What each does
Bath oil
Leaves a thin oil layer on your skin, which slows water loss and feels softening. It also carries scent well. The catch is a slippery tub. See how to use bath oil.
Bath salts
Usually sea salt, Dead Sea salt, Himalayan salt or Epsom salt, often with fragrance. Salts make the water feel softer and more buoyant. They're what most people reach for for a "recovery" bath.
Epsom salt
Epsom salt isn't really salt in the kitchen sense. It's magnesium sulphate. Epsom salt baths are hugely popular for sore muscles. The evidence that meaningful magnesium passes through the skin is weak, though many people find a warm Epsom soak relaxing. The warm water itself does a lot of the work.
Side by side
- Softer skin afterwards: oil wins.
- After the gym or a long walk: salts are the traditional choice.
- Fragrance: oil carries scent better and for longer.
- Very dry or eczema-prone skin: fragrance-free oil. Salt can sting broken skin.
- Easy cleanup: salts dissolve and drain, oil needs a wipe.
- Jetted tubs: check the manual. Many say no to both.
How to use both
- Dissolve one to two cups of Epsom or bath salt under the running tap at the start.
- Add a tablespoon of bath oil near the end of filling.
- Soak 15–20 minutes, pat dry, then moisturise if your skin feels tight. Salt can be drying on its own.
Salt and oil scrubs
Mix salt and oil and you get a body scrub. Use about two parts fine salt to one part oil, rub gently on damp skin in the shower, then rinse. Skip it on freshly shaved or broken skin.