Bath salts and essential oils make a pretty, scented and therapeutic soak for your feet at the end of a long day. Wind down and clear your head with this eucalyptus and mint foot soak you can make yourself.
First of all thank you sweet readers who entered the $50 gift card contest from Ten Thousand Villages in my last post. The winner has been drawn, congratulations! And even if you didn't win, I hope you were inspired by the amazing, fair-trade and ethical gifts available from their shops and website.
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This past spring I went on a fun trip with my sister to Carlsbad, California. Complete girl time... beaching, shopping, catching up, and passing the time in local cafes and wine bars. While we were there, we stopped in at a local farmer’s market and artisan’s fair. As a birthday gift, my sister bought me a package of gorgeous pink Himalayan bath salts. They were labelled as a foot soak, and scented with eucalyptus and mint.
A night-time foot soak is one of my favourite ways to wind down in the evening. While a full bath is amazing (and I have a gorgeous milk bath recipe here), a lot of times I’m too tired or it’s too late. Taking just ten minutes to soak my feet in a hot scented bath is enough to reduce my stress level and improve my mood. My acupuncturist once recommended it to improve circulation and ease a migraine. Plus I’ve found that I sleep much better afterwards.
Although you only need 2-3 tablespoons of salts per soak, eventually the package was empty. But hey, the internet has tons of recipes and ideas for doing these things yourself, and so I’ve figured out how to make my own version of those eucalyptus salts for my night-time foot soak.
The ingredients weren’t hard to find. Salts from the grocery store and pharmacy, and essential oils from my local health food shop. If you don’t have a local place to buy good essential oils, they’re available online here.
Ingredients:
1/3 cup pink Himalayan salt
1/3 cup Mediterranean sea salt
1/3 cup epsom salt
2 drops eucalyptus essential oil
2 drops peppermint essential oil
1/3 cup Mediterranean sea salt
1/3 cup epsom salt
2 drops eucalyptus essential oil
2 drops peppermint essential oil
Instructions for making the foot soak:
Combine the salts in a large non-reactive bowl and stir to combine. Add drops of essential oil and mix through thoroughly. Pour into glass jars and close tightly. Add 2-3 tablespoons of salts to hot (but safe), ankle depth bathwater.
Of course such a beautiful thing should also be beautifully packaged. A glass jar allows you to see the pretty pink salts, a little tag to label the jar and with directions on the reverse side. A bit of jute twine adds a touch of rustic which I always like. Wouldn’t this make an amazing gift for someone? Like a sister?