There is something so mesmerizing about gemstones and crystals. With their unique shapes and variety of colors, it’s easy to understand why crystal jewelry and home decor has become so popular. Who doesn’t want to surround themselves with sparkly crystals? 😉 If you’re a crystal and gemstone lover like me, these Sparkling Bath Crystals are an easy way to incorporate them in the bath.
First, drop fragrance oil onto the extra large bath crystals to give them scent. A bit of Polysorbate 80 helps the mica disperse throughout the tub water more evenly. Then, coat the crystals lightly in micas and glitter. This project can be customized with any skin-safe fragrance oil and mica of your choice. This tutorial used Celestial Waters Fragrance Oil and Queen’s Purple Mica for an amethyst effect. The other colors shown were created with Shamrock Green Mica scented with Clover & Aloe Fragrance Oil, Rose Gold Mica scented with Rosehip Jasmine Fragrance Oil and Caribbean Blue Mica scented with Rain Cybilla Fragrance Oil.
I do recommend using micas for this project and not oxides and pigments. The particles of oxides and pigments are larger and won’t coat the salts as nicely. They also won’t look very nice in your tub water! In our tests, we found these salts did give a light ring of colorant around the tub without Polysorbate 80. The cleaner your bath tub, the less color will transfer. Also, use less mica rather than more to help avoid any extreme color transfer. Add just enough to cover the crystals. See how these crystals affect bath water with and without Polysorbate 80 at the bottom of this post.
The salts can also be used as potpourri. If you’re not adding them to your bath water, feel free to heavily scent them. Then place them in a glass container to showcase the colorful crystals. I also recommend some gloves for this project. Mixing the ingredients with your hands works so much better than a spoon, and helps avoid any irritation.
What You’ll Need:
Two Tall 8 oz. Bail Jar
16 oz. Extra Large Bath Crystals
3 mL Celestial Waters Fragrance Oil
2 mL Polysorbate 80
Queen’s Purple Mica
Super Pearly White Mica
Fine Iridescent Glitter
Optional: Droppers & Gloves
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ONE: Place the Extra Large Bath Crystals into a glass fragrance oil safe container. Using a dropper, add drops of the Celestial Waters Fragrance Oil onto the salts, while using your hands or spoon to mix the salt and fragrance oil together. Continue dropping the oil into the salts in various areas to help evenly coat the salt. If you’re using your hands to mix your salts (which I found to be the easiest method of mixing) I recommend wearing gloves. Using another dropper, add the Polysorbate 80 to the salts in various areas while mixing.
TWO: Once all the fragrance oil and Polysorbate 80 has been added, continue to mix the ingredients into the salts for about a minute or two to help all the salt come in contact with the oil.
THREE: Once the salts have been thoroughly mixed, sprinkle a very small amount of the Queen’s Purple Mica onto the salts and use your hands or spoon to begin mixing in the salts. Remember, you can always add more mica, so start with a small amount.
FOUR: Continue mixing until the mica is evenly coated on the salts. Add more mica if you’d like. Because these salts can leave a small ring around the tub due to the mica, I recommend using less rather than more mica. Use your hands to “massage” any salt that has a huge chunks of mica stuck to it.
FIVE: Once you’re happy with the amount of color, sprinkle a bit of the Super Pearly White Mica and thoroughly mix in. The white mica gives the crystals a bit of dimension and extra shine.
SIX: Add a dash of glitter to the salts and mix in. Transfer the salts to a bail jar. Once you’re ready to use, dump a large handful of salts into a very hot bath and enjoy!
Below, you can see the difference between the water with Polysorbate 80 in the salts (shown on the left), and without Polysorbate 80 (on the right). While the salts without Polysorbate 80 do look a little extreme, keep in mind the colorant is dispersed in a much larger amount of water when used in the tub. But, the Polysorbate 80 does help the mica disperse throughout the water nicely!
Once the salts hit the water, the mica blends into the water and the salts turn crystal clear. I love how they look once in the water…it’s like they transform into ice crystals! The photo below is the crystals colored with Rose Gold Mica. The photo doesn’t do justice to how pretty the pink, sparkly water looks!
- Two Tall 8 oz. Bail Jar
- 16 oz. Extra Large Bath Crystals
- 3 mL Celestial Waters Fragrance Oil
- 2 mL Polysorbate 80
- Queen's Purple Mica
- Super Pearly White Mica
- Fine Iridescent Glitter
- Optional: Droppers & Gloves
- Place the Extra Large Bath Crystals into a glass fragrance oil safe container. Using a dropper, add drops of the Celestial Waters Fragrance Oil onto the salts, while using your hands or spoon to mix the salt and fragrance oil together. Continue dropping the oil into the salts in various areas to help evenly coat the salt. If you're using your hands to mix your salts (which I found to be the easiest method of mixing) I recommend wearing gloves. Using another dropper, add the Polysorbate 80 to the salts in various areas while mixing.
- Once all the fragrance oil and Polysorbate 80 has been added, continue to mix the ingredients into the salts for about a minute to help all the salt come in contact with the oil.
- Once the oil has been thoroughly mixed, sprinkle a very small amount of the Queen’s Purple Mica onto the salts and use your hands or spoon to begin mixing in the salts. Remember, you can always add more mica, so start with a small amount.
- Continue mixing until the mica is evenly coated on the salts. Add more mica if you’d like. Because these salts can leave a small ring around the tub due to the mica, I recommend using less rather than more mica. Use your hands to “massage” any salt that has a huge chunks of mica stuck to it.
- Once you’re happy with the amount of color, sprinkle a bit of the Super Pearly White Mica and thoroughly mix in. The white mica gives the crystals a bit of dimension and extra shine.
- Add a dash of glitter to the salts, and mix in. Transfer the salts to a bail jar. Once you’re ready to use, dump a large handful of salts into a very hot bath and enjoy!
could you add SLSA to make them bubble a little?
We haven’t tried it, but I don’t see why not. It will make your crystals look a little different than ours though. Do a small test batch first just to make sure you like the results – if you pour your crystals under the running bath water, you should get some extra bubbles going.
I am looking for a natural alternative to the Polysorbate 80. Any suggestions?
We haven’t found an alternative that works as well as the polysorbate 80. You can leave it out of this recipe if you like. Just make sure to keep a towel nearby to wipe off any transfer and be careful when exiting the tub as it will be slippery.
Is it ok to use essential oils with the salt crystals???
Yes, you can use any skin-safe essential oil you like. Find those here: https://www.brambleberry.com/Essential-Oils-C157.aspx
Make sure to read the descriptions before adding them, as some can cause skin irritation in bath salts. For instance, peppermint can cause a cooling sensation so we don’t recommend it for this recipe.
Find out how much to add with our Fragrance Calculator: http://www.brambleberry.com/Pages/Fragrance-Calculator.aspx
Thank you!!!
Hi! Is there a substitute for bath crystals? I want to create an aroma crystals for my room. Is this tutorial also works for scenting a small room (like bedroom)?
The salt does smell good, but it’s not designed to scent a room so I’m not sure if it will work. Instead you may like Nature Fix: https://www.brambleberry.com/Nature-Fix-P5637.aspx
It’s used for potpourri so it helps scent your room nicely.
Thank you.
i would love to make these however the crystals are no longer available on BB.com any other place you know of to get them from?
Unfortunately, our source stopped selling this salt completely. We are actively looking for another vendor now. But the great news is this technique will work with any salt. Try our medium grained dead sea salt or the coarse Pink Salt. https://www.brambleberry.com/salts-c58.aspx
Hello,
Thank you for the great tutorial! The bath crystals turned out to be really pretty. I have a question about the Polysorbate 80…I did this with medium Dead Sea salts. I am used to making bath bombs and accidentally added in 6% Polysorbate, like I would for a bath bomb mix. This left oil residue on the bath crystals. I am letting them air out, so hopefully some of the oil will dry. Will this be OK? Would the little oil residue from the Polysorbate 80 irritate the skin if one were to scoop out the crystals by hand?
Thank you so much!
That should be just fine, Polysorbate 80 can be used up to 50% for bath oils so the 6% is skin safe. Just try to dry and pat those crystals off carefully so there isn’t too much residue. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Awesome, thank you so much! :):)
I made these with fine grain salt but I mixed the polysobate 80, color, and fragrance together first and then slowly added it to the salt and mix it with my hands, came out perfect! I been searching for a way to make bath salts that wouldn’t result in oil/color floating at the top. Thanks! 🙂
That’s awesome, glad it came out perfectly! 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Can these be stored in one of those plastic coffee bags instead? The bail containers are kind of pricey for me.
Absolutely, the plastic bags work just fine. Just make sure to store the salts in a cool, dry place so they don’t absorb moisture from the air. You can also toss a silica packet in the bag to help as well, just make sure to not put that in the tub with the salts.
Learn more about storing your products here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/how-to-store-handmade-bath-products/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Do you pour all 8oz in at a time? What’s the portion for a bath?
You only need a little bit! I would start off with a handful of salts. You can hold them under running water so they dissolve more quickly. If you want more, you can add from there. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Might be a silly question but would there be any issue with selling or storing these crystals in a metal tin with a window instead of a Bail jar? They won’t have a bad reaction with the metal?
A metal container should work just fine! Because the container may come in contact with water in your bathroom, stainless steel would be a good option. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
What color mica did you use for the blue crystals? I want to make that color but not sure which blue is closest just by looking at the picture!
We used Caribbean Blue Mica and Rain Cybilla Fragrance Oil. 🙂
Caribbean Blue Mica: https://www.brambleberry.com/Caribbean-Blue-Mica-P6356.aspx
Rain Cybilla Fragrance Oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Rain-Cybilla-Fragrance-Oil-P3395.aspx
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I tried this and loved it! It was super fun to make (and easy) and the results are so pretty! Thanks for another great recipe. 🙂
You’re welcome Michelle! Thanks for your sweet comment. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Can one use the La Bomb colorants for this so that you don’t end up with the dreaded colored tub ring?
My worry with the La Bomb Colorants is that because they’re mixed with glycerin, they feel a bit sticky. That means they may feel sticky on the salt crystals themselves. That being said, the glycerin is water soluble so it should mix in with the tub water and help prevent that ring! I would recommend making a small test batch to see how they work. 🙂
La Bomb Colorants: https://www.brambleberry.com/For-Bath-Bombs-C50.aspx
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
These are beautiful. Two questions can I use these on top of my melt & pour soap bars? And If I get smaller salts can I use with my bath bombs ?
Edit: I won’t be using any fragrance. I just want to color them and use for a sparkly wow 🙂
We haven’t tried these in melt and pour, so I’m not entirely sure! I would recommend making a test bar and putting the salt crystals in when it’s still fairly warm. That way the soap will harden around them and hold them in place. If that works well, you can make a full batch!
We used pink Himalayan salt in this melt and pour tutorial: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/melt-and-pour-soap/home-spa-pink-salt-shea-bath-bar/
Also, you can use salt in your bath bomb! We’ve used Epsom salt in a few recipes. I would recommend starting with half as much salt as citric acid. Then, you can add more from there if you like. I’ll link some recipes with Epsom salt below. 🙂
Mini Heart Bath Bombs: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/bath-fizzies/show-love/
Sparkle Power Bath Bomb Tutorial: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/bath-fizzies/sparkle-power-bath-bomb-tutorial/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I love this idea! This would be so cute to give as gifts with the gemstone melt&pour soaps 🙂
Oh my gosh yes, that’s a great idea! A perfect gift. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Melt and Pour Gem Soaps: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/melt-and-pour-soap/how-to-make-soap-gems-on-soap-queen-tv/
How do these large crystals do dissolving in the tub? It’s been my experience that salt doesn’t dissolve very quickly, though you would think it would. I don’t think anyone wants to be in the tub sitting on salt rocks.
Because these salts are bigger, they will dissolve more slowly. You can speed that process up by pouring them right under the running faucet. You can also use salt with smaller grains if you like! That will melt more quickly. 🙂
Read more about salt options here: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/sunday-night-spotlight-salts/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
If you are just using these as a potpourri, do you need the polysorbate 80?
You can skip the Polysorbate 80 if you’re making potpourri! It helps the color and fragrance mix into the bath tub water, so it’s not needed if the crystals are just being used for scent. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
This is the best thing I’ve ever seen. Definitely trying this!!!
Oh thanks Jen, that means a lot coming from you! 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry