I love a good soak in the tub, and 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 relaxing DIY bath salt recipes.
As you lay in a bath of hot water the atmosphere softens the skin and speeds up oil absorption allowing wonderful oils to do their best work on your skin, mind, and body.
Why Make Your Own Bath Salts?
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 soak. This can transform your basic bath into a wonderful therapeutic treat.
Sea salt and Epsom bath 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.
So, my first example is the most basic of DIY bath salts using colors & fragrance. This really isn’t hard to whip up. You can find the ingredients easily and cheaply online and they make fantastic homemade gifts!
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 your friends.
Following this recipe, you will find 3 more variations including the clear skin bath salts, rainbow bath salts, & bath salts for men. I then follow that up with 6 totally new DIY bath salt recipes.
Watch How To Make Bath Salts At Home
What Are The Best Bathing Salts?
Deciding the right salt to use in your bath is especially important. You might think all salt is the same, but that is not the case. Regular table salt, for instance, is entirely unsuitable and really not a good choice at all.
This is because regular table salt contains a lot of iodine. While this isn’t toxic, and perfectly safe, you certainly won’t get any good benefits from these highly processed forms of salt.
Instead, go for Sea salts, Epsom salts, and Himalayan salts, they are all excellent choices. They are packed with vitamins and minerals and provide excellent benefits for the skin and body.
Epsom bath salts, for instance, are exceptionally soothing for the joints. They’re amazing when included in bath salts designed for post-workout relaxation.
In contrast, sea salts are excellent for restoring skin radiance. They’ll fight off acne, soothe psoriasis (and other inflammation related skin ailments) and boosts the overall health of our skin. They’re an amazing addition to just about any homemade bath salts formula. Learn more about the benefits of sea salt at draxe.com.
What About Dead Sea Salts?
I have never been able to make dead sea salt work here. It’ll be absolutely gorgeous for the first few days. But after that, they turn into a slushy mess, which then turns into a solid mass as it tries to dry out.
We honestly don’t know what it is. We’ve all tried coming up with a dead sea bath salt recipe. Maybe it’s the humidity in our area of the world, but they always find a way to get wet, even in airtight packaging.
A little research on the web tells me this is a problem a lot of people have. Some people suggest using dendritic salt or other additives to keep them dry. I already do this, I put dendritic salt in all my bath salts now. But it still doesn’t help if I use dead sea salt.
I’ve written them off. If you want to throw some dead sea salt in the bath on their own, that would be fine. But combining it with essential oil and other ingredients leads to a product that you just can’t get out of the jar!
If anyone has a failsafe recipe for bath salts made with dead sea salt, I’d love to hear it.
Why Am I Using Dendritic Salt?
Dendritic Salt is a high purity salt. It has a unique and intricate crystal structure that makes it really effective at absorbing large amounts of water. Great for keeping our bath salts dry!
Unfortunately, it doesn’t have any skin benefits but is still classed as a natural product. It does however have a long history of use in traditional medicine. It has been shown to be effective in treating a variety of conditions, including asthma, allergies, bronchitis, and sinus infections.
But for use in our bath salts, we are using it to:
- Stop our lovely salts from clumping and going solid.
- Enhance the fragrance oil and help keep our bath salts smelling good for longer
- Make our bath salts cost-effective due to using less essential oils.
You only need around 5 to 10% Dendritic salt in your formula. It comes in fine or coarse grains which may depend upon where you live. Fine is slightly better as it can cover a greater surface area. As we are using this salt in small quantities, it can easily be ground in a pestle and mortar if you have coarse grains and want them finer, both work well
About The Color
I’m using a water-soluble cosmetic dye because I’ve found that most powdered mica will not dissolve, and will clump in the bath. You can use a liquid dye, but only add a few drops as we don’t want soggy salts.
Whatever you use, check your manufacturer guidelines to make sure it is water soluble before you try it!
OK Let’s Make The Basic Bath Salts
But don’t miss these other recipes
How To Make DIY Bath Salts With Lovely Oils
Ingredients
- 120 g Sea Salt (40%)
- 120 g Epsom Salts (40%)
- 30 g Baking Soda (10%)
- 27 g Dendritic Salt (9%)
- 3 g Essential Oil or Fragrance Oil (1%) (I'm using Orange EO)
- 1 pinch Water Soluble Cosmetic Dye (or a small amount of liquid soap dye/food coloring)
- 1 Cosmetic Jar (or mason jar)
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl (Glass, Aluminium or PET)
- Spoon or Spatula
Instructions
- Place the dendritic salt into a bowl. Blend in your fragrance oil, I'm using orange here, but you can substitute for whatever scent you like. Use a glass bowl, we don’t want to use plastic here, as the essential oil can corrode ordinary plastic.27 g Dendritic Salt, 3 g Essential Oil or Fragrance Oil
- Next, add the Epsom salt, sea salt, and baking soda to the dendritic salt mix, stirring after each ingredient is added. Then add your color & mix again. My theme here is orange, so again, feel free to substitute the color. You can even leave out the color if you want to go more natural.120 g Sea Salt, 120 g Epsom Salts, 30 g Baking Soda, 1 pinch Water Soluble Cosmetic Dye
- Once fully combined, spread the salts onto some baking parchment, and allow the salts to dry for 48 hours, stirring every now and again to circulate the air for drying. Placing the baking parchment onto a baking tray or sheet is perfect for this.
- After 48 hours transfer to a clean air-tight container, ready for use.1 Cosmetic Jar
Notes
- Be sure to use only glass or PET plastic containers for holding the salts.
- Store in an airtight container & use this within 6 months.
FAQ/Troubleshooting
Why Have My Bath Salts Become Solid?
Uh oh, your salts have become solid and you can no longer scoop them into your bath. This has happened because you have used too much liquid oil in your recipe.
Salt, or sodium chloride, has a crystalline molecular structure. Therefore, when these molecules become wet, they dissolve ever so slightly – but not fully. Just enough to be able to latch onto the other molecules of salt around it and fuse them together as they dry.
There’s not much you can do at that point, they’re kind of ruined. You can try to smash them up a little, but it will likely remain very clumpy.
Do Bath Salts Expire?
The salt itself will not expire. Salt is actually an excellent preserver and has been used to preserve meat for thousands of years. This means you don’t need to worry about microbial growth or using a preservative.
However, all natural, oil-based ingredients will oxidize over time. This means they become rancid and no longer possess their lovely skin benefits. While salt does slow this process down, we recommend keeping your bath salts for no more than 2-3 years.
What Kind Of Fragrances Can I Use?
You can use any fragrance or essential oil you like. There is no limitation here, providing you’re using them in safe concentrations for a wash-off bath product.
Essential oils, however, will provide you with the best benefit for both the skin and mind. We find them much more relaxing than their essential oil cousins.
Can I Use Carrier Oils In My Bath Salts?
Absolutely you can! Most of our DIY bath salts recipes contain some amount of carrier oil. The choice of which to use is also yours to make. We encourage you to use whatever oil suits your own unique skin.
However, be wary of using too much. Too much carrier oil in your bath salts can lead to your salt clumping or worse, completely solidifying.
How Often Can I Use Bath Salts?
Honestly, there isn’t a limit to how often you can use bath salts in your tub. However, if you are only interested in skin benefits, consider using them 3 times a week max.
This is because it’s unlikely for your homemade bath salts to provide further benefit beyond 3 times a week. Using them more often will probably be a waste of your money, in fact.
However, you might only like your bath salts because of how relaxing they are. The essential oil blend you have selected can help inspire positive moods, whisk away troubling thoughts and even focus the mind.
If this sounds like you, then you can use them as often as you like! You could even make many different types, and alternate between them as you like.
How To Use 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 salts to suit your own needs.
I would advise that you use the same quantities as in the bath salt recipes and don’t be too tempted to make up a larger batch or the oils may begin to wane over time.
Three Great Variations
Rainbow Bath 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 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)
- Powdered Dye 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 of soap coloring to one of the cups and stir in until it’s 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 too 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.
DIY Clear Skin Bath Salts
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 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 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.
Homemade Bath Salts 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.
Ingredients
Total weight: 320g
- 200g Sea Salt
- 100g Epsom Salt
- 3 Teaspoons (15ml) Sweet Almond Oil
- 18 Drops of Lemongrass Essential Oil
- 9 Drops of Ginger Essential Oil
- Yellow 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.
There are no limits here, and you can add pretty much whatever you like. But make sure to test them before you gift them, just so you know they’re of good quality.
6 New Bath Salt Recipes
Epsom Salt & Oatmeal Bath Bath Recipe
I love having a bath. If you’re like me, you probably set up candles & put some music on. You could enhance it further with some gorgeous DIY Epsom bath salts.Â
A Lovely Foaming Bath Salts Recipe
When I use my bath salts, I’m never sure if I should use bubble bath as well. So I decided to come up with a foaming bath salts recipe, so I don’t go without my bubbles ever again!
Detoxing Himalayan Bath Salts Recipe
If you love a good soak, these detoxing bath salts are going to be the perfect DIY treat for you. Just light some candles to get yourself in the mood & just relax.Â
Lavender & Coconut Milk Bath Salts Recipe
Formulated with gorgeous coconut milk & lavender essential oil. These bath salts provide ultra skin softening bath water & an aroma to soothe even the busiest of minds.
Triple Flower Power Bath Salts Recipe
I’m using Lavender, Rose & Calendula in this recipe for floral bath salts. Not only are they vibrant & pretty, but they all also have superb skin benefits.
My Fizzy Bath Salts With Lovely Fragrances
These beauties turn a mundane soak into a luxury spa treatment just for you!
Final Thoughts
So there we have it, how to make bath salts with gorgeous smelling oils 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!
Thank you Angela. Awesome recipes
These recipes are so amazing thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Angela – really great bath salt recipes.