I never thought I would be sharing the gospel of baths, but here I am.
It all started with me sharing a recipe for natural “Bath Teas” on Instagram. It was an innocent post. It was something I always made for myself, but in the world of wildly coloured bath bombs and sulfates and parabens and all the unnatural bullshit that ends up in our bath products, I felt like I needed to share what I knew and how we could do better.
To my excitement, lots of people liked this post and I got a big push from my family to start making and selling some bath teas myself, since people are so busy and don’t have the time or interest to make them themselves. Understandable. So over December of 2019 my mom and I got to work and made them by hand, clearing out the local supply of epsom salts, and we sold them to the masses over Christmas. It was a success and such a learning experience!
However, the biggest thing that I learned from this whole experience is the amount of people that don’t bathe! Like, what? Why? HOW? Baths are just so great. So superior to showers in most situations (IMO). But still, my most common response when selling the Bath Teas was: “I don’t take baths… I have no time”. Okay, stop right there, something has to change. This was what inspired me to inspire you to let yourself indulge in the glory of what is a great bath in this “Guide to Great Baths“. Enjoy.
I feel like I should start this “Guide to Great Baths” off by telling you why baths are so great for you and your health. Not only does a warm bath make the blood flow easier, it also makes it more oxygenated by allowing you to breathe deeper and slower, particularly when taking in steam. Taking a hot bath can also kill bacteria and improve immunity. It can relieve the symptoms of cold and flu and can also help clear dry or itchy skin. Finally, my #1 talking point about baths is that bathing with epsom salts is a great way for your body to absorb magnesium, which most people are deficient in.
If you are now convinced and want to have the great and healing bath experience that I am talking about, here are my favourite tips to having a great bath:
1. Setting Time Aside: First, you need to put some time aside to have this bath. The best time is in the evening, so you can use this as your relaxation time before bed. Give yourself a good hour. If you have kids, get them settled, if you have pets, don’t let them in the bathroom (or at least try). This is you time.
2. Clean your Space: Now, make sure your bath and surrounding area is clean. Nothing is worse than sitting in a dirty bathtub with someone’s hair and old skin cells floating about. So let’s fix that. What I do is clear out all of the product from the bath/shower. Then I douse the tub with a good amount of white vinegar and baking soda and scrub until clean! After rinsing the tub, I put back only the products that I will use. Remember, you don’t want to be using harmful chemicals to clean the bath because some will remain there and steep into your bath water. Your skin is your body’s largest organ — it absorbs whatever you put on and around it, so protect it!
3. Set the Mood: Now that your bath is all clean and clear, you are ready to set the atmosphere to “relaxation mode”. I usually turn the bath water on now to a hot, but not too hot that I can’t handle it, temperature. While the water is running, I get myself some lemon water or tea, I light some candles, turn down the lights (nothing is more relaxing than a bath in candlelight), and maybe pop on some music. Sometimes I will even set up my laptop outside of the bath and put on a movie or show that I love — no judgement! Before I get in the bath, I usually will also do some dry skin brushing. If you haven’t heard of this before, there is an article here: https://wellnessmama.com/26717/dry-brushing-skin/
But basically, you use a natural fiber brush to brush your dry skin in small circular motions towards your heart to help encourage blood flow, lymphatic support, exfoliation and more.
4. Choose Quality Products: My final, but maybe most important, tip for a great bath is to choose some really good products that are good for you and also the environment. Choose products free from preservatives, surfactants, parabens, sulphates, synthetic fragrances, etc. To put it simply, only use products with ingredients that you understand. For instance, the bath teas that my mom and I hand make are only made with all natural flowers, herbs, salts, and essential oils, and contain no plastic or trash to throw away once you are done your bath (aka, great for the environment). Not only are these great ingredients safe, but they have therapeutic benefits like skin relief, stress relief, etc. Learn more by clicking here: BATH TEAS. If you want to have a simple bath, just add pure epsom salts and some essential oils!
Now that’s what I call a bath! I hope you are more inspired than ever to have a relaxing a therapeutic bath, and if not, I hope you have learned something from this Guide to Great Baths that you didn’t know before today. Let me know if you have any questions at all, I would love to answer and help you out (if you can’t tell, I love talking about baths).
Also, check out some of my favourite Wellness Products
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