Aromatherapy is the process of enjoying certain scents, which are commonly used in scented candles and bath salts. Many do not realize this, but certain scents have calming effects and enable the individual to feel more relaxed and free of stress.

Creating your own bath salts is a terrific way to enjoy aromatherapy at home. Surprisingly, bath salts are very affordable to make and require no harsh ingredients. In fact, the main ingredients in bath salts include baking soda, table salt and epsom salt. Each of these are commonly found in a local grocery or retail store and are safe to use. Certain bath products, which are found in the world of retail, may contain harsh ingredients that could irritate the skin. The advantage to creating your own bath salts to use as aromatherapy, however, will ensure that you know which ingredients are going into a product and the peace of mind in knowing that they are safe to use.

Individuals can make their own aromatherapy bath salts by starting with a large mixing bowl and a spoon or other similar utensil. The next step is to add 3 cups of epsom salt, 2 cups of baking soda and 1 cup of table salt into the mixing bowl. Once each of the ingredients are added, begin mixing them with your hand or the spoon. Once mixing is complete, slowly add food coloring to the mixture. Normal food coloring will work fine and should be added according to the color that you prefer your bath salts to be. Adding more drops will darken the color and adding fewer will make it softer. Some individuals enjoy mixing the colors in order to get a unique hue, but this mixture should be done prior to placing the coloring into the mixing bowl with your other ingredients.

The final step is to add essential oils until the desired scent is achieved. The best way to determine when the scent is perfect is simply by using your own judgement. Bath salts should be strongly scented in order to allow for less salts to be required for each bath, which will enable them to last longer.

Using the steps and ingredients as noted above, you can also use a bowl with a lid and shake the mixture, food coloring and essential oils until it is perfectly blended. This will save you time from stirring but, otherwise, the procedure to creating your own aromatherapy bath salts is the same.

Another common form of aromatherapy is the use of scented candles. Popular fragrances include vanilla, lavender, cinnamon, etc. These candles are commonly found at any retail store, online specialty shop and at craft fairs. Depending on the size of the candle, scented aromatherapy candles may last for up to one week with limited burn time. It is recommended that individuals select a candle that is jarred in order to avoid hot wax runoff and/or the potential for flames coming into contact with nearby items.