Baths That Heal

     Relaxation can come in many forms and for some a warm bath at the end of a long day can be just what the doctor ordered. Baths can do more than just relieve stress. They can be wonderfully healing as well. Here are 8 baths that heal.


Apple Cider Vinegar Bath: This helps relieve sore muscles, itchy skin, and sunburn. Vinegar helps draw pollutants out of the body. It is an acid medium and contains alpha hydroxy acids. It is also mildly antiseptic, antifungal and naturally deodorizing.  

Athlete’s Bath: Epsom salts help to reduce inflammation to relieve the aches and pains from muscle cramps and works as a muscle relaxer. Sea salts are loaded with natural minerals and nutrients. Soaking in sea salts helps to remove the latic acid build up that occurs in sore muscles. Mix ½ cup Epsom salts with 1/8 cup sea salt. 

Baking Soda Bath: This alkalinizing and detoxifying bath can help calm allergic reactions, chicken pox, eczema, hives, itchy skin, insect bites, poison ivy, sunburn, and fungal infections. Use one pound per bath.

 Cold and Flu Bath: fill your bath tub up with some warm water. Next toss five cold and flu tea bags, five peppermint tea bags, and one cup of Epsom salt directly into your bath tub filled with warm water and allows these ingredients to mix together. 

Dry Skin Bath: One of the oldest home remedies for dry skin is an oatmeal bath. When you are using a bath as your in-home dry skin therapy,soak only for 15 to 20 minutes,and when you are ready to dry yourself off, don't towel dry briskly. Instead, pat your body dry so as not to strip too many of the natural oils off. Powdered milk, also, is a wonderful dry skin therapy for the bath. Just add enough to give the water a fine milky appearance and soak in it for 15 to 20 minutes. 

Epsom Salts Bath: This method is lymphatic cleansing, relaxing for sore muscles, softening to the skin, and detoxifying after bodywork. Epsom salts help to get drugs, chemicals and pollutants out of body. Epsom salt can assist in blood circulation, aid in wound healing, remove foot odor, soften your skin and increase your strength and stamina. Those with diabetes, hypertension or heart disease should rinse off after the bath. If pregnant do not use Epsom salts. 

Itchy Skin Bath: To calm itchy skin, resulting from insect bites, chicken pox, and poison ivy, try using bath additives like oils, milks, clays, and baking soda to soothe itch. Avoid salts and other drying bath additives, which will leave the skin feeling dry. Oatmeal baths will also help to soothe itchy skin Keep soothing baths tepid, rather than hot, and remember to gently pat, not rub, dry and moisturize afterwards. 

*Oatmeal Bath: This calms irritated skin, poison ivy, dermatitis, high blood pressure, and stress, It is very simple to grind plain uncooked oatmeal in the blender or food processor to make a bath powder. Or tie 1/2 cup into a bath bag. 

Sunburn Bath: Adding black tea, or apple cider vinegar to a cool bath eases burns.


 *To use uncooked oatmeal for the bath, simply tie a large handful into a washcloth and secure. If you have a stash of clean lost “single” socks, those also work great for bath bags. Use the filled cloth to scrub your body as you deeply inhale the benefits. Your plumbing would prefer that you not allow bulky material to go down the drain.

     I have used the Baking Soda bath on my children when their skin was irritated. I have also used Epsom Salts for sore muscles. I'm anxious to try adding some Sea Salt with the Epsom Salts next time.

     Have you tried any of these?