These Bubbling Bath Salts are a fantastic gift to give your friends for holidays or birthdays. Scent them with any essential oil and complimenting body wash. Change the color to match the season or occasion. Make a few jars at a time to have Homemade Gifts on hand.
Ingredients:
- 6 Cups Kosher or Epsom Salt
- ¾ Cup Lavender Scented Body Wash (I used Ivory Lavender Body Wash)
- 1 tbsp Olive, Coconut, or Sweet Almond Oil
- 2-3 Drops Lavender Essential Oil (Optional)
- Purple Food Coloring (Optional)
Directions:
- In a large bowl, combine salt and body wash, and mix until well combined.
- Add in your oil, essential oil and food coloring and mix well.
- On a lined baking sheet, spread the salt mixture out into a thin layer. Allow to dry for 24 hours.
- Once dry, break up any large clumps, and spoon into a sealable jar.
To Use:
- Add ¼ Cup of Bubbly Bath Salts under running water.
If you are looking for other gift giving ideas be sure to Follow Me on Pinterest and check out my Mason Jar Ideas board for some other great gift ideas!
Just curious if these last a long time, like if I made them now would they still work/smell pretty in 6 months?
I would recommend using them within 3 months. You can always make a smaller batch if you think it would make too much for you to use. Making 1/3 a batch is easy. Just use 2 cups salt, 1/4 cup body wash, 1 teaspoon oil, 1 drop of lavender essential oil. Follow the same instructions for mixing and drying. That will yield much less and also give you a chance to make sure you like it before you whip up a big batch. Hope that helps!
Could you use this recipe for other scents?
Of course! I make it with all different kinds of scents. Just add your favorite essential oils.
I m going try this for sure !! recipe sounds awesome
thanks
If you are making different scents, are you using different scented body wash?
Thanks 🙂
You can use an unscented body wash and use essential oils to make the scent of your choice as strong as you’d like!
can you use any type of body wash?
Of course!
I don’t have lavender soap. Can I use pomegranate instead?
Sure! I bet that would turn out great!
I have recipes for homemade bath products, and it says to add a couple Vitamin E oil to the recipe for preserving the mixer oil.
Hello, I am thinking about making these for a Mother Daughter Luncheon in May. Would you be able to share what size jar you used in the picture and where you found the at? Thank you so much for your time.
I usually put them in a mason jar with some cute fabric over the lid. But I couldn’t get that to photograph well so I found a tiny little jar that I had lying around and just used that. It’s the size of a spice jar though. It’s really small. Now you know my photography secret 🙂 If you are looking for something smaller than a regular mason jar, I’ve seen 4oz and 5oz mason jars at Michaels and Hobby Lobby. You could use a 40% off coupon and grab them for less. World Market also has cute glass jars in all sizes but they are a little more expensive. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much Shellie, that does help me quite a bit. I was able to track some down at hobby lobby, so now I just have to get the go-ahead from the team to make them!! I really appreciate your quick response. God Bless,
Melissa
This recipe is awesome. I am looking for a more natural approach. Is it possible to use a Castile soap and lavender essential oil? Or Is there an alternative to the store bought, ready made body wash?
I’m sure you can. I just use the store bought because it’s easier. You might want to lookup a homemade body wash recipe though because I think in addition to the Castile soap and essential oil, you need another oil for the moisturizing properties. Coconut or Olive Oil probably work best. Come back and let us know how it goes!
Thanks for the recipe! Another commenter asked about trying this with castile soap, and I did, so I wanted to report back. I used Dr.Bronner’s unscented baby mild castile soap (which isn’t technically a castile soap because it uses oils other than just olive, but I digress…). Unfortunately it did not work. The minerals in the Epsom salt had a weird reaction with the castile soap and formed rubbery goop in the tub. The recipe itself was spot on, and I’m sure it would have worked just fine had I used body wash instead of the Dr. Bronner’s. I’d be curious to hear about results if anyone out there does try it with a true olive-only castile. Big thanks to Shellie for the recipe! I’ll definitely try it again using the body wash as written. 🙂
Wow Emily! Thanks so much for sharing your experience with the castile soap! I have on my to do list to try that so I can update the post but I just haven’t gotten around to it. Now I’m on a quest to find something different y’all can use!
thanks for sharing this really cool idea love the smell of lavender and would love to make this bubble bath salts visiting via the wonderfully creative hop and now following have a great day
Use Dr. Bronners Castile soap for a more natural soap additive but I believe you would use less then what Shellie calls for. You can find it in health food stores & Target, Meijer, not sure about Walmart.
Taking a bath with this sounds so relaxing! I’m pinning this to my gift ideas board!
How much food coloring did you use? Won’t it tint your skin once it all breaks down in the tub?
I only used a few drops. I don’t think it will tint your skin if you use just a small amount. But the food coloring is totally optional. If you are concerned, just leave it out. It’s not critical to the recipe.
I think homemade gifts carry a piece of your heart. I’m going to love making, using and giving this one. Thanks for sharing!
Just finished mixing this up, it smells wonderful! I can’t wait to package this up for mothers day gifts in some cute jars.
Shellie I made these and the next morning there was water in the mixture. I let it dry the 24 hrs.
what did I do wrong? I plan to give them as gifts, HELP!
Hmmmm, I don’t know. What kind of body wash did you use? Maybe it was a different consistency than the one I used.
Could you use it on your face?
WHen they dissolve you can use the water on your face but I think the salt would be too abrasive for your face if you tried it like a scrub.
I had great success using coloured body wash so I didn’t need food colouring, but my bubbles all disappeared before the bath had finished running! I’ll try it again adding them just before the bath is done running, but any other suggestions??
It all depends on how much you use and the type of body wash you used.
These look so good! I can’t wait to attempt it tonight!
I’m making these for favors……do they have to be sealed or is it ok to leave them uncovered? If so how long can they last uncovered?
Also do you have to let them sit for 24 hours? I have seen so many recipes today that just say to put them in jars right away. But yours have the body wash in them so maybe that’s the difference in drying……………
Thank you for any help!
Yes, I let them sit for 24 hours so they can dry. I guess you could leave them uncovered. I’d just be afraid they would spill. I usually keep mine in a jelly-size mason jar.
This looks super amazing! Have you tried this with dead sea minerals? I have a lot of that, and it would be really convenient if I could use that for gifts. Or maybe a mix of Epsom salt and dead sea salt?
i like to use coconut oil…is this regular or fractionated that you use? and if regular will it clog drains when it cools? thanks!
Do you have to use the lavender body wash or can you use a different kind?!
You can use a different kind. Use any kind of scent to make it what you want!
Can you use bubble bath in place of the body wash? Bubbles may stay longer?
Sure! There’s not that much difference between the two. So feel free to use them interchangeably as needed.
Love the bath salts! I have a question what do you line the baking sheet with? How did u get the light purple coloring. I was only able to make dark purple!
You can use parchment paper to line the baking sheet. Or you can put it directly on there. It’s up to you. I used the McCormick Neon Food Colorings. That has a purple bottle in it. I can’t remember but I think I just used one or two drops. Not very much because I wanted it to be light in color.
Is the oil necessary or is it just for moisturizing?
Love it. But can you use baby oil instead of the other oils?
You could however, baby oil has a distinctive smell to it. You would need a lot more essential oil to mask the smell or be open to the slightly different scent it would create.
Could one split the recipe?
Of course! Just make as little or as much as you need. The only thing I recommend if going larger is to do it in batches instead of one huge batch.
I just made 1/3 of a batch and forgot to decrease the olive oil so we”ll see how it turns out. I didn’t have lavender body wash so I used pomegranate and it smells delicious! I was wondering if baby oil is something that would work well with this recipe?
Oh my goodness! Pomegranate sounds amazing!!! I’m going to have to give that a try. What brand did you use?
I have made these a couple of times now. I use the epsom salt and the coconut oil, but I use a bulk shower gel instead of the body wash. This combination will not dry out on its own, so I use the microwave in short bursts to dry them out. I seperate the mixture out into as many small, microwave-safe containers as I have available (usually 6 to 8) and then do 20 second bursts, mixing between, until the mixture is dry and has started to powder. I do not add any fragrance or color until after the drying process. Love it!!
Just wondering, what size mason jar would you recommend for this recipe? and how many uses do you think it makes as per recipe?
You can use any size you’d like. I think for gifting one of the smaller jelly jars would be a good size. But for personal use you could do a bigger one. As for uses, I’d say at least 4 per jar but that could vary depending on how strong you like your bath,
Can I replace the body soap for coconut oil or coconut butter.?
You can but the soap is what created the Bubbling. So with straight coconut oil you’d only have bath salts – which is fine! Just not quite the same.
Can you use any type of body wash or is there any specific one that you need to use? And does the scent matter?
You can use any kind. If you don’t want to use essential oils, look for a lavender scented body wash like Ivory. If you don want to use essential oils, then opt for an unscented one so it doesn’t overpower your chosen scent.
Can I dry these faster somehow like low temp in oven.
I guess you could, but try putting them outside in the sunshine. That would be faster than the normal way and would avoid using the oven.
I followed directions, but my batch is not drying out. What can I do?
Try spreading it evenly on a cookie sheet and laying it in the sun. If that still doesn’t work, you might have to scrap it and try using a little less soap next time. Good luck!!
I just made 2 x 1/3 batch up using 1/4 cup of scented Dr Bronner and 2 cups kosher sea salt, 1 tsp melted cooking coconut oil and one drop of edible food colouring. One peppermint and one almond. Stuck the salt in the 1pt mason jar, added the wet to it and shook it up till all combined. No problems with ‘gloop” as the other poster mentioned on using epsom salt as I used sea salt (kosher salt), they are wet, as I am too lazy to let them dry, and its too cold and wet here in the UK to put them out in the February “sun” (plus I am worried all the scent/EO will evaporate out of them) and they will be used quickly! I just intend to shake them up before adding to the bath. I am going to use approx 1/4 of a cup per bath. They look and smell divine !!
Hello! I love your site! What has to be lavender scented body wash? Is liquid soap lavender? I do not understand this item recipe!
Is it essential to use both the lavender oil and body wash also are there any other scents you can use
Sure, you can use any other scent you might like. Maybe Rose or a Citrus Scent. Sandalwood too would be nice.
Hello,
I’m going to use this recipe for a library program I’m hosting, I’ll have about 30 people and they will all be making their own, what would you recommend for amounts of ingredients to give each person?
Thanks,
Simone
It really depends on what size container you will be giving them. This recipe fills two mason jars. If you were giving them one each or the smaller jelly jars, then you could 1/2 or 1/3 the recipe for each person. Hope that helps!
Mine has dried for 24 hours and it’s not hard at all just mushy what can I do ?
Did you dry it in a thin layer? Like on a cookie sheet? You can still use them if they are mushy. Just put them in a jar with a wide mouth so you can scoop them out.
Hi I used bubble bath instead of body wash is that ok?
Sure! They are basically the same thing anyway. 🙂
Question
How many drops of food coloring is to much?
It turned my tub pink when I used it
Does this really bubble or fizz when pouring it in the water ?
It depends. It will bubble if you add it to the water while the water is running. It’s the same as adding Bubble Bath to water. It just won’t provide quite as many bubbles because you are using a smaller amount.
I think the extra runny issue folks are having is due to the bath wash itself. Depending on the water content, it’ll be more (or less) slurry-like. I made two smaller batches with two different soaps, one was very much the texture of a sugar scrub, the other was very wet. I added additional salt, but didn’t want to overdue the salt thing. We’ll see how the two dry out and compare. I’m hoping to use these for Christmas gifts. I imagine even if the wetter version doesn’t dry 100%, it’ll still work but the receiver will just have to use a scoop. Thank you for this great idea. I hope to use it over and over!
Which oil works best? Olive, coconut, or sweet almond?
Thank you, Lena
I usually use coconut oil but I done almond too. I think whatever you use will be fine.
Made this and love the texture. Mine was not drying out well so set it outside in the sun. Noted the color changed from lavender to periwinkle (was not discouraged, as I LOVE periwinkle) Still not drying well after 24 hours so set it in a warm oven with light on for another 24 hrs, mixing throughout at intervals. My body wash did not lend to bubbles so will try the ivory brand recommended and/or bubble bath mentioned. Stellar idea, thank you!
What I did is I used orange wash and lemon oil. Smells really good!
I made my first batch of Bubbling Lavender Bath Salts for the guests gift bags at my daughter’s Baby Shower. I used Dr. Teal’s Foaming Bath liquid. Its taking extra time to dry. Id like to know exactly how dry it needs to be before I can jar it up???
You can leave it in the sun to dry. However, some bath soaps are a little more liquid-y than others so you might want to add some salt if it seems too runny.
I just made these using Dial Lavender and Twilight Jasmine Body wash. Looks and smells amazing !!
Can I use sea salts along with Epson salt. I would add 1/2 cup of the sea salt. Would I need to adjust other ingredients.
Yes, you can use sea salt if you prefer. Epsom Salt is just magnesium while Sea Salt contains lots of other minerals from the ocean. Both help reduce swelling and ease muscle tension. You shouldn’t need to adjust the other ingredients.
Love this idea so much! Definitely going to make a batch. How much does this recipe as shown actually make? Thanks!