After a tiring day at work, there’s nothing more relaxing than soaking away your stress in a hot bath, preferably with soothing music and a nice glass of wine. But let’s make it even better by adding bath salts that’ll work wonders for your body.
Bath salts have long been used as an inexpensive and easy way to relax and treat both physical and mental health ailments. Commonly made from Epsom salt or sea salt, bath salts easily dissolve in warm bath water and can be used for everything from stress relief to ease chronic pains and aches.
This article shares some tips and creative ways to use bath salts and enjoy their wonderful benefits.
- Soak In The Bath
To make your warm bath even more relaxing and luxurious, incorporate bath salts such as Epsom salt or Himalayan pink salt. Soaking in a tub with bath salts is probably the most effective way to experience their health benefits.
Adding Epsom salt to your bath can help relieve sore muscles. It also serves as a detox bath, which is believed to be effective in ridding the body of toxins, relieving stress and constipation, and improving overall health.
Furthermore, your body absorbs magnesium, which helps you sleep better. This detox bath is also reportedly beneficial for those with fibromyalgia.
To make an Epsom salt detox bath, fill your bathtub with warm water and pour two cups of Epsom salt. If you want a stronger concentration, just add more bath salts. Allow the salt to dissolve and soak in the tub for 20 minutes or more.
- Sprinkle Here And There
Even if you don’t have a bathtub, you can still enjoy the benefits of bath salts. Simply sprinkle some bath salts on the floor of the shower. Once the hot water comes into contact with the bath salt crystals, they’ll dissolve and create a steam sauna with aromatherapy benefits.
That said, you must choose your bath salt carefully. For this method, you can use aromatic bath salts or those infused with essential oils. For instance, bath salt blended with eucalyptus oil has a refreshing aroma that’s perfect for clearing your airways if you have a cold.
- Create A Scrub
Aside from letting it dissolve in the shower, bath salts can also be used to make an exfoliating scrub. This allows you to take advantage of its aromatic benefits as well as its salt or crystalline component.
Salt, in particular, is a natural exfoliant. It helps remove dead skin cells, leaving your skin soft and smooth to the touch.
You can make your own bath scrub by mixing a cup of Epsom salt, 1/3 cup of oil (preferably coconut, olive, or almond oil), and a tablespoon of vitamin E oil. Then, apply the scrub to your body, rubbing very gently. Let it sit for a few minutes, then rinse.
This shower scrub is good for the body, especially on rough spots such as knees and elbows, but not for the face as it could be quite abrasive.
- Use An Exfoliating Mitt
If you have sensitive skin and think that applying bath salt scrub directly onto your skin can cause irritation and micro-tears, consider using an exfoliating mitt.
Put your aromatic body scrub inside the mitt, wet it slightly, and rub it on your skin. With this method, you can gently exfoliate your skin without causing irritation or painfully scraping your skin while retaining the scrub’s relaxing aroma.
- Try A Foot Bath
If you want to enjoy the benefit of bath salts without immersing your entire body, a foot bath is a great option.
This allows you to absorb minerals through your feet. A foot soak also has reflexology benefits. Since the feet have many reflex points that correspond to certain parts of your body, soaking your feet for at least 20 minutes is believed to be beneficial.
Many people have reportedly found foot baths effective in providing relief from certain conditions and ailments such as sore feet, toenail infections, gout pain and inflammation, cracked heels, and athlete’s foot. If you’re feeling anxious and agitated, you’ll benefit from the calming effects of a foot soak.
To make a foot bath, fill a large basin with warm water and dissolve about half a cup of bath salts. Soak your feet up to your ankle, sit back and relax as the bath salts do their magic.
Takeaway
Whether you’re stressed from working overtime or bothered by a nagging pain in your feet, you can count on warm water plus bath salts to do their work in relieving tension and discomfort. And as you soak up beneficial minerals and nutrients, you replenish and re-energize your body!
