Self-care #4 – Take a Detox Bath

Is it just me or does detox bath sound… risky?

Clearly, I didn’t know what a detox bath was. Clearly, I needed to do some research how to take a bath, because apparently it wasn’t as simple as filling the tub with hot water and reclining in bubbly splendor like I thought it was.

Nope. Nowhere near that simple.

The first question, is your bath water filtered? Apparently, you would need to add bicarb soda if not filtered to neutralize any chemicals. Then the question of what type of detox are you trying to achieve with your bath, thus which salt shall you be adding? Dead Sea salt, Himalayan salt, or the humble but extremely beneficial Epsom salt?

Then the atmosphere. Essential oils. Candles. Bath stands, plants and the possible glass of wine. Or not wine. But definitely not coffee as that’s a stimulant and we’re trying to chill the *#$& out.

At this point my relaxing bath had waaaay too many decisions and the possibility of failure, so I stopped reading. (If you would like to do your own reading, this article from Camille Styles was quite good). I decided the basics would do me, as I was pretty sure that the whole bath thing was going to be a bit of a wash for me (bath pun!) seeing as how I’m not a lover of baths.

Obstacle #1 was that I didn’t have a bath, so off to Mother Dearest’s I toddled one day before work. I really do have to admit that I half assed the whole thing, though I did buy a candle.

Look at my candle.

It’s pretty.

Also, it’s made out of concrete so if anyone tried to interrupt your bath you have a handy ‘dissuasion’ tool right at your fingertips (as I was having this bath in a house with 5 siblings between the ages of 6-13, interruption was a fairly likely possibility). Really, I love this candle, made by a Perth local, Ruby Lights. The texture and color made me all warm and gooey on the inside.

Mother Dearest has a handy pot plant in the bathroom which I positioned next to the bath, lit my gorgeous candle, set my timer for 10 minutes and settled back to be bored.

And I was.

I spent the first few minutes twitchy and bored, appreciating the warmth of the water but really just wanting my crochet hook and something to do. Then I tried something that I had read in a Breathe magazine, about being fully present in the moment by focusing on each sensation around you. The smell of the candle, the feel of steam drifting past my face. The sound of the dryer rumbling in the next room. The glide of the water moving with each breath that I took.

(Little did I realize in that moment that I was practicing mindfulness *face palm*)

And by the time the timer went off after I had completely lost track of time.

I have to say it.

Baths are amazing.

I felt completely relaxed by the end, like I would simply slide out onto the floor if I tried to get up. Unfortunately movement was required as I had to go to work. There was a bit of staggering as muscles were forced to move before they were ready to, but the relaxed feeling lasted most of the day. And it was wonderful

I did a brief search as to why baths are so relaxing and what is actually going on in your body when you take one. This article explains it in detail, but for those like me who don’t really have a science brain but are curious I shall try to paraphrase it.

Basically, submerging your body in warm water starts to turn off your sympathetic nerves, the ones responsible for your stress levels, and turn on your parasympathetic nerves, the ones that help keep you calm and chill. The higher temperature stimulates your metabolism and the elimination of metabolic waste materials which makes your body feel better over-all. 

The article said that pain, fatigue, depression and anxiety can be decreased by regular baths. Plus your immune system and overall mental health could get a boost as well. 

I honestly had no idea that the seemingly indulgent act of taking a bath had mental and physical health benefits! Now baths are firmly and forever on my self-care list. Even if they didn’t have all those benefits I would still put it on the list because I felt as chill af afterwards. But now I feel better about procrastinating about studying by having a bath, after all, it’s good for me 😉

I issue a challenge henceforth! For all the bath doubters out there, whose ranks I have now departed, try taking a bath. But a serious one, with intent and a mind to fully enjoy it. Then let me know if you’re a convert too 🖤

(In case you were wondering, I have a friend with a gorgeous bath with gorgeous pot plants and I totally took over her bathroom one day when she was at work, which is when I took the photos. I bought another Ruby Lights candle and latte bath salts from Sanktury which were incredible. I had a little plate of nibblies of chocolate, fudge and strawberries and made a full experience out of it. It was just as awesome as the first time. 10/10 would recommend!)