The 10 Best Bath Salts That Will Wash Your Stresses Down the Drain

Key ingredients: Epsom salt, lavender oil

This Epsom salt soak from Dr. Teal’s has Dr. Garshick’s stamp of approval for relieving stress and muscle pain—and I love it, too. Its lavender scent wafts from the bag, and it lingers when the salt is poured into warm bathwater. Be it from the Epsom salt, the soothing scent of lavender, or both, I leave my bathtub in a state of bliss, which makes drifting off to sleep much easier. One bag will last you a long time, and you can shop it in two sizes. The 3-pound option costs less than $6, making it budget-friendly and accessible for bathing enthusiasts of all budgets.

Scent: Lavender

Size: 3 lb. and 7 lbs.

Key ingredients: Epsom salt

If you’re sensitive to fragrance, Dr. Teal’s also offers a fragrance-free version of the Pure Epsom Salt Soak. The ingredient list is simple: it’s made with just Epsom salt and skips out on parabens and phthalates that may potentially irritate delicate skin. Plus, it’s vegan and cruelty-free. For a little under $5, you’ll receive a 4-pound bag, making it the most budget-friendly pick on the list. If anything, it only comes in one size—a trade-off for people who might want something smaller (or larger).

Scent: Fragrance-free

Size: 4 lbs.

Key ingredients: Dead Sea salt

If you want to bring the sea to you, consider Maude’s bath soak. Its primary ingredient is mineral-rich Dead Sea salt, which, as Dr. Fusco previously mentioned, works to lessen inflammation and soothe dry skin. There are three scents to choose from, each with a distinct vibe to elevate your bath experience. The first is No. 1, a warm blend of amber, clove, and tonka bean. Then there’s No. 2, which combines pink pepper with California lemon and cedarwood. The last option is No. 3, a fresh fragrance with a woody base of sandalwood and Haitian vetiver.

Scent: No. 1 (amber, cedar leaf, clove, lemongrass, medjool date, tonka bean), No. 2 (pink pepper, gurjun balsam, California lemon, Virginia cedarwood) and No. 3 (eucalyptus, sandalwood, cassis, Haitian vetiver)

Size: 4 and 8 oz.

Key ingredients: Epsom, Pacifica, Dead Sea, Himalayan salts, French green clay, jojoba oil

Bathing Culture’s Big Dipper Mineral Bath contains not one but four types of bath salts—namely, Epsom, Pacifica, Dead Sea, and Himalayan salts. The relaxing blend is rounded out with French green clay to gently slough off dead skin cells and moisturizing jojoba oil to leave your limbs soft and smooth. As for the scent, it’s made from 100 percent naturally derived ingredients and evokes the lush scent of a redwood forest. A bonus: The product comes in an attractive glass jar with an aluminum lid that can be recycled or reused infinitely.

Scent: Cathedral Grove

Size: 8 oz.

Key ingredients: Epsom salt, Dead Sea salt, CBD

Not Pot’s bath salt soak combines Epsom and Dead Sea salts with 300 milligrams of CBD, making it the ideal wind-down at the end of the day. You can select from two options—the Muscle Soak, which contains peppermint that provides a cooling sensation to alleviate muscle aches, or the Sleep Soak, which is infused with lavender to offer you some peace of mind. Even though it skips out on synthetic fragrances, it’s formulated with fragrant oils, so keep that in mind if you’re sensitive to essential oils. While there is only one size available, the 24-ounce bag should last you up to three baths.

Scent: Peppermint or lavender

Size: 24 oz.

Key ingredients: Sodium chloride, magnesium sulfate, colloidal oatmeal

If your muscles are as tight as a fist, you might want to try Tenoverten’s bath soak, which is recommended (and used) by Isabella Boylston, a professional ballet dancer based in New York. “The bath ritual is honestly as much about relaxing my mind as it is about my physical body,” Boylston previously told Well+Good, and the bath soak delivers on several fronts.

It’s made with Epsom salt and arnica extract—two ingredients that help Bolyston relieve muscle aches—and a bevy of skin-soothing ingredients, like colloidal oatmeal, jojoba oil, and aloe. There is also the scent (a blend of eucalyptus and peppermint essential oils), which is meant to be reminiscent of “a spa day,” said Bolyston. In addition to being vegan and cruelty-free, the formula is also eight-free, so it’s formulated without harsh chemicals like formaldehyde and xylene.

Scent: Eucalyptus and peppermint

Size: 16 oz.

Key ingredients: Epsom salt, CBD, meadowfoam seed oil

Prima packages Epsom salt as fizzy bath bombs. Besides Epsom salt, the bomb releases moisturizing meadowfoam seed oil and 25 milligrams of broad-spectrum CBD oil into your bathwater to eliminate the need for body lotion after your soak. Couple that with its eucalyptus and lavender scent, and you’re promised to emerge from the tub in a more relaxed state of mind. One bath bomb will set you back $15, but for a few more dollars, you can purchase it as a set of four. Plus, you can rest easy knowing that the product is made vegan and cruelty-free.

Scent: Eucalyptus and lavender

Size: 6 oz./ bath bomb

Key ingredients: Dead Sea salt

If you want the most bang for your buck, consider this option from Yareli. It packs Dead Sea salt flakes imported straight from Israel in a 15-pound bag, and it’ll only set you back just a little over $33. What’s more, the product is EWG-verified, vegan, cruelty-free, and made with no unnecessary ingredients. It’s also available in 3- and 5-pound bags, and in six options, including an unscented version, which is ideal for those who are sensitive to fragrance. If anything, it might leave behind some residue after your bath—a tradeoff for those who want something that is as easy to clean as it is to use.

Scent: Unscented, almond, eucalyptus, lavender, rosemary mint, tea tree

Size: 3, 5, and 15 lbs.

Key ingredients: French gray sea salt, French green clay

If you want to make your bath as luxurious as possible, opt for bath salts made from Pursoma, a brand that prioritizes making products using quality ingredients. We love the Digital Detox, which contains organic gray sea salt and green clay both harvested in France, and leaves out fragrance, parabens, and sulfates. The ingredients work together to soothe skin and whisk away dead skin cells. One tradeoff: it’s expensive—a bag of the stuff (which only has enough product for one bath) will set you back $28, but this is the price to pay for its quality.

Scent: Fragrance-free

Size: 10 oz.

Key ingredients: Himalayan and Dead Sea salts, palo santo, lavender, and vetiver essential oils, butterfly pea flowers

What sets the Sounds Mystic Bath Salts from the others on the list is its versatility. Use it as you would a bath salt, or mix it with honey and massage it into your skin as a body scrub. It’s made with a combination of Himalayan and Dead Sea salts and is scented with a woodsy-floral blend of palo santo, lavender, and vetiver. To add to the experience, the product contains butterfly pea flower, which will tint your bathwater an otherworldly sapphire blue (don’t worry, it won’t stain the tub). If anything, we wish it came larger, but the manufacturer indicates that one packet will last up to five baths. Also, be sure to store as instructed—the product contains no additives or preservatives, and when exposed to light or oxygen, it’ll affect its quality and color.

Scent: Palo santo, lavender, and vetiver

Size: 6.7 oz.