What could be more soothing than a hot bath with lavender essential oil? Or peppermint oil in your bath to get your morning going?
But because oils and water don’t mix, adding undiluted essential oils to your bath could potentially burn your skin. It happened to a friend of mine.
Diluting the essential oil with a carrier oil first (ie. olive oil) can help, and will moisturize your skin. But mixing the essential oils with an oil and then a salt is your best bet, causing the oils to disperse in your bath.
Basic Bath Salt Recipe
Making your own bath salt couldn’t be simpler. Here are the basics:
2 cups sea salt or epsom salts, or any combination of the two.
15 – 30 drops of essential oil – see below for recommendations.
1 T. carrier oil (jojoba, coconut, olive, or other).
Combine the salts, essential oils and carrier oil. Use 1/4 – 1/2 cup in your bath. Relax and enjoy!
Essential Oil Recommendations
For a relaxing bath, add 20 drops lavender essential oil to your bath salts.
For an energizing bath, add 10 drops of spearmint and 5 drops of rosemary essential oils.
To elevate your mood, try adding a combination of 30 drops total of sweet orange, grapefruit and tangerine essential oils. Note that citrus oils are phototoxic and should not be used before sun exposure.
To soothe achy muscles, or open up your sinus passages, try 20 drops of eucalyptus oil.
Other essential oils to consider in your bath salts include frankincense, clary sage, rose, geranium, or juniper. Be creative and mix and match!
Sources for Quality Salts and Essential Oils
The following are affiliate links. Purchasing through these links helps to pay my blogging expenses and is sincerely appreciated.
Recipes for Bath Salts and Scrubs
Warming Chai Spice Bath Salts from Learning And Yearning
Pine Bath Salts for Natural Stress Relief from Learning and Yearning
Calendula Sugar Scrub from Homespun Seasonal Living
Citrus Rose Bath Salts from Real Food Outlaws
Epsom Salt to the Rescue from Smithspirations
What are your favorite essential oils for adding to bath salts?
Thank you for visiting Learning And Yearning. May "the LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace." Num 6:24-26
Kristen @ Smithspirations says
Thanks for sharing my Epsom salt post, Susan! One of my favorite combinations is lavender and ylang ylang. I always sleep so well after soaking in that!
Susan Vinskofski says
You’re welcome!
Kristina says
Made this loved it..salt..advacado oil..eucalyptus..thank you!!! So easy took like 3 min to make 8 cups!!!
Susan Vinskofski says
Simple is wonderful, isn’t it Kristina?
Sarah says
For the essential oils is fragrance oil the same thing? I make soy candles and I use fragrance oil for those,could I use them for bath salts? Or would they irritate the skin?
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Sarah! No, fragrance oils are not the same as essential oils. Fragrance oils are manufactured scents which contain artificial substances. Essential oils are naturally derived from plants and besides being fragrant they are often therapeutic. I don’t have any experience with fragrance oils and I don’t know if they are irritating to the skin, but I personally would hesitate to use them in a bath.
Ann Hanna says
Please add me to you list , I use essential oils and love to hear ideas. Thanks and happy holidays
Susan Vinskofski says
Happy holidays to you as well!
Dawn says
I didn’t use a carrier oil and mine clumped. Any way to prevent that.
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Dawn, are you able to break up the clumps with more mixing? Even with clumps, I think the bath salt will be just as effective.
Mary Simard says
If you use coconut oil, how do you integrate in the salt mixture? Do you melt it? Also do you ever add mica powder to the mixture? Thinking of making for Bridal Shoer favours . Any tips you can give me?
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Mary, the coconut oil would probably mix in easier if melted, but unmelted would work ok as well. No, I’ve never used mica. I think the women at the shower will love this!
Beth says
I used ecalyptus Epsom salt and frankincense and think I put too much oil in the salt because I have a red rash on my butt.. but I enjoyed the relaxing of the two for a bit before it got a little warm in spots
Susan Vinskofski says
Yes, with essential oils, a very small amount goes a long way!
Mickie Sue Darnell says
I mixed Lavender and Frankincense together with mine but I also put mine in the oven for 2 minutes to let the coconut oil melt it together first and then broke it apart with a spatula. Absolutely loved this sent and relaxing sent and the way that it made me feel… I had taken a fall a couple of days before so this really helped the sore muscles.
Thanks
Susan Vinskofski says
Really glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Ashley says
Hi Susan,
I’m new to this lifestyle for the most part. How long does the bath recipe last for if I make a jar of it?
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Ashley, the bath salts won’t go bad as long as you don’t allow moisture to get into your container. Thanks for stopping by!
Kristin says
Can I add therapeutic peppermint essential oil to my bag of epsom salt and shake it? Will that be okay (safe)?
Susan Vinskofski says
Yes, Kristin, as long as you keep the proportions listed above and mix well!
Shwan Marsh says
Adding essential oils to a bath is extraordinary, you inhale the oils as the steaming bath water encourages them vanish. So unwinding!
Andrea Tranby says
Hi i am wondering if making and storing does the oil mixture make it moist or do you dry it out before storage ? Wanting to make as Christmas gifts. Thanks 🙂
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Andrea, it would be perfectly fine to make it with the oil now for Christmas gift giving.
Rachel says
I always include carrier oil. Based on my experiments, salt doesn’t really do much to help the oils disperse throughout the bath. (I experimented with German chamomile because it’s strongly-colored, so it’s visible. I can’t swear all other essential oils will behave *exactly* the same way, but the salt did not make a noticeable difference in the EO distribution.)
Susan Vinskofski says
Good to know, Rachel. Thank you!
Kami says
Hello! I’ve read about certain bath salts exploding when in air tight glass. Can I avoid this by using only salts and non citrus oils?
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Kami, this is a new one for me, so I’m certainly not qualified to advise. That sounds terrible!
Carol Perez says
Thank you for the info. I’ve read that all bath salts that incorporate EO should have a carrier oil included to avoid burns. Wont the oils settle at the top of the water?
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Carol, the salts disperse the oil and prevent it from settling at the top of the bath water. Thanks for stopping by.
Caroline Garcia says
Hats off to you. I truly appreciate the majority of the info you share. It’s so consoling knowing this safety information is available from a reputable source, and in addition recipes I know will be viable and safe. Much obliged!
John Stephen says
Wonderful content precious. This is actually an amazing posting. Thanks for discussing my Epsom salt write-up, Susan! Certainly one of my favorite combos is violescent and ylang ylang. I sleep as good after putting in that !!
Nalokai says
Hi, I am a massage therapist and in an effort to make personal care more readily available to my clients I packaged Epsom salts scented with essential oils for them to purchase and use at home. I noticed that the salts scented with Lemongrass essential oil got really dark in the package so I decided to prepare a foot bath and see what happens. Well, the oil which was now a dark brown separated from the salts floated on top of the water. when I put my feet in the bath the oil got stuck to my feet and to the sides of the basin, it was thick and ‘tarry’ I had to use a cloth with vegetable oil to remove it. Is it the quality of the oil/the method of extraction that has caused this to happen? I am recalling all the products but I need to understand why this has happened. Thank you
Susan Vinskofski says
Nalokai, The lemongrass essential oil has likely oxidized due to air exposure. Mixing with a carrier oil before adding to the epsom salts should help.
Jennifer J. Harmon says
Thanks for the article. I like it very much
Carol says
Hello really interesting post. Please can you explain in the ingredients section at top, under the drops of essential oil it has …. 1T.carrier oil ?
What does 1 T mean please.
Thank you
Carol
EJ says
I am hoping this will reach you soon, if it does at all. I have enjoyed this article. I am attempting to make bath salts for friends this week and I have some lavender and dried rose petals. I want to add a small amount of essential oils to my bath salts but I’m afraid the oils will mess up my lavender and rose petals. Do you think the mixture will be ok or should I leave essential oil out of it? Thanks!
Michelle Homewood says
Enjoyed all the comments on the essential oils and Epson salts. I am wondering if the mixture of Orange and tangerine makes a good mix for soaking?