Last month I really enjoyed making my own bath bombs, but trust me, nothing will beat the experience of a bath transformed by one of these gorgeous homemade bath salt recipes.
I love a good soak, so I often use one of these bath salts to help me wind down after a long, hard day. As you lie in a bath of hot water the atmosphere softens the skin and speeds up oil absorption allowing the essential oils to do their best work on your skin, mind, and body.
When essential oils are released into a bath of warm water, along with salts, the oils release even more molecules than if you were to have a massage, while creating a wonderful smelling detoxifying bath. This can transform your basic bath into a wonderful therapeutic treat.
Dead sea salt and Epsom salts are both cleansing and detoxifying and by simply adding a few essential oils you can give your bath water almost any effect you wish.
How To Use The DIY Bath Salts
Add two or three heaped spoonfuls to a warm bath.
The heat in bathwater makes these wonderful smelling salts come in waves but you can change the essential oils within any of my DIY bath salt recipes to suit your own needs.
I would advise that you use the same quantities as in the bath salt recipes below and don’t be too tempted to make up a larger batch or the oils may begin to wane over time.
So, my first example is the most basic of recipes. This really isn’t hard to whip up, and you can find the ingredients easily and cheaply.
I wanted to start off with something simple, and then show you how you can play around with your salts (or customize them for yourself or friends).
There are no limits here, and you can add pretty much whatever you like. But make sure to test them before you gift, just so you know they’re of good quality.
How To Make Bath Salts
Ingredients
- 300 grams Dead Sea Salt (coarse)
- 3 tsp Sweet Almond Oil
- 1 tsp Orange Essential Oil
- Liquid Soap Dye (or food coloring)
Equipment
- Spoon or Spatula
Instructions
- Gather the ingredients for your bath salts recipe, which should make enough for around 4 to 5 baths. It's easy to adjust the level by using the slider above if you would like more.
- Pop your 300g of Dead Sea salts into a large bowl. Use glass, we don’t want to use plastic here, as the essential oil can corrode ordinary plastic. You can make use of metal, if that’s what you have to hand.
- Now we can add our first oil, the sweet almond oil. I find sweet almond oil to be exceptionally nourishing, and it’s readily available for any good cosmetic ingredients supplier. Give it a good mix.
- Now to add our essential oil! Don’t forget to mix it again. The orange essential oil is great for sucking out toxins and nourishing dry skin. It also helps to promote the growth of collagen, so can even make skin firmer and more youthful in appearance!
- You’ll notice that the essential oil has added a bit of color to our salts, but for me it’s just not quite enough. So, I’ll add a few drops of orange soap dye just to make it more vibrant. You don’t have to do this, of course, and can keep it more natural by omitting this step. If you want it, just add a few drops at a time and then mix. Keep adding until it’s the right color.
- Spoon your salts into a dry glass or PET plastic container.
- Heres the finished bath salts, simply add two or three heaped spoonfuls of the salts to a warm bath. in these quantities you should get around 4 to 5 baths, but remeber to use it all within 3 months.
Notes
- Be sure to use only glass or PET plastic containers for holding the salts.
- Use this within 3 months.
Enhance Your Relaxation
For an extra special bath time why not try this matching massage oil.
- Mix the same amount of essential oils with 4 fl oz (100ml) Sweet Almond Oil.
- Pour into a small glass bottle and give it a good shake.
- For a touch of luxury, either massage into the skin after your bath or use it as a daily moisturizer.
with peppermint and tea tree
with fragrance or essential oils
with ginger and lemongrass for men
Clear Skin Salts Recipe
There are always going to be times when we need something more than just detoxifying skin-softening salts. The tea tree and mint salts are perfect for those bad skin breakout days, or anyone that’s carrying a few minor cuts and scrapes.
Soothing Power
Adding a tea tree oil to the bath can help prevent minor cuts and scratches from becoming infected. It can also help reduce inflammation and speed up the healing of them.
Its superb medicinal properties can take the sting out of insect bites, help remove surplus oils from acne-prone skin, improve the appearance of scars, and keep nails clean and healthy.
Great for Aches and Pains
I’ve teamed the tea tree oil with mint essential oil for a couple of reasons. Firstly it’s great for toning down the tea tree scent which can be a bit overpowering. Secondly, it also has some good anti-inflammatory benefits which seem to have a cooling and soothing effect on the skin, peppermint essential oil can also help to relieve any muscle pain or cramps.
Ingredients
Total weight: 320g
- 200g Sea salt
- 100g Epsom salt
- 3 Teaspoons Jojoba oil
- ½ TeaspoonTea-tree oil
- ½ Teaspoon Peppermint Mint Essential oil
- Green Soap Dye or food coloring
Method
- In a glass or stainless steel bowl mix the salts, jojoba, and essential oils until well combined.
- Remove half of the salts and place them into a second bowl. Add your green coloring, a couple of drops at a time until you are happy with the finished shade.
- Layer the salts into the jar/ container, pressing down after each layer.
- Add two or three heaped spoonfuls of the salts to a warm bath.
- Use within three months.
Rainbow Salts Recipe
These salts are just great fun to make and use. I’ve chosen simple cost-effective ingredients to create an eye-catching wonderfully smelling jar that will put a smile on anyone’s face.
I make these regularly and I’ve used everything from a ready-made so-called designer fragrance such as coco channel to Jelly bean and bubble gum. There are so many great smelling fragrance oils to choose from it can be difficult enough just to choose one.
You can use any carrier oil you have to hand, sweet almond, jojoba, olive or sunflower, are all good generic choices.
A Helpful Hint
While I’ve suggested 300g total of the sea salt, you may want to double-check whether this is enough or too much for your chosen container. Test this by measuring its capacity in grams with your dry salt prior to the craft.
Keep in mind you will be packing in those layers quite tightly. You may also need to adjust the amount of carrier oil, for every extra 50g of salt add another ½ teaspoon of oil.
Ingredients
Total weight: 320g
- 300g Sea Salt (see hint above)
- 3 Teaspoon Carrier Oil
- 1 teaspoon Fragrance Oil (or essential oils)
- Liquid Soap or food coloring
Method
- Place all the salt into a clean glass or stainless steel bowl, stir in the carrier, and fragrance oil.
- Think about how many layers you want to have and how deep they will be. If you decide upon 6 layers then deepened you have used 300g of salt you will need to divide the uncolored salt into six 50g portions. I find small glasses, or coffee mugs good for this.
- Add a couple of drops soap coloring to one of the cups and stir in until its well absorbed into the salt. Repeat this stage with all the cups until you have all your layers colored, and ready to go.
- Now comes the fun part, place the first color in the jar, and without being to heavy-handed press it down firmly with the back of a spoon. Continue to layer the colors one on top of the other until all your colors have been used.
- Even though you measured and weighed all of the ingredients accurately you can still sometimes end up having a small amount of space left at the top of the jar. This is easily resolved by mixing up just enough salt to fill the gap, you don’t even have to add any color as a pure white topping can be very effective.
- Add two or three heaped spoonfuls of the salts to a warm bath.
- Use within three months.
A Bath Salt Recipe For Men!
These salts smell very masculine and will leave your man smelling and feeling great. The ginger in this recipe will help to revive him after a hard day’s work. The lemongrass essential oil will give an instant lift and can even soothe a headache.
As with all the other recipes they are very quick and easy to make so it’s best to make a small amount each time so that they are always fresh.
Ingredients
Total weight: 320g
- 200g Dead Sea Salt
- 100g Epsom Salt
- 3 Teaspoons (15ml) Sweet Almond Oil
- 18 Drops Lemongrass Essential Oil
- 9 Drops Ginger Essential Oil
- Yellow liquid Soap Dye (or food coloring)
Method
- Place the salts into a good size glass bowl. Mix in the sweet almond oil and the lemongrass and ginger essential oils.
- Add a few drops of yellow soap/food coloring to give it a nice lemony look.
- Decant into either clear or dark glass jars with lids, if you prefer to use a plastic container make sure it’s PET plastic. (try to store clear jars in a dark place to preserve the essential oils).
- Add two or three heaped spoonfuls of the salts to a warm bath.
- Use within three months.
So there we have it, some gorgeous smelling DIY bath salts that will turn your boring bath into a luxury spa treat! You can store these in a glass jar, or if you must use plastic (after all, glass in the bathroom can be risky) make sure it’s made from PET plastic.
I love making these for gifts and I love how soft my skin feels after a long, warm bath. I made some for family members in pretty decorative jars, they just loved them!
They also loved my floral bath salts with rose petals and lavender buds, so check them out as well.
Hi Angela – really great bath salt recipes.