After the busy Holiday season, if you’re anything like me, you ate too many sweets, drank too much cider, and generally feel like it’s time for a relaxing bath and a detox program. Here is a step-by-step tutorial on making your own detoxifying bath salts with items you can find at your local shops.
You will need:
- Epsom Salts (available at most health food, pharmacies, and some bulk food stores)
- Bath Salts*
- Spice or Coffee Grinder
- Herbal Botanicals, optional
- Essential Oils
- Measuring Cups
- Mixing Spoon
- Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda), optional.
- Presentation Containers
*Bath Salts are available in a variety of styles, colours, and origins, each with their own composition of trace minerals, colour (such as pink Himalayan Salts), and purported health benefits. If you are unable to find Bath Salts, you can use a coarse sea salt.
If you use your grinder for coffee grounds or other spices with pungent odours, you may want to wipe out the interior of the grinder with a cloth dampened with vinegar to remove any odour/scent, unless you are intentionally making coffee-scented bath salts, of course.
To make your Bath Salts, combine:
- 1 cup Epsom Salts
- ½ cup sea salt, ground in a clean, dry spice or coffee grinder.
- 1/8 – ¼ cup botanical additive. In this instance, I used ground organic Chamomile buds.
- ¼ cup sodium bicarbonate (Baking Soda)
- 20-30 drops pure essential oils, I used organic Lavender oil
Pour into cellophane bags or jars, tie with ribbon or decorate accordingly. If you’re giving the bath salts as a gift, don’t forget a lovely hand-written tag with the ingredients and a nice personalized message for the recipient.
A note about essential oils: Not all essential oils are appropriate for pregnant/breastfeeding women. If you are pregnant, check with a qualified aromatherapist about the safety of essential oils after the first four months. Generally, chamomile, lavender and rose are regarded as safe in small quantities.
Some more ideas – Valentine’s Day is coming, why not mix up a batch of romantically scented bath salts to share with a loved one? In a small bottle, mix the following from Gill Farrer-Halls’ book, The Aromatherapy Bible:
- 15 drops rose otto
- 15 drops rose absolute
- 10 drops geranium
- 3 drops bergamot
- 2 drops patchouli
- 3 drops rosewood
- 2 drops ambrette seed
Add 15-20 drops of the above mixture to your recipe. Enjoy a romantic evening together with a nice bottle of wine.
Feeling sluggish? My favourite uplifting scents are a mix of peppermint and rosemary or lime oil mixed in the bath salts: 10 drops each peppermint, rosemary (you can also add ground rosemary leaves to your recipe) or 20 drops lime.
To use your bath salts:
To absorb minerals, the bath water should be no warmer than body temperature. To detoxify, your bath water should be warmer than body temperature. Add Add ½ to 1 cup of bath salts to warm or hot water.
This recipe yields about 2 cups of finished bath salts.
Have fun! I’d love to hear what scents and combinations you’ve tried!
“you will need” photo credits (left to right): Oxo mixing bowls, Fred Measuring Matroyshkas, Himalayan pink salt from SaharasSupplies, Escents Aromatherapy Lavender Oil, chamomile flowers from thehappycamper
