I haven’t met a woman (and some men!) who doesn’t appreciate a nice long soak in the tub after a long day at work or school. Buying fancy bath products can be difficult on a student’s budget, so I’ve decided to share a very simple DIY recipe on how to make your own bath salts. Not only are DIY projects great for something to do with your friends when you’re bored, but they make for excellent gifts for anyone.
What You’ll Need:
– Epsom Salts (I bought a large container at Wal-Mart for around $8)
– Baking Soda
– Essential Oils in assorted scents (Michaels has a good selection)
– Soap Dye* (This can also be found at Michaels)
– Containers to put your bath salts in (IKEA has inexpensive glass jars that work wonderfully)
* Food colouring works as a good alternative to soap dye
Optional Items:
– Sea Salt (Adds a different texture to mixture)
– Cardstock to make labels
– Twine (for decorations and to secure the labels)
Let’s get started:
Step 1: Dry Ingredients
Measure out 1-½ cups of the Epsom salts and pour into a large mixing bowl. Next, measure out ¼ cup of baking soda and mix that into the bowl. If you have decided to use sea salts, you’re going to measure out ½ cup and mix it into your bowl as well. Take a wooden mixing spoon and make sure the ingredients are mixed thoroughly, getting rid of any clumps.
Step 2: Colour
Start out by dropping 2-3 drops of your soap/food colouring. You don’t want to over do it so start out slowly and add more colour as you go to get the desired look. You’re going to have to mix the colouring around for quite some time to make sure it’s even-coloured. At first it’s going to look like the colours aren’t mixing well, but give it some time and you will start to see the results.
Step 3: Scent
Once you’ve achieved the perfect colour and gotten rid of any clumps, you can add your essential oils. Again, you want to be careful and only add 1-2 drops at a time. Essential oils are very fragrant so you don’t need very many drops. We don’t want any overkill!
Step 4: Package
Now that you’ve finished making the product, you’re ready to put it into your jars! Make sure the jars you are using have been cleaned and completely dried before you put your product into them.
Step 5: Labels
While it’s not necessary to make a label, it’s fun! Let your creative side take over and make something unique. I used twine (which I also picked up at Michaels) to secure the label to the jar so the jar could be reused in the future.
… and you’re finished!
We want to see pictures of this DIY project. You can share them to us by tagging us on Instagram (@hercampus_uottawa) and Twitter (@HCuOttawa).