A natural sitz bath with epsom salt may help with pain relief for any perineal pain. This could be part of your postpartum recovery, hemorrhoid treatment, bartholin’s cysts, or anal fissures. Making a sitz bath is a good idea to enhance blood flow to the area for an easy and natural way to promote fast healing.
This is such a simple and easy recipe to make and well worth the effort to make sure any sensitive areas can recover. Plus making this recipe will only take a few minutes, and a few ingredients, and really soothes the affected areas.
Natural Ingredients
Epsom Salts will be the main ingredient of your simple sitz bath. There are many natural benefits of epsom salts since it contains magnesium sulfate. Benefits such as easing sore muscles, reducing stress, creating a calming effect for better sleep, and containing natural healing properties are the most common. When buying epsom salts, always make sure to buy them unscented. This way your soothing sitz bath is not full of synthetic fragrances which can irritate any sensitive skin or open wounds. Instead, you can add pure essential oils to give them an amazing scent and a great option for enhanced healing.
Dead Sea Salts are exactly what they sound like – flakes of salt from the Dead Sea. One of the reasons to combine different types of salts is because of their unique characteristics and different ingredients. Salts from the Dead Sea have 21 minerals including magnesium, calcium, sulfur, bromide, iodine, sodium, zinc, and potassium, making them mineral-rich salts. These are all amazing for skin, detoxification, and overall wellness. Dead Sea bath flakes are an excellent addition to your sitz bath soak.
Essential Oils add a wonderful scent as well as add a soothing element to this recipe. The possibilities are endless when it comes to which essential oils to use with the sitz bath salts. Some of my favorite essential oils and essential oil blends include lavender oil, myrrh, rose, grapefruit, tangerine, orange, neroli, and roman chamomile. They are all extremely gentle essential oils but are completely optional if you don’t have them on hand.
Epsom Salt Sitz Bath Recipe
This recipe makes enough for 4 natural sitz baths. You can easily double or triple the recipe if you want to have more on hand, storing the extra in a glass mason jar for later.
- 1 cup of epsom salts
- 1 cup of dead sea salt
- 30 – 40 drops of essential oils (see below for blends)
- glass bowl
- spoon
- glass mason jar or glass jar for storage
STEP ONE: Add 1 cup of pure epsom salt and 1 cup of dead sea salt to a glass bowl and mix.
STEP TWO: Second, add 30-40 drops of essential oils. Mix the salts and essential oils with a spoon to combine well. See different essential oil blends after the recipe for various combinations to try. The gentlest essential oil is lavender if you want to start with only one essential oil. Of course, you can also opt to skip any essential oils if you don’t have them or if at first, the area is too sensitive.
STEP THREE: Lastly, spoon the sitz bath salts into a glass mason jar to store for later use or use right away. I always try to avoid using plastic containers when using essential oils, as the oils are so concentrated they can break down most plastics. Also, it is best to store them at room temperature or in cooler areas of the home. They should last for up to 3 months stored in a glass jar.
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Essential Oils Blends for Natural Sitz Bath
calming
- 20 drops of lavender essential oil
- 20 drops of orange essential oil
flowery meadow
- 30 drops of lavender essential oil
- 10 drops of cardamom essential oil
citrus fields
- 10 drops of orange essential oil
- 20 drops of grapefruit essential oil
- 10 drops of tangerine essential oil
soothing
- 10 drops of myrrh (or rose) essential oil
- 10 drops of lavender essential oil
- 10 drops of grapefruit essential oil
Using Epsom Salt in Your Own Sitz Bath
To make a natural sitz bath, add 1/2 cup of epsom salt bath mix to warm water (or very warm water) in your own bathtub, as cold water might not dissolve the salts. It’s best to make sure to avoid hot water as you don’t want to burn or irritate the skin. Stirring the epsom salts can help them to dissolve entirely in the water before entering the warm bath water. Lastly, you will want to make sure you have enough water to cover the anal area or perineal area.
This recipe can also used for a shallow bath, using only a few inches of warm water, or even a shallow basin if that’s what is available. If using the recipe for a sitz soak with less water, then use only 1/4 cup of epsom salt mix instead of the full amount.
However you use them, it is recommended to soak for at least 15 minutes to gain the benefits, but you can keep soaking for 20-25 minutes. This recipe can be used as part of the recovery process for the affected area. For best results, use this at least once daily and up to four times a day during the healing process. Drain used bath water, as you need to use clean water for each bath.
Of course, this recipe can be used in place of a regular bath as well. This may be especially helpful to continue after a vaginal delivery if you have perineal swelling.
After your sitz bath, dry your sensitive areas with a clean towel making sure to avoid rubbing the area. After the warm sitz bath, you can apply a carrier oil, such as sweet almond oil or jojoba oil to the skin and any sensitive areas. Also, make sure to drink a glass of water or hydrating liquid afterward to stay hydrated during this recovery time.
Natural Bath Recipes with Epsom Salt
Hi, I’m Kristin.
I am so glad you are here ready to make some really incredible diy recipes with simple ingredients. Join me in learning how to use essential oils in all of your homemade personal care products and creating a natural home.
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