Gardening season officially started for me today! I dug up dandelion weeds and errant grass that had spread into my front flower bed. I planted some violas and a beautiful pericallis, both of which can tolerate temperatures plunging into the 30’s. Since I haven’t been gardening for months, I found myself a little sore in areas. What better way to soothe my sore muscles than with a warm bath laced with fragrant, homemade Lemon Chamomile Bath Salts?
This time of year I love the fragrance of lemon. It’s light, refreshing, and boosts my spirits. A relaxing bath with this wonderful scent is just what I needed after my first day in the garden.
You just need a few supplies to make bath salts and it doesn’t take much time. I used a combination of Epsom salt, Sea Salt, and essential oils. The recipe is at the end of this post.
Lemon is known to rejuvenate energy (much needed after a day of labor) and nourishes the skin. I don’t wear garden gloves and my hands tend to get dry after pulling weeds. Lemon seemed the perfect essential oil for this particular application.
The dried Chamomile flower is used as an anti-inflammatory and to treat muscle spasms. It’s also known to fight depression and anxiety. Who needs ibuprofen when you have fragrant Chamomile on hand?
The final ingredient for making Lemon Chamomile Bath Salts is a bit of yellow food coloring. Just add a few drops until you get the shade you want. Keep in mind, if you use too much food coloring, it can turn the bath water yellow so avoid a bright yellow effect when dying your bath salts.
Whenever I make bath salts, I like to make enough to share with a few loved ones. I always try to find pretty jars to hold the salts. Since the scented bath salts are steeping in a warm bath, an added bonus is that the fragrance flows into other rooms of the house. My Lemon Chamomile Bath Salts are perfect after a day in the garden, or a good workout session.
Lemon Chamomile Bath Salts
2 cups Epsom Salt
1 cup Sea Salt
20 drops Lemon essential oil
10 drops Chamomile essential oil
Yellow food coloring
Thoroughly mix the salts together. Add the essential oil, feeling free to add more drops depending on how strong you want the fragrance. Add the yellow food coloring, a few drops at a time and mix until you acheive the shade you want.
How much bath salts do you use for a garden tub?
A lovely combination but with pure essential oils, you must use a carrier oil for use on the skin. I would add 2tsp of olive oil to this recipe for safety.
Could you replace the salt with sugar to make a sugar scrub? What would you think would be the right amounts of the stuff for a sugar scrub? Let me know what you think and the calculations for the sugar scrub please. Please