5 Soothing Bath Soak Recipes To Escape Holiday Stress

This blog post is sponsored by iHerb. All opinions are my own.

Ready for the best news you’ll hear all day? Lounging in a long, hot bath actually has medicinal, not to mention serious self-care, benefits. In our last house my husband and I didn’t really have a bathtub—at least not one I would consider sitting in naked.

So I spent 5 long years without ever taking a bath or whipping up my tried-and-true bath soak recipes. It was borderline torture. And when we bought our most recent house, I specifically looked for one with a tub.

Fast forward 6 months and I take baths several times a week, complete with natural sea salts and killer essential oils to make up for lost time. Read on for 5 of my favorite bath soak recipes to help you beat the holiday stress.

Bath Soaks: Benefits of a Relaxing Bath

Aside from the relaxation benefits, it turns out there are so many great reasons to take a bath that you might not have even thought of. Baths are said to:

Elevate your mood. When you’re feeling stressed, a long soak can provide a much-needed dose of peace and quiet that allows the body to fully relax.

Help you sleep better. Taking a warm bath right before bed elevates the body’s core temperature, and when it drops post-bath it encourages your body to produce to melatonin and better prepare you for sleep.

Relieve muscle pain. Heat improves circulation, encourages muscle relaxation and reduces inflammation, especially if you add some Epsom salt to your bath.

Soothe skin irritation. Vitamins and minerals found in natural sea salts and essential oils help repair your skin’s moisture barrier and hydrate parched skin.

Lessen cold and flu symptoms. Steam is great at opening the sinuses and soothing sore throats. And a lukewarm bath can help lower your body temperature (if you have a fever) so you’re better able to fight infection.

And that’s just to name a few! Here are more ways I plan to stay healthy during the holidays. 

When it comes to baths, it helps to choose your soak ingredients carefully so you can tailor the benefits to your specific needs. Whether you’re feeling under the weather or simply want to relax, there’s a bath soak recipe guaranteed to provide a bit of relief.

And the quality of ingredients matters. Your skin is like a giant sponge that absorbs everything it comes in contact with. So I always buy natural salts, pure essential oils and organic ingredients for my bath soaks from iHerb.

Here are my favorite bath soak recipes to cure practically anything and everything that ails you.

5 Soothing Bath Soak Recipes

1. Relaxation Salt Soak

Natural sea salt contains a plethora of vitamins and minerals that are beneficial for the skin. This gray Celtic sea salt is nutrient-rich and super luxurious. And it’s not just good in baths! Store the rest in your pantry and add a pinch when you cook to get some extra minerals in your diet.

Adding Epsom salt and activated charcoal to the mix encourages relaxation and detoxification. This White Egret Epsom Salt is one of the best I’ve ever tried. It doesn’t clump and unscented so you’re not overwhelmed artificial fragrances. Not to mention, it looks amazing sitting on your bathroom counter. 

• 1/2 cup Gray Celtic Sea Salt
• 1/2 cup White Egret Epsom Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Solaray Activated Charcoal
• 15 drops Lavender Essential Oil

Combine the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well. To use, add mixture to running bathwater and use your hands to swish it around until it dissolves completely. Store any unused portion in an airtight container for up to a month.

2. Coconut Milk Bath Soak

Powdered coconut milk is rich in copper, vitamin C and healthy fats that help nourish skin and fight free radicals, so I add some to my bath soaks whenever possible. After trying a lot of different brands, this one is my favorite. It’s rich and creamy and it dissolves really well in a bath so you’re not sitting in powdered chunks.

Baking soda encourages healing and helps soften the skin. And while not totally necessary, I love adding finely ground coconut flakes to my soak because it’s high in lauric acid, which protects skin, sloughs away dead skin cells and locks in moisture. I love that Wildly Organic uses real, dried coconut without any added sugars so you won’t be soaking in anything funky.

• 1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Baking Soda
• 1/4 cup Wildly Organic Coconut Milk Powder
• 2 tablespoons Wildly Organic Coconut Flakes
• 10 drops Vanilla Essential Oil

Combine the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well. To use, add mixture to running bathwater and use your hands to swish it around until it dissolves completely. Store any unused portion in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

3. Immunity Bath Salts

Who couldn’t use a little immune boost this time of year? Epsom salt is rich in magnesium, which is said to help support the immune system. And food-grade Himalayan salt, like this from Sunfood, supplies much-needed vitamins and minerals, while lemon zest, calendula and essential oils help keep your immune system humming. Always pick a high grade sea salt for your bath to limit toxin exposure and not further burden the immune system.

• 1/2 cup White Egret Epsom Salt
• 1/3 cup Sunfood Himalayan Salt
• 5 drops each NOW Foods tea tree and rosemary oil
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon dried calendula

Combine the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well. To use, add mixture to running bathwater and use your hands to swish it around until it dissolves completely. Store any unused portion in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

4. Pink Clay Detox Soak

Betonite clay is said to help remove impurities from the body. When used as a bath soak, it encourages detoxification by drawing impurities out through the skin. To make it a little more fun, I love adding pink Himalayan sea salt and beet root powder for color.

In Ayurvedic medicine, beetroot is said to be a blood purifier that also soothe inflammation and gives skin a natural glow, and I swear by Sunny Green Beet Powder not just for my bath but for my daily smoothie, too. Lastly, geranium oil is a potent anti-inflammatory that tightens skin and encourages cell turnover.

• 1/3 cup Pure Body Naturals Bentonite Clay
• 1/4 cup Sunfood Himalayan Salt
• 2 teaspoons Sunny Green Organic Beet Root Powder
• 1 tablespoon Frontier Products Dried Rose Petals
• 10 drops Geranium essential oil

Combine the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well. To use, add mixture to running bathwater and use your hands to swish it around until it dissolves completely. Store any unused portion in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

5. Fizzy Bath Soak

Sometimes you just need a fun soak to help take the edge off when you’re feeling stressed. Bath bombs are fun and all, but why hassle with making them when you can just combine the ingredients into an effervescent soak. This soak is the best of all worlds: easy to make, fun to use, and filled with relaxing ingredients to help you relax.

• ½ cup Arm & Hammer Baking Soda
• 1/3 cup White Egret Epsom Salt (I also tossed in some Sunfood Himalayan Salt for fun)
• 1/3 cup NOW Foods Citric Acid
• 10 drops each frankincese, sandalwood and lemon balm essential oils
• Mica, beetroot powder or other herbs for color

Combine the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well. To use, add mixture to running bathwater and use your hands to swish it around until it dissolves completely. Store any unused portion in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

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