The 12 Best Bath Salts for a Truly Relaxing Evening
At the end of a particularly stressful day, there’s nothing quite as relaxing as lighting a few candles and taking a nice, hot bath. While bubbles and shower bombs are a great touch, if you really want to elevate your soak session, you’re going to want to throw the best bath salts into the mix. Different types claim to have different benefits, but we’re here to help you narrow down the best ones for the ultimate routine.
What Are Bath Salts?
Unlike many bubble baths or bath bombs, bath salts are made from either Epsom salt (aka magnesium sulfate) or different types of sea salt with beneficial properties. They typically dissolve into the hot water, transforming it into a spa-like experience.
How to Use Bath Salts
While the directions for each brand will be a little different, typically, you should add a few handfuls of bath salt to a tub filled with hot water and let it dissipate. But don’t overdo it: You don’t want to oversaturate the water and end up with salt crystals you’ll have to wash out later. You also don’t want to add so few that you can’t experience the benefits of the salts.
What Do Bath Salts Do?
Bath salts do much more than make your tub smell good. According to experts, the magnesium of epsom salt itself may be able to infiltrate the skin to relieve chronic low back pain and headaches, boost your mood and relieve anxiety. Some even claim that it can reduce the risk of stroke, heart disease, diabetes and all-cause mortality.
Other ingredients found in bath salts, such as lavender, rose, chamomile and aloe, which may have anti-inflammatory properties, offer additional advantages that include everything from detoxifying the skin to soothing sore muscles. Plus, you can even add essential oils to them for various aromatherapy benefits. Talk about the perfect way to treat yourself after a long day!
To help you figure out which ones to add to your next bath, we’ve done the deep research into the claims (and even tested some brands ourselves) to find out which ones are actually worth buying. Here are our recommendations.
The Best Bath Salts at a Glance
Best Overall Bath Salts: Dr Teal's Pink Himalayan Mineral Soak
Best CBD Bath Salts: Lord Jones High CBD Formula Bath Salts
Best Himalayan Bath Salts: Royal Chef House Himalayan Pink Rock Salt
Best Bath Salts for Stress: Aveda Stress-Fix Soaking Salts
Best Moisturizing Bath Salts: Tree Hut Shea Moisturizing Epsom Salt
Best Bath Salt Gift Set: Green Canyon Pink Himalayan Bath Salt Gift Set
Most Splurge-Worthy Bath Salts: Indie Lee I-Recover Body Soak
Most Calming Bath Salts: Herbivore Calm Bath Salts
Best Bath Salts for Sensitive Skin: SheaMoisture Relaxing Mineral Soak Bath Salts
Best Detox Bath Salts: Pursoma Digital Detox Bath Soak
Best Bath Salts for Athletes: Coach Soak Muscle Recovery Bath Soak
Best Foaming Bath Salts: Dove Renewing Care Foaming Bath Salts
RELATED: 12 Products That Will Transform Your Next Bath Into a Self-Care Ritual
1. Dr Teal's Pink Himalayan Mineral Soak
Best Overall Bath Salt
Pros:
Inexpensive
Pure Epsom and Himalayan salt
Cons:
Scent can be overwhelming
Dr Teal’s is a big name in the bath salt game. While it may not have the most aesthetically pleasing packaging, the overall quality of this soak is all the reason people need to keep coming back to it again and again for their bath needs. This blend, in particular, is ideal for restoration after a long day. It features Epsom salt for soreness, pink Himalayan salt for recharging and bergamot and orange essential oils for stress.
2. Lord Jones High CBD Formula Bath Salts
Best CBD Bath Salts
Pros:
Infused with CBD
Effective ingredients
Cons:
Pricey
With its blend of pink Himalayan salt, arnica, Epsom salts, calendula petals and essential oils, this bath salt mixture is all about deep relaxing—each jar contains 240 milligrams of broad-spectrum CBD that will transport you to the land of the chill. One of our writers, while first skeptical of how effective the CBD would be in bath salt form, is now enamored with this find and says it can calm her down in just two minutes. Now, that’s something we all need!
3. Royal Chef House Himalayan Pink Rock Salt
Best Himalayan Bath Salt
Pros:
100 pure Himalayan salt
Mineral rich
Cons:
Extra-coarse texture
For the most natural soak, you’re going to want a bath salt in its purest form. This one is made up entirely of 100 percent natural Himalayan salt, which has detoxing, hydrating and relaxing properties. It’s so pure, in fact, that you technically could use this stuff for cooking, though we recommend saving it exclusively for bath time. You can add as much or as little as you like to your tub, depending on how much detoxing you need.
4. Aveda Stress-Fix Soaking Salts
Best Bath Salts For Stress
Pros:
Exfoliates like a scrub
Decreases stress
Cons:
Expensive
These bath salts from Aveda were designed with stress in mind. They’re packed with lavender, lavandin and clary sage essential oils that will make your tension slip away as you soak. They also contain organic sugar for some additional exfoliation during your bath. The best part, however? The relaxing scents will linger on for hours post-tub for a calming effect that lasts well into the night.
5. Tree Hut Shea Moisturizing Epsom Salt
Best Moisturizing Bath Salts
Pros:
Inexpensive
Shea butter for moisture
Smells good
Cons:
Bags don’t zip easily
Not only should a bath salt relax you, but it should also give your skin some much-needed moisture instead of drying it out. This one from Tree Hut is quite popular for these purposes, as it contains shea butter for added hydration. It also features nourishing coconut and lime extract, which will also leave you smelling incredible for hours on end.
6. Green Canyon Pink Himalayan Bath Salt Gift Set
Best Bath Salt Gift Set
Pros:
3 different salt options
Pure Himalayan salt
Foot lotion and essential oils included
Cons:
Small jars
Sometimes, it can be hard to choose what you want out of your bath salt. Should it be extra relaxing? Detoxing? Simply smell good? With this bath salt gift set, you won’t have to choose. It features pure Himalayan salts infused with lavender, green tea and rose, plus a foot lotion and rose essential oil for the ultimate at-home spa treatment. It also makes for a great gift for anyone who could use some additional self-care in their lives.
7. Indie Lee I-Recover Body Soak
Most Splurge-Worthy Bath Salts
Pros:
Also works as body scrub
Clean ingredients
Cons:
Expensive
The Indie Lee I-Recover Body Soak may be pricier than some of the others on this list, but you do get more bang for your buck with it. It dissolves like a soothing bath salt in the water, but also works as an exfoliating scrub to remove dead skin. It's made with clean ingredients, such as magnesium sulfate, coconut oil, Dead Sea salt and Himalayan salt, plus puff-reducing rosemary, calming lavender and acne-improving sage to give your skin a serious refresh.
8. Herbivore Natural Soaking Bath Salts (CALM)
Most Calming Bath Salts
Pros:
Vegan and cruelty free
Two types of salt
Cons:
Only four uses per bottle
Stressful day? The Himalayan pink salt and Pacific sea salt found within this Herbivore bath salt aim to aid in muscle relaxation, while ylang-ylang and vanilla essences go to work calming the nervous system. The result? A feeling of pure euphoric bliss once you leave the tub.
9. Pursoma Digital Detox Bath Soak
Best Detox Bath Salts
Pros:
Free of BPA, parabens, sulfates, and phthalates
Draws out toxins
30-minute bath session
Cons:
Single-use
For a more serious soaking session, this Pursoma Digital Detox bath soak will take you to new heights as you put down your phone and dive into a 30-minute bath. It contains sea salt to stimulate circulation and ease sore muscles as well as French green clay, which is meant to soften your skin and draw out toxins. The detox doesn’t end with the bath, though: The brand advises you to lay under a blanket immediately afterward to sweat out even more gunk.
10. Coach Soak: Muscle Recovery Bath Soak
Best Bath Salts For Athletes
Pros:
Energizing citrus oils
Designed to speed up muscle recovery
Cons:
Smell can be strong
An intense workout session calls for some serious attention to one’s muscles. You can forget the ice bath, though: This comforting bath salt mixture has energizing citrus essence to wake you up. It also features magnesium flakes, mineral-rich dead sea salts, vitamin C crystals and pure essential oils—ingredients that are said to reduce inflammation and speed up the post-sweat recovery process.
11. SheaMoisture Relaxing Mineral Soak Bath Salts
Best Bath Salts for Sensitive Skin
Pros:
Gentle enough for sensitive skin
Cruelty free
Shea butter for added softness
Cons:
Smaller bag
This mineral soak just might be the ultimate relaxer. It has pink Himalayan salt and Fair Trade shea butter for extra hydration, as well as soothing clary sage and neroli oils to send you into a deep state of relaxation. The bag is on the smaller side, but you only need a couple of small handfuls to get the job done.
12. Dove Renewing Care Foaming Bath Salts
Best Foaming Bath Salts
Pros:
Budget-friendly
Creates bubbles
Fresh floral scent
Cons:
Fragrance lingers in the tub
Want the benefits of a bath salt but the foaming fun of a bubble bath? Look no further than these Dove bath salts. With rose, peony and jasmine petals, this pick will have you feeling like you’re being enveloped in a field of flowers as it soothes your tired, sore muscles. Both sulfate-free and paraben-free, this plant-based option creates a light, bubbly foam while naturally moisturizing your dry, rough skin. As an added bonus, the bottle comes from 100% recycled materials.
RELATED: How to Make a Himalayan Salt Bath in 5 Easy Steps
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