How to Make Bath Salts at Home (Without an Oily, Stinging Tub)
To make bath salts, stir together about 2 parts Epsom salt and 1 part sea salt, add scent that you've first mixed with a dispersant like polysorbate 80, and store the blend in a sealed jar. It takes about 10 minutes, and the dispersant step is the one most recipes leave out.
That step matters because essential oils don't dissolve in water. Stir them straight into salt and, once the salt dissolves, the oil floats on top of the bath and clings to your skin, which the Tisserand Institute's bath safety guide says "often sting[s] like crazy." This guide gives you a base recipe, how to scent it safely, and how to keep it dry.
What You Need
For one jar, enough for about six baths:
- 2 cups Epsom salt
- 1 cup coarse or fine sea salt (or pink Himalayan salt)
- 1/4 cup baking soda (optional)
- About 30 drops of essential oil, or a skin-safe fragrance oil
- About 30 drops of polysorbate 80 (same amount as the oil)
- Optional: 2 tablespoons dried lavender buds or rose petals, and a pinch of cosmetic-grade mica for color
- A large dry bowl, a spoon or whisk, a small dish, and an airtight glass jar
The 2-to-1 Epsom-to-sea-salt ratio is the common starting point in recipes from Saltrado and wikiHow, and Countryside uses a similar Epsom-heavy blend with baking soda. There's no magic number, so treat it as a base you can adjust.
Step by Step
- Mix the salts and baking soda in a dry bowl. Break up any lumps with the back of a spoon.
- In a small dish, stir your essential oil into an equal amount of polysorbate 80 until it looks even.
- Drizzle that mix over the salts a little at a time, stirring as you go, until the scent is spread through the whole bowl.
- Fold in dried flowers and color last, if you're using them.
- Spread the salts on a tray for an hour if they feel damp, then spoon them into a clean, dry jar and seal it.
- Label the jar with the scent and the date you made it.
To use it, add about 1/2 cup under warm running water and swirl until it dissolves. Published serving sizes range from 1/4 cup to 1/2 to 1 cup, so start small and see what you like.
Why the Scent Needs a Dispersant
This is where homemade bath salts usually go wrong. Most top recipes tell you to drop essential oil straight onto the salt and stir. The Tisserand Institute explains why that doesn't work: salt dissolves in water, but oil doesn't, so the oil is left floating on the surface "to float and cling to skin and surfaces." The same goes for baking soda, milk, glycerin and witch hazel.
A dispersant fixes it. Tisserand lists polysorbate 20, polysorbate 80, Solubol and Natrasorb Bath as ingredients that do spread essential oil through bathwater, and suggests starting polysorbate at a 1-to-1 ratio with the oil. Polysorbate 80 is already in our bath bomb ingredient guide for this same reason, so if you make bath bombs you may have some on the shelf.
A few more scent rules:
- Keep the amount sensible. Tisserand's guidance is 5 to 20 drops of essential oil per bath. About 30 drops in a six-bath jar works out to roughly 5 drops per bath.
- Some oils irritate skin more easily. SeaSalt.com lists basil, oregano, thyme, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, black pepper and bay as oils to avoid in bath salts.
- Be careful with children. Johns Hopkins Medicine says not to add undiluted oils to bath water and not to use peppermint oil on children younger than 30 months.
Which Salts to Use
You can make bath salts from almost any coarse, unscented salt, but each one behaves a little differently.
- Epsom salt isn't table salt at all. It's magnesium sulfate, and it's the cheapest and most common base.
- Sea salt adds texture and dissolves a bit slower if you buy it coarse.
- Pink Himalayan salt works the same way and is popular for its color in gift jars.
- Baking soda isn't a salt, but recipes like Saltrado's add a spoonful to soften the water.
You'll see a lot of claims that an Epsom salt bath "tops up" your magnesium. The evidence for that is thin. A 2017 review in Nutrients, Myth or Reality: Transdermal Magnesium?, concluded that absorbing magnesium through the skin is "scientifically unsupported." Enjoy bath salts for the warm water, the scent and the ritual, and talk to a doctor if you think you're low on magnesium.
Add-Ins That Work (and Ones to Skip)
Good add-ins:
- Dried lavender, rose petals or chamomile, ideally tied in a muslin bag so petals don't end up in the drain
- A small pinch of cosmetic-grade mica or a color made for bath products
- Powdered goat milk or blended oats, both suggested as add-ins by Countryside
Skip these:
- Synthetic dyes and glitter, which Saltrado warns can irritate skin
- Fresh citrus zest or fresh herbs in a jar you plan to store, since anything wet invites clumps and spoilage
How to Store Homemade Bath Salts
Moisture is the enemy. Keep the jar tightly sealed and out of the bathroom if you can, because steam makes salts clump. Saltrado notes that plain dry mixes keep for about a year, while the scent from essential oils fades within a few months, so smaller batches smell better.
If a batch clumps, break it up and dry it on a tray. wikiHow suggests drying salts in a 200°F oven for about 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Do that before you add scent, since heat drives off fragrance. If anything smells off, shows spots or has gone mushy, throw it out. Our guide to how long homemade body scrub lasts covers the same spoilage signs.
Giving or Selling Bath Salts
Bath salts make easy gifts: a pretty jar, a ribbon and a label with the ingredients and the date.
If you plan to sell them, be careful with the wording. The FDA explains that a product's claims decide whether it's a cosmetic or a drug. In its cosmetic or drug guide, a fragrance that promises to help you sleep, or a product meant to relieve muscle pain, counts as a drug. Labels that say "relaxing scent" are safer than ones that say "relieves sore muscles." Our guide to starting a bath bomb business covers costs, pricing and labelling in more detail.
FAQ
What is the basic ratio for homemade bath salts?
A common starting point is 2 parts Epsom salt to 1 part sea salt, with a little baking soda if you like. Adjust it to the texture you prefer.
Can I just add essential oil to the salt?
You can, but it won't spread through the water. Once the salt dissolves, the oil floats and can irritate skin. Mix the oil with an equal amount of polysorbate 80 (or another dispersant) first.
How much bath salt should I use per bath?
Start with about 1/2 cup. Published recipes range from 1/4 cup to 1 cup, so use more or less to taste.
How long do homemade bath salts last?
A dry, sealed mix keeps for about a year, but essential oil scent fades within a few months. Make small batches and store them away from steam.
Can I make bath salts without Epsom salt?
Yes. Sea salt or pink Himalayan salt on its own works as a base, and the dispersant and storage steps stay the same.
Are bath salts safe for kids?
Plain, unscented salts are gentler. Skip strong essential oils for young children, and never use peppermint oil on kids younger than 30 months, per Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Make More From the Same Shelf
The salts, baking soda and polysorbate in this recipe are the same ones behind our customizable bath bomb recipe and shower steamers. Browse all the recipes and pick your next project. And if you'd rather not mix a bowl yourself, the Bath Addicts shop is coming back with small-batch products made the way these recipes teach.