How to Make Herbal Bath Salts

Need a relaxing finish to a long day? Try drawing up a hot bath and using our herbal bath salts recipes to help rejuvenate and detox your body! It’s proven to benefit your health in more ways than one! The calming aromas of herbs and the healing properties of Epsom salts combine to make the perfect self-care gift, for you or a friend!

How Herbal Bath Salts Can Improve Your Health

First off, bath salts help to detox the body. The sulphates in Epsom salts draw toxins out of the body, while baking soda draws impurities and toxins from the skin. Together, they help to boost the immune system and eliminate toxin build-up.

It’s recommended that you soak for at least 40 minutes when taking an Epsom salt bath. For the first 20 minutes or so, the bath salts will help your body to detox. During the second half of your bath, your body will begin to absorb back the healthy minerals from the Epsom salts and baking soda, replenishing your mineral levels.

Epsom salts are high in magnesium. Our bodies tend to lose magnesium when we’re stressed, and relaxing in a hot bath with herbal bath salts will allow your body to absorb magnesium back into the skin, allowing you to feel more relaxed.

Baking soda, when combined with Epsom salts helps to soothe sore muscles, especially after a workout or exercising. Muscle recovery is key to good health, so soaking in a bath a couple times a week is very beneficial and therapeutic.

Epsom salts can also help to relieve pain caused by inflammation, whether it’s from an injury or chronic muscle and joint pain. The warm water will also help your body to relax, allowing healing to happen.

And lastly, Epsom salts and baking soda can be beneficial for skin conditions like eczema, as they help promote better moisture. While we tend to think that salts are harsh on the skin, Epsom salts are actually a pure mineral compound of magnesium sulphate in a crystal form. It’s not a ‘salt’ as we know it, as it does not contain sodium chloride. And baking soda is an alkaline mineral, that when used with water, can reduce skin irritation and itching.

How to Make Herbal Bath Salts

To make herbal bath salts, you’ll need the following for your base mixture:

• 1 1/2 cups Epsom Salts
• 1/2 cup baking soda

At this point, you can get creative with the fragrances you’d like to add. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Lavender Rosemary Bath Salts

• 10 drops of lavender essential oil
• 5 drops of rosemary essential oil
• 1/4 cup dried lavender buds
• 2 tablespoons of dried rosemary

Lavender is a very relaxing aroma and helps to reduce stress, while rosemary can help relieve joint and arthritis pain, fatigue, anxiety and even acts as a cleansing tonic for the skin.

Lavender Eucalyptus Bath Salts

• 5-6 drops of lavender essential oil
• 10 drops of eucalyptus essential oil
• 1/4 cup dried lavender buds

Again, lavender has a very calming fragrance. Eucalyptus is known for helping with nasal congestion, colds and coughs. If you’re feeling under the weather, use this combination to clear up sinuses and help you breathe better.

Rosemary, Eucalyptus and Lemon Bath Salts

• 5 drops of rosemary essential oil
• 4 drops of eucalyptus essential oil
• 2 drops of lemon essential oil
• 2 tablespoons of dried rosemary

This great combination of aromas will help to clear up colds and get you breathing better, as well as reduce pain caused by inflammation. The addition of lemon can help to reduce exhaustion and depression while fighting bacteria and viruses.

Tea Tree and Lavender Bath Salts

• 8 drops of tea tree essential oil
• 10 drops of lavender essential oil
• 1/4 cup dried lavender buds

Tea tree is also great for treating coughs and colds. It fights bacteria and viruses and helps to increase the activity of your white blood cells, which help fight germs and other foreign invaders. The lavender aroma paired with tea tree will help you to relax as your body heals!

Peppermint Bath Salts

• 8 drops of peppermint essential oil

Soothe your sore and achy muscles with peppermint scented bath salts! Peppermint also helps to eliminate harmful bacteria, treat inflamed skin, clear the sinuses and reduce headaches.

Feel free to experiment with different aromas and create new healing combinations of herbs! These recipes also make wonderful gifts! Pour your bath salts into a tin or small jar, wrap a ribbon around it, and give it to your favourite people!