Craft Aromatherapy Bath Salts for a Personalized Home Treatment Option

Aromatherapy baths are a wonderful way to treat yourself to a full spa treatment at home. Perhaps you’re already adding a few drops of your favorite essential oils to your running bath water. If you’re familiar with aromatherapy, you may be looking for an easy, economical way to indulge in a relaxing or invigorating bath. Crafting your own aromatherapy bath salt is a rewarding, cost-effective alternative to purchasing pricey aromatherapy products.

Basic Aromatherapy Bath Salt Recipe

• 3 Cups Sea Salt, Dead Sea Salt, or Epsom Salt, or a mixture of two or all three varieties. Coarser salts take longer to dissolve in the bath; a variety of salt grains works well.
  


• 15 – 20 drops of favorite essential oils. Vary the amount of oil used to suit personal preferences. Consider the strength of each scent for individual oils you are using.
  


• 1 oz. carrier oil as desired to serve as a moisturizer.

Place salt in a container with a tight fitting lid. Add essential oils and carrier oil. Mix well with a slotted spoon or fork. Re-mix after 24 hours.

Add ½ cup to bath water. Allow the bath salts to fully dissolve before bathing. Bath salts should be stored in tight sealing glass or Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) plastic containers to preserve their freshness.

Crafting Colorful Bath Salts

Aromatherapy bath salts can of course be left in their natural coloration. For gift giving or an alternative aromatherapy bath salt, try using a specialty salt which contains its own color naturally. Hawaiian Red Sea salt possesses a characteristic rust red color. Black Sea Pink salt is pale pink in color. Both are available at health food stores or gourmet cooking shops, as well as grocery stores specializing in exotic foods.

Mica powder or soap dye can also be added to salts if coloration is desired, but both should be used very sparingly. FDA approved dyes are generally safe for bath products, however excessive use can discolor not only water, but skin! Add coloration after essential oils have been blended with the salts. Allow the mixture to stand overnight for color to spread thoroughly throughout the salts. Mica powder and soap dyes are available in most craft shops.

Fanciful Aromatherapy Bath Salts

Consider adding a sprinkling of rose petals to your aromatherapy bath salt mixture. Dried herbs also can serve a fragrant or medicinal purpose. Salts containing herbs or flower petals can be secured in small mesh packets tied with decorative ribbon or string. Water flows through the mesh, allowing the bath salts to dissolve while the herbs seep into the bath water. The mesh packet keeps the bath water tidy and can easily be emptied and reused or discarded.

Choose Essential Oils with Care

When crafting your own aromatherapy bath salt, take care to use only those oils that are verified safe for all types of skin. Refer to an aromatherapy oil guide or consult with a professional practitioner if you have questions about herbs or oils. Consider known allergies or skin sensitivity conditions of any individuals you give homemade bath salt gifts to. For safety’s sake, it is best to label your bath salts’ containers carefully, clearly and completely. Use permanent ink on stiff cardstock to create a label that lasts.