How to Make Colored Bath Salts

Colored bath salts provide a fizzy lift during bath time. Though bath salts can be purchased at spas or other bath and body stores, making the salts at home is a simple process. Making your own bath salts also allows you to choose your own color and scent. These salts are great to keep for yourself or give as a gift.

Things You'll Need

• Large bowl
• 3 cups Epsom salts
• 2 cups baking soda
• 1 cup sea salt
• Rubber gloves
• Essential oils
• Eyedropper
• Liquid food coloring
• Newspaper
• Glass jar

Instructions

1. Pour 3 cups of Epsom salts, 2 cups of baking soda and 1 cup of sea salt into a large bowl and mix with your hands. While the salts will provide the bath salts' trademark fizz, the baking soda softens skin.

2. Put on a pair of tight rubber gloves. Use an eyedropper to add about three drops of essential oil to the salt mixture. Mix the oil in with your hands, then sniff the salts. If the scent is too weak, add another two to three drops of oil and mix.

3. Add two drops of liquid food coloring to the salt mixture and blend with your fingers. Add more food coloring, two drops at a time, until the salts are the desired color. Be careful not to add too much food coloring, as the liquid can cause the salts to clump. Also, if the salts are too dark they can stain the sides of the bathtub.

4. Spread the bath salts in a single layer on a piece of newspaper and allow them to dry for about an hour. This will keep the salts from clumping or fizzing in the jar.

5. Fill a glass jar with the dry salts and cap the jar with a tightly sealed lid. Store the bath salts in a cool, dry spot that is not prone to moisture. A bedroom vanity would be a better choice than the bathroom cabinet.

Tips & Warnings

• Try to find a scent that corresponds to your needs and tastes. For example, if relaxation is what you're after, try lavender essential oil or vanilla extract. If the bath is meant to energize, try a citrus scent such as lemon oil.