How To - Aromatherapeutic Smelling Salts

Smelling salts have been around for ages. From days of yore, where they functioned as the go-to remedy for ladies who felt faint to today's sports-folks looking for an instant pick-me-up, smelling salts pack a real punch. It's because of their content of ammonia.

But.

What if smelling salts could have other functions?

Like, say

  • a 'Christmas Spirit' blend to jump-start the holiday cheer
  • a 'Clear The Head' blend to help battle stuffy noses
  • a 'Summer Memories' blend to bring a whiff of summer warmth
  • a 'Calm Your Spirit' blend to aid sleep and relaxation

One might even consider making a lovely personalised gift for someone.

Are you inspired?

Good, then let's get started!

Ingredients and Necessities




Necessities
  • small bottle with tight-fitting lid that holds 10-15 ml 
  • coarse salt (The Himalayan Crystal salt I used has a fabulous pink color, but you could use normal coarse salt or even decorative colored salts)
  • 25-30 drops essential oil
  • small funnel (for dripping accuracy)

Method

Plan your blend(s) before you start. Make a note of how many drops of each essential oil you want to use.

For example:
My Good Morning Pick Me Up blend has

  • 10 drops rosemary essential oil
  • 5 drops peppermint essential oil
  • 5 drops eucalyptus essential oil
  • 10 drops tea tree essential oil


When you've planned which blends you want to make, it's simply a matter of

  • Filling the bottle with salt
  • Adding essential oil  
  • Capping the bottle and giving it a bit of a shake
  • Rejoicing at your fabulous creativity



If you make different blends, mark your bottles. I did 2 different blends here. The mix including rosemary got a little sticker at the bottom. Optional: make a label for each bottle.

To Use

Uncap the bottle, waft the under the nose and inhale deeply.

Note: keep your smelling salts out of the reach of children.

Do Tell

Which essential oil combinations would you use to make your smelling salts?


More About Classic Smelling Salts

Wikipedia
PubMed - All about Selling Salts
Wiki-How - make classic smelling salts

Comments

Signe said…
Lovely idea! Might need one or two for myself too - this dark, cold and really wet weather is so awful that I'd need something that makes spirit better.:)
LisaLise said…
Hi Signe - I recommend geranium and lemon for battling winter blues. Have fun with it!
MarĂ­a said…
I cannot help but thinking in 19th century ladies using scented salts to recover from faint xD.
What a lovely idea!
Anonymous said…
How long about do these last? Or stay fresh without the EOs oxidizing?
LisaLise said…
Hi Anon - Great question! I used mine for about a year before discarding them but how long they last will of course depend on how they are stored and in what type of climate. I live in Scandinavia so it's pretty cool here compared to countries near the equator.