Homemade peppermint bath salts make the perfect handmade gift for friends and family this holiday season. While you’re bottling it for gifts, be sure to save some for yourself. After all, there is nothing like a relaxing bath to ease the stress of a hectic holiday season.
Turning a Hectic Holiday Season into a Heavenly Holiday Season
With Halloween having come and gone, the holiday season has officially kicked into high gear. Retailers are busily advertising for the biggest gift-giving season of the year. At the same time, the news is reporting all about delayed product deliveries and supply shortages. I don’t know about y’all, but I’m feeling slightly more stressed this holiday season than usual.
To help make this hectic time of year a little calmer, I have decided to reduce my stress as much as possible. A few things I do to relax include (but are not limited to), a yoga class or meditation, a glass of wine in the evening, and soaking in a hot bath after a long day. It was actually in the last bath that I was inspired to write this blog post.
This holiday season, I have also decided to relieve some of my shopping stress by making a few homemade gifts for my loved ones. Homemade gifts are extra special because they are made with love. Hand-made gifts also mean less need to worry about shopping crowds, delivery delays, and supply shortages.
Soak the Stress Away with Bath Salts
Being submerged in hot water, surrounded by bubbles, and soaking in aromatic bath salts instantly relieves stress. There are typically two kinds of salt used for bath salts: Sea salt and Epsom salt. Both are amazing for soothing away aches and pains and pampering the body and skin. Natural salts and minerals have been used for thousands of years for medicinal, beautification, and natural healing purposes. You may be wondering though, what is the difference is between Dead Sea salt and Epsom salt. I’m so happy you asked!
Dead Sea salt
All sea salts are mineral-rich. They contain a whole family of minerals from the ocean. Dead Sea salts are special though. In regular ocean water, 85 percent of the salt is sodium chloride (table salt). Dead Sea salt however is only 12-18 percent sodium chloride. This means it’s got a richer concentration of other nutrients, especially magnesium salts. In Dea Sea salts you find 21 minerals including magnesium, calcium, sulfur, iodine, zinc, potassium, and more. Dead Sea salt has been harvested for thousands of years and used in medicine and natural beauty remedies. Its high moisture content makes it perfect for combining with essential oils. Dead Sea salt is also great for detoxification.
Epsom salt
Fascinating fact. Epsom salt is not actually salt. It’s a mineral found in water containing high levels of magnesium and sulfate. When crystallized, it forms Epsom salt. Epsom salt doesn’t contain sodium chloride, the active ingredient in salt. Even though it doesn’t contain salt, it’s still very beneficial, primarily when it comes to healing muscle injuries, swollen joints, aches, and pains.
What You Need to Make Homemade Peppermint Bath Salts
Now that you know more than you probably have ever wanted to know about the differences between Dead Sea salt and Epsom salt, let’s make some bath salts. Shall we? Making homemade peppermint bath salts is so easy and inexpensive! Here is everything you need:
- Dead Sea salt
- Epsom salt
- Peppermint essential oil (.25 fluid ounces)
- Fresh peppermint (optional)
- Glass jars
Here are some more of my favorite jars:
How to Make Homemade Peppermint Bath Salts
Making peppermint bath salts is so easy! I harvested the peppermint from the garden, but you can use store-bought peppermint too. For my bath salt recipe, I use both Dead Sea salt and Epsom salt primarily because they are both incredibly beneficial for good health and relaxation. Also, I couldn’t choose between the two of them so, I decided to use them both! Have fun choosing the jars to store the bath salts in too. There are so many great ones! Most of all, have fun making these wonderful gifts, the process is quite fun.
Dry The Peppermint
There are a few ways to dry mint. One way is with a dehydrator, it can also be dried in the oven, or it can be air-dried. Although the method I used to dry my mint took the longest amount of time, it was free and the result was outstanding.
Dehydrating
If you have a dehydrator, this is the best best way to dry just about any fruit, vegetable, herb, and even meat. It’s especially great if you are making Dried Orange Garland during the holidays. It accelerates the evaporation of water in foods in less time than it would take to air dry them. Using a dehydrator also ensures a better chance of the colors in the food being preserved.
Drying in the Oven
Drying fruits, vegetables, herbs, and meats in the oven can be tricky. It’s important to dry foods at a very low temperature. Depending on the oven’s calibration and the type of food that is being dried, it is easy to go from dried to overcooked quickly. When I tried to dry mint in the oven, it overcooked and the leaves turned from green to brown. They were not pretty.
Air Drying
Air drying mint is the method of my choice. It turned out perfectly! After rinsing the mint leaves in water and drying them really well, I laid them out on a paper towel. Then, I put the mint leaves on the paper towel in front of a sunny window and after about 2 days, the mint was completely dry. Best of all, it kept its beautiful green color.
Once the mint is dry, chop it up with a knife or macerate it with a mortar and pestle.
Prepare the Peppermint Bath Salts
In a medium bowl, add 1-cup of Dead Sea salt and 1-cups of Epsom salt. Stir the salts to combine them. Slowly, add the peppermint essential oil. Be sure to stir in the peppermint oil so that all the salt comes into contact with it. After the salts and oils are thoroughly mixed, allow the mixture to dry completely before adding the dried peppermint and putting the bath salts in the glass jars. I let my salts dry for 24-hours.
Once the salts are dry, add the chopped peppermint to the salts and stir the mixture to combine.
Assembly of the Peppermint Bath Salts
With the peppermint salts ready, it’s time to assemble the bath salt jars. Spoon the salts and peppermint into the jars and secure the lids.
I like to add seasonal ribbon or twine to the top of the jar. It’s also fun to tie on a tag letting the receiver know what’s inside the jar. A thoughtful addition to the tag is directions too, “Pamper yourself with Peppermint. Add 1/3 to 1/2 cup of peppermint bath salts to the bath and enjoy!”
Another Variation of Homemade Peppermint Bath Salts
Not a fan of peppermint? No problem! Trying making lavender bath salts. The process is the same as above however, the dried mint is replaced with dried lavender and the peppermint essential oil is replaced with lavender essential oil. Lavender is known for its ability to calm and relax the body and mind. It’s perfect for this time of the year!
A Homemade Gift is the Best Kind of Gift
There is nothing like homemade gifts from the heart. These homemade peppermint bath salts are thoughtful, beautiful, easy, and inexpensive to make. If you are looking for more homemade gift ideas, you may enjoy checking out these posts too:
Join me on Pinterest and Instagram for more holiday farmhouse inspiration including home decor styling tips and sources, recipes, crafts, DIYs, and so much more!
Homemade peppermint bath salts make the perfect handmade gift for friends and family this holiday season. While you're bottling it for gifts, be sure to save some for yourself. After all, there is nothing like a relaxing bath to ease the stress of a hectic holiday season. Try other variations of the bath salts too including lavender, jasmine, or rose. Dry the mint. Once the mint is dried, macerate or chop it. In a medium bowl, add Dead Sea salt and Epsom salt. Stir the salts to combine them. Slowly, add the peppermint essential oil. Be sure to stir in the peppermint oil so that all the salt comes into contact with it. After the salts and oils are thoroughly mixed, allow the mixture to dry completely before adding the dried peppermint and putting the bath salts in the glass jars. (I let my salts dry for 24-hours.) Once the salts are dry, add the chopped peppermint to the salts and stir the mixture to combine. Then, assemble the bath salt jars. Spoon the salts and peppermint into the jars and secure the lids. I like to add seasonal ribbon or twine to the top of the jar.* *It's also fun to tie a tag on the jar letting the receiver know what's inside. Include directions as a thoughtful addition to the tag. "Pamper yourself with Peppermint. Add 1/3 to 1/2 cup of peppermint bath salts to the bath and enjoy!"Homemade Peppermint Bath Salts
Ingredients
Instructions
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Can you leave out the essential oil and baking soda?
You can certainly leave out the essential oil and baking soda. However, the salts will be less fragrant/aromatic.