Nothing soothes the soul like a good long soak. Especially when relaxing herbs, skin-soothing botanicals and nourishing essential oils are involved.
But you know what’s not very soothing? Cleaning the tub afterwards.
That’s where these easy breezy tub tea bags come in. Steep one in your bath or drape it over your faucet and let the salts, oils, and flower essences diffuse into the water.
What is a tub tea?
Tub tea is just what it sounds like – little tea bags filled with herbs, flowers, baking soda and salts that you steep in the tub. It’s the perfect way to relax in cold winter months and the ingredients will do wonders for your dry, itchy skin.
Loose flower petals, tea leaves and herbs are great for skin but they can be quite messy in a bathtub (and wreak havoc on your poor bathroom drain). So bundling everything together in a tea bag helps to contain the mess and make for super easy clean up.
Simply drop a couple in a hot bathtub or run ‘em under warm water to relieve sore muscles, soothe pain and hydrate parched skin. When you’re done, simply toss the bag in the trash (or empty it out and use it again later).
And voila! No messy clean up or herbs to pick out of the drain.
How to Make Tub Tea
These DIY bath teas are a lot like teas for drinking. Choose herbs based on their stress-relieving qualities and let them steep in hot water before taking a dip. Lavender and chamomile make great additions to tub tea, but you can always use dried or fresh herbs found at your local grocery store.
Herbal Benefits
Here’s a breakdown of a few of our favorite herbs and their most powerful wellness benefits:
Chamomile Flowers
Has calming effects on children and adults, soothing anti-inflammatory properties, and aids in relaxation during nighttime routines. Also known to help reduce hemorrhoids, alleviate anxiety and reduce skin irritation.
Lavender
It’s both calming and cleansing for the mind and skin, natural pain remedy, eases menstrual hot flashes, and minimizes the formation of scar tissue.
Lemon Balm
Lemon balm has calming properties that help alleviate anxiety, menstrual cramps, and restlessness. It also is believed to reduce the growth of certain viruses.
Rosemary
An invigorating herb with pain relieving properties, which can also soothe skin irritations. Known to promote hair growth, increase circulation, and reduce joint inflammation. Not recommended for pregnant women, however.
Roses
Naturally high in antioxidants, beautifully fragrant, relieves headaches, tones and moisturizes the skin. Rose petals can also can reduce stress, reduce skin redness and irritation, and contains antiseptic and antibacterial properties. Many believe rose water can reduce the appearance of wrinkles.
What else can I add to tub tea?
You can also add powdered whole milk to soften skin, dried ginger to soothe irritated skin and reduce inflammation, sea salt for added minerals and citrus peels. Check out this post for more bath ingredient ideas.
Essential oils will add a little aromatherapy action, while the herbs will soothe your skin and the hot water relaxes tense muscles. Try oils that are good for the bath like ylang-ylang, cedarwood and lavender for a relaxing soak.
To make the sachets, I purchased a few muslin tea bags from a nearby health food store. But you can make your own by wrapping a double layer of cheesecloth around your herbs, and tying it at the top with some kitchen twine.
Add a loop at the top so you can hang it over the faucet. And make sure it’s loose enough to let the water run through, so the herbs can diffuse in the bath water.
If you’re giving as gifts, these heat-sealable tea bags make an easy disposable option.
When you’re done, simply toss the herbs in the trash can, rinse out the tea bag and let it dry. The muslin bags are completely reusable, so next time you’re in the mood for a bath you can simply refill it with your favorite bath salts or herbs.
How to make a soothing Tub Tea soak
Equipment
- Reusable muslin tea bags
- Heat Sealed Tea Bags
- Optional: String, paper and gluestick for labels
Materials
Relaxing Herbal Blend
- 1/8 cup lavender buds
- 1/8 cup chamomile buds
- 1/8 cup calendula buds
- 2 cups sea salt
- 1 cup baking soda
- 1/2 cup powdered milk
- 15-20 drops essential oils of your choosing
Floral Blend
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- 1/4 cup sea salt
- 1/4 cup powdered milk
- 3 tbsp dried ginger
- 1 cup dried flowers lavender, roses and chamomile are a great place to start
Instructions
To Make Reusable Muslin Bags
- Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
- Spoon into muslin tea bags until the bag is 2/3 of the way full. Cinch the drawstring tightly and store tea bags in an airtight glass jar.
- To use, place a tea bag in the tub or drape it over the faucet and let the water run through it while the tub fills. Allow the herbs to infuse the bathwater.
To Make Disposable Tea Bags
- Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir to combine.
- Spoon the mixture into the tea bags until about ¾ full.
- Clip a piece of string approximately 4 inches long. Tuck inside your tea bag and use an iron to seal the tea bag shut.
- Make the label by cutting a small strip of paper and folding it over the loose end of the string. Use a glue stick to affix it.
- Tuck 4 or 5 tea bags into a metal tin for a last minute holiday gift.
- To use, hook one or two tea bags over the tap while you run your bath, letting the water flow through the bag. When you’re done, simply toss the bag in the trash.
Hi there. Do I need to use the essential oils? Will the scent from the flowers be enough, or will those fade?
I use oils, i use salts but i’ve never heard of tub tea. This is brilliant!