Smelling salts are simple to make at home using ammonium carbonate as the base ingredient. The basic method involves placing ammonium carbonate crystals in a small, airtight container with a cotton ball and optional essential oils for scent. But because the active ingredient is ammonia gas, getting the process right matters for both effectiveness and safety.
How Smelling Salts Actually Work
Smelling salts release ammonia gas, which irritates the membranes inside your nose and lungs. This triggers an inhalation reflex: your breathing rate and depth increase sharply, which boosts airflow and can improve alertness. The effect is nearly instant. It’s not the smell itself that snaps you to attention. It’s your body’s involuntary response to a chemical irritant hitting sensitive tissue.
What You Need
The core ingredient is ammonium carbonate, sometimes sold as “baker’s ammonia” in baking supply stores or online. It’s a white, crystalline powder that slowly releases ammonia when exposed to air and moisture. You’ll also need:
- A small glass bottle with a tight-sealing lid. Glass is ideal because ammonia can degrade some plastics over time. A pill bottle or small apothecary jar works well.
- Cotton balls or a small piece of cloth. These act as a carrier, absorbing liquid and holding the ammonia-releasing compound in place.
- Essential oils (optional). Peppermint, eucalyptus, lavender, or citrus oils can soften the harshness of raw ammonia. They don’t reduce the active effect, they just make the experience less brutal on your nose.
The Basic Method
Start by placing a cotton ball or two at the bottom of your glass container. Add roughly a teaspoon of ammonium carbonate crystals on top of or around the cotton. If you want a stronger product, you can add a small amount of household ammonia solution (available at most grocery stores) to dampen the cotton ball before adding the crystals. The cotton absorbs the liquid and creates a slow-release reservoir of ammonia vapor inside the sealed container.
If you’re using essential oils, add 3 to 5 drops directly onto the cotton ball before sealing. Peppermint and eucalyptus pair naturally with the sharpness of ammonia and add their own mild stimulating effect. Seal the container tightly. The ammonia gas will build up inside, and the salts are ready to use once you open the lid.
For a stronger formulation, some people combine ammonium chloride and sodium carbonate (washing soda) in roughly equal parts. These two chemicals react to produce ammonium carbonate in situ. This approach can yield a more potent product, but the reaction is harder to control and better suited to someone comfortable working with basic chemistry.
Storage and Shelf Life
Ammonium carbonate breaks down when exposed to open air, releasing ammonia and carbon dioxide until it eventually turns into a chalky, inert powder. This means your homemade smelling salts lose potency every time you open the container. Store them in a tightly sealed glass jar in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. Avoid storing near water or in humid environments, which accelerate decomposition.
A well-sealed batch typically stays effective for several weeks to a couple of months. You’ll know the salts are losing strength when the snap of ammonia on opening becomes noticeably weaker. At that point, replace the contents with fresh material.
How to Use Them Safely
Hold the open container at least 6 inches from your nose. Inhale slowly, no more than one or two times per use. This is not something to huff deeply or hold directly under your nostrils. Ammonia is a genuine chemical irritant. At high concentrations, it can burn the lining of your airways, and acute exposure has been documented to cause severe damage to the respiratory tract, including long-term impairment of lung function.
Avoid contact with your skin, eyes, and mouth. If any of the solution or crystals touch your skin, wash the area with water immediately. Keep your homemade salts away from children.
People with asthma, emphysema, or other breathing conditions should not use smelling salts. Even commercially sold ammonia inhalants carry this warning, and the FDA has not classified them as safe and effective drugs.
When Not to Use Smelling Salts
One of the most important safety points applies to sports and head injuries. Smelling salts should never be used on someone who may have a concussion. The ammonia triggers an involuntary withdrawal reflex, which can worsen an underlying brain injury. Beyond the physical risk, the temporary boost in alertness can mask concussion symptoms, potentially leading someone to keep playing or competing when they need medical evaluation. Research published in 2023 concluded that ammonia inhalants have no role in managing head injuries and offer limited benefit for sports performance overall.
If someone has lost consciousness for an unknown reason, smelling salts are not a substitute for medical assessment. They can temporarily rouse a person, but they do nothing to address the underlying cause.
Homemade vs. Commercial Products
Commercial smelling salts come in single-use capsules or small bottles with controlled ammonia concentrations. The advantage is consistency: every capsule delivers roughly the same dose. Homemade versions are less predictable. The ammonia concentration inside your container depends on how much ammonium carbonate you used, how fresh it is, how long the container has been sealed, and the ambient temperature. A freshly sealed, generously loaded jar can be significantly more potent than a commercial capsule, which is why the 6-inch distance rule matters even more with DIY versions.
If you’re making smelling salts for occasional personal use, the homemade approach is straightforward and inexpensive. Ammonium carbonate costs a few dollars for enough material to last months. For anything involving other people, especially in athletic or first-aid settings, commercially produced inhalants with standardized dosing are the safer choice.