How to Make an Invigorating Fizzy Bath Salt Recipe at Home

Benefits, sustainability and how to make your own

When I was younger I thought bath salts are boooring. It just disappears in the water without a trace and there’s no bubbles, no foam! Little did I thought about the benefits of bath products on those days, or how healthy they are for my skin. Only in recent years I’ve started to appreciate the benefits and simple beauty of bath salts, how they can turn a mundane bath event to a holistic cleansing ritual. In this post I’m going to share my own simple, invigorating fizzy bath salt recipe. But first, let’s take a look at the most common bath salt types, their benefits, and the challenges.

Epsom Salt (Magnesium Sulfate)

It looks like salt, it dissolves to water like salt, but surprise surprise: Epsom salt is not a salt! It’s a different chemical compound without sodium chloride consisting of magnesium, sulfur, and oxygen. Epsom salt is said to relieve muscle tension, reduce inflammation, promote relaxation, and aid better sleep, thanks to the magnesium. Epsom salt was named after town of Epsom in England where they accidentally found magnesium sulfate in a pond in 1618. The water was found undrinkable but good for bathing. And the rest is history…

So, Epsom salt is naturally occurring and can be harvested from mineral springs. However, industrial production also exists. Epsom salt is generally considered sustainable due to its natural occurrence, low environmental impact, and biodegradability. The environmental footprint of producing Epsom salt is relatively low compared to many other industrial processes. It does not involve extensive mining or resource extraction that significantly harms ecosystems.

Sea Salts – Dead Sea Salt & Regular Sea Salt

Sea salts can help treat skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis, detoxify the skin, improve circulation, and soothe sore muscles. In some studies, sea salt baths have been found to be beneficial in treating rheumatic diseases. Many dermatologists are recommending sea salt baths for patients with psoriasis, eczema, and other dry skin conditions, as the salt baths can help remove scales and decrease itching.

Dead Sea salt has a higher concentration of minerals like magnesium and potassium compared to regular sea salt, thus offering more potent therapeutic effects. Dead Sea salt is generally more beneficial for skin conditions like psoriasis or eczema due to its higher mineral content. For daily skin care, relaxation, and muscle relief, regular sea salt and Dead Sea salt are equally good.

But here comes the trouble: Dead Sea salt is a finite resource and surrounded by major sustainability concerns. The water levels of the Dead Sea have been declining for decades due to water diversion from the Jordan River for the increasing water consumption in the area and mineral extraction for industrial use. Dead Sea is literally dying because of drying. This article opens up the bigger picture of the environmental problems and social injustice.

If you opt for sea salt in your bath salts or other cosmetics, it is good to keep in mind there’s two types: synthetic and evaporative sea salt. Synthetic sea salt is mixed in the laboratory from mined ingredients, whereas evaporative salt is the real deal made from natural seawater by evaporating the water away. I would (obviously) recommend the natural one.

Himalayan Pink Salt

This attractive looking pink-ish salt is somewhat a natural curiosity with a misleading name: it’s a type of sea salt (or rock salt as some call it) mined from aptly named Salt Range, in the Punjab region of Pakistan, rather far from the Himalayan mountains. It comes from the ancient ocean deposits some 250 million years ago when the Himalayan mountains were being formed. The salt of Himalaya is free of many modern-day pollutants thanks to the lava, snow and ice sheltering the salt beds for millions of years. This is a remarkable advantage compared to ocean sea salts which, alarmingly, have been found to have microplastics.

Himalayan salt contains numerous trace minerals like potassium, iron, calcium, and magnesium, and the color of the salt can vary from orange to pink, depending on the amount of each trace mineral. Just like other salts, it is said to have multiple benefits from detoxification, relaxation, softening and exfoliating the skin to improved circulation and alleviation of muscle soreness and stiffness.

And the bad news: just like Dead Sea salt, Himalayan pink salt is a finite resource. Concerns have been raised about the environmental footprint due to conventional mining methods, albeit some companies do harvest the salt manually with less explosives and less disturbance to the environment. The local economy has not benefitted from the salt mining as greatly as the middle men processing and selling the salt for the consumers – mostly through India. Only in recent years has Pakistan started to gain more name as the origin of the famed salt. Then we come to working conditions: there are concerns about the ardous and poor sanitary conditions in the mines, as well as claims about child labour and modern slavery.

Few words of advice…

What about table salt, I hear you ask. It might be tempting to toss table salt to the bath water as it’s easily available in every household, but you should never use iodized table salt for bath salts. It is highly refined and has a trace amount of added iodine. When bathing, some of the salt is absorbed by the skin and any sensitivity to iodine will cause a skin reaction from the salt.

When it comes to choosing the bath salt, look for brands awarded on sustainable and ethical operations, such as FairTrade, Certified B Corp, Fair for Life, or FOS (Friend Of the Sea, developed for marine salts) certification. Look for the origin of the salt rather than where it is processed and packed, and if the information is not readily available, there is nothing wrong to ask about it from the supplier or retailer.

And finally, it is good to take all non-medical advises with a pinch of salt (pun not intended!). As I am writing this there’s not enough scientific evidence to water-proof (pun intended!) all the said benefits, and you should always consult your GP/Doctor in case you suffer from any of the health conditions mentioned above before trying any alternative therapies.

Let’s make some fizzy bath salts now!

This recipe is using Epsom salt, but you can use any salt you like (except that iodized table salt!). I use organic oatmeal colloidal powder as a binder for the essential oils to help them disperse in the water. Oatmeal colloidal has also skin benefits by soothing irritated, dry skin. You can also subsitute it with tapioca starch, arrow root powder or even corn flour. You can also make the oatmeal powder by yourself, see the tip 1. Citric acid is sold in different granule sizes, I recommend to use the fine granules for a better fizz.

I have provided the dry main ingredient measurements in weight (grams) and volume (milliliters), however I highly recommend to weigh the ingredients for better accuracy and results. For the safest use of essential oils they should always be weighed, however if you don’t have kitchen scale or similar in hand I have done a weight to volume and drops conversion for this recipe. It’s good to remember that all essential oils have a different density, so the weight to volume conversion should be done by using the said oil’s density value (g/ml). These are pretty easy to find in internet.

To store the fizzy bath salts I recommend to use ziplock paper bags, or plastic container with a lid. Since the citric acid may react with the sodium bicarbonate and create pressure during the storage, a glass container is not the safest option. I’ve seen stories of explosives bath salt containers!

Disclaimer: I am not formulating with Dead Sea salts or Himalayan pink salts due to sustainability and ethical concerns I wrote about above, hence I am not able to answer to any specific questions about their quantity or reactivity in this recipe.

PRINT THE A4 RECIPE CARD HERE.

Equipment:

• Mixing bowl, medium size (2-3 liters)
• 5 measuring cups
• Rubber/silicone spatula
• Table spoon
• Plastic container with lid (0.5 liters), or ziplock paper pouch
• Kitchen scale
• Gloves

Ingredients:

• Epsom salt 124g / 100ml
• Oatmeal colloidal powder 6g / 10ml
• Sodium bicarbonate 14g / 12.5ml
• Citric acid granules, fine 12g / 16ml
• Essential oils (see the amounts below)

ESSENTIAL OILS	Grams	Milliliters	Drops
Sweet orange (Citrus Aurantium Dulcis)	1.56g	1.8ml	36 drops
Lemon (Citrus limonum)	1.56g	1.8ml	36 drops
Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus)	1.56g	1.7ml	34 drops

STEP 1. Measure all ingredients ready for use, preferably in their own measurement cups – citric acid must be in its own cup to avoid too early chemical reaction. Essential oils can be measured in one cup due to their small amount. Use a small clean syringe if measuring in milliliters. Wear protective gloves for handling essential oils, they are potent stuff when undiluted.

STEP 2. Combine Epsom salt with oatmeal colloidal powder and sodium bicarbonate. Mix them well together and break any clumps by rubbing the mixture with the spatula against the bowl sides.

STEP 3. Pour the essential oils in the dry mixture and give it a good mix and rub again to spread the oils evenly to dry ingredient.

STEP 4. Now the exciting part: adding citric acid. Start by adding a small amount, half a teaspoon and listen – if the mixture doesn’t fizz, add the rest of the citric acid and mix well. (See the tip 3)

STEP 5. Put the mixture in your chosen container (remember, no glass recommended here) and store it away from heat, damp and humid. Leave it to rest and infuse for a day or two before using. Dosage: full size bath tub – whole amount, foot bath in a basin – up to half of the amount.

Tip 1: if you can’t find oatmeal colloidal powder, measure the same amount of regular oatmeal and grind it to fine powder in a blender.

Tip 2: do not use wooden spatula for mixing as the wood is porous and may absorb some of the essential oils – unless you’re using the spatula only for this purpose.

Tip 3: It is important to listen the mixture when adding citric acid; if there’s a fizzing sound the chemical reaction has started and all the fizz will be gone before the salts even meet the bath water! Fizzing means the mixture is too wet, this can be compensated by adding more binder, half a teaspoon (2.5ml) at the time. The salts are still good for use even if the chemical reaction starts, you will just miss the fizz in the bath.

Tip 4: if you want to make a bigger batch or formulate your own scent combination, always re-calculate the amount of essential oils. Each essential oil has their own maximum usage level (and the range is wide!), but if you don’t have the information in hand, a good rule of thumb for the safe use is to measure max. 2% of the total weight of the main ingredients. In this recipe I’ve used 1% rate, but if you prefer lighter scents you can halve the amount of each oil.

Tip 5. You can find many ingredients from a well-stocked supermarket and essential oils from wellness shops, like Holland & Barrett. Or head to Amazon!

With love and lots of goodness of Mother Nature,

Lulu

Disclaimer: these blog posts are not medical advisory. All ingredient descriptions are based on commonly available information. The benefits described are based on academic research studies. If you suffer from any skin condition or allergies, always consult first your GP/medical practitioner before trying new treatments on your skin.