The sweet scent of a freshly bathed baby is one of the most rewarding parts of parenting. But parents also know that too frequent bathing can cause baby's tender skin to dry out, resulting in itchiness, redness, and dry patches. For very young babies, bathing once or twice a week is enough. Once baby is moving around and getting into messes, more frequent bathing may become necessary. Unfortunately, even the youngest babies will lose that clean after-bath smell in just a few hours.
Reasons Use Homemade Baby Perfume
Homemade perfumes are a great way to keep baby smelling sweet. The benefits of homemade baby perfumes are:
- The parent controls what goes into the perfume, eliminating worries about harsh chemicals.
- It is easy to avoid ingredients to which a baby is sensitive.
- The perfume is all-natural.
- The recipe can be altered to fit each baby's needs.
- Scents can be mixed and matched to find the perfect one (or more).
- Homemade baby perfumes are less expensive than store-bought varieties.
- Baby perfumes are easy to make.
Equipment and Ingredients for Making Baby Perfume
Equipment:
- A double boiler (or just put some water in a large saucepan and set a smaller pan in it)
- A spoon
- Glass or metal containers, like those used to hold lip balm or salve (These are often available at natural food stores.)
Ingredients:
- 15 g beeswax
- 60 ml base oil
- 15-30 drops essential oil or naturally scented oil
Making Perfume
The first step is choosing a base oil. The oil should be natural, gentle, and moisturizing. Coconut, and jojoba oils are both good choices for babies, but to avoid spending the extra money for them, olive oil will work perfectly well and is both non-irritating and a good moisturizer. Best of all, it's right there in the kitchen – a bonus for busy and tired new mothers!
The next decision is what scent or mixture of scents best suits the baby. Lavender, honeysuckle, rose, and violet are all very popular for babies, but the choices are not limited to these. The ease of making this perfume allows for experimentation with scents and blends to find the perfect match. Essential oils can be expensive, especially flower-based oils, but a little goes a long way. Some oils, like cinnamon and clove, can be irritating and should be used with caution.
Of course, with any scent it is always a good idea to make the first batch with a small amount of oil. If the perfume irritates baby's skin, it should be discontinued right away. If the perfume doesn't bother baby's skin and a stronger fragrance is needed, the increase should be gradual. Using just a few extra drops of oil per batch is a safe way to find the right level.
Over low heat, melt the beeswax and oil together, stirring until the wax is melted. Remove from heat and add the oil(s). Stir well. Pour into container and allow to cool. The resulting perfume will be thick, like salve.
Using Homemade Baby Perfume
This perfume is easy to use. A finger rubbed over the surface of the perfume provides enough scent to apply gently to baby's arms, legs, or body. It is important to keep the perfume away from baby's eyes, mouth, and genitals.
Besides refreshing baby's scent between bathing, lavender-scented perfume works as a calming chest rub for a fussy or tired baby. A gentle mixture of lavender and eucalyptus applied to the chest may help soothe a croupy baby or ease the symptoms of a cold.
Making all-natural baby perfume saves money and allows adaptation of the recipe to a baby's individual needs. Parents can feel good about protecting baby's sensitive skin and baby will smell delightful!
This article is for information purposes only. Parents should always be careful when using homemade products on babies.
