Relaxing and warming bath. My recipes

There are two types of people in the world: those who like batching and those who prefer showering. However, I believe that even the second group would appreciate warm water with bubbles, captivating aromas and good cosmetics. This is exactly how SPA centres won their popularity. After all, they offer very pleasant treatments thanks to which we can forget for a while about our every day stressful situations, spend time in a nice way and take care of our body. If you don’t have money to make use of such offer, try to run your private SPA centre in the bathroom. In your home SPA you can let yourself spend an hour on lying in your bathtub and relaxing, massaging and applying body polish. Do you know how to prepare such bath? If you are dreaming of relaxing, warming and restorative bath, you are in a good place because in a moment I’ll share with you my recipes. Moreover, I’ll explain how to make an infusion, decoction and herbal extract. Also, I’ll tell you how after bath body care should look like.

How to prepare relaxing bath?

First and foremost, you should do your best to create the right atmosphere which will help you relax and escape from the reality. Therefore, light up scented candles and play you favourite music. But before that, make sure that nobody is going to disturb you for an hour or two.

The fragrance is very important because it stimulates your senses, hence choose carefully the oil you want to add to your bathwater. You can pick and choose among fruit aromas, lavender, vanilla, ylang-ylang and sweet floral notes. Enrich your bathwater with salt that is rich in natural minerals because in warm salty bath your taut and aching muscles relax and skin pores open. Additionally, it becomes easier for skin to cleanse itself by removing toxins, and absorb nourishing mineral substances. The good news is that salt helps combat swelling and cellulite.

Firstly, massage your body with an oil because massage will warm up your skin. Also, this procedure facilitates absorption of nourishing substance the oil features by the inner skin layers. This will take place when you immerge your body into water.

All the beauty treatments should be preceded with application of body and face scrub. Well-matched abrasive preparations help remove old, horny epidermis, which will make it possible for upcoming cosmetics affect skin even better. Furthermore, taking a long bath is just the right time to apply a face mask – skin softened due to warmth will absorb precious active substances which quantity is considerably higher in such cosmetic than in a regular cream. Choose a mask that will satisfy all your face skin needs; and this can be dehydration, diluted capillaries, excessive sebum production or blackheads. Distribute the product on your face (avoiding eye and lip skin area), neck and cleavage. Also your hair will appreciate being treated with a nourishing mask. Apply it to damp strands and put on a foil cap; thanks to warmth hair cuticles rise and the active substances of hair mask will get easy access to the inner hair’s structures. Remember to rinse your hair with lukewarm water after removing the hair mask. Thanks to this the hair cuticles will close and all the nourishing substances will stay inside hair.

Relaxing bath – recipe

In order to prepare a relaxing bath just add orange oil that nourishes skin and evens its tone; additionally, it combats cellulite. You may also consider lavender oil and infusion made of acacia, lemon balm, and lavender leaves as being fairly useful.

Warming bath – recipe

If you are more into a warming bath, throw the following ingredients into the bathwater:

• blend of eucalyptus and thyme essential oils
• decoction of eleven cloves, a piece cinnamon bark and peel taken from one orange
• pine needle oil that displays antiseptic and refreshing properties, therefore it facilitate dealing with common cold, flu and nasosinusitis

Restorative bath – recipe

Do you need to feel strong, healthy and full of energy? Your condition will be improved thanks to a bath enriched with:

• decoction made from thyme, dried marigold and ribwort plantain;
• ginkgo biloba and menthol extract;
• inflorescence of lime tree.

How to make herbal infusion?

To prepare the infusion you will need dried leaves and flowers of selected plants that you can get in herbal shops and pharmacies. Basically, you can make the infusion in two ways:

1. Put 250-500 g of herbal mix to a linen bag, cover with two litres of hot water. Let it brew for more or less 20 minutes, covered. Before pouring the infusion into a bath, strain it.
2. Put the bag with your herbal mix into your bathwater. First, the bath should be half filled with hot water, then you can fill it up with cooler water to obtain the right temperature.

How to make herbal decoction?

In order to prepare a decoction, make use of hard parts of herbs such as bark, roots and seeds. Pour cold water over a herbal mix and start warming it up, covered, for approximately a half an hour. Try not to let the mixture boil. Strain the decoction before pouring it into your bathwater.

How to make herbal extract?

In order to prepare a herbal extract, pour cold water over herbal mix, cover and leave aside. After 12 hours warm the macerate, strain and pour into the bathwater.

Body care after bathing

Relaxing bath’s temperature should be close to our body’s temperature, so somewhere around 37°C. It shouldn’t last longer than a half of hour because long lazing in water can dehydrate skin and damage epidermis. For that reason, after getting out of the bath and towelling the body, go straight for a body balm or oil to distribute it on your body. Let it get absorbed fully. Such cosmetics are responsible for rebuilding the lipid coat of skin that protects skin and keeps water in dermis. Moreover, once the bathing is over, it’s a good idea to focus on cellulite and stretch marks. When it comes to your face and neck, cover it with a nourishing cream and massage it delicately into skin; thanks to this, you will boost blood circulation and even skin tone. Also, you will encourage lymph to drain naturally, which translates into reducing swellings.

Do you know any other recipes for a bath displaying particular properties? How often do you treat yourself to such home SPA? I’m waiting for your comments!