Doesn't relaxing in a warm bath filled with water treated to either energize, sooth or relax your body sound wonderful? Just keep reading to learn how you can make your own bath salts for a fraction of the cost of expensive store-bought products.
The following information is taken from the eSSORTMENT website:
Bath salts are simple to make and with proper storage can have a shelf life of several months. While most commercial bath salts are full of chemicals, you can make your own with just a few ingredients such as Epsom salt, baking soda, glycerin and your own choice of colors and fragrance.
One of the major ingredients in most bath salt recipes is Epsom salt. Epsom salt is made of magnesium sulfate which helps facilitate the removal of acids through the skin. It is also well known for its power to alleviate muscle soreness, aches and pains.
Another simple ingredient found in most kitchens is baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). Baking soda added to a bath salt recipe adds the affect of softening your skin. An alternative to baking soda is liquid glycerin, a by-product of soap making. Glycerin offers the power of a skin moisturizer and is available at many drug stores or health food stores.
Bath Salts Recipe
Ingredients:
2 Cups Epsom salts
1 Cup Sea Salt, Rock Salt or Course Salt
½ Cup Baking Soda
Food Coloring
20-30 drops of Fragrance Oil
In a large metal bowl combine the salts with the baking soda. Mix with your hands until the combination is thoroughly blended and resembles a fine powder. Add the food coloring, a few drops at a time until the desired color is achieved. Try to thoroughly mix the salts with the food coloring to make sure each salt grain is colored. Add the fragrance oil, a few drops at a time, mixing thoroughly to prevent the salts from clumping. Spread the salts in a single layer on a wax paper covered cookie sheet and allow to air dry for several hours. Spoon the dried bath salts into a wide mouth container with a good airtight stopper or lid. With proper storage, the bath salts will last for several months.
Add approximately ½ cup bath salts to your bath water, stirring the water to thoroughly dissolve the salts. Relax and enjoy!
Substitution: 1/4 Tablespoon of Glycerin can be substituted for the baking soda in the above recipe. Before adding the color and fragrance, add the glycerin to the combined salt mixture, stirring it in thoroughly to work out any clumps.
Tips:
As salt will absorb moisture from the air, try to make your bath salts on a day with low humidity. You can get creative with the color choices and fragrances in your bath salt recipes by dividing the bath salts into separate containers and adding different colors and/or fragrances to each container. As an example, when using peppermint oil as your fragrance of choice, color half the salts with red food coloring and leave half white. Layer the colored salts into your storage container to get a multi-colored look. To achieve a multi-hued color, try adding a few drops of one color, mix into the salt combination very slightly, then add a second color and again mix just slightly.
The more fragrance you add to your bath salts, the less salt you will need to add to your bath water. Let your nose be your guide to determine when the fragrance is strong enough.
Store the salts in a wide-mouth container such as a baby food jar. As the salts tend to clump over time, removal from a small mouthed container can be virtually impossible. Although bath salts are ready to use immediately, storing the salts for a few weeks will allow the oils and fragrance time to merge with the salts.
1 comment:
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