DIY | Citrus Bath Soak

When I saw this DIY on the blog, Lips So Facto, I knew I had to recreate it but add my own twist to it. The original DIY was for a flu-soothing soak, but since the weather here in California is a little too warm for a peppermint bath soak I've created a nice fresh and cirtrusy bath soak for the summer.

What are bath salts? Bath salts or epson salt (magnesium sulfate) are used to treat muscles. Because the bath salts mimic the properties of natural mineral baths or hot springs, it is most commonly used to treat muscle pain. Despite of their name, bath salts are not made up of regular salt. The "salt" part of the name comes from the similar appearance to regular salt so you cannot substitute epson salt for regular salt whatsoever. Bath salts usually retail for $15+ for a 17oz container and some companies even sell 10oz containers for more than $40, so they are considered somewhat of a luxurious product, but I'm going to tell you how you can make your own inexpensive bath soak.

What you will need
Epson salt- You can find a 4 lbs bag for $2.86 at Walmart. I used a 2 lbs carton which I bought in eBay
Lemongrass, Grapefruit, and Rosemary 100% Pure Essential Oils- I got mine from eBay for $3.75 each
Mason jar (or another container)- I got this 30 oz mason jar from Walmart for $1.87
Mixing bowl
Spoon
Optional- Grapefruit zest
Total: $15.98 for the first bath soak you make but the next few bath soaks will only cost around $3 to make since the only thing you'll be buying for a bit will be the epson salt.

The procedure is very, very simple. This should take less than 10 minutes to make. The first thing you have to do is place 30 oz of epson salt in a large mixing bowl.

I went with grapefruit, lemongrass, and rosemary because I wanted a clean and fresh summer blend. Lemongrass essential oil can be used to relieve stress, grapefruit essential oil helps with dull skin, and rosemary essential oil is known to help with muscle ache and cramps. Essential oils are very strong in scent so you only need a couple of drops for your mixture. I used 17 drops of lemongrass, 26 drops of grapefruit, and 4 drops of rosemary. Meg from Lips So Facto recommended 10 drops of essential oil per 1 cup of epson salt, but you can definitely play around with the number of drops.

Mix the oils and salt thoroughly with a spoon. Make sure the salts are able to soak up the oils quite nicely, if the salt clumps up then you will know that you haven't mixed it enough. The salts are not supposed to change color, so don't expect them to gain a rosy or orange color because of the oils. Since I wanted my bath salt to look a little more fancy, I added some grapefruit zest to the mix but this step is completely optional.

And that's it! You need about a 1-1.5 cups of salt per bath so this mixture will be good for 3 or 4 baths. To use them you simply add the salts to a tub filled with hot/warm water (depending on your preference). Swirl the salts around until they dissolve, and once they have dissolved then you can go into the tub. Now its your time to relax and enjoy you DIY bath soak! This should make you feel very relaxed and happy once you get out.

Do you enjoy these types of posts? Do you have anymore DIY ideas?
Let me know on the comments below!