Aromatherapy Play Dough Recipe

This is the ultimate homemade play dough recipe. It has an amazing texture and an even more amazing scent. That’s thanks to the essential oils that I’ve included in the recipe. When you squeeze or roll out the play dough it releases bursts of fragrance.

Make a batch of lavender play dough to help you de-stress and power down, or make a batch of peppermint play dough to help you maintain focus. This play dough is one part aromatherapy and one part fidget toy.

Make some for your kids to enjoy. Then, make a batch for yourself. This would be a great thing to tuck in your desk drawer for those trying days at work.

Aromatherapy play dough also works brilliantly as a gift. Make it your go-to kid gift; use it as a co-worker gift; or tuck it in a basket of bath and body products. These days we could all use help with stress relief, and this is a fun way to go about it.

It only takes five minutes to make a batch, so why not make your first batch now?

Here’s the recipe. I’ve included a printable copy at the bottom of the post, so you can print it, and make it often.

DIY Aromatherapy Play Dough

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup water
1/4 cup salt
2 tbsp cream of tartar
1 tbsp cooking oil (canola oil, olive oil or whatever you have on hand)
Essential oils
Food coloring

Tip: Buy your cream of tartar in bulk, if you plan to make this recipe often. You’ll get a lot more for your money.

What You Do:

Combine all the dry ingredients in a sauce pan.

Measure the water and cooking oil into a liquid measuring cup.

Place the pan on the stove over medium heat. Then, add the wet ingredients, and stir to combine.

Add food coloring, on drop at a time, until you’re happy with the color.

Continue stirring, until the play dough comes together, and is no longer sticky. This takes approximately five minutes.

Turn your play dough out onto a non-stick surface, and allow it to cool, until you can handle it comfortably.

Then, flatten the dough ball out with your hands, and drop essential oils onto the surface to scent it. Start with seven drops. Then, carefully fold the dough over the oil (so it doesn’t come into direct contact with your skin), and knead it in.

Give your play dough a smell test, and add more oil, if desired. I used 14 drops to scent mine, but you can use as much as 1/4 tsp. If you’re making this for kids, I recommend going lighter on the oil. A good rule of thumb is to keep the essential oils to 1% or less of the recipe.

One batch of this play dough fits perfectly in a pint size jar.

Essential Oils to Use in Your Aromatherapy Play Dough

For Stress Relief/Sleep Try:

Lavender
Rose

For Mental Alertness Try:

Peppermint
Rosemary
Lemon
Lime
Orange

Not all essential oils are considered safe for kids, so be sure to vet any oils you plan to use. Since this play dough contains oils, it shouldn’t be ingested. Adult supervision is recommended.

What’s the Shelf Life of This Play Dough?

If you wash your hands before playing with your play dough, and keep it in an air-tight container when not in use, it should last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. Store your play dough in the refrigerator to achieve maximize shelf life.

When it’s time to make a new batch, use your old play dough to make ornaments, beads or other decorative items. This play dough can be air-dried or oven-dried at 200 degrees F. The oven time will vary, based on the size and thickness of your piece.

This gingerbread play dough also smells amazing. It’s scented with gingerbread spices, so it smells just like a batch of gingerbread cookies.

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