DIY bath salts for colds and congestion?
October 11, 2022 12:37 PM Subscribe
My favorite bath salts for seasonal allergies are harder to come by locally. What do you toss into your tub for steamy relief from the dreaded stuffiness and sinus pressure that comes with fall weather?
(More below the fold)
My go-to for seasonal allergies has been to take a hot bath with a handful of Village Naturals Therapy Aches + Pains, Cold & Allergy Relief mineral bath soak. Unfortunately, the local stores now have bags and bottles of blues and greens and purples, but not the golden blend of magnesium sulfate, sodium chloride, cornstarch and sea salt for sinus issues.
Currently I am stretching the last of my supply with Epson salts, pink Himalayan salt and baking soda.
Do you have any recipes of natural ingredients and essential oils that you add to DIY bath salts for your own decongestion efforts?
I will not be adding colorants or oils to the bath water.
Active ingredients in VN Cold & Allergy Relief include eucalyptus, camphor, menthol and peppermint, plus ginseng root extract, echinacea purpurea (purple coneflower) root extract and helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil.
IANAD so the medical validity is not my area of expertise.
My go-to for seasonal allergies has been to take a hot bath with a handful of Village Naturals Therapy Aches + Pains, Cold & Allergy Relief mineral bath soak. Unfortunately, the local stores now have bags and bottles of blues and greens and purples, but not the golden blend of magnesium sulfate, sodium chloride, cornstarch and sea salt for sinus issues.
Currently I am stretching the last of my supply with Epson salts, pink Himalayan salt and baking soda.
Do you have any recipes of natural ingredients and essential oils that you add to DIY bath salts for your own decongestion efforts?
I will not be adding colorants or oils to the bath water.
Active ingredients in VN Cold & Allergy Relief include eucalyptus, camphor, menthol and peppermint, plus ginseng root extract, echinacea purpurea (purple coneflower) root extract and helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil.
IANAD so the medical validity is not my area of expertise.
Best answer: So Vicks makes these shower disks to add eucalyptus-menthol scented vapors to your shower. Searching for them on Amazon brought up all these results, some of which are bath bombs that might be similar to what you are looking for.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 5:05 PM on October 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 5:05 PM on October 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I'd just make my own.
I put a couple of drops of Eucalyptus oil in my bath from time to time, with general bath salts. If I don't have plain epsom salt, a coarse salt will do. You can add other oils listed, but I don't bother and just stick with eucalyptus. Do be careful, all of these can be a skin irritants. To get the magnesium sulfate any Epsom salts will do, so plain Epsom salt is fine, and it doesn't have to be an expensive brand. I've never added cornstarch, but you can experiment as it is cheap , likely in your pantry, and just throw in a little in at a time. I generally use baking soda to soften the water starting with about a tablespoon, sometimes 2. People do take baking soda baths and put significantly more than that, but I'm just going for different water feel with it. The sunflower seed oil provides a little bit of moisturizer as the scent in this can be fairly drying to the skin. You could use that, or shea butter, or any other oil you wanted to use to the same effect.
I'm not sure what ginseng and echinacea purpurea are doing in it honestly. I'd ignore it, see if I was happy then think about adding it back in. Finding the bulk ingredients at that point may become more expensive than just sourcing the original though.
So anyway, for your needs I would try a Few drops of Eucalyptus oil(basically until you can smell it clearly and no more, you may want to try this when you are well to get a feel for it), Epsom salt, plus cornstarch, plus moisturizer. The mix of eucalyptus, camphor, menthol and peppermint may have a bit of a stronger effect, but honestly, I think they all have a similar mechanism so one should be fine and I find that eucalyptus does the trick for me.
posted by AlexiaSky at 7:01 PM on October 11, 2022
I put a couple of drops of Eucalyptus oil in my bath from time to time, with general bath salts. If I don't have plain epsom salt, a coarse salt will do. You can add other oils listed, but I don't bother and just stick with eucalyptus. Do be careful, all of these can be a skin irritants. To get the magnesium sulfate any Epsom salts will do, so plain Epsom salt is fine, and it doesn't have to be an expensive brand. I've never added cornstarch, but you can experiment as it is cheap , likely in your pantry, and just throw in a little in at a time. I generally use baking soda to soften the water starting with about a tablespoon, sometimes 2. People do take baking soda baths and put significantly more than that, but I'm just going for different water feel with it. The sunflower seed oil provides a little bit of moisturizer as the scent in this can be fairly drying to the skin. You could use that, or shea butter, or any other oil you wanted to use to the same effect.
I'm not sure what ginseng and echinacea purpurea are doing in it honestly. I'd ignore it, see if I was happy then think about adding it back in. Finding the bulk ingredients at that point may become more expensive than just sourcing the original though.
So anyway, for your needs I would try a Few drops of Eucalyptus oil(basically until you can smell it clearly and no more, you may want to try this when you are well to get a feel for it), Epsom salt, plus cornstarch, plus moisturizer. The mix of eucalyptus, camphor, menthol and peppermint may have a bit of a stronger effect, but honestly, I think they all have a similar mechanism so one should be fine and I find that eucalyptus does the trick for me.
posted by AlexiaSky at 7:01 PM on October 11, 2022
Best answer: Those Vicks shower discs are how I get through the winter. They’re not meant for baths but I cannot recommend them enough! Also if you’re just looking for relief and less of a “experience” our routine, you can break them up and use a half in a shower, or use bits in bowls of steamy hot water and then do the old drape a towel over your head and breathe in thing.
posted by raccoon409 at 7:14 PM on October 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by raccoon409 at 7:14 PM on October 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks guys! I finally got all my hearing back in the right ear after multiple soaking sessions in the tub with various bath salts. The change to cooler weather and the pollen counts were a bad combination this month.
I still have the occasional squeak in my right ear, but as long as I don't feel like my head is still underwater I can deal with it.
I did buy the Vicks VapoBath which smells like you would expect. I also scored a half dozen essential oils at a garage sale, including one with eucalyptus and peppermint. I feel very crafty this autumn.
Now if we could just have one killing freeze to eliminate the mosquitoes....
Stay safe out there.
posted by TrishaU at 1:32 AM on October 15, 2022
I still have the occasional squeak in my right ear, but as long as I don't feel like my head is still underwater I can deal with it.
I did buy the Vicks VapoBath which smells like you would expect. I also scored a half dozen essential oils at a garage sale, including one with eucalyptus and peppermint. I feel very crafty this autumn.
Now if we could just have one killing freeze to eliminate the mosquitoes....
Stay safe out there.
posted by TrishaU at 1:32 AM on October 15, 2022
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posted by I claim sanctuary at 12:44 PM on October 11, 2022 [1 favorite]