Chai Brady
Children’s Corner
Over the Christmas many people may have given or received bath salts as a gift. The popular substance is dissolved in bathwater to enhance the experience and is said to have medicinal qualities.
The use of salts for healing purposes has been happening for thousands of years and can be tracked back to ancient China and Greece.
Whether you’re making a special present for someone else, experimenting at home or just want to relax in a hot bath, give this experiment a go. Create your own bath salts with a variety of refreshing fragrances, experiment with different essential oils to see which you like best.
As the pandemic continues, a relaxing bath every now and again could be just what is needed at this chaotic time!
Apparatus:
1 cup of washing soda (sodium carbonate)
A plastic bag
A rolling pin (or something similar that can crush lumps)
A bowl
A spoon for stirring
Essential oil
Food colouring
Method:
Take the cup of washing soda and put it into a plastic bag. Crush the lumps with a rolling pin or similar object.
Empty the bag into a bowl and stir in five or six drops of your favourite essential oil such as rosemary, lavender or mint.
Stir in a few drops of food colouring until the mixture is evenly coloured.
Put the mixture into clean dry containers and enjoy as you please.
What’s happening?
Bath Salts are typically made from Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate), table salt (sodium chloride) or washing soda. The chemical make-up of the mixture makes it easy to form a lather. Bath salts are said to improve cleaning and deliver an appealing fragrance when bathing.
Aside from the bath salts, having a bath in general is known to have a variety of health benefits. These include improving heart health, your lung capacity and oxygen intake, it can reduce pain and inflammation as well as decreasing stress and anxiety levels.
In addition, baths also clean and moisturise your body, eyes and hair. So perhaps the addition of homemade bath salts could be an added incentive to have a relaxing bath?