Lavender and chamomile in the bath: how to use them well

Lavender and chamomile are a classic bath pairing: lavender fresh, floral and herbal, Roman chamomile soft, sweet and slightly fruity. Never pour their essential oils straight into bath water. Oil doesn't mix with water, so it floats on the surface and meets your skin undiluted. Blend them into a carrier, a bath base or a ready-made product first.

Quick answer
- Lavender for the bath is usually Lavandula angustifolia, often called true or English lavender.
- Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) is the sweeter of the two chamomiles; German chamomile (Matricaria recutita) is a different plant.
- Don't add neat essential oil to the bath. Dilute it in a carrier oil, a bath base or a dispersant first, or use a ready-made product.
- Skip chamomile if you react to plants in the daisy family.
- Patch-test any new scented product, and check the allergens on the ingredient list.

What does lavender bring to a bath?

Lavender brings scent: fresh, floral and herbal. The lavender used for its oil is usually Lavandula angustifolia, known as true or English lavender. Most of its scent comes from two aroma compounds, linalool and linalyl acetate.

That is the honest case for lavender in a bath. It smells lovely in warm water, it suits the end of the day, and a bath that smells of it has a way of marking the evening as yours.

What does chamomile bring to a bath?

Roman chamomile brings a softer, sweeter note than lavender, slightly fruity and warm. Alongside lavender, it rounds off the sharper, herbal edge.

There are two chamomiles, and they are different plants:

  • Roman chamomile, Chamaemelum nobile (once called Anthemis nobilis), sometimes sold as sweet chamomile. This is the one SLATE uses.
  • German chamomile, Matricaria recutita (also Matricaria chamomilla), an annual plant.

Both belong to the daisy family, Asteraceae.

Can you put lavender oil straight into the bath?

No. Essential oils don't mix with water. Dropped neat into a bath, the oil floats on the surface and clings to the sides of the tub and to your skin, undiluted, which can irritate.

To use essential oils in a bath, disperse them first:

  • In a carrier oil, such as jojoba or fractionated coconut oil. This makes the bath slippery, so take care getting in and out.
  • In a foaming bath base or a dispersant designed to carry oil into water.
  • In a ready-made bath product, where the dilution has already been worked out for you.

However you use them, keep to a small amount. More oil doesn't make a better bath, only a stronger one.

Who should take care with lavender and chamomile?

Take care with chamomile if you are allergic to plants in the daisy family: chamomile can cross-react with relatives such as chrysanthemum. Stop using any product that makes your skin itch, sting or redden.

Lavender oil is rich in linalool, one of a set of fragrance allergens, limonene among them, that UK law requires cosmetic labels to name once they pass a set level. That is why you'll often see them at the end of an ingredient list. If you know you react to one, check the list before you buy.

Check with your doctor or midwife before using essential oils if you are pregnant, and keep scented bath products away from children.

How to run a lavender and chamomile bath

  1. Run the bath warm, not hot, close to body temperature.
  2. Add your scented product once the bath is nearly full.
  3. Swirl the water so everything disperses evenly.
  4. Soak for 15 to 20 minutes.
  5. Rinse if you like, pat dry, and moisturise while your skin is still slightly damp.

A lavender and chamomile bath suits the end of the day: a ritual for winding down, with the lights low and the phone in another room. For more on timing and temperature, see how long to soak in the bath.

What goes well with lavender and chamomile?

Lavender and chamomile sit easily alongside soft textures and quieter scents. In a SLATE Grid™, try them with:

  • OAT: colloidal oat, for a soft, cloudy soak.
  • MILK: goat's milk powder, for a creamier one.
  • QUIET: frankincense and myrrh essential oils, for something deeper and more resinous.
  • DREAM: jasmine and violet leaf, for a more floral evening.

Lavender and chamomile in SLATE

SLATE's CALM block is scented with lavender and Roman chamomile essential oils. The oils are already blended and dispersed for you: the scent makes up 1.5% of each 22 g block, and every block includes polysorbate 80, which carries oil into the water so it doesn't sit on the surface or leave a ring. Like every SLATE block, CALM also carries Epsom salt (10%) and kaolin clay (3%) in its base.

Not every SLATE scent is an essential oil. Fourteen of the twenty scent blocks, CALM among them, are scented with essential oils; the other six include fragrance oils. Each block's ingredient list shows which, along with its allergens. The System explains how scent and texture blocks combine.

A Grid™ for a lavender and chamomile soak
12 CALM · Lavender and chamomile · Quiet the noise
9 OAT · Colloidal oat · Calm and soften
6 MILK · Goat's milk powder · Turns the water milky
Build this Grid™ →

Common questions

Can you put lavender oil in the bath?

Not neat. Dilute it in a carrier oil, a bath base or a dispersant first, or use a ready-made product. Neat oil floats on the water and meets your skin undiluted.

What is the difference between Roman and German chamomile?

They are different plants in the same daisy family. Roman chamomile is Chamaemelum nobile, with a soft, sweet scent. German chamomile is Matricaria recutita, an annual.

What kind of lavender is used in bath products?

Usually Lavandula angustifolia, often called true or English lavender. Check the ingredient list for the botanical name.

Can I use chamomile if I have hay fever?

If you know you react to daisy-family plants such as chrysanthemum, avoid chamomile, as it can cross-react. Patch-test anything new.

Why is linalool on the ingredient list?

Linalool is one of the main scent compounds in lavender oil, and UK cosmetics law requires it to be named on the label above a set level because some people are sensitive to it.

Is lavender oil the same as lavender fragrance?

No. Lavender essential oil comes from the lavender plant itself; a lavender fragrance oil is a blended scent made to smell like it. SLATE's CALM block uses essential oils.

Sources

SLATE products are cosmetics for external use only. If you have a skin condition, are pregnant, or have any concerns, check with your doctor before use. Patch-test any new product. Keep out of reach of children. Contains essential oils; see each block's ingredient list for allergens. Every block contains sweet almond oil (tree nut).

SLATE is a soak for the body and mind: small-batch bath blocks of cosmetic-grade ingredients, made in the UK. Build your Grid™

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