There are bubble baths… and then… there are therapeutic baths.
Both are tremendously beneficial in their own right. Personally, I enjoy both types very much, yet I do tend to take therapeutic baths more often than the bubbly type. Simply because of my workouts and my health goals.
My belief is that baths are appropriate for women and men, and for the fun-loving couple too. Just about anyone can benefit from a lovely soak.
The general goodness to taking baths is lowering blood pressure, reducing muscle tension, creating some stillness for your mind and body, and of course, you smell nice afterwards. You can make your bath as simple or as elaborate as you’d like, having music, candles, and all kinds of delicious scents.
As you probably already know, I prefer all natural bath products. So for the bubbly type of bath my go-to products have been bubble bars and bath bombs made by LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics. And for my therapeutic baths it is always high quality Epsom Salts scented only with essential oils. When you go to my Instagram you’ll see that I have posted photos of some of my baths as part of my “Heidi’s Wicked Pleasures” and there you can find more specifics on LUSH.
I think that everyone has a pretty good idea on how to have a nice bubble bath, so all I can really suggest to you is to allow yourself the time to actually take one. Make it happen. Don’t rush it, take your time and enjoy. Luxuriate in it. And for the men, get yourself a cool model battleship to float with you if you want to make it more fun.
So then let me guide you on the awesomeness of therapeutic baths. A therapeutic bath or muscle recovery soak, is usually slightly warmer than its bubbly counterpart. You start with running the water and dissolving a good amount of Epsom Salt into the water. As it is running I add in 2 cups of Epsom Salt for a standard size bathtub (2.5 cups for men over 200 lbs. & more for a larger size tub obviously). I advise against using any additional oils in the water as this prevents the absorption through the skin.
Some Epsom Salt fun facts:
- Epsom Salt consists of Magnesium Sulfate and may be unscented or scented with a small amount of essential oils.
- Epsom Salt has been utilized for centuries for treating many health issues.
- Magnesium is one of the very few minerals than can be absorbed by the body topically.
- Magnesium is one of the most important minerals for the human body, a lot of people are actually deficient in it.
- And, it is a crucial mineral for those that have autoimmune diseases, inflammation in the body, thyroid conditions, and cancer.
- Magnesium is essential for muscle development and recovery.
In my opinion you can choose a water temperature that is best for your immediate needs. I know there are a lot of recommendations against taking really hot baths, though I believe in you finding what works best for your body. (Remember, if you are pregnant, hot baths are a no-no.) For myself, I tend to run my Epsom baths on the very hot side because most of the time I am soaking for Magnesium absorption and muscle recovery.
The key with these baths is in soaking for 25-35 minutes, this is the optimum amount of time for it to do its work. I take these baths as often as I feel my body needs them, and sometimes that is daily.
The greatness in taking Epsom Salt baths includes reducing inflammation, detoxifying the whole body, accelerating muscle recovery, promoting restful sleep, improving digestion, lowering anxiety, easing headaches, improving chronic fatigue, and even treating sprains and skin conditions.
I usually buy high quality unscented Epsom Salts from a natural foods market, and I will scent them myself with drops of essential oils. I make my own aromatherapy blends to suit my needs. (I will be posting my aromatherapy recipes in the future, if you’d like some of them sooner just contact me.) You can purchase scented Epsom Salts, such as Dr. Teal’s that are available everywhere, though my advice with those would be to check the ingredients lists, and be aware that they are heavily scented. I would suggest mixing them with the unscented variety to bring the fragrance down a bit.
And now that you are floating… following your soak, rise out of the bathtub slowly and carefully. Pat yourself dry. And take it easy afterwards. Drink a big glass of water. Enjoy the afterglow!
Love & wellness, Heidi XOXO
P.S.
I love sharing ideas with you, this is my advice from one friend to another. Please stay in touch with me by subscribing to my blog. Everything I have written here is based on years of personal experience and countless hours of my own research. This is all my own personal opinion and I am certainly not making any medical recommendations since I am not a doctor. Please double check that your health is not compromised in a way where a bath would be inadvisable, or the medical recommendations for pregnancy. If you are currently dehydrated do not take a bath until you’ve recovered. Thanks!
WellBeing by Heidi 