My family suffers from severe allergies several times a year. Add to that the yearly seasonal colds and such, life can be pretty miserable at our house during certain seasons. When I realized how much we were spending on allergy relief and cold remedies, I knew I had to come up with a new method. Enter these homemade natural cold remedy tablets. These things are amazing and they’re super simple to make. Plus we get the added benefit of knowing exactly what is in them so there are no surprises.
As far as home remedies go, this one is right up there at the top of my list. Partially because I can whip them up in a few minutes and they’re ready to go in a few hours, but mainly because they work so well! As we’ve slowly gotten rid of chemicals and over processed items in our home, I’ll admit that there have been a few things that we’ve tried to replace only to end up finding out that the methods we were using were less effective and actually took much more work and time to heal or help. In those cases, we’re still searching for the natural replacements and yes, I am 100% positive that we will eventually find them. . These natural cold remedy shower tablets are anything but less effective. They’re amazing and wonderful and oh…just make them yourself! You’ll see!
Homemade Natural Cold Remedy Shower Tablets
Once you’ve got these made up, store them in an air tight container. To use, you can either drop one or two (depending on how strong you want the “scent”) into the bottom of your shower or you can put one in a bowl of hot water then drape a towel over your head and the bowl so that you get the vapors that are released. Be sure that you don’t rub or touch your eyes when you’re using them in the shower. You could have oils and things on your hands because of how they release and trust me, that will burn. Either way, you should see relief for things like a congested chest, stuffed up nose, nausea, and more. Basically if you can use that over the counter, very expensive vapor rub for it? This will work too (and better) without chemicals and a lot cheaper per batch!
You Will Need:
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- 1/2 cup food grade Citric acid
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 2 drops peppermint essential oil
- 2 drops lavender essential oil
- 2 drops eucalyptus essential oil
- Silicone Mold – I use a dome shaped mold so that my tablets all have a flat side and sit well in the shower.
- Blue food coloring (optional)
To make, combine the baking soda, citric acid and cornstarch in a small bowl. If you’re using food coloring, add 3-4 drops after you’ve mixed the dry info and mix well. The food coloring is just to pretty these up. It has absolutely no value for how they work and can be skipped if you need. In fact, I skip it the majority of the time when I’m making these.
Next, add 2 drops of each essential oil and mix it up with your fingers until there aren’t any clumps. You can use a fork to mix if you want, but I find it’s easier to really get the oils mixed in with my fingers. If the scent isn’t strong enough for you, add 1-2 extra drops of each oil, but don’t go over that. You need to keep the oil content balanced with the other ingredients and adding too much could actually be harmful to your health.
Once you’ve got the oils mixed in, melt the coconut oil in the microwave on 20 second bursts. Coconut oil has a low melting point so be careful that you don’t overheat it. Mix the melted oil into your baking soda mixture a little at a time until you’ve got it all mixed in and have the consistency of damp sand. Fill each of the spots on your silicone soap mold with your mixture. You’ll want to fill them as close to the top making sure that you pack the mixture down into each mold. If you don’t get each tablet packed down well enough, your mixture won’t set into a tablet when it dries. Let them sit in the mold for around 12 hours (or overnight like I do) and they’re ready to provide some natural relief for your cold or allergies!
Stacy Williams
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These sound great! I am going to make as Christmas gifts! How many does one recipe make?
Della, it really depends on how thick you make them. I make ours about 2 inches thick so I’ll get 8-10 out of each batch.
Does the coconut oil make the shower slick?
We haven’t had that problem Christine. We have a bath mat though so just be careful if you don’t. At least until you find out for sure.
I made these and they turned out good- however unless I take a 45 minute shower they don’t dissolve. How can I get them to do the job in less time?
Trish, it sounds as if yours came out really thick. If they’re made smaller, they’ll dissolve in time and still do the job.
Thanks for this tute! I can’t wait to try them. I knew there had to be a cheaper & better alternative to the pricy store decongestant discs!
I have liquid coconut oil, how much do I use
Missa, fractionated coconut oil won’t work with this specific recipe. You’ll need regular so that it can help harden your tablets up.
Can these be made without the citric acid? I don’t have access to any where I live. Or do you have an alternative ingredient for the citric acid Thanks.
Mandy, lemon juice is a citric acid substitute, but it will likely change the consistency of the tablets by quite a bit. Two teaspoons of citric acid is equal to 4 teaspoons of lemon juice. It can be ordered on Amazon pretty cheaply.
Any suggestions for a replacement for the coconut oil? I am highly allergic, but we definitely need these tabs…….
You could try shea butter but I’m not sure how well it would work. The coconut oil is used b/c it melts away easier.
I’m allergic to lavender, Can I use a different essential oil? Or can I skip it altogether?
You should be able to skip it with no issues.
Can I use these in the bath instead of shower?
I don’t see why not Annie.