5 Amazing Bath Soak Recipes To Boost Your Well Being

5 min read

When our hectic life – and hormonal changes- become even more demanding on our bodies, a bath soak may be the answer to our midlife crisis.

The experience – a practice that has been around for centuries in Roman, Greek, Ottoman (Turkish), Japanese, British, and other major empires throughout recorded history – not only soothes physically but also mentally providing a chance for midlife women to take a real break and enjoy some much-needed quiet time.

Soaking in a warm fragrant herbal bath or other natural ingredients for 20 minutes can in fact provide a quiet sanctuary in which to retreat, reflect and refresh.

But did you know that a bath enriched with salts, herbs and other botanicals can also be a proper beauty treatment?

According to Palm Beach superstar holistic facialist Tammy Fender, there are several ways to turn it into an incredible “me-time”.

“You can set an intention for your time, light a candle, play the music that makes you feel beautiful, apply a lavish face mask, and soak deeply in your tub, finishing with self-massage with body oil, and even doing a little journaling,” she says. “It’s a beautiful way to restore, refresh, dissolve tension, soothe the system, and celebrate life’s beauty.”

How to make an herbal bath

Making a herbal bath is similar to making tea. By making a strong one and adding it to your bathwater you’ll benefit a full effect, but you can also throw a handful of herbs directly into the hot tub.

There are lots of different ingredients that can be beneficial to your midlife well-being. Basil, Chamomile, Lavender, Eucalyptus, Calendula, and Rosemary are the most popular and you can use them either fresh – they look beautiful in the tub – or dried.

Depending on your specific needs and preferences, you can also add different medicinal leaves, salts, flowers, milk and oils to customize your herbal bath experience for relaxation, invigoration, or replenishment. And sometimes you can add oatmeal to soothe skin irritation, too.

Just be careful not to do this lovely ritual too often. Sebastian Kneipp, one of the founders of the Natural Medicine movement and father of hydrotherapy, said that a hot bath a week is a pleasure, but a hot bath every day will weaken your system.

Here at CrunchyTales, we’re having a more detailed look at the benefits of bath soaking and will share some recipes that can help you to alleviate swollen legs, and cellulite, eliminate congestion, relax and soften your skin.

1. Whole sea salt bath for swollen legs

If you have circulatory problems in your legs this simple bath soak recipe is for you. Sea salt, due to its anti-oedema action, helps reduce the heaviness and swelling of feet and ankles, but in order to be truly effective, you must use whole sea salt in high concentration, though, which is why one to two kilos of it is necessary, depending on the size of the bath.

All you have to do is place the salt on the bottom of the empty tub and turn on hot water: the salt will gradually dissolve (as well as the stress). Then, simply enjoy the ritual by staying immersed for 20 minutes (but please, avoid too hot water if you have leg capillaries as it may make them worse).

For even better results, keep your legs raised upwards after the bath, leaning them against the wall to facilitate venous and lymphatic drainage.

2. Horse Chestnut anti-cellulite bath

It’s well known that cellulite is caused by venous and lymphatic insufficiency, associated with connective tissue alterations. Normally, the best way to treat it is to stimulate blood circulation through specific medical therapies, accompanied by specific treatments. However, Mother Nature can help too.

Horse chestnut is widely used in anti-cellulite preparations because it contains a particular substance, escin, which has a protective action on the capillaries and reduces oedema (fluid accumulations).