Bath salt is a relaxing, soothing and moisturizing addition to any bath. Making your own salt is a fun and inexpensive DIY activity that you can do right in your kitchen! Homemade bath salts can be a great gift. They can even be sold at the local market or craft fairs to make some money. Most often, these products include a combination of salt, baking soda, and essential oils. But one of the huge benefits of using your own bath salt is that you can modify color, smells and scents by adding different ingredients, herbs and oils.
Ingredients
Bath salt base
- 2 cups (580 grams) bath salt
- 1/4 cup (100 grams) baking soda
- 15-30 drops of essential oils
Supplements optional
- 2 teaspoons (12 ml) glycerin
- 1/8 cup (30 ml) jojoba oil or sweet almond oil
- Fresh herbs or flower petals
- Skin-friendly fragrance
- Skin-friendly dye
- Citrus juice or zest
- 1-2 teaspoons (6-12 ml) extract (such as vanilla or orange)
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Making Simple Bath Salt
Step 1. Prepare ingredients and required tools
In addition to the main and additional ingredients, you will need some tools and devices, including:
- baking sheet,
- mixing bowl and spoon (or sealed plastic bag),
- scapula.
Step 2. Mix the salts
There is a huge selection of popular bath salts, and many of them are sea salts. You can mix and match the proportions of salt according to personal preference. Use a spoon to stir the selected products in a small bowl. The most common types are:
- Epsom salt (which is not a salt in the usual sense of the word, but a crystalline form of magnesium sulfate). It relaxes muscles and softens water;
- sea salt (Dead Sea salts are especially helpful in relieving symptoms of arthritis, rheumatism, psoriasis, and eczema);
- red Hawaiian salt, which helps heal wounds, itching and sprains.
Step 3. Add baking soda and essential oils
After mixing the salt, add the baking soda to it. When the ingredients are combined, pour in the essential oils of your choice. Start with 5 drops and mix thoroughly. Continue adding 5 drops at a time until you get the desired effect.
Instead of a bowl and spoon, you can use a sealed plastic bag to mix all the ingredients. After you've added everything you need, seal the bag and start squeezing it with your hands to combine the salt with baking soda and essential oils
Step 4. Add additional ingredients
To make the salt colored, pour in 5 drops of the dye (just as you did with the essential oil) until you get the desired shade and brightness. You can use food coloring, soap dye, or anything else that is safe for the skin.
- Likewise, if you want to add glycerin or oil for extra hydration, use it at this stage and mix thoroughly.
- Other optional ingredients include citrus zest and juice, fresh herbs and seeds, flower petals, and extracts.
Step 5. Bake the mixture
This step is optional, but it will help dry out the salt and get rid of any lumps. It is very important to bake at a low temperature to prevent oils and fragrances from evaporating.
- Preheat the oven to 100 degrees.
- Spread the mixture evenly over the baking sheet.
- Bake for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, remove the salt from the oven and cool.
Step 6. Use and store bath salts
To use the salt, simply pour half a glass of the product under the running water as you fill your bath. Store leftovers in an airtight jar (such as a screw top or old jam jar).
Method 2 of 2: Making salt according to personal preference
Step 1. Make a bath salt to relieve pain
Ordinary bath salts can be decorated for any occasion or made into a unique gift. There are many options for adding new ingredients, extracts and oils. For a relaxing and soothing mixture, take regular bath salt and add:
- 1 tablespoon (2-3 grams) fresh rosemary
- 2 tablespoons (5 grams) lavender flowers
- Peppermint essential oil, 10 drops
- Eucalyptus essential oil, 5 drops
- Rosemary essential oil, 5 drops
- Lavender essential oil, 5 drops
- Cinnamon essential oil, 5 drops
Step 2. Try citrus bath salts
For a refreshing and rejuvenating bath, try a citrus blend. Choose a citrus fruit (or several) such as orange, lemon, or lime. Peel off the zest and add to regular bath salt. Then cut the fruit in half, squeeze out the juice and pour into the mixture. Additionally, you can use the following essential oils:
- bergamot,
- mandarin,
- grapefruit,
- orange, lemon or lime,
- mint.
Step 3. Experiment with herbal bath salts
Herbal salts for relaxing and refreshing baths are obtained from a combination of essential oils, extracts and one to two tablespoons (3-5 grams) of dried or fresh herbs in ground form. After adding this ingredient, rub the salt and herbs together to extract the oils. Here are the most popular bath herbs:
- rosemary,
- thyme,
- mint or peppermint,
- basil,
- sage.
Step 4. Take a healing bath
If you are sick or not feeling well, a soothing bath with medicated salt is, as they say, what the doctor ordered. To make a bath salt that will relieve symptoms of colds and clear sinuses, add:
- 5-10 drops of eucalyptus essential oil,
- 5-10 drops of rosemary essential oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh or dried peppermint, ground
Step 5. Add a floral note
Like herbal bath salts, floral options can be made with a combination of essential oils and fresh or dried flower petals or pods. As with herbs, if you use scented flowers such as lavender, rub the flowers or leaves between your fingers after adding them to the salt to loosen the oils. Popular color options include:
- ¼ cups (10 grams) of rose petals,
- ¼ cups (10 grams) chamomile flowers,
- 1-2 tablespoons (3-5 grams) of lavender flowers or leaves,
- fresh vanilla or vanilla extract,
- essential oil of ylang-ylang.
Step 6. Make a multi-colored bath salt
If you've used dyes to color the salts, you can mix and match layers in the same jar to create an interesting and unique rainbow salt mixture. For example, you can mix a layer of mint green mix with pink grapefruit to create a mint-citrus mix for your morning bath.
- Pour in 5 to 7.5 cm of salt of the same color. Shake the jar gently and tilt so that the salt is at an angle. Then add 2.5 to 5 cm of a different color and tilt the jar so that the new layer is at the same angle.
- Add any number of colors. The main thing is to slightly change the thickness of each layer.
Advice
- For a relaxing bath, dim the lights or light candles. For even more ambience, light incense, listen to soothing music, and practice deep breathing techniques while you lie in the bath.
- If you are allergic to regular salt, use English salt.
- If you don't have Epsom salts, use sea salt instead. It works great too.