mandarin milk bath and shower balls

Both my kids love the fragrance of mandarin oranges. Mandarin essential oil is both refreshing and calming. It is a children's remedy in France for stomach upsets and other children's ailments.

Prepration

Put 4 tablespoons of whole milk powder in a bowl
Add 15 drops mandarin essential oil mix well
Add 12 tablespoons of oat bran to the mixture and mix well. This amount is enough to fill 1 stocking or 1 leg of a pantyhose.
Take a pair of cheap stockings. Cut each stocking into 4 equal parts. (Or take a cheap panty hose, cut off the legs of the panty hose and cut each leg into 4 instead.) You could recycle old pantyhose but I prefer to buy a very cheap pair just for these bath balls.
Fill the bottom part (feet area) with 4 tablespoons of the mixture. Tie the open end to secure. This is a mandarin bath ball.
For the remaining pieces of the stocking, tie one end and fill the stocking piece with 4 tablespoons of the mixture. Tie the open end to secure. This is a mandarin bath ball.
Store the bath balls in a clean, dry, air tight container.

Use in a kiddy bath

Fill the bathtub with warm water
Put 1 bath ball in the water.
Squeeze it in the water to release the milk and fragrance into the water
Let the kid or toddler soak in the mandarin milk bath.
Use the bath ball to scrub him
Rinse under the shower

Use in the shower

Wet yourself and the bath ball in the shower
Scrub yourself with the bath ball, squeezing the bath ball now and then to release the mandarin milk.
Rinse under the shower.

One problem with these milk baths, though my kids loved them was that after a few sweaty hours, both my kids smell of cheese. Well, milk, exposed to air, bacteria and sweat does develop a cheesy smell that even the mandarin oil can't cover up. I gave up using this bath on my kids after their grandmas kept complaining that both my kids had hair that smelled of cheese and chided me for not taking care of their hygeine.

That being the case, getting a commercial milk bath or milk soap is a better choice. That milk bath is great occasionally, but if your kids love daily milk baths, get these for your kids for their regular baths or showers.