DIY Lavender Bath Salts To Try In Your Next Bath (After a Stressful Day)

There are few things in life that feel as good as a nice, hot bath at the end of a long, stressful day at work. That’s especially true when you follow this recipe to make DIY lavender bath salts to try in your next bath.

From the moment you first settle into that bathtub, you’ll feel your worries begin to slip away as a calming sensation washes over you thanks to the lavender essential oil.

Lavender Essential Oil

The main reason why these bath salts work so effectively at relieving stress is exactly because of the fact that lavender essential oil is added in. Lavender is an incredibly popular ingredient that is used in a ton of different recipes for stress relief.

It’s such a popular ingredient due to the fact that, unlike a lot of other ‘detox ingredients” or “health fads” that come and go, lavender works. One particular study found that oral lavender ingestion was more effective than placebo in providing relief from anxiety in 221 patients who suffer from an anxiety disorder. (1)

Using lavender essential oil provides similar stress relieving benefits as actual dried lavender flowers as well. Essential oils are widely used for their applications in aromatherapy, especially when it comes to providing relief from stress and anxiety. Lavender essential oil is no exception, with studies finding that it can provide relief for anxiety disorders. (2)

What Oil is Best for This Recipe?

Along with lavender essential oil, this recipe also calls for your choice of one of three other different types of oil: almond oil, jojoba oil, or olive oil. This is entirely a matter of personal preference, as each of the three types of oils provides unique benefits to your bath salts. The choice is up to you!

If you need a bit of help making your decision, here are the known health benefits of each of the three oil types.

Almond Oil

Almond oil is normally used for culinary purposes, as it’s a rich source of heart healthy monounsaturated fatty acids that may help to reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke. It does this by reducing levels of the ‘bad’ type of LDL cholesterol in your bloodstream and lowering blood pressure. (3)

When used in this particular bath salts recipe, almond oil provides a few solid benefits for your skin as well. Since it contains vitamin E, almond oil helps to retain moisture in order to keep skin cells healthy, protects against radiation damage caused by UV rays, and helps to keep your skin looking smooth and clear.

Jojoba Oil

Jojoba oil is an incredibly popular ingredient choice to add into DIY bath salt recipes because it’s packed with some incredible benefits for your skin health. It contains anti-inflammatory properties that help to reduce redness caused by dry skin, and provide relief from the effects of eczema, rosacea, chafing, and chapped skin.

Similarly to almond oil, jojoba oil also contains the antioxidant vitamin E. It also contains quite a few potent antibacterial and antifungal properties, making it quite the skin health powerhouse indeed.

Olive Oil

It should come as no surprise that olive oil is quite similar to both almond oil and jojoba oil, at least as far as the benefits that it adds to this bath salt recipe go.

Olive oil is a staple of the Mediterranean diet because it’s packed full of high quality monounsaturated fats, as well as anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It has been proven to help protect against not just cardiovascular disease, but also other diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s. (4) (5) (6)

Epsom Salt

Last but not least, you will need of course be needing two cups of Epsom salt when making this recipe. Thanks to the high magnesium content found in Epsom salts, it works great when added into baths for providing relief from stress, as well as muscle aches and pains.

When you dissolve the Epsom salt in warm water, they release both magnesium and sulfate ions that are then absorbed by your skin.

Putting It All Together

Actually preparing these DIY lavender bath salts couldn’t be easier. Simply take your two cups of Epsom salts and mix them in a bowl with 20 drops of lavender essential oil and two tablespoons of whatever oil you decided upon between the almond oil, jojoba oil, or olive oil.

Whenever you’re ready to actually use your bath salts, simply add them into a bathtub that you’ve filled with warm water and then soak your body in the tub for at least 15 minutes. Alternatively, you can also put the Epsom salt under running water to make it dissolve more rapidly.

Before we wrap things up, I thought it might be useful to go over a few of the most commonly asked questions that I get concerning making DIY lavender bath salts. Whether you’re wondering about swapping up the ingredients used or just looking for other DIY bath salt recipe ideas, we’ve got you covered below.

Can I Just Use Dried Lavender Flowers In My Bath Instead?

I’ve got good news for you if you would rather just use dried lavender flowers instead of lavender essential oil. It definitely works too!

You can simply add in your dried lavender to your warm bath water, just as you would when using these DIY bath salts. Or, if you would rather not have loose leaves floating around in your bath water, you could also just tie them into a bundle and then add that into the water.

Can You Recommend Any Other DIY Bath Salt Recipes?

I have tried a crazy number of DIY bath salt recipes. I’m completely hooked on them. They’re just such a great way to relax and unwind after a long day. With that in mind, I’ve definitely found some gems for DIY bath salt recipes around the web. Here are some of my personal favorites:

• Homemade Natural Bath Salts (100 Days of Real Food)
• DIY Lavender Rose Bath Soak (Eating Bird Food)
• Homemade DIY Mint Bath Salts (Everyday Savvy)
• Homemade Back Pain Bath Salts (Om Nom Ally)
• DIY ‘Japanese Forest Bathing’ Bath Salt Soak (Botaneri)

Can I Use Any Other Types of Essential Oils Instead of Lavender?

The best thing about essential oils is that you can achieve a variety of different results by using different types of oils. For example, lavender essential oil is incredibly effective at providing relief from stress, which makes it perfect for recipes like this one aimed at stress relief.

So, while technically yes, you can use a different type of essential oil in this recipe, it most likely won’t end up achieving the same desired effect of providing you with stress relief.

On the other hand, if you do happen to be interested in what type of effects you can get from adding in other types of essential oils, here are a few ideas to get you started, courtesy of Learning and Yearning:

• Add 10 drops of spearmint and five drops of rosemary essential oils for a bath that will leave you feeling energized
• Add a combined total of 30 drops between sweet orange, grapefruit, and tangerine essential oils for a bath that will boost your mood
• Add 20 drops of eucalyptus essential oil for a bath that will ease muscle aches and pains, as well as provide relief from sinus congestion

(You may also like: 5-Ingredient Lavender Epsom Salt for Relaxing Baths and Soothing Scrubs)

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