Detox Baths: 4 Natural Recipes To Promote Healing & Relaxation

Did you know that adding a few simple, natural ingredients to your relaxing bath time can have a powerful affect on the way you feel? It's true, in fact your skin is the largest organ in your body and facilitates over 60% of all the body's cleansing activities. A cleansing detox bath can not only decrease stress and anxiety, but it can also assist to decrease joint pain and muscle aches, reduce swelling and inflammation, heal irritated skin, improve circulation, replenish electrolytes, and much more. 

So in this week's edition of What's That?! Wednesday we will be sharing our knowledge and experience about the best ways to do a detox bath as well as what types of baths may be best for what aliments. I personally never used to be someone who took baths...loved the hot tub, not so much the bath tub. But when I started to understand how it could help me feel better and relieve some pain, I became a "bathing believer".  Now I hop in a few times per week with my favorite guided mediation or some calm spa-like music and get my relax and detox on! 

During the last several years as I've battled chronic Lyme disease, I've experimented with and researched all types of home detoxification remedies and found that baths are one of the most effective ways to detox and a good use of my time and energy. 

Some Detox Bath Basics:

1. Draw a hot bath (as hot as you can stand) - the heat will help to draw the toxins to the surface of the skin. If you are heat sensitive, just go as warm/hot as you can.
2. Lay in the bath for 30 minutes or longer - you want to stay in long enough for the water to cool down enough for osmosis to pull toxins from your skin into the water.
3. Detox baths can deplete your energy for a short period of time or if you are chronically ill, they can wipe you out for several hours afterwards. I recommend doing them in the late afternoon or evening or during a time you can just relax or sleep afterwards. Or try using BATHERAPY (see below for details).**
4. Take at least 1 bath a week to promote general well being and health or up to 5 times per week as needed to relieve symptoms and promote detoxification. If you are battling a chronic illness, I recommend doing the bath 3-5 times per week. If you are pregnant, you may want to avoid detox baths altogether and we highly recommend that you check with your physician before doing one. ***
5. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate after your bath...drinking lots of water will help your body flush toxins and replenish your energy.
6. Essentials oils can be a great way to add some soothing aromas and help facilitate relaxation and detoxification. My favorites are 100% pure organic peppermint oil and 100% pure organic lavender oil. Add 8-10 drops of either of these to any of the following bath recipes as desired. 

4 Natural Detox Bath Recipes:
1. Salt Baths
Very relaxing...this recipe is best for decreasing the swelling of joints or injuries, and reduce muscle spams and tension. It also helps to balance electrolytes and replenish magnesium to promote better circulation and heart health. 

Recipe:
1/2 cup sea salt
1/4 cup natural baking soda*
1-4 cups Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) or 1/2 cup BATHERAPY Product**
8-10 drops of 100% pure peppermint or lavender oil (optional)

Add ingredients to hot bath water and use your hands to churn the water and help dissolve. Bathe for 30 minutes. 

*You could also try 1 cup food grade hydrogen peroxide instead of baking soda in this recipe.
**This product has essential minerals like magnesium and adds Siberian Fur Essential Oil to help you overcome feelings of exhaustion after a bath. 

2. Clay Baths: 
Bentonite clay is a powerful detoxification ingredient and has become one of my favorite home remedies. This clay is great for overall detox and specifically unique in that it binds to heavy metals and helps to pull these toxins out of our body. It also makes a great skin mask...

Bonus Detoxifying Skin Mask Recipe: Mix 2 tablespoons water or raw apple cider vinegar with 1/4 cup bentonite clay together until a thick mask in made, add more water or ACV if needed to thin consistency. Then apply evenly to a clean face, avoiding the eyes. Leave on for 8-10 minutes (no longer - it will turn your skin very red if you leave it on) and wash off with a hot wash cloth followed by a splash of cool water. Follow with moisturizer. Repeat up to once per week. TIP: Do not use a metal spoon or bowl to mix your mask. I like to use a small silicone spatula and glass bowl.

Clay Bath Recipe:
1/2 cup sea salt
1/2-1 cup bentonite clay (I use Aztec Secrets Indian Healing Clay - on amazon.com & some natural food stores)
1/2 cup raw apple cider vinegar
8-10 drops 100% pure lavender oil (optional)

Combine clay with apple cider vinegar and 1 cup hot water. Mix well to combine and do your best to smooth out clumps of clay. Start your bath, add sea salt when 1/2 full , then add the bentonite clay-vinegar mixture to the bath, give it a good stir and get in.  For an extra detox effect, you can rub any remaining clay clumps evenly onto skin as you soak in the tub. Don't leave the clay directly on your dry skin for longer than 10-15 minutes or your skin will turn quite red. Just soak in the clay-infused tub and relax for 30 minutes or until water starts to cool. 

3. Apple Cider Vinegar Baths:
Adding raw apple cider vinegar (ACV) to your bath can help to pull uric acid from your joints to reduce pain and swelling, which is one of the main contributors to chronic joint inflammation. Since ACV is a natural anti-fungal, anti-microbial, and anti-viral, this recipe can also help to relieve symptoms of chronic candida and/or yeast infections, fungal toenail infections, and general skin irritations.

Recipe:
1 1/2 to 2 cups raw apple cider vinegar (I use Bragg's brand)
8-10 drops 100% pure organic lavender oil (optional, but recommended to overcome the strong vinegar smell)

Add apple cider vinegar and several drops essential oil to a full, hot bath, climb in, relax, and enjoy. Bathe for 30 minutes or until water starts to cool. Avoid showering for 6-8 hours afterwards, if possible. 

4. Ginger Bath Recipe:
Can be especially helpful during a cold, flu or other illness to relieve congestion and ease muscle aches and pain. 

Add 1 tablespoon ground ginger to your hot bath tub, climb in, breathe deeply and enjoy! Bathe for 30 minutes or until water starts to cool. I often combine the ginger bath with the salt bath...try it out. 

Relax, detox, and heal, dear friends. Please share your detox bath questions, experiences, and recipes here if you are inspired to do so. 

Also, for related information, check out our 4 Week Detox Diet Program. This program can help you re-set your metabolism and get your body into fat burning mode, get rid of excess weight, say goodbye to digestive distress like constipation, bloating and heart burn, and improve your energy! 28 days to change the way you feel...check it out here.

**We are licensed holistic health practitioners, but we are not physicians. Advice in this article is intended to be informational only and is based on our personal experience and education. We always recommend speaking with your physician, especially if you are being treated for a specific ailment, before beginning anything new.


In good health,
Billie & Jen