Sunflower, calendula and … parmesan???
Would you take a bath in water to which you’ve added cheese-scented oil?
I appreciate that this is probably not a question you came here expecting to find, but it is one that has been exercising my brain over the last few hours.
You see, I’ve had these marigolds (calendula) soaking in sunflower oil for several weeks. Calendula is known for its soothing properties. Just the thing, then, for the end of a summer’s day if you’ve accidentally spent a little too long in the sun.
But upon opening the jar to decant the oil into a pretty bottle for the bathroom, I found it had a less than pleasing fragrance. Hmmm. Undeterred, I started to research essential oils, hoping to find one that combined pleasant fragrance with skin-soothing properties, and preferably of European origin to keep with the homely calendula feel. So far I haven’t come across anything, but figured I’d better decant anyway and worry about the fragrance later. It was while the oil was gently decanting that my son came in, saying ‘Mum, did you know this stuff smells like parmesan?’
So I ask you: is ‘Italian cheese’ something you look for when choosing a bath fragrance…?
No, I thought not.
Looking on the bright side – that is if there can be a bright side to cheesy smelling bath oils – I’ve discovered that coffee filter papers are excellent for decanting herbal oils and getting rid of the little bits of plant matter. As you can see from the two photos below, the oil is beautifully clear after passing through it…
But that doesn’t make it smell any better!
Now, can it be masked or should it be thrown…?
What about basil or thyme? Would they work? Go for a sort of “Herbes de Provence” feel!
Yes, they’re the sort of thing I was thinking about from the geographical ‘mixing like with like’ perspective. But basil isn’t used for skin healing and thyme is actually a potential skin irritant so not good for the use I had in mind. I’ve now found a list of useful essential oils for skin treatments. For normal to sensitive skin (sensitive being what skin would be if using the bath oil after too much sun) the recommendations are:
Calendula Essential Oil – soothes, heals and restores Chamomile Essential Oil- anti microbial, calms and restores Marshmallow – softens, revitalizes and hydrates Olive Leaf – repairs, tones, firms and anti-oxidant St. Johns Wort – moisturizes, refreshes, tones Lavender Essential Oil – soothes, relaxes and regenerates Rose hip Seed – regenerates, moisturizes and heals Witch hazel – drains, astringent, anti-free radical Carrot Seed – regenerates, tones and heals German Chamomile – anti-bacterial and wound-healing
I’ll choose one or two of them and add a few drops to see if the smell improves. If not, it’s time to throw it away, I think!
Not sure I wanted to bath in Parmesan fragrance…. I didn’t know it would take on that smell either though.
Weird.
Next time maybe add some Lavender?
good luck on changing that scent. Perhaps it is best to think of it as a healing potion, not a nice smelling thing. I love the coffee filter idea, thank you for sharing this!