How to Make Bath Salts with Lavender and Rosemary

Learn how to make bath salts using aromatic herbs from your garden. This recipe includes rosemary and lavender for soothing fragrance at bath time.

Use lavender blooms in homemade bath salts.

The soothing scents of rosemary and lavender enliven our gardens and kitchens, but the usefulness of these and other aromatic herbs doesn't stop there. Handmade soaps, scrubs, and salts bring herbs into your bath as well, with soothingly satisfying results. Chasity Curtis of Alabama-based Freedom Soap Company uses garden-fresh herbs in her homemade body-care creations. (You can see Chasity and her husband Michael in our article Meet the Urban Gardeners.) Here, she shares her secrets for how to make bath salts with one of her favorite recipes.

Yield: Makes approximately 12 ounces

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup Epsom salt
  • 1/2 cup Dead Sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon dried rosemary (*if using fresh herbs, see note below)
  • 1 tablespoon dried lavender buds (*if using fresh herbs, see note
  • below)
  • 1 tablespoons safflower oil
  • 1/8 teaspoon Vitamin E oil
  • 8 to 10 drops of lavender essential oil

Instructions

Combine ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Transfer to an airtight container, and allow it to rest for a couple of days. This will give the herbs time to infuse the salts with their aroma. Add a handful of bath salts to warm bath water. Relax and enjoy!

*If you decide to use fresh herbs, you will want to use the bath salts right away. The water in fresh herbs may contaminate the salts if left unused for an extended period of time. I strongly recommend using dried herbs for this recipe. To dry rosemary and lavender, first strip the needles from the stems. Place the needles on a sheet pan in an oven set to 225 degrees Fahrenheit and heat for approximately 2 hours, or until the herbs are completely dried.

You can find more of Chasity's Freedom Soap Company products online at Etsy.com

Growing herbs such as lavender and rosemary are useful in DIY bath salts and soaps.
Growing herbs such as lavender and rosemary are useful in DIY bath salts and soaps.