Solid perfume is a practical alternative to traditional liquid or spray perfume. Generally, it is contained in small airtight metal or glass jars so that it can be easily carried in the bag when we are away from home.
In addition to its practicality, solid perfume is almost always composed of natural ingredients, making it a more sustainable product than traditional perfume which, however, contains alcohol and other chemical substances.
Furthermore, unlike spray perfumes, solid perfume also represents an anti-waste choice as a small quantity is enough in contact with the heat of the body to release the fragrance.
Trying our hand at self-production is not difficult and making solid perfume at home with our favorite scents will make it extremely personalized and suitable for all occasions.
Ingredients and materials for making solid perfume
Here's what we need to make solid perfume at home:
- 2 g of beeswax (can be purchased online, in pharmacies or herbalist's shops) - beeswax is used to give consistency and solidity to the mixture;
- 4 g of shea butter (can be purchased online, in pharmacies or herbalist's shops) - shea butter is used to make the mixture creamier;
- 6 g of a base oil (can be purchased online, in pharmacies or herbalist's shops) - It is the oil to use as the base of our perfume. You can choose the one you like best between jojoba oil, coconut oil, almond oil or olive oil;
- 20-25 drops of essential oil of the fragrance we desire (purchasable online, in pharmacies, herbalist's shops and cosmetics shops) or of our favorite liquid perfume;
- 1 saucepan for boiling water;
- 1 small metal, ceramic or Pyrex bowl to melt the ingredients in a bain-marie;
- 1 airtight container, preferably made of metal (but also glass) to store the solid perfume.
The specific doses for creating a solid perfume are not fixed, but vary depending on personal preferences; there are those who prefer it more solid so they increase the amount of beeswax and decrease the amount of shea butter and those who prefer it a little creamier so they do the exact opposite.
The amount of essential oil drops also depends on how intense we want the fragrance to be in our solid perfume. It is also possible to use combinations of oils with different fragrances as we wish while still maintaining the same number of total drops for a given quantity of compound.
It is important to underline, however, that you should not use too many drops of essential oil as it is very concentrated and can irritate the skin if it is not diluted correctly.
Procedure for making solid perfume at home
The steps to follow to obtain a homemade solid perfume are really simple:
- Pour the beeswax, shea butter and base oil into a small bowl (metal, ceramic or Pyrex) and place it over a saucepan of cold water;
- Place the saucepan of water with the bowl on top on the hob and turn on the heat. The ingredients inside the bowl will begin to melt "in a bain-marie", that is, by exploiting the heat produced by the water boiling in the saucepan;
- Stir the ingredients occasionally until completely dissolved.
When the mixture is completely dissolved, remove the saucepan from the heat and add the drops of essential oil (for example: lavender essential oil, vanilla essential oil, coconut essential oil, citrus essential oil, etc.) or our usual perfume to the mixture, continuing to mix for a few seconds.
At this point, before it cools, we pour the mixture into the final airtight container and let it cool uncovered for about half an hour.
Once cold, it is advisable to carry out a small skin test to make sure there are no allergic reactions to the essential oils used.
As there are no preservatives, the homemade solid perfume maintains its scent for about 3 months away from heat sources and away from direct sunlight.