Making Spa Products From Scratch: How To Make Homemade Spa Bath Salts

I am a person with very sensitive skin and an extra sensitive nose. In an effort to try to come up with some bath salts that I could use without making my skin worse or overloading my olfactory senses, I went in search of some recipes to make my own bath salts. So far, I'm just beginning but below are a few of the recipes I have found so far. Books on aromatherapy can be found in the library as well as books on making your own beauty and bath products.

Down the road, once I perfect my own special blends of bath salts or oils, I was thinking the salts, oils and maybe fizzing balls would make really pretty additions to gift baskets, in a pretty container alone (especially the multi-colored ones) or with a gift card, bathing mitts, sponges, etc.

There are additives as well that make the salts better for your skin such as glycerin which is for skin moisturizing. Baking soda softens the water and is excellent for skin conditioning. Scout out health food stores, craft stores, and boutiques that specialize in aromatherapy to see what else might be available. Also experiment with different oils as different fragrances are better for specific things, such as eucalyptus for congestion.

Kosher salt also comes in a coarser, thicker variety that is excellent for using in bath salts.

I found this recipe on howtomakestuff.com and this is one of the ones I am leaning towards.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup Epsom salt
• 1 cup baking soda
• 4 drops of blue food coloring
• 3 drops jasmine essential or fragrance oil (or substitute lavender)
• 4 drops vannilla essential or fragrance oil
• 2 tablespoons glycerin

PREPARATION

1. Combine the dry ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon or whisk in glass or metal bowl.
2. Add color and the oils/fragrances one at a time.
3. Continue stirring until all is mixed really well.
4. Break up any clumps in the salts.
5. You should keep mixing until the mix is a semi-fine powder.
6. Then add glycerin and mix well.

SUBSTITUTIONS

• Instead of 1 cup Epsom salt cut to 1/2 cup Epsom salt and 1/2 cup kosher salt or sea salt
• Instead of 1 cup baking soda cut to 1/2 cup baking soda and add 1/2 cup kosher or sea salt
• Substitute another fragrance for the jasmine or vanilla fragrances or oils
• Make multicolored bath salts - recipe on about.com under candle and soap making

Likewise, I found this recipe on howtomakestuff.com and it sounds equally easy to make and very soothing

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups Epsom salt
• 1 cup baking soda
• 5 drops yellow food coloring
• 2 drops red food coloring
• 4 drops of musk fragrant or essential oil
• 3 drops of jasmine fragrant or essential oil
• 2 teaspoons glycerin

PREPARATION

1. Combine Epsom salt, baking soda and glycerin until well blended in glass or metal bowl.
2. Add the scents and continue stirring until no clumps remain and the mixture is a fine powder.
3. Divide the mixture into 3 bowls.
4. To the first bowl, add 3 drops of yellow food coloring.
5. In the second bowl, add 3 drops of red food coloring.
6. In the third bowl, add 2 drops of yellow and 1 drop of red food coloring.
7. Stir each separate bowl until the colors are well mixed into the salts.
8. Let the salts air dry for several hours (3-4) before placing into a bottle or container.
9. Once they have dried, you can layer red first, then orange, then yellow.

SUBSTITUTIONS

• Instead of 3 cups Epsom salt cut to 2 cups Epsom salt and 1 cup kosher salt or sea salt
• Instead of 1 cup baking soda cut to 1/2 cup baking soda and add 1/2 cup kosher or sea salt
• Substitute another fragrance for the jasmine fragrances or oil
• Substitute another fragrance for the musk fragrance or oil
• Substitute other colors and do a red, white and green for Christmas or other colors to suit

Put your finished bath salts into the following containers

• Mason jars
• Decorative feminine bottles for a woman
• Masculine bottle with musk scent for a man
• Decorative jars
• Decorative bottles
• Plastic bottles or containers
• Small clear bags tied with raffia bows
• Small tie bags