Adding bath salts to a tub of warm water and taking a good soak can seem like a real indulgence at the end of a long day. But did you know there are many health benefits of bath salts too?

Scientific studies have proven that relaxing in a hot tub can help promote better sleep and overall feelings of wellness.

Learn how to make your own homemade relaxing bath salts and the benefits you can expect from using them.

This bath salt recipe also makes a great gift idea for Christmas or Mother’s Day.

What You Need to Make Homemade Relaxing Bath Salts

You only need a few simple ingredients to make homemade lavender bath salts. You can probably even find everything at your local Walmart.

To make your own bath salts, you need Epsom salt, dead sea salt, and baking soda. Essential oils will make the bath salts smell good, but they are totally optional. Let’s look at each of these ingredients to see their benefits.

bath salts with flowers — *A jar of homemade bath salts scented with lavender and cedarwood.*

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Epsom Salts

The main ingredient in this bath salt recipe is Epsom salt. Epsom salt isn’t really a salt at all. It is called a salt because its chemical structure is similar to table salt.

However, Epsom saIt is actually a combination of magnesium, sulfur, and oxygen that is known as magnesium sulfate. It was originally discovered in a town called Epsom in Surrey, England, hence the name.

Epsom salts have many health benefits that include soothing sore muscles, drawing out toxins from the body, easing stress, reducing inflammation, and promoting relaxation.

Dead Sea Salt

Dead sea salt is salt that is mined from the Dead Sea in Israel, the saltiest sea on Earth. Sea salt can help treat conditions such as psoriasis and Rheumatoid arthritis but it can also be used by anyone to reduce inflammation, redness, and dryness.

Sea salt is also an excellent exfoliator when used in scrubs and soap bars. If you don’t have dead sea salt on hand you can use other types of coarse sea salt such as kosher salt or pink Himalayan salt.

free essential oil blend box to get the list free

Baking Soda

Baking soda is added to our DIY bath salts to soften the water and help detoxify your body. It will give the water a smooth, silky feel when you step into the tub.

Homemade DIY Relaxing Bath Salts

Here’s an easy recipe for homemade bath salts. You can find a printable version at the bottom of this post.

1 cup Epsom salts
1/4 cup dead sea salt
1/4 cup baking soda
10-15 drops of essential oils (Plant Therapy is my favorite brand. You can get them on Amazon or straight from the company and they always offer free shipping.)

Pour baking soda into a small dish. Sprinkle 10-15 drops of essential oils over the baking soda.

Using a spoon, smush the baking soda and essential oils together to distribute the oils throughout the baking soda. Stir in Epsom salts and dead sea salt.

Transfer the mixture to an air-tight container for storage. I like to use a glass jar (such as a mason jar). Store your bath salt in a cool dry place and it will keep for quite a while. Since there is no water in this recipe, it has a long shelf life.

To use your homemade relaxing bath salts, pour 1/3 cup bath salts under running water as you fill your bath tub. Hop in and enjoy a nice, soothing bath.

What Essential Oils Should I Use in Bath Salts

While you can use just about any combination of essential oils for your homemade bath salts, I prefer to stick to relaxing scents, especially since I tend to take tub baths in the evening.

Essential oils like lavender, rose, sandalwood, and cedarwood promote feelings of contentment and may even help you fall asleep faster at night.

Here are some suggestions of essential oil blends for you to use in this homemade bath salts recipe.

lavender essential oil – When in doubt, you can’t go wrong with plain lavender.
4 drops lavender, 4 drops frankincense, and 4 drops orange
6 drops lavender, 4 drops of bergamot, and 4 drops ylang-ylang
7 drops lavender, 7 drops cedarwood
relax blend – Plant Therapy has its own blend of relaxation oils already blended together. It contains a combination of lavender, marjoram, mandarin, patchouli, Geranium bourbon, and Roman chamomile.

Of course, you can use a fragrance oil if you choose, I just prefer the more natural route of essential oils.

What Shouldn’t Be Added to Homemade Bath Salts?

One thing you have probably seen quite often on the internet are pictures of bath salts with flecks of herbs mixed throughout. I don’t recommend this. Why?

Putting dried lavender buds, lavender flowers, or other dried herbs and flowers in your bath salts means you will have that stuff floating with you in the tub.

And then, when you are done with your bath, all that plant matter either goes down the drain (and can possibly clog your pipes over time) or you have to clean the remaining residue out after your bath.

So while it certainly looks cute for pictures, I recommend sticking with just plain essential oils to scent your bath salts.

Others choose to add food coloring to their Epsom bath salts, but over time this can stain your tub. I’ve also seen recipes that use coconut oil, but this will leave your tub with a greasy residue at the end of your soak.

And I don’t know about you but when I’m finished with a bath, I don’t usually want to clean. I just want to go to bed.

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