Essential oil bath salts are wonderful for a soothing, relaxing bath after a long hard day, but they are good for so much more than that. Depending on which essential oil you include in your recipe, bath salts can be used to reduce inflammation, relieve pain, improve skin disorders or even help treat bacterial infections.
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The essential oil bath salts will impart all of the essential oil’s therapeutic properties and the salts are also incredibly nourishing. The recipes listed here have been proven effective, but don’t hesitate to adjust them a little.
When you make your own bath salts, you can personalize the recipe to address a particular health issue or just find that signature fragrance that is all you.
1. Holiday Bath Salts
This recipe has a great fragrance that is similar to fresh evergreens with a touch of relaxing vanilla. It is especially good for dry, itchy skin, upper respiratory and sinus congestion, inflammation, neuralgia, muscle spasms and digestive discomfort.
It can also be used to help reduce a fever and for general detoxification. Use 1 cup of salts, 1/2 cup of baking soda, 3 drops of eucalyptus essential oil and 1 tablespoon of vanilla oil. You can use a 20% vanilla in jojoba oil, 30% vanilla in fractionated coconut oil or something similar. Vanilla oil is always vanilla mixed into a carrier oil.
2. Pain Relief Bath Salts
This bath salts recipe is excellent for back pain or any type of all-over pain as well as a whole host of other maladies. Blend together 2 cups of salts, 1 cup of baking soda, 10 drops of peppermint essential oil, 5 drops each of eucalyptus, rosemary, lavender and cinnamon essential oils, 1 tablespoon of carrier oil, 2 tablespoons of dried lavender flowers and 1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary sprigs.
The lavender flowers and rosemary sprigs make the mixture look more interesting but aren’t absolutely necessary. You’ll get lavender and rosemary benefits from the oils. If you do include the flowers and sprigs, be sure to put a strainer over your tub drain. You don’t want the flowers and sprigs clogging your drain.
3. Uplifting Lemon Bath Salts
Lemon and rosemary make a great, uplifting yet soothing bath-salts combination. The lemon oil is wonderful for inflammation, arthritis, high blood pressure and it actually improves cognitive function.
Rosemary oil is great for digestive issues, varicose veins, edema, neuralgia, fatigue and depression. It is also an astringent oil that helps firm and tone your skin and muscles. Blend together 2 cups of salts, 1/2 cup of baking soda, 6 drops each of lemon essential oil and rosemary essential oil, an emulsifier and 1 tablespoon of carrier oil.
Be careful with this recipe if you are planning to go outdoors in the sunlight after your bath. Cold pressed lemon essential oil is phototoxic. If you take a bath in it and expose your skin to sunlight too soon, you could get a nasty reaction.
*For best results, use an emulsifier so that your essential oils will mix into your bath water uniformly instead of just floating on the surface.*
4. Soothing Lavender Detox
This simple bath salts recipe is excellent for detoxification or soothing relaxation. Mix together 1 cup each of salts and baking soda, 10 drops of lavender essential oil, an emulsifier and 1 tablespoon of carrier oil. Alternatively, you could blend 3 cups of salts with 15 drops of lavender.
5. Luxurious, Relaxing, Uplifting Bath Salts
Use these bath salts to relax, relieve pain, improve your mood or just enjoy a decadently luxurious bath. This recipe calls for ylang ylang essential oil, which is the oil used in Chanel No. 5 perfume.
Yummy! Blend together 3 drops of ylang ylang essential oil, 5 drops of bergamot essential oil, emulsifier, 1 tablespoon of carrier oil, 1/3 cup of dried butterfly pea flowers, 1/3 cup of Himalayan pink salt and 1/3 cup of Epsom salts. Add 1/2 cup of these bath salts to your bath when you want a real treat.
6. Exotic Floral-citrus Bath Salts
For a more exotic floral bath salts recipe, use the recipe above but substitute the ylang ylang EO and bergamot EO with 6 drops of jade lemon essential oil and 3 drops of jasmine essential oil.Heavenly! Jasmine essential oil is excellent for your skin, relieves pain and gives the libido a nice boost.
Jade lemon EO is uplifting, antioxidant, inspirational and great for your digestive tract. Similar to cold pressed lemon oil, jade lemon is phototoxic. Don’t bathe in it and go directly outdoors in the sunlight. If you prefer, you can use 4 drops each of geranium essential oil and orange essential oil. Orange essential oil is not phototoxic.
7. Lift Your Spirits Bath Salts
Need a really uplifting, mood-enhancing bath? Try using the above recipe with 4 drops each of lemongrass essential oil and lime essential oil instead of jade lemon and jasmine. It will snap you out of your funk, for sure. If you use cold pressed lime essential oil, be cautious about going out in the sunlight.
*It is best to use a variety of salt granule sizes instead of all coarse or all fine granules.*
8. Floral Bath Salts
For a lovely, floral bath salts recipe, substitute the lemongrass and lime essential oils in the above recipe with 6 drops of lavender essential oil and 1 drop of rose essential oil. It is excellent for pain relief and will leave your skin soft, supple and healthy.
9. Earthy Relaxation Bath Salts
Struggling with gout or bursitis? Try this anti-inflammatory blend. Mix 1 cup of Epsom salt, 1/4 cup of sea salt and 1/4 cup of baking soda with 3 drops each of frankincense, patchouli and orange essential oils, an emulsifier and 1 tablespoon of carrier oil.
These oils are wonderful for inflammation, joint problems and edema. They will also reduce nervousness and depression, boost your libido, fight free radical damage, improve your mood, relieve pain and firm and tone your skin. This blend smells wonderfully woodsy-earthy. It is very relaxing.
10. Woodsy-floral Bath Salts
For a more woodsy-floral blend, use the recipe above with 4 drops each of sandalwood essential oil and lavender essential oil instead of the patchouli, frankincense and orange.
It smells wonderful and is great for pain relief, lowering high blood pressure, treating nervous exhaustion and anxiety, reducing inflammation, boosting the libido, getting a good night’s sleep and relieving arthritis symptoms.
11. Decongestant Bath Salts
For relief from sinus and chest congestion, blend together 1 cup of Epsom salt, 1 cup of kosher salt and 1/2 cup of baking soda. Combine 8 drops of eucalyptus essential oil and 8 drops of peppermint essential oil with an emulsifier and 1 tablespoon of carrier oil. Mix the oil blend into the salts. This blend is wonderful for treating colds and the flu.
*Dissolve the bath salts in water before putting them in your bath by adding 1/2 cup of salts to 1 cup of hot water in a jar, sealing the jar and shaking it until the salts dissolve.
12. Balancing Bath Salts
Feeling out of sorts and off-balance, both emotionally and physically? Try blending 10 drops of sage essential oil and 5 drops each of your favorite mint essential oil and tea tree essential oil with your emulsifier and 1 tablespoon of carrier oil.
Mix the oil blend into 3 cups of salts or 2 1/2 cups of salts and 1/2 cup of baking soda. You can use a combination of Epsom salts, Dead Sea salts and Himalayan salts or all of one or the other. Try using some Red Alaea Hawaiian sea salt, black lava Hawaiian sea salt and Himalayan pink salt for some interesting color.
13. Spicy-citrus Bath Salts
For a fortifying, stress-relieving, uplifting bath salts mixture, use the above recipe but substitute the sage, mint and tea tree oils with 5 drops each of lemon, orange, clove and cedarwood essential oils. This is a great warming blend to use when you have a chill, a cold or an upper respiratory infection.
*Blend your oils and emulsifier before adding them to your salts.*
14. Walk in the Woods Bath Salts
For a very relaxing, woodsy-earthy bath salts mix, blend together 4 drops each of cedarwood and vetiver essential oils then add your emulsifier and 1 tablespoon of carrier oil.
Mix that into your salts and baking soda, or just salts, and enjoy an incredibly woodsy relaxing bath. It is excellent for tension and stress relief, treating ADHD, alleviating arthritis symptoms and reducing free radical damage.
15. Detox and Heal Bath Salts
This is an excellent recipe for people who need to detox, heal their bodies and recover from excess stress. Blend 10 drops each of lavender, juniper berry and clary sage essential oils. Mix in your emulsifier and add the oils to 1 tablespoon of carrier oil.
Add the oil blend to your salt blend. This blend is absolutely perfect for women of all ages but especially women who are going through menopause. It reduces high cortisol levels that are produced when we are too stressed for too long and helps our bodies heal. It is also great for improving hormone balance and relieving muscle pain.
Was this list helpful to you? Making your own bath salts is fun, inexpensive and very rewarding. Keep in mind that you don’t have to use baking soda. It can be beneficial, but you can also replace the baking soda with fine-grain salt.
Also, remember that coarse salt takes longer to dissolve and is uncomfortable to sit on when you get into the bath. Even though the coarse grains look nicer, they should be mixed with equal parts or medium and fine grain salts.
You can color your salts, too. Just be sure to use food coloring that is safe for your skin and don’t use too much. You don’t want to turn yourself green, blue or purple.
Please leave a comment to let me know if this list is helpful and share your own experiences with essential oil bath salts. Let me know if you’ve already got a favorite recipe that you’ve come up with yourself. Be sure to share this page, too, so that others can enjoy these great bath salts recipes.
References:
1. AromaWeb: Aromatherapy Bath Salts Recipe
2. Dr. Axe: 10 Detox Bath Recipes
3. Recipes with Essential Oils: 5 Essential Oil Spa Bath Salt Recipes
4. One Essential Oil Community: 15 Recipes for Relaxing Bath Salts
5. Hello Glow: How to Make Bath Salts
http://helloglow.co/6-aromatherapy-blends-for-diy-bath-salts/