Being a mom is tough work! I don’t have to tell you that. I can dream about a weekend getaway or a day to myself at the spa, but I know that’s just wishful thinking. That’s not to say there aren’t little things we can do for ourselves when we need a little bit of pampering and self-care though. This 24/7 mom thing is hard and we deserve a break every once in a while!
It’s been ages since I’ve had the chance to take a nice long, uninterrupted bath with a couple of candles, a good book, and some relaxing bath salts. Bath salts are one of the easiest DIY bath and body products to make. All you need is a few basic ingredients you can find in your local drug store plus some essential or fragrance oils. The main ingredient is Epsom salt, also known as magnesium sulfate. Epsom salt promotes relaxation and sleep, improves circulation, helps with back pain, skin problems, muscle strains, pain, and cramps, and even helps to remove splinters, making this a great base for bath salt, foot soaks, and medicinal baths.
The basic bath salt recipe is very simple: 4 parts Epsom salts, 1 part baking soda, then add your oils. Today I made my favourite scent – lavender and vanilla. Lavender essential oil helps to relieve stress and improve sleep, and vanilla just smells warm, relaxing, and cozy to me.
Lavender is a mild essential oil and considered safe for pregnancy. When it comes to vanilla though, it’s a bit trickier because there’s no such thing as vanilla essential oil. There’s vanilla CO2 (pricey), vanilla absolut (also pricey) or oleoresin (not very suited to mixing with salts), but for bath salts, I’ve found it easiest to use a high quality skin-safe fragrance oil. Whichever oils you use, be conservative when you’re adding them. It’s easier to add a few more drops than it is to double up on the Epsom salt because the scent is too strong.
For this easy DIY, just mix up all the ingredients then transfer the finished product into a pretty jar with a tight fitting lid to keep moisture out. Most of the time I skip the mixing bowl and make these right in my Mason jar. Add everything, screw the lid on, then shake, shake, shake!
For a little extra pampering, or for gift giving, it’s easy to colour your salts with a bit of food colouring. I used some Wilton’s gel food colouring diluted in a few drops of water to make these lavender coloured salts. I added the coloured water directly to the bath salts in my Mason jar. It clumps up at first, but just keep shaking until the colour is evenly distributed. You can even make layers if you’re so inclined. This jar alternates white with lavender for a pretty layered effect.
I’ve seen other recipes suggest adding dried lavender flowers to your bath salts. Now I agree it’s very pretty, especially if you’re making this as a gift for someone special, but honestly I would skip it. It looks pretty in the jar, but after your bath it either goes down the drain potentially clogging up the pipes, or you’re stuck mopping up soggy bits of lavender out of the tub. And in my opinion, cleaning the tub afterward sort of defeats the whole purpose of the relaxing bath.
DIY Lavender Vanilla Bath Salts
Ingredients
- 2 cups of Epsom salt
- 1/2 cup of baking soda
- 10 drops of lavender essential oil
- 15 drops of skin-safe vanilla fragrance oil
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients then transfer into jar with a tight fitting lid.
- Pour 1/4 to 1/2 cup into a hot bath for a relaxing and aromatherapeutic soak.
I really should try this out, sounds relaxing. thanks for sharing
bookmarked this thank you! I have never made my own bath salts before but my feet could really use a good soak and this would help. thank you
I love making soothing bath salts and scrubs. It’s been so long since I’ve had time for a nice long soak but reading this is a nice reminder of just how relaxing it is… Looks like I better make time!
Vanilla has to be my very favourite scent. Thank you so much for all the info! So helpful 🙂
This looks great! I’m definitely going to try it out.
It never occurred to me to make my own bath salts, what a great idea! I’m a bit of an essential oil hoarder, I need to do some research into other oils I can use. Lavender vanilla sounds so relaxing.
Ooh these sound divine!! Sign me up for a bath date with these and a glass of red wine 😉
I want to try this out because Lavender is such a beautiful scent.I would enjoy this very much at night.
This sounds absolutely amazing. I love this scent!
Thanks,this will make a beautiful gift.
This looks so good! What a great gift to make for friends or to enjoy yourself!
Thanks for sharing! Do they keep long?
Hi Olivia, I’m also a West Coast gal. I live on the Island, 25 miles North of Victoria. Mom to an almost 20 year old, crafty, cook-ish, and gardeny