Bath Salt Bars

Yesterday, my wonderful wife was having back pain. So being the caring husband that I am... I ran her a hot bath and homemade bath salts. Anyway the bath salts really seemed to help and I noticed that I could form the salts into nifty little bars.

Step 1: Get It Together

So let's see here... what are we gonna need for this one:

Epson Salt - Pharmacy, Wal-Mart...
Glycerin - Pharmacy (I got mine at Wal-Mart)
Baking Soda - Almost anywhere
Cheese Clothe - Grocery Store or craft section at Wal-Mart
Water - Plain old tap water will work great!
Essential Oil(s) - Craft and Hobby stores, also check Wal-Mart (for Scent)

Tools:
Spoon
Measuring cup
Mixing bowl
Large Sauce Pan
Mold or Form of some shape...

Comments

[TunaFishTuna]

:D

[Mauigerbil]

Any way to omit the glycerin?

[insomniaSAH]

what exactly to you use these for...? Scrubbing? Or do they fall apart in the bath like a bath bomb?

[Batness]

They eventually fall apart. Epsom salt is used to soothe muscles and such.

[Browncoat]

Do these fizz like bath bombs? What size would you suggest per bar/bath?

[Batness]

These do not fizz; this is just epsom salt.

[cowboyclint]

after you use the measuring cup, bowl, pan, mold, etc, it's not food safe, anymore, correct?

[kfernandez2]

is epsom salt needed in this experiment can i try iodized salt.,?

[Gh0stT0wnC0wb0y]

No you can't use iodized salt... Epsom salt isn't actually salt.... It is in fact Magnesium sulfate. If you use Iodized you'll get out of the bath looking like a dried piece of jerky.

[Lunarius]

This is an awesome concept! I plan on giving it a try today. A few things to be aware of, though: don't use anything you'll use again for food preparation; some essential and fragrance oils can linger and be pretty nasty.
Also, most fragrance oils found in hobby stores for making soap should do great for this, but it's prudent to be wary when you find oils for home fragrance, candles or incense -- some of those aren't meant for use on the skin at all. The same goes for essential oils themselves; some, like bergamot, aren't meant to be used directly on the skin and too high a concentration of oil in your bath salts could lead to unpleasant skin reactions the next time you're in the sun.

[Kittyisgood]

I think for the essential oils you could start with 8 drops and see how scented you want it from there.

[JosiePosie76]

I have done the same...  Only I put the salts in soap (not as much).  It works like a pumice...  Feels great....

[JackiePeters]

Great instructable, when i went out i couldn't find any essantial oils, so i just bought a bag of scented Epsom Salt... it works well too.

[Gh0stT0wnC0wb0y]

Hmm, Maybe try adding more salt, and reheating? I'm not sure...

[beans8604]

 Mine never dried, I followed the instructions word for word, and even left them for a half an hour but it never dried. Any suggestions? It wasnt ewt it was just kinda mushy.

[Ascii King]

When you say "the amount of oil you use is up to you", you are assuming we know how much is a good amount to try. Could you recommend an amount or tell us the amount you use?

[kizzy87]

I guess it's like scenting anything, add a couple of drops of your favourite scent. Sniff, if it isn't strong enough ad a few more, repeat until you're happy with the smell. If you accidentally make it too strong you could always add some more of everything else and just make more bars.

Great instructable though, and much better than pots of salts that always seem to get knocked over right when someone forgets to put the lid back on properly.

[boxen]

I tried that and now I have a bald spot and no skin on my shin.

[Gh0stT0wnC0wb0y]

Yeah I assumed everyone knew bath salt is for soaking... it should dissolve in the tub. Not to be used for scrubbing...

[mfuchs88w]

can i use a substitute for glycerin?

[uberchoob]

glycerine is basically there to preserve it and make it last longer on the shelf (maybe some shape holding quality?). So really, you should be able to leave it out and put a little extra water in, though why would you want to since you can get an excess of it at wal-mart for three dollars? (I got mine tonight :-P)

[kikkoman7347]

Nice instructable. Just in time for Mothers' Day.

[aje127]

Interesting. Do you use this like a bar of soap or just plop the whole thing in the tub?

[Gh0stT0wnC0wb0y]

We just drop them in the tub while it's filling up, however I suppose you could try to use it as a pumice stone...