Home Made Christmas Ideas: Homemade Bath Salts

Jen — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:00:56 +0000

What You Will Need:

For the Bath Salts Recipes -

epsom salts or sea salt, or both, and baking soda

food coloring

1 or 2 teaspoons of glycerin per jar – optional, but glycerin is an effective skin moisturizer and a nice addition

essential oils – mandarin orange, lavender, sandlewood, and patchouli

For Decorative Glass Jars –

glass jars

printable jar labels

scissors and glue

assorted embellishments, including several yards of orange or peach colored ribbon, small amount of lavender or mauve ribbon, ecru or white doily, raffia, tacky glue and household twine

General Instructions:
1. Collect your jars, remove labels, then wash and dry thoroughly.

2. For most bath salts recipes you can use your choice of epsom salts or sea salt, with baking soda, if desired, or a combination of all three. One good mix is one cup of epsom salts, with 1/4 cup of sea salt, and two or three tablespoons of baking soda. A little more or less of each ingredient is fine for most bath salts. Epsom salts and sea salt are soothing for tired muscles, while both will gently soften the water for a luxurious bath experience. You could also add a tablespoon or two of finely ground regular oatmeal (not quick cooking) for silky, skin-softening water.

3. Fill each jar to the top with the combination of bath salts that you plan to use. Empty the salts into a mixing jar and add a drop or two of glycerin, if using. Add your choice of essential oil – how many drops you use is a personal preference, but start with two or three drops and see if you like the fragrance. The same goes for the liquid food coloring; sometimes I use quite a few drops of food color to get the strong hue that I like, but so far it hasn’t stained the bath tub or anyone’s skin. Remember that the color and fragrance will be much diluted in the bath water. Stir the salts vigorously until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Lavender Bath Salts:

I used 1 cup of epsom salts, half a cup of sea salt, and a few tablespoons of baking soda for this recipe, adding 8 drops of lavender. (This one was for me, and I adore lavender – it made the bathroom smell heavenly!) Adjust the fragrance, just adding one or two drops at a time until you’re happy with it. Lavender is a difficult color to achieve with food coloring, I found, but I managed to get a lavender color that I liked by using far more red than blue.

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Home Made Christmas Ideas: Homemade Bath Salts