- Foot Bath - Sooth your aching feet with a Epsom Salt foot bath by pouring 1 cup of Epsom Salts into a tub of warm water.[1] This can also help to relieve the symptoms of athletes foot and help treat toenail fungus if you soak 3 times a day.[4]
- Sore muscles – To alleviate pain due to sore muscles:
1. Make a compress by soaking a cotton wash cloth in cold water that has been mixed with Epsom Salt at a ratio of 2 tablespoons per cup, then apply to the skin. This also helps with mosquito bites, bee stings and poison ivy.[1]
2. “Create a paste to apply to the skin by adding a teaspoon of Epsom salt to about a cup of hot water until it dissolves, then chill the solution in the fridge for 20 minutes. Note: Clean the skin and pat dry before applying the paste.”[1]
3. Dissolve 2 cups of Epsom Salt in running bath water in a standard size bathtub(double the Epsom Salt for a oversized garden tub) and soak for at least 12 minutes, 3 times per week.[1]
- Pedicures:
1. Mix 1/2 cup of Epsom salt with warm, soapy water.
2. Soak feet to soften skin.
3. Remove polish, cut and file nails and calluses.
4. Soak feet in an Epsom salt bath for 5 minutes. [1]
- Natural Hair Volumizer - Combine equal parts warm conditioner
and Epsom salt. Work the mixture through your hair and leave for 20
minutes. [1]
- Facial - Mix 1/2 tsp of Epsom salt into cleansing cream for
deep-pore cleansing. Massage on skin, rinse with cool water and pat
dry. [1]
- Bath Crystals - Mix 2 cups of Epsom salt with a few drops of
fragrance and food coloring or ½ teaspoon of glycerin. Store in an
air-tight container. [1]
- Relax - Add two cups of Epsom salt to the water in a
standard-sized bathtub. Soak for at least 12 minutes, three times
weekly and add a few drops of eucalyptus oil for a refreshing scent.
[1]
- Spa Treatment - After showering, massage handfuls of Epsom
salt over wet skin to exfoliate the body. It's the same treatment
many upscale spas use, without the upscale price! [1]
- Exfoliation - Mix 2 cups of Epsom salt with 1/4 cup of
petroleum jelly and a few drops of lavender essential oil. Use the
mixture to gently scrub away dry skin patches. [1]
- Exfoliate
dead skin - In the shower or bath, mix a handful of
Epsom salt with a tablespoon of bath or olive oil and rub all over
your wet skin to exfoliate and soften. Rinse thoroughly. [4]
- Dislodge
blackheads - Add a teaspoon of Epsom salt and 3
drops iodine into a half cup of boiling water. Apply this mixture to
the blackheads with a cotton ball. [4]
- Hand wash
- Mix Epsom salt with baby oil and keep by the sink for an effective
hand wash. [4]
- House Plants - Feed monthly by adding 2 tablespoons Epsom
salt per gallon of water. [1]
- Peppers & Tomatoes - Spray your peppers at bloom time.
Combine 1 tablespoon of Epsom salt with a gallon of water. Ten days
later, repeat the foliar spray again. Tomatoes can benefit from
Epsom salt every 2 weeks. Apply 1 tablespoon diluted in water per
foot of plant height per plant. [1]
- Roses - Soak unplanted bushes in 1/2 cup of Epsom salt per
gallon of water to help roots recover. Then add a tablespoon of
Epsom salt to each hole at planting time. To encourage flowering
canes and healthy new basal cane growth, scratch 1/2 cup of Epsom
salt into soil at the plant base. Add 1 tablespoon diluted in a
gallon of water per foot of plant height every two weeks. Spray
roses with Epsom salt solution weekly (1 tablespoon per gallon of
water) to help discourage pests.
- Lawns - use 3 pounds of Epsom salt for every 1,250 square
feet. Apply with a spreader or dilute the Epsom salt in water and
use a sprayer. [1]
- Trees - Trees absorb Epsom Salt best over the root zone. Use
2 tablespoons per 9 square feet by diluting in water. Apply 3 times
each year. [1]
- Shrubs - For shrubs (evergreens, azaleas, rhododendron),
apply 1 tablespoon per 9 square feet over the root zone by diluting
in water. Apply every 2 to 4 weeks. [1]
- Garden Startup - Prep your garden by sprinkling 1 cup of
Epsom salt over 100 square feet. Mix into the soil before planting.
Take Note! Do not prepare soil where you grow sage.
This herb is one of the few plants that doesn't like Epsom salt. [1]
- Fruit - Mix Epsom salt with water at a ratio of about a
quarter-cup of Epsom salt per 500 square feet when you irrigate your
plants. Fertilizer can cause salt buildup in soil, and the Epsom
salt helps separate fertilizer bound to the soil, making the
nutrients more available to the plants. Commercial growers say it
reduces the total amounts of fertilizers you need, and makes the
fertilizers you use more effective. Some growers swear that the use
of Epsom salt as a secondary nutrient makes their fruit sweeter.
- Insecticide spray
- Use Epson salts on your lawn and in your garden to safely and
naturally get rid of plant pests. [4]
- Shimmering Luminaries
- Materials: Empty jars, Epsom salt, blue and green food coloring, paper plates, 3 small or medium bowls, Mod Podge®, clear gloss sealer
- Put one cup of Epsom salt into each bowl. Mix in one drop of food coloring. Place the blue, green and white Epsom salts on paper plates.
- Coat the jar in Mod Podge®, roll in one of the salt colors. Coat the rim with Mod Podge® and salt. Let dry for 2 – 3 hours.
- Repeat for remaining colors. Finish with clear gloss sealer, following sealer's instructions. When dry, fit with an electric tea light.
- Making for a party? These should be made no more than a week
ahead of time. [1]
- Greeting Cards - Materials: Card stock, white craft glue,
Epsom salt, food coloring, bowl. Put a cup of Epsom salt into a
bowl. Add in food coloring (we used red) and mix to desired hue. Add
in another cup of Epsom salt and mix to create a red/pink/white
mixture. Carefully fold the card stock. Draw a heart on the front
with the white craft glue. Sprinkle the Epsom salt mixture onto the
glue, shaking/wiping off any excess. Allow to dry overnight. Give to
somebody you love! [1]
- Early Frost Decor - Materials: Decorative mini pumpkins and
gourds, paint brush, mod podge, Epsom salt. Paint the Mod Podge®
onto your mini pumpkins and gourds. Apply around the top of the
vegetables to look like real frost. Sprinkle a handful of Epsom salt
onto your pumpkins and gourds until they are coated, making an
attractive fall display. [1]
- Festive Holiday Jars-Materials: Mason style jar, white craft
glue, Epsom salt, glossy acrylic paint in festive colors. Pour the
Epsom salt in a dish. Using the glue, draw a star on the jar. Press
the star into the dish of salt while the glue is still wet.
Carefully remove the jar and gently wipe away any excess glue. Let
dry overnight. Paint the jar using two coats of paint if needed. Dry
overnight. Fill with fun napkins, straws and utensils to dress up
your celebration. [1]
- Snowballs - Materials: Styrofoam balls, acrylic paint, Mod
Podge®, Epsom salt, toothpicks, paper plates, wire hooks
(optional). Insert a toothpick as a handle into a Styrofoam ball.
Paint the ball with the color of your choice. Remove toothpick and
let dry on a paper plate. Sprinkle salt on a clean paper plate.
Insert another toothpick into the Styrofoam ball and coat with Mod
Podge®. Roll the wet ball in the Epsom salt. Let dry. If
desired, put snowballs on wire hooks and hang them. They will also
look lovely in a basket, a vase, or a winter themed centerpiece. [1]
- Fade Bruises – An Epsom Salt bath can help fade
bruises.[2]
- Tile Cleaner – Mix equal parts Epsom salt and liquid dish
detergent to clean tile.[3]
- Fake Window Frost – Mix Epsom Salt with stale beer. Apply
mixture to windows with sponge.[3]
- Ease gout symptoms
- Ease the discomfort of gout and reduce inflammation by adding 2-3
teaspoons of Epsom salts into a basin and immersing the affected
foot/joint. The water should be as hot as it is comfortable. Soak
for about 30 minutes. [4]
References:
- Epsom Salt Council - http://epsomsaltcouncil.org
