I want to begin this article by the desire to say: I’m not here to burst anyone’s bubble, I promise! Not all things that we read and see are true, and we have to follow through with looking at research whenever possible. In fact, I looked up the benefits of epsom salt to see if it was clinically verified, and found this article. Sigh.
It may not do everything people think it does, but that may be ok. I don’t take baths because I’m lacking magnesium, trying to treat pain, or trying to beat winter blues. Simply put, a warm bath with scented petals and aromas may just feel absolutely amazing and relaxing, whether or not the salts are the cause. That’s what I’m going for.
A couple of things before we start: you can use Sea Salt, Epsom Salt, or Epsom Salt Crystals (seen here). Or a mixture. Play with it, have fun, and don’t stress too much about it. Use what you can find.
For flowers, I love using rose petals, lavender flowers, or blue Butterfly Pea flowers. The blue pea flowers are usually made into a tea, but I love using them in the bath because they make the water blue. All of these flowers can best be found at your local apothecary, herbal store, amazon, etc. (pea flowers pictured below, right).
The essential oils you use here are also forgiving - if you don’t have rosemary, use sage. If you don’t have lavender, use rose, or jasmine. Play with combos you enjoy. Just remember that the citrus is photo sensitive, so you have to wait a while before going outside in the sun.
RECIPE:
1 cup Epsom Salt (or Dead Sea Salt, or a combo)
2 tablespoons dried lavender buds
2 teaspoon dried Herbes de Provence (the kind you cook with) ~ you can also sub dried rosemary
2 teaspoon dried Butterfly Pea flowers (something like this)
5 drops Rosemary essential oil
5 drops Lavender essential oil
Combine ingredients together. Add ½ or the whole batch of salts in a standard sized tub while the water is running to help them dissolve. I like being surrounded by the flowers, but if you’d rather have them in a tea bag (like this) to strain (or muslin cloth) and have less clean up, that works too. Just make sure that you squeeze the bag under running water to help it dissolve. Soak for 15-30 minutes. Use within 1 week, or store in a sealed glass jar and use within 6 months. *Recipe adapted from this amazing book.
