Does anyone know how to make your own bath salts and bath oils?

-- Rebekah (daniel1@transport.com), June 14, 2000

Answers

I have used 4 cups Epsom Salts , 2 tbls dish soap ,2 tbls favorite cologne. I also add in 4 tbls of glycerin for extra softness. you can play around with the ingredients to get the right amount of bubbles or smell good for your preference. You don't even have to add the soap. I have made colored bath salts by adding food coloring to the Epsom Salts and glycerin. No perfume or soap, just that, it works! For bath oils, I just add some perfume to baby oil.

Cindy

-- Cindy Cluck (cynthiacluck@yahoo.com), June 14, 2000.

Using high quality sea salts or epsom salts, add some glycerin (to make them shiny) and a few drops of scented essential oils.

To make loose salts (with sea salt in the form of regular salt) add some baking soda (1/8) and some powdered milk (maybe) and scent.

Try Lavendar Lane for purchasing chunky "Pacific Salt" mix.

-- Anne (HT@HM.com), June 14, 2000.

Using high quality sea salts or epsom salts, add some glycerin (to make them shiny) and a few drops of scented essential oils.

To make loose salts (with sea salt in the form of regular salt) add some baking soda (1/8) and some powdered milk (maybe) and scent.

Try Lavender Lane for purchasing chunky "Pacific Salt" mix.

-- Anne (HT@HM.com), June 14, 2000.

I've been making bath salts for years as gifts etc. The easiest, and I think the best, recipe I've found is: 1 cup Epsom salts, 1 cup coase salt (sea or kosher salt), 1 to 2 drops of essential oil, optional food coloring. Shake well in a large jar.

-- Cheryl Cox (bramblecottage@hotmail.com), June 16, 2000.

Anyone who has given the recipes above for bath salts-- is essential oil the same thing as perfume/cologne? Or is essential oil sold under that name somewhere?

-- Sarah Hanchey (hanclisa@isu.edu), September 05, 2000.

Hi, Sarah, essential oil is not the same as perfume, it's the plant or flower's essential oils. They vary in price according to the plant and how rare or oily it is, I think. There is also something called fragrance oil, which is not all natural s essential oil, but has synthetic fragrance in it. I think you could probably use fragrance oils or even perfume for bath salts, but in soapmaking it is a different story.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), September 05, 2000.

Any tips on how to keep your homemade bath salts from turning rock- hard? I tried making up a bunch last year for Christmas gifts. I put them in cute little glass jars I had picked up at garage sales during the year. I made the bath salts up about a month ahead of Christmas to save time, and by the time I went to give them away it was just a solid chunk inside the jar! The recipe I used was 3 parts epsom salts, 2 parts table salt, 1 part baking soda, with a few drops of essential oil and food coloring. thanks, Sherri in IN

-- Sherri C (CeltiaSkye@aol.com), September 06, 2000.

Try making them in a large container, stirring often, until thoroughly dry. My hunch is that the food coloring is what solidified them. I personally don't use it and haven't had that problem. Keep breaking it up as the salts dry and then bottle them. And use a seal for the bottle...not just a cork, if solidification is an issue, as corks "breathe" and let air (moisture) in and out. So coat corks with decorative wax, or use lids. Or keep in buckets with a lid until needed and then bottle it.

-- Anne (HT@HM.com), September 06, 2000.

I use glycerine in my salts and liquid soap, this is probably keeps the salts from becoming rock hard.

-- Karen (kzimm50@hotmail.com), December 11, 2000.

I have been experimenting with bath salts(homemade-since diagnosis of Fibromyalgia) I usw equal parts of epsom salts, baking soda & sea salt from our local health food store in Alburquerque. I am presently getting ready to start making my own soap from scratch. Barb

-- Barbara Jo Mann (jamesjmann1@aol.com), May 04, 2002.