The following bath and body recipes are excerpts from the book The Rainbow Bath by Denise Alvarado.
Medusa Milk Bath Yemaya Sea Scrub Oshun Honey Bath Obatala Body Balm Oya Hydrating Body Balm
Yemaya Body Polish Swamp Witch Healing Body Wrap All Purpose Voodoo Body Scrub Classic Goddess Bath Soak
Yemaya Exfoliating Body Cleanser OM Bath Oshun Sugar Scrub Voodoo Dusting Powder
Voodoolicious Valentine Chocolate Scrub Voodoo Bath Tea Voodoolicious Aztec Body Scrub Yemaya Deep Sea Tub Tea
A floral milk bath is a favorite skin-softening method popular since the days of early Egypt (Cleopatra sprinkled her milk bath with rose petals, lilies and cinnamon bark). Rich in protein, milk softens the skin with its emollient butterfat.
Milk (whole or powdered)
Pour milk into warm bath and relax for as long as you darn well please. Rice, soy or goat's milk also make great choices.
Sea salts are essential to your at-home Voodoo Hoodoo spa kit as they exfoliate dead skin cells and stimulate circulation. They open your clogged pores to accept their minerals leaving you toned, tightened and radiant.
Ingredients
2 cups unbleached sea salt
2 tablespoons dried
chopped orange peel
3 drops essential oil of ginger
2 drops essential oil of cedar wood
Mix ingredients together. During bath or shower, gently rub sea salts over the skin.
Ingredients
1 cup sweet almond oil (light olive or sesame oil may be substituted)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup liquid soap (plain or floral)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Directions
Pour oil into a medium bowl, then carefully stir in remaining ingredients until mixture is fully blended. Pour into a clean plastic bottle with a tight-fitting stopper or lid. Shake gently before using. Pour 1/4 into warm bath.
Ingredients
1 container of coconut oil
Pear essential oil
Directions
Microwave coconut oil uncovered for 30 seconds. For stovetop: place the tub inside large pan with water and heat on low until liquefied. Add 15 drops of your favorite essential oil. Stir, re-cap and place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Generously apply all over body (but not face) and cover up with old sweats and socks (the oil may stain).
The creamy goodness of this rich balm will leave skin velvety smooth. Plums are high in calcium, magnesium and vitamins A and C. Soy contains lecithin and proteins. The seed of the plum fruit can also be ground and added to face and body masks.
1/4 cup ripe plums (peeled and pitted)
1 tablespoon soybean oil
3 tablespoons spring water
Blend ingredients until smooth. Bottle and refrigerate. Apply to face and body in shower or tub.
Ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons plain yogurt (or 1/2 ripe avocado)
Directions
In the palm of your hand, mix together all the ingredients until you have a grainy liquid. Apply to face, massaging lightly with balls of your fingers. Rinse well.
Swamp Witch Healing Moisture Body Wrap
Ingredients
1 very ripe avocado
1 cup of heavy cream
1/4 cup of aloe vera gel
Lots of towels
Plastic wrap
Directions
Blend avocado pulp, cream and aloe vera gel to a thick paste. Place lots of old towels down where you will nap later. Apply paste to body. Wash hands and loosely wrap over masked areas. Lay down and relax for one hour. Rinse.
The salt in this recipe is designed to polish your skin, increase blood circulation and stimulate lymph production to eliminate toxins, all while naturally triggering the skin's own oil secretion. Apricot kernel oil, rich in natural emollients and vitamins A and B heal damaged skin, leaving your skin moisturized and smooth.
Ingredients
2 cups coarse sea salt
1/4 cup apricot kernel
body scrub tool or loofah
Make a paste out of the sea salt and apricot kernel in a bowl. While standing in the tub or shower, scrub your body in a smooth, circular motion. Apply in a firm but nonabrasive pressure, so that you affect the surface of the skin, not the underlying tissues. Gently rise off.
Essential oils poured in the bath is one of the finest ways to enjoy their therapeutic benefits. Add your favorite oil to a lighter oil (such as sunflower or safflower) to help to disperse it throughout the water and onto to your body.
Ingredients
Your favorite essential oil
A light carrier oil such as safflower
Add two teaspoons of oil to your water as you draw your bath.
1 tablespoon of sand
2 bars of glycerin soap
1 teaspoon of olive oil
1/4 cup of water
Citrus essential oil
Mix glycerin soap and water in a saucepan. Heat over a low flame until melted. Add olive oil and sand to the mixture. You can also add a teaspoon of a favorite essential oil for scent now, too. Stir and remove from heat. Add a few drops of essential oil (like lemon or tangerine). When the mixture becomes cool and starts to solidify, mold it with your hands into soap balls and let harden on wax paper, or pour into a container (the cut-out bottom of a milk carton works great). Great for feet, elbows and knees but not intended for your face!
Ingredients
Muslin bag or fabric
1/2/cup oatmeal
1/2/cup powdered milk
1 teaspoon apricot kernal oil
Directions
Grind the oatmeal in a blender or food processor until fine. Mix together oatmeal and powdered milk. Add apricot oil and mix thoroughly. Place the mixture inside a muslin bag, or wrap and tie in muslin fabric. Throw into the running water of a hot bath tub. When you are in the tub, sponge your body with the bag for extra softening. Tip: A few drops of essential oil of lavender make a great addition to this recipe.
Ingredients
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 heaping tablespoons almond oil
few drops of honey
3 to 5 drops of cinnamon or orange essential oil
Directions
Combine ingredients thoroughly in a glass bowl. In the shower, gently scrub all over body.
Ingredients
1 cup arrowroot powder
1 tablespoon kaolin (white clay)
1 tablespoon baking soda
3 to 5 drops of sandalwood or frankincense essential oil
Directions
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add essential oil and mix. Allow to sit for a couple hours for oil to absorb. Store in an air-tight container for up to one year.
Voodoolicious Valentine Chocolate Scrub
Ingredients
1/2 cup Turbinado sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons almond oil
1 tablespoon cocoa
Raspberry fragranced oil
Dark chocolate fragranced oil
Directions
Mix ingredients thoroughly in a glass bowl. Start with just a few drops of the fragranced oils until you get the aroma you want. In the shower, gently rub all over body while you thinking loving, sweet thoughts!
Ingredients
1/2 cup powered whole milk
1/2 cup dried hibiscus or rose petals
3 to 5 drops rose essential oil
heat sealable tea bags
Directions
Mix the milk and essential oil together until evenly distributed. Gently mix in the dried petals. Put a few spoonfuls of the mixture in a large, sealable teabag and seal bags with an iron. Makes about 4 tub teas.
Voodoolicious Aztec Body Scrub
Ingredients
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup powered cocoa
a few drops of chocolate and cinnamon fragranced oil
Directions
Combine ingredients in a bowl. Use whenever cravings hit by massaging into skin and rinsing with warm water in the shower. Store in an airtight container up to six months.
Ingredients
1 cup Epsom or Dead Sea Salts
5 to 7 drops of your favorite essential oil (try rose or lavender for pure relaxation and eucalyptus for achy muscles)
1/4 cup loose leaf tea (try green or white tea)
heat sealable tea bags
Directions
Mix the salts and essential oil together until evenly distributed. Gently mix in the loose tea leaves. Place a few heaping spoonfuls of the mixture in a large, sealable teabag and seal bags with an iron. Makes about 4 tub teas.
OM Bath