How to use bath salts

How to use bath salts takes four moves: fill, stir, soak, rinse. Run a warm bath, stir in two or three handfuls until the grains are gone, stay in for 15 to 20 minutes, then rinse off and moisturize. The details below cover how much to use, what to do before and after, and what bath salts will and will not do.

How to use bath salts, step by step

1. Fill the tub with warm water. Warm, not hot.
2. Add 2 to 3 handfuls. That is about 100 g. Scatter them across the water, not in one pile.
3. Stir until dissolved. Swirl the water with your hand. Coarse salt takes a minute or so; do not sit down on undissolved grains.
4. Soak for 15 to 20 minutes. Let the scent fill the room.
5. Rinse off. A quick rinse under the shower takes the salt off your skin.
6. Pat dry and moisturize. Dermatologists advise putting moisturizer on while skin is still damp.
7. Rinse the tub. Bath salts can leave some residue, so give the tub a quick rinse once it has drained.

Bath salts are for external use only. Keep the water out of your eyes, and skip a scented soak on broken or irritated skin.

How much bath salt per bath?

Our two salts are both directed at 2 to 3 handfuls, about 100 g, per bath. At that amount a 17.64 oz (500 g) jar holds about five baths. Using more shortens the jar and makes the scent stronger. Using less gives a lighter scent.

What is in bath salts, and what they do in the water

Bath salts are coarse mineral salts, usually with scent and sometimes dried flowers. They dissolve in warm water and scent the bath. That is the honest job description.

Our Lavender Bath Salt has two salts as its base: sea salt and Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate). Real dried lavender and cornflower petals run through them, so you see petals in the jar and on the water. The scent is fresh lavender with herbal, citrus and eucalyptus notes, from lavender, eucalyptus and bitter orange peel oils and fragrance.

Our Sandalwood Bath Salt is coarse sea salt with fine botanical flecks and a warm, woody scent: papyrus, spicy amber and sandalwood over patchouli and pine. Sandalwood is a note in the scent, built from fragrance and oils such as patchouli. There is no sandalwood ingredient in it, and we say so on the page.

Both are vegan and cruelty-free, and both are scented, so neither is for you if you avoid fragrance.

What we do not claim

You will see bath salts sold with health promises. We do not make any. Ours are for a fragrant, spa-style soak at home: warm water, a scent you like, and twenty minutes to yourself. If you have a medical reason for soaking, ask your doctor what to use.

Before and after the soak

• Light a candle first. Light it, then run the bath. Our Lavender Candle is made to sit with the lavender soak.
• Scrub before, not after. If it is a scrub day, smooth skin in the shower first, then soak. See how to use a body scrub.
• Oil or cream straight after. A light body oil smoothed over damp skin leaves it feeling soft once you are dry. Our Glow Body Oil sinks in fast with no greasy film.
• Mind the petals. Dried lavender and cornflower float. A drain strainer catches them when you pull the plug.

The Forest Soak Gift Box packs that whole order into one box: a moss candle, a peppermint cedar wash, the Volcano Scrub and the Lavender Bath Salt.

Who should keep soaks short

If your skin runs very dry, keep the soak shorter. The American Academy of Dermatology suggests keeping baths and showers to five to ten minutes in warm water when skin is dry, patting dry with a towel and applying moisturizer straight away. On dry-skin weeks, stay at the short end, and do not skip the oil or cream.

If the water stings or your skin itches, get out and rinse off.

Bath salts or a bath bomb?

Salts are scooped, dissolve quietly and last several baths. A bath bomb is one fizzing soak per bomb. We compare them in bath salts vs bath bombs, and the bomb has its own guide: how to use a bath bomb.

Frequently asked questions

How do bath salts work in a bath?

They dissolve in warm water and release their scent. Ours add sea salt, and in the lavender blend Epsom salt and dried petals, for a fragrant soak. We do not claim more than that.

Do I have to rinse after a salt bath?

Our directions say yes: soak for 15 to 20 minutes, then rinse off. A quick rinse removes salt from your skin before you moisturize.

How do you use bath salts correctly?

Fill the tub with warm water, stir in 2 to 3 handfuls (about 100 g) until dissolved, soak for 15 to 20 minutes, rinse off, then moisturize. Rinse the tub afterward.

Can you use bath salts in the shower?

Ours are made to dissolve in a full tub, not to be rubbed on skin. For smoothing skin in the shower, use a body scrub made for that.

How many baths are in a jar of bath salts?

About five from our 500 g jars, at 2 to 3 handfuls (about 100 g) a bath.

Do bath salts leave a ring in the tub?

They may leave some residue. Give the tub a quick rinse after it drains.

Sources

American Academy of Dermatology. Dermatologists' top tips for relieving dry skin. https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/skin-care-basics/dry/dermatologists-tips-relieve-dry-skin
Product details are taken from the exokiss product pages. This article is general information, not medical advice.