In this article, we will answer the question “What can I use instead of Epsom salt?”, and what are the health benefits of using Epsom salt?

What can I use instead of Epsom salt?

There are plenty of alternatives like the regular or sea salt,essential oils, clay, oatmeal etc to use as a substitute to epsom salt for your bathtubs and feet soaking. These substitutes can be combined to provide different benefits. Read on if you want to know how to substitute epsom salt.

What is Epsom salt?

Epsom salt is also known as magnesium sulfate. It is often called bathsalt. It looks like salt but tastes very bitter. This salt is not used for food purposes, instead, is famous for its excellent medicinal properties.

It has been used to treat insomnia, fibromyalgia and constipation since a long time. Enriched with magnesium, this salt provides immense benefits for your skin.

When added to water, epsom salt releases magnesium and sulfate ions that help detoxify skin and its exfoliating action helps cleanse the skin of the dead cells and impurities.

Alternatives to Epsom salt

Sea salt or table salt

Sea salt and table salt can be used as a foot soak and bath salt instead of Epsom salt. The fine grains of sea salt or table salt exfoliate, cleanse and hydrate the skin. Sea salt is also effective to get rid of patchy and scaly skin that occurs due to psoriasis. It helps rejuvenate skin.

You can either use dead sea salt or the colored varieties that come from India, France, and Hawaii. Table salt can be combined with borax, baking soda, and essential oils for the bath.

Essential oils

Essential oils like lavender, thuja, tangerine, peppermint, and white pines can be used as an alternative to epsom salt in foot soak. They help release stress and relax tired feet muscles.

Use with a salt to get rid of flaky feet skin.

Apple cider vinegar

Adding apple cider vinegar to a hot tub of water helps relax the aching muscles. It has excellent cleansing properties. You can dilute it with some water and rinse your hair with this solution at the end of the bath. This cleans the hair scalp and makes hair shiny and soft.

Oatmeal

Oatmeal is a mild exfoliator. It can be used instead of epsom salt in your bathtubs for a gentle cleansing and exfoliation. Mix some oatmeal with water to make a paste and gently scrub on your skin.

Baking soda

Add borax and baking soda to your bathtub. Borax helps cleanse skin and baking soda is an excellent exfoliator. It is known for its therapeutic properties to get rid of sunburnt and itchy skin. A mixture of these two when added to bathtub makes the water more sily and helps relax aching muscles.

Clay 

Clay is packed with minerals and has excellent detoxifyingproperties.green clay and white kaolin clay can be added to bath or a face mask to remove skin impurities.

Mustard powder

Mustard powder has rich detoxifying properties. It can used instead of epsom salt in bathtubs and for soaking feet to get rid of impuritries and help relax your muscles.

Rock salt

Use pool rock salt instead of epsomsalt for bathtubs or feet soaking. It is very economical.

Prune juice

Epsom salt diluted with water is used to relieve constipation. If you do not have epsom salt, use natural prune juice instead.

Other FAQs about Salt which you may be interested in.

How does salt lower the freezing point?

Does Himalayan salt taste different?

Health benefits of using Epsom salt

Rich source of magnesium

Though there are not enough evidence, but bathing in epsom salt dissolved water helps the magnesium to absorb in skin through pores.

Good for sleep

The magnesium in epsom salt promotes the releases of a hormone, melatonin, which is responsible for inducing sleep. It also reduces stress.

Helps with constipation

Magnesium citrate or magnesium hydroxide, taken orally have found to possess excellent laxative properties. It helps relive constipation by drawing water into colon. Hence regulating the bowel movements. However, long term use of epsom salt as a laxative has resulted in bloating and liquid stools in some people.

Drink a lot of water when taking epsom salt as a laxative.

Enhances workout performance

Taking a hot water bath dissolved with epsom salt help soothe the tired muscles. It does so by helping the body to se lactic acid and glucose.

Reduces pain

Patients of fibromyalgia and arthritis suffer from magnesium deficiency. Taking hot water baths dissolved in epsom salt has been found to relive the symptoms of fibromyalgia and arthritis.

Conclusion

In this article, we answered the question “What can I use instead of Epsom salt?”, and what are the health benefits of using Epsom salt?

References

https://koyuncusalt.com/en/salt-library/epsom-salt-what-is-a-substitute-for-epsom-salt

https://www.leaf.tv/4984572/substitutes-for-epsom-salts/

https://www.leaf.tv/articles/good-substitute-for-epsom-salt/