Calming Lavender Bath Salts
Doesn't a long soak in a warm bath sound nice right now? It's the way some people like to destress after a hectic day and part of many children's wind-down evening routine. And while a regular ol' bath is a glorious thing for the mind, body and soul...we can enhance the relaxation of our soak with the addition of some Calming Lavender Bath Salts.
The foundation for these glorious salts (that I am never without) is Epsom salts. Epsom salts are loaded with magnesium, considered by some to be "The Magic Mineral". It is wonderful for helping to calm jittery nerves, feelings of anxiety, soothing aching muscles, supporting our bodies in detoxifying, adding digestion, and relieving constipation (source). Magnesium is something that many of us can benefit from, however it is also something that many of us are deficient in.
Due to depleted soil conditions that much of our food is grown in, plants (and meat from animals that eat those plants) are lower in magnesium than the food our ancestors used to dine on. Also, the addition of chemicals like fluoride and chlorine to drinking water makes magnesium much less available in our water since these chemicals tend to bind to magnesium.
Certain substances that we consume on the regular also contribute to depleting our body's magnesium levels, such as sugar, and caffeine. Stress, as well, is known for exhausting our body's magnesium supply.
Luckily, absorbing this wonderful mineral through our skin is an excellent way of getting magnesium back into our systems. Swimming in the ocean is an excellent, natural way for upping the magnesium in our systems, however that is not an option for all of us year-round.
For those of us who don't live and swim in the Bahamas 12 months of the year, these Calming Lavender Bath Salts are a wonderful option for naturally getting magnesium back into our bodies.
The inclusion of magnesium-rich epsom salts alone to a bath water will benefit you in so many ways, however addition of lavender essential oils and even dried lavender flowers will boost the therapeutic benefits of your soak. Lavender is excellent for calming the senses in many and is claimed to be in lots of "before bed" lotions, bubbles baths and bed sprays. However, many of those are made from synthetic fragrances that contains little or no actual lavender and can actually be harmful (source). Using 100% pure therapeutic grade essential oils (I opt to use Young Living) to infuse your bath salts with the lovely relaxing aroma of lavender is an easy and natural way of enhancing your bath salts.
Making these Calming Lavender Bath Salts is incredibly simple and takes all of 2 minutes and 2 ingredients to make!
- 1 1/2 cups epsom salts
- 10-12 drops 100% pure lavender essential oils
