Making fragrant jars of homemade lavender bath salts couldn’t be easier. In vintage mason jars, bath salts look beautiful on display and make wonderful gifts. Here is a recipe to make your own in just a few simple steps.
There are so many different botanicals you can add to bath salts, and somehow I keep coming back to lavender again and again. The scent is soothing and relaxing, and I find the benefits of the plant to be numerous.
You’ll find me in the tub frequently. My body requires a good soak pretty well every day to manage the aches and pains. While I use my hot tub all the time now, I still appreciate the therapeutic benefits of an Epsom salt bath.
Epsom salt is primarily made of magnesium, and your body can absorb it externally. Combine it with the aromatherapy of lavender, and you’ve got quite a therapeutic combo.
Here’s what you need to know about lavender bath salts!
- The Benefits of Bath Salts
- The Benefits of Lavender
- Tips for Picking Lavender
- How to Preserve Lavender’s Color as it Dries
- Choose One of These Varieties
- Harvest at the Right Time
- Store Properly
- Lavender Bath Salts Recipe
- Materials:
- Make it!
- More Posts with Lavender
The Benefits of Bath Salts
After a long day in my garden, I often look forward to a long soak in the tub afterward. For this reason, I make sure to keep my supply of bath salts well-stocked! Bath salts are made with Epsom salt, and some of the benefits include:
- Helps with insomnia – there’s a reason a nice soak in the bath will make you sleepy. Epsom salt has magnesium, which can help your body produce melatonin naturally. Combine that with the relaxing effect of soaking in hot water, and you’ll sleep more soundly.
- Reduces pain and inflammation – for those who have inflammatory conditions such as fibromyalgia, the magnesium in Epsom salt can improve symptoms and reduce pain (also consider this magnesium lotion for pain).
- Help with sore muscles – athletes are often advised to soak in a tub of Epsom salt after tough workouts. There’s no reason the same benefits can’t be applied to those of us with lesser athletic endeavours!
The Benefits of Lavender
Lavender has plenty of healing and cleansing properties, making it the perfect addition to a jar of bath salts. Some benefits of using lavender, whether dried or in essential oil form, include:
- Reduces anxiety – there’s something immediately soothing about the scent of lavender. A recent study showed that science backs this up too!
- Helps with sleep problems – the same study also showed that lavender was superior to a placebo when used for insomnia, disturbed sleep, or restlessness.
- Stabilizes mood – whether you are in a season or stress, or dealing with depression, lavender is beneficial aromatherapy to employ.
- You can grow it at home – perhaps the most fun thing about lavender is that you can grow it right in your own backyard! It also happens to be an excellent way to attract beneficial pollinators to your yard, too.
Tips for Picking and Preserving Lavender
I harvest lavender for crafts and DIYs quite often at my home. I wrote an entire post detailing my process, but here are the highlights of how to harvest lavender for bath salts or any other project:
- Use sharp pruners and leave a minimum of 2 leaves on the stem to promote regrowth.
- Dry bunches of lavender by hanging them upside down.
- Once dry, shake the dried lavender off into a bowl or container.
Lavender buds look beautiful in a clear jar of bath salts, especially if I want to present it to someone as a gift. Sometimes, when lavender dries, it turns gray or brown, but there are a few things you can do to help the buds keep their pretty purple colour.
Choose One of These Varieties
Any lavender can be harvested and dried for use, but Purple Bouquet, Royal Purple, and Folgate lavenders hold their colour especially well as they dry out.
Harvest at the Right Time
Cut your lavender from the plant just before the blooms open for the best colour. I like to leave at least some blooms to open in the garden for the bees, though.
Store Properly
I like to keep my lavender (and my lavender bath salts) in a clear glass jar, but exposing the dried buds to light will make them lose their colour, so keep the jar of lavender hidden away in a dark cupboard or drawer.
Lavender Bath Salts Recipe
Okay, let’s talk about how to make the bath salts! It only takes a few minutes to make (well, after you dry the lavender, that is) so you’ll be soaking in the tub in no time.
Materials
- Epsom salts
- 100% pure lavender essential oil (not fragrance)
- Dried lavender
- Vintage mason jars (or any kind of jar)
Make it
- Open all your Mason jars. Set the lids aside, but keep them handy—you’ll need them shortly!
- Fill each Mason jar about halfway full of the Epsom salts.
- Next, we can add the lavender oil. I have found that 10-15 drops are about right, but if you are making a small container, adjust accordingly. Then, put the lid back on and shake well to combine.
- Remove the lid again, and add one tablespoon of your dried lavender flowers. Then replace lid once more and shake to combine.
- Add more Epsom salts to fill the jar and then (you guessed it) replace the lid and shake, shake, shake.
- Optional: download and print these freebie canning labels to dress up the jars. This is especially fun if you are making these as a gift!
As you can see, making this DIY is simple. You’ll be so glad you gave this one a try!
FAQ About Lavender Bath Salts
If you have a lot of build-up and use lots of lavender buds, then yes. I find that the buds mostly stick to the sides of my tub. I just wipe them up with a face cloth and shake them into the compost. If you’re looking for a quick cleanup, you can put the bath salts in tea bags, like I do in this post.
If you’re making these as gifts, they do keep quite well. To maintain the purple colour of the lavender buds, store them in an airtight jar away from sunlight and heat. Feel free to top up with more lavender essential oil when it’s time to use or gift the bath salts.
You want to keep the moisture out of them as much as possible. Keeping them in an airtight container is your best bet. You can also add in a hint of some jojoba oil or other oil to prevent clumping. You can also try adding in a brown sugar saver, as they absorb moisture.
It depends on the size of your tub. I like to use one cup of bath salts for my large soaker tub, but if you’re looking for more therapeutic benefits, add in two.
More Posts with Lavender
Love lavender? Me too! Check out all of the crafts and projects that can be done with just a few backyard lavender plants:
- Harvesting English Lavender & How To Use It
- Serenity Now! DIY Lavender Eye Pillows
- Lavender and Oatmeal Tub Teas
- Lavender Dryer Bags
- Lavender Linen Water Recipe and Printable Label
- Dried Lavender Wreath
- Lavender Sachets
- Homemade Bath and Body Gifts Kids Can Make
- Tub Tea Time!
DIY Lavender Bath Salts
Equipment
- Measuring spoons
Supplies
- Epsom salts
- 100% pure lavender essential oil (not fragrance)
- Dried lavender
- Mason jars
Instructions
- Fill each Mason jar about halfway full of the Epsom salts.
- Add just 10-15 drops of essential oil, replace lid, and shake.
- Remove the lid again, add 1 tablespoon of dried lavender flowers, replace lid and shake (again).
- Add more Epsom salts to fill the jar, replace the lid and shake well once more.
- Optional: download and print these freebie canning labels to dress up the jars.
If I make these as Christmas presents right now, and this is July, will they be good still for December
yes, but I would keep them in containers with a sealed lid. And you can add more lavender essential oil right before giving them away if more fragrance is needed.
Thank you!!
I love making bath salts, especially with lavender. I have it growing all over my yard. However, I do not like the flowers in my bath salts. I had a mess in the tub that I had to clean up after that relaxing bath. I prefer to put the essential oil in my bath salts only. That way I don’t have the mess to clean up
if you put the salts in a bag mad of cheese cloth and the salts and a ribbon to tie it closed and hang it in the running water or in the bath, the warm water will release the oils and scent and the flowers ect. won’t be floating in your bath tub afterwards
I use small bags made of material w little holes. Theyre usually white and you get them in like a pack of 100 for a dollar. Anyway, if you put the epsom salt in with the flowers they only need to grab a back and place it in the bath. When theyre done they pull the bag and the flowers remain but the salt has since melted. They look lovely in the jar as well.
I love Lavendar and it looks so nice in the Bath Salts. However, I wondered if the Lavenar buds wouldnt clog up the bath tub drain.
I tried a bath salt recipe using epsom salt but It went very hard inside the container because of humidity ..how to prevent this.