ourselves some Soothing Oat Bath and Body Oil!
The original is mostly mineral oil with added oat powder, a surfactant/emulsifier, a gelling agent (to help the oat powder stay suspended), fragrance, and silca. The mineral oil and the surfactant would work together to create a sort-of lotion with whatever water was already on the skin, helping lock in moisture and also creating an oil that can be rinsed off (as it would grab onto any water sprayed at it) and run down the drain without turning your shower into a slipping hazard. Claudia mentioned a lovely almond-like fragrance, which likely comes from the included benzyl alcohol and benzaldehyde, both of which have fragrance listed as a potential use (especially benzaldehyde, which is also known as synthetic almond essential oil). And last but not least, silica—a great naturally occurring compound that helps strengthen hair and soften skin.
The first ingredient we’ll be ditching is the mineral oil, replacing it with a blend of almond oil and sunflower oil. Both are relatively inexpensive (so there’s no heartbreak from washing some down the drain), but also lovely for your skin. Sweet almond oil is rich in vitamin D, and sunflower seed oil (USA / Canada / UK / NZ) is rich in linoleic acid (which is awesome for eczema and acne prone skin) and vitamins A, B, D and E, so the two of them are a fantastic pairing.
For emulsifiers, I went with a blend of olivem 300 and BTMS-50. Olivem 300 is a new emulsifier for me—I grabbed a bottle from Windy Point a couple months ago and have been itching to play with it. It’s a water soluble/oil dispersible emulsifier made from olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada), and it helps make our oil blend wash off by helping it emulsify with our shower water. I included BTMS-50 for its added conditioning properties, some thickening (olivem 300 helps with that a bit, too), and even more emulsifying power. With these two added emulsifiers you can easily blend a small amount of this sooth oat bath and body oil with water and turn it into a white, creamy palmful of good-for-skin awesomeness.
To round things off we’ve got some added colloidal oatmeal (USA / Canada) (superfine, water soluble oat flour, basically) for added skin-soothing goodness, and a blend of lavender and labdanum essential oils for a final product that smells utterly divine. You could honestly use any essential oils you want (even citrus, I suppose, if you always plan on washing this oil off or using it before bed), but I love this warm, sweet blend.
And how is it? In short, it’s awesome. I used it all over mid-shower after shaving my legs, and they felt divinely smooth afterwards and for the entire following day. I also used a bit extra post-bath on my damp skin without rinsing it off, and that was great, too—non greasy, delightfully soft skin. With drier days ahead (in the Northern hemisphere, at least), I think you’ll love this Soothing Oat Bath and Body Oil. I do!
Soothing Oat Bath and Body Oil
4g | 0.14oz colloidal oatmeal (USA / Canada)
40g | 1.41oz sweet almond oil (USA / Canada)
40g | 1.41oz sunflower seed oil (USA / Canada / UK / NZ)17g | 0.6oz olivem 300 (can substitute Turkey Red Oil)
9g | 0.32oz BTMS-50 (or other complete emulsifying wax—not beeswax!)3 blobs labdanum essential oil (benzoin essential oil would be a good alternative)
11 drops lavender essential oilPrepare a water bath by bringing about 3cm/1″ of water to a bare simmer in a small saucepan.
Combine the colloidal oatmeal (USA / Canada) and a wee bit of sweet almond oil (USA / Canada) (maybe a teaspoon) in a small dish, stirring and mashing to break up any clumps until you have a uniform mixture.
Weigh the sweet almond oil (USA / Canada), sunflower seed oil (USA / Canada / UK / NZ), olivem 300, and BTMS-50 into a small heat resistant glass measuring cup. Add the colloidal oatmeal (USA / Canada) mixture and place the measuring cup in the water bath to gently melt everything through; this will take 15–20 minutes. Once everything has melted, stir to combine.
Pour the melted oils into a 120mL/4oz plastic pump-top bottle (no glass—this is going in your shower!), add the essential oils, cap, and shake to combine.
To use, give the bottle a quick shake, pump out a small amount of oil, and spread it over your skin. You can do this in the shower, and rinse off any excess, or do it directly afterwards, and let it turn into an insta-lotion on your skin and leave it on. Lovely!
Shelf Life & Storage
Because this recipe contains no water it does not require a preservative (while olivem 300 is water soluble it does not contain water, much like sugar and salt). As with all water-free formulations, take care not to incorporate water into it as that will open it up to microbial spoilage.
No preservatives needed? Can I use ewax instead?
No water = no preservatives 🙂 As long as it is a complete e-wax you can use it in place of the BTMS-50, as noted in the recipe 🙂
I couldn’t get the provided link to share on Facebook.I tried several times.
Hmm, I tried both the side bar and the bottom-of-the-post button and both work for me. What browser are you using? Can you update it or try another?
If I use Olivem 1000 will be the same result?
I haven’t worked with it, but from my research, no—they are very different. Read this and this for a comparison 🙂
Lovely per usual 🙂
Wondering about using Oat oil over Colloidal Oats&Sweet Almond oil?
Eh, they are really different (like using peanut oil instead of peanuts in a trail mix kind of different). In this case it won’t break the recipe, but the effect will be different. Hope that helps!
Looks like a great recipe and im sure to try it but just wondering no preservatives??? needed ….thanks
No water = no preservatives 🙂
I love this site and I can’t wait until your book comes out 🙂 Buying for sure!
For this product, can we see a splash of the final product (outside of bottle) so we know we can see what our end result should look like?
Also, where do you get BTMS-50.
Thanks as always!
Thanks, Cindy! In the 5th photo you can see the product in the measuring cup before I poured it into the bottle—it’s a pretty thin, slightly cloudy, golden-ish liquid 🙂
My BTMS-50 is from Windy Point here in Calgary, but I realize most of my readers aren’t Canadian, so be sure to check out my giant list of places to shop here.
Can I do the recipe using only the olivem 300 and leave the other one out?
You can certainly try it 🙂
I subbed safflower fro the sunflower because I am out and I am tired of waiting on one ingredient to try the recipes. Also used the red turkey oil.
We don’t need a preservative because there is no water in this correct?
That’s a great swap 🙂 You are correct about the preservative. Happy making!
Hello from down under down under! I love your DIY products, thank you for sharing them, so generous. With what ingredients I had on hand- no olivem 3000 or red turkey oil, or colloidal oatmeal- can’t get first two here at all- I lucked out tweaking 3 times with the beautiful bath/shower oil and ended up all 3 times with a solid (but useable) bath ?salve. Here’s what I did, perhaps you can help(1) 40g evoo, 35g rbo, 5g cbutter, 17g ewax nf, 9g BTMS 50 and a drop of FO
(2) 40g evoo, 40g rbo, 17 ewax nf, 9g BTMS 50, teeny FO
(3) 50g eloo, 40g rbo, 15g BTMS 50, teeny FO
All nicely firm, especially (1) with cocoa butter. Any suggestions? Can’t pump any of these, look great in tins!
Hey Griz! Olivem300 is liquid, and it looks like you are adding a bunch of solids (ewax NF) instead—that’s why yours would be solid 🙂
I love this recipe idea! I had to make a few substitutions… (red turkey oil and safflower oil instead of the sunflower), so I’m anxious to try it after it cools down.
Do you think you could add patchouli oil instead of the listed ones to make it a better recipe for eczema?
Definitely! You could really add any EOs that you want to fully customize it 🙂
I just made this oil. It was really easy and quick to make. Thank you for sharing this recipe. The oil leaves the skin so soft and smell so heavenly. I take shower before bedtime and use this then I’m so ready for bed!
Yay! I’m so glad you’re enjoying it 🙂 I think I might go take a bedtime shower and use some now, too!
Marie, I love this recipe! I made it to put in my gym bag to use in the shower after my workout. Figured it would save a little time of not having to put lotion on after. It does and I love how it makes my skin feel. And the lavender and labdanum make it smell divine!
Once again, thanks for sharing your terrific recipes with us!
Kelly
Woohoo! I’m so thrilled 🙂 Thanks for reading and DIYing with me!
Hi Marie! I am so glad I found your website (doubly happy because it is Canadian!). I have been using the Aveeno Bath Oil for my baby who has eczema and experimenting with body butters for her, so I thought I would try this to help alleviate her symptoms.
I have a few questions:
– could I just use Olivem 300 OR BTMS 50? Aren’t they both emulsifiers?
– what is the gelling agent?
– could I just add some to the bath water for baby, as opposed to spreading it on her skin?
Sorry for the silly questions! I am so new to this!
Thank you in advance and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Hey Lyn! Olivem300 and BTMS 50 are both emulsifiers, but they still do different things. You could use just Olivem300, but the BTMS 50 is in there as a conditioner and as the thickener, to help keep the colloidal oatmeal in suspension, hence the inclusion of both. If you’re planning on getting into DIYing it is useful to have both on hand, I promise! And yes, you can definitely just add it to the bath water 🙂 Happy making!
Thanks!!! You are awesome! I ended up buying both Olivem 300, and BTMS-50 and much much more 😀
I have a few more questions. Is the water pan on high heat? It took me about 1 hour to melt the BTMS-50 at a slight simmer. Is that normal? Will heating the mixture for that long ruin the product?
Have fun on your trip!
Ha—the bug has bitten! 😉 I usually have mine at about medium heat, so there’s a few bubbles but the measuring cup isn’t getting tossed around. It shouldn’t take an hour to melt unless you are making a LOT, but you won’t damage the product by heating it in a water bath for that long 🙂 Happy making!
Can zinc oxide be used instead of titanium oxide?
Read this 🙂
Hi, Marie:
Would using only emulsimulse work as well? Thanks.
Potentially? If anything changes it would just be decreased rinse-off-ability. Let me know how it goes!
I saw in your enclycopedia that from can be sub with poly 20. I have poly 80, would it do the same?
Thank you in advance
Yup, that should work! Happy making 🙂
What are you using for your gelling agent to help keep the oatmeal suspended in the oil?
I included BTMS-50 for its added conditioning properties, some thickening, and even more emulsifying power.
are the oats and shea optional? if i want to leave the oats out do i also leave the shea out?
Well, I guess. It kind of defeats the point of the recipe, but it’ll still be body oil. You could leave the shea in, it’s nice for the skin.
Made this and love this! Put it on neat as a body oil, put it on in the shower as a cleanser/shaving cream, or put it on after the shower on wet skin as a lotion. WHAT? You should change to name to 3in1 magical body oil!! Xoxo
Wooo! Sounds like I should brag about it for travel, too 😉 Thanks for making with me!
Can i just use cocoa butter to thicken and keep the oat powder in suspension? If i can, how much?
I wouldn’t recommend it as you’ll be decreasing the emulsifying power of the final product, and removing the conditioning properties we get from the BTMS-50. You likely can, but you’d have to re-develop the recipe to figure out how much is required.
Thanks a lot Marie. I also just read your ‘experiment’ about the mixability of cocoa butter with other oils in different ratios. That helped a lot. I can only find btms 25. Can i use that with ecomulse? What do you think?
There’s no reason to use both of them—just use one 🙂
Thank you Marie. I appreciate you.
Thanks for reading! 🙂
Living in Houston, we have hard water and it is highly treated by the city. It wreaks havoc on my skin. I used Aveeno bath oil for years, until it was discontinued. Ugh. Then I found this recipe. Fantastic! It is way less oily than Aveeno and really absorbs into your skin. One thing I did different … as a 47 year old man I didn’t want a “smelly” oil so I left out the essential oils. Love it!! Thanks so much for the recipe.
I’m so glad to hear you’re loving this! WOO! It’s always extra awesome to hear from somebody who loved the original, too 😀 Thanks for DIYing with me!
Hi Marie!
Instead of Olivem 300 can I use polysorbate 80? And if yes would it be the same amount?
Thanks,
Ana
I wouldn’t recommend it—Polysorbate 80 is quite sticky and it would make the final product quite sticky and unpleasant :/
Hi Marie!
Could I use Cromollient SCE in place of the Olivem 300? Would I use the same amount?
You should be able to, though I haven’t tried it yet 🙂
Hi Marie! I’m thinking of making this soon but I’m confused about a few ingredients you mention in your remarks before the recipe and then some ingredients mentioned in some people’s comments. You mention silica, but this is not in the recipe. Also, one of the comments mentions titanium oxide and another mentions shea but neither one of these ingredients are in your recipe. Help! I’m confused!
The silica is mentioned as part of a discussion of the original product we are duping.
The comments can go literally anywhere, so I would recommend reading the entire context around those comments, but do not assume they are actually relevant to the post. I have zero idea why someone was asking about zinc and titanium dioxide on this recipe. Perhaps they got lost? Usually they are questions on substitutions, and given I am quite diligent about replying to comments you should be able to read my replies as well. I’m not sure why that one person was asking about shea—you’re right, it isn’t in the recipe, but I obviously missed that when replying LOL. Perhaps they were commenting on the wrong recipe? That does happen.
Hi Marie
Maybe they were commenting on the Youtube video with the same title and same ingredient list, just the video has shea as well…
Hi Marie! you stated of the comments that substituting olivem 300 with polysorbate 80 wouldn’t do because the polysorbate 80 is sticky . I don’t have Turkish Red Oil, could i sub it with polysorbate 20 with the same amount ?
All the polysorbates are going to have the same sticky problem, I don’t recommend it. Cromollient SCE would be a decent alternative, though.
Hi Marie, like Nadia, I am wondering if I can sub the Olivem 300 (& turkey red) with ANYTHING? I just can’t source it here.
Thanks for any suggestions.
You’d want some sort of water-soluble ester that is comfortable if left on the skin—Cromollient SCE could also work, or water soluble shea butter.
Same amount of Cromollient SCE as the Olivem 300?
Yes.
Would Sucragel work Marie? It can be used to make oil gels and is supposed to have great rinseability.
I wouldn’t recommend it here without a total re-work of the recipe. I have a recipe using it coming out soon and you’ll see that it’s quite the process to use!
Hi Marie, Thank you for posting this lovely recipe. I understand we don’t need preservatives because there is no water in the recipe. Although I did want to ask how long the shelf life for this oil would be and whether the oatmeal would go rancid after a while? If so, can the shelf life be extended by using a preservative? Do you have a suggestion on the kind that could be used in your recipe? Thanks!
Hey! I’ve got an FAQ on this you should read 🙂 Do I need to add a preservative to this recipe? How long will it last?
Hello,
Congratulations for this interesting, useful and lively blog!
I’d like to try the oil and want to ask whether I can substitute the Olivem300 with Soya lecithin emulsifier?
Many thanks!
Hey! Thanks for reading 🙂 Sadly those ingredients cannot be swapped for one another at all; they are both in my DIY encyclopedia, I recommend looking them both up to learn more about why!
New to making my own bath products so I’m searching everywhere for recipes that I think will fit my likes. This recipe, is it ok to be poured IN the bath and not used as an application? I’m looking for a bath oil that doesn’t make the tub a death trap when getting out… Is this it? 🙂
Hello Janet!
It looks like it would make a decent bath soak! But to be sure, I’d suggest using it as a foot soak first just to make sure it is not a death trap! (Can you tell I’ve been there and done the slip and slide? Foot soaks are my tester for every bath product now!)
Hi Marie
Can i use Ritamulse/Ecomulse to substitue BTMS-50?
Will it still give the conditioning and suspending effect?
Thanks
I don’t recommend it—read the encyclopedia entries on each to learn more about why 🙂
After using this DIY bath oil for a fairly long time, my towels began to take on the smell of rancid oil. I have tried everything to get them clean. I use them only once before washing and always wash and rinse in hot water, adding vinegar to the wash and rinse water, adding Arm & Hammer washing soda to the wash water. I can not use products with fragrances due to allergy concerns. Any suggestions?
Hey Nancy! I would recommend using an unscented laundry detergent—it doesn’t sound like the washing soda/vinegar combo is doing the trick, even though the oil contains its own emulsifiers which will improve wash-out.
Hey! I just tried making this. Si simple & easy but i had one issue.. when i applied it i could feel the colloidal oat. It was like sandy/ grainy. Where could i have gone wrong?