Table of Contents
Tips for a relaxing bath
Sometimes at the end of a busy day you need to take time for yourself and letting go of the tensions and worries accumulated during work, study or personal matters.
The relaxing bath is for this: to relax the muscles, dissolve tensions, free your mind from negative or anxious thoughts and promote rest. The feeling of well-being that comes from a hot bath is given by numerous factors, starting with the temperature of the water which has a relaxing action on the skin and muscles. In addition to the relaxing effect, the hot bath can also help reduce muscle or joint pain, relieve skin discomfort and calm gastrointestinal or premenstrual pain.
To amplify the positive effects of the relaxing bath, remedies with calming action are used in the form of herbs and essential oils, also added to bath salts or scented candles, the latter able to give the right atmosphere in the bathroom. Speaking of atmosphere, to enjoy maximum relaxation, the bath should be done in an environment comfortable, clean and tidy, with soft lighting. If the room allows it, plants can also be placed in the bathroom, the presence of which improves general well-being and, those who wish can also add a music background. The relaxing bath can also be an opportunity to meditate, focusing on one’s breath, on the sensations given by the water on the skin, on the smells emanating from herbs and essences.
Herbs for the bath
Several plants contain essences fromsedative action on the central nervous system. Among these we find, for example, lavender and linden flowers, lemon balm leaves and chamomile flower heads. Other plants with relaxing properties are bitter orange and hawthorn, of which the flowers are used, and the fragrant verbena, of which the leaves are used, If you want to give the relaxing bath antirheumatic properties you can add the flowered tops of spirea or meadowsweet (Spirea ulmaria) and those of rosemary, while to regain energy at the end of the day, oregano, thyme, mint and sage are indicated, which also help to clear the streets respiratory in case of cough and cold.
A mixture with these plants can be prepared by the herbalist and is used as a normal infusion: generally they are used from 200 to 400 grams of dried herbs for two or three liters of water. After leaving the mixture to infuse for five to ten minutes in hot water, the infusion can be added to the tub water and enjoy the action of the plants on body and mind.
Essential oils for a relaxing bath
In addition to dried herbs, they can also be used in the bath essential oils, natural ingredients readily available in herbal medicine. Essential oils are highly fragrant volatile molecules andparticularly powerful action. In order to effectively disperse the essences in the water, it is good to combine them with a tablespoon of neutral shower gel or vegetable oil – for example sweet almond or sunflower oil – or with a glass of coarse salt, rice starch or sodium bicarbonate. If you opt for the oil it will have an emollient effect on the skin, while thestarch it is particularly indicated in case of irritated skin; the salt improves the relaxing action and the bicarbonate has a deodorant and antibacterial effect.
In general, they are used for a relaxing bath 30-40 drops of essence: it is good not to overdo the quantities to avoid any reactions. You can use them one to three different essential oils choosing not only on the basis of the relaxing action, but also on the best properties for your skin.
The essences, in fact, also allow you to treat skin problems:
- who has the normal skin for example, you can opt for a blend of lavender essential oil, neroli essential oil and palmarosa essential oil;
- the dry skins instead they find benefit thanks to the essences of chamomile, rose, geranium, while in case of excess sebum or oily skin, lemon, cypress and sage are used;
- in case of irritation and redness the essences of lavender and chamomile are perfect;
- for eliminate bad smells and to deodorize the body, the essential oils of mint, thyme, eucalyptus and malaleuca are excellent, the latter also effective in case of mycosis of the skin and nails and other skin or mucous membrane infections.
From instead, avoid cinnamon essential oil, which can cause irritation, redness and unpleasant reactions.
Essential oils are readily available in herbalist’s shops and as an alternative to using them in bath water, they can also be used to prepare bath salts, fizzy bath bombs together with citric acid and bicarbonate in equal parts with the addition of a spoonful of shea butter to mix the ingredients. The essences are also used to produce candles and their relaxing effect is also obtained thanks to the diffusion in the bathroom through a burner or an electric diffuser.
Read also
