Those scoop-it-yourself body scrub stations at Whole Body get me every time. Filling a container feels like I’m making it myself. Scooping is basically DIYing, right? (Then I have a heart attack when they ring it up.)
I’ve always wanted to do a make-your-own bath salt bar, and I recently got to host one. Bath salts are endlessly customizable, the ingredients are relatively inexpensive, and they’re easy for non-DIYers to make. Plus it involves using cute little scoops!
Find a few big jars and fill them with a variety of salts (more on this below). Offer a few dried herb options like lavender, calendula, lemon balm and eucalyptus leaves. Add a selection of non-irritating essential oils that work well in the bath, like lavender, chamomile, geranium, sweet orange or atlas cedarwood.
Pro tip: Stick with chamomile essential oil rather than the dried flowers to avoid a huge mess in the bathtub.
And let people get creative! How pretty are layered bath salts?
Everyone is going to ask what salt to use and why. So here are a few facts to help you become a salt expert.
Epsom Salt
This not-really-a-salt salt is a great source of magnesium, a mineral that lots of people could use more of. Magnesium helps your body produce energy and when you’re deficient you might feel more anxious, experience more painful PMS symptoms and have muscle aches. An Epsom salt bath is a simple way to boost magnesium levels because it can be absorbed into the skin while you soak.
Himalayan Pink Salt
This pretty pink salt is hand-mined from ancient sea salt deposits and is considered the purest form of natural salt. Himalayan salt contains 84 nourishing trace elements and minerals like calcium, iodine, iron, magnesium, potassium, sodium and zinc. A pink salt bath soak not only replenishes those minerals, it also eliminates toxins, balances the body’s pH, increases circulation, and brings relief to inflammation and irritations like eczema, psoriasis or bug bites.
Dead Sea Salt
A soak with Dead Sea salt can help replenish 21 minerals, including magnesium, calcium, sulfur, bromide, iodine, sodium, zinc and potassium. Those minerals help relax the body and muscles and cleanse and soften the skin. The sulfur in Dead Sea salt is natural disinfectant that can treat skin conditions like acne and eczema. Both sulfur and sodium are detoxifying agents that help the liver and cells get rid of waste.
These 16 ounce jars hold about 2 cups of salt. We used 10 drops of essential oil for each cup of salt and people could experiment with scent combinations.
Set out labels and let people take home their creation in simple glass jars. To use, add 1/2 cup to a warm bath and enjoy.
What a great idea! This would be so much fun for mother’s day, a birthday party, girl’s weekend or bachelorette party.