Unless you’ve been living under a hot stone for the past three weeks, you’ve probably heard about the Miami face-eating zombie. Just in case… over Memorial Day Weekend, a horrific incident occurred where a man, high on “bath salts”, reportedly gnawed off and ingested a homeless man’s face. After the man was instructed to cease his assault on the naked homeless man (later identified as a former New York resident), Police were forced to fire on the man, multiple times, killing him, in order to stop him from attacking the homeless man (who lived, by the way). Now, the reason we are telling you this macabre story is not to gross you out, but it is to touch on the alleged catalyst of this heinous act… “bath salts”.

First and foremost, we must make one this perfectly clear, the aforementioned “bath salt” is not your average, aromatic and dainty tub companion; it’s a synthetic drug, formulated in a lab. According to WebMD, bath salts, also known as “Ivory Wave,” “Purple Wave,” Vanilla Sky,” and “Bliss”, are created in street labs using an unidentifiable, untraceable, untestable, concoction of what is believed to be: mephedrone, methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), and methylone. This is in NO WAY the same as the Epsom salt bath crystals that we have so lovingly put in our baths for decades. This is a designer drug, with some scary side effects: agitation, paranoia, hallucinations, chest pain, sociality, blood pressure, increased pulse.

Now that we all have a better understanding of what bath salts and “bath salts” truly are, we can breathe a sigh of relief. Rejoice! Our beloved bubble bath bestie is not going to turn us into zombies! Join us in embracing in the luxurious awesomeness of real bath salts by taking advantage of this DIY recipe, as originally featured on MarthaStewart.com…

All it takes to make delicately scented tablets is a little mixing, some gradual spritzing, and a few minutes of molding. When you’re finished you’ll have dozens of effervescent treats in a variety of shapes and colors that will scent and soften bath water as they bubble. Stuff stockings with cellophane bags filled with stacks of the colorful blocks. They make great gifts for all the ladies on your list, including mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and grown-up nieces. Experiment with colors and scents; mix yellow and red to make orange, for example, and try blending lemon with lavender.

Ingredients and Materials:

• Baking soda
• Cornstarch
• Citric acid
• Spritzer bottles
• Food coloring
• Glass bowl
• Essential oil
• Baking molds

Directions:

1. Sift 1 3/4 cup baking soda, 1 cup citric acid, and 2 cups cornstarch through a sieve to remove chunks. To make different tints, fill small spritzer bottles with water and add about 6 drops of food coloring to each.

2. Pour 1 cup of powdered mixture into a glass bowl. Lightly spritz, stirring after each spritz, until powder is desired color. Add water slowly, so mixture does not fizz. If mixing two tints, alternate colors as you spritz. Check the consistency of powder with your fingers; when it can be tightly packed or shaped, stop spritzing (this may take a little while).

3. Select an essential oil. Add 5 drops if it’s one of the stronger scents (peppermint, lavender), 6 if it’s a weaker one (lemon, grapefruit). Mix well. Firmly pack mixture into small baking molds. We used 1/4 cup for each fizzy, which is good for one bath. Allow mixture to set for 2 hours, then pop out carefully. Repeat with different tints for remaining powder.