Climbing into a warm, relaxing bath could be the best possible way to unwind after a hard day at the office. As we covered in a previous article, dimming the lights and setting the atmosphere is important if you want to make your bathing experience as enjoyable as possible. Ambient, natural sounds playing in the background is also a beneficial for setting the scene. In order to make your bathing experience even better, there are certain ingredients that can be added to your bath water. Here are some of the most popular choices.

1. Lavender

Lavender essential oil smells lovely and is a really good product for skin care. However, it’s not commonly known that this product can be added to bath water to create a luxurious, relaxing bathe. It is quite potent however, so you only need to add 3 or so drops to the water. If you have stiff or fatigued muscles, lavender has rejuvenating properties, which makes a lavender bath an excellent choice after a tough workout at the gym.

2. Lemon

Lemon is often added to drinking water in order to make it more tasty, however it can also be added to bath water for a refreshing experience. The lovely citrusy aroma will help to keep you feeling alert and reinvigorated after your bath. A lemon bath will also leave your skin feeling fresh and revitalised.

3. Ginger

Hot ginger is one of the most popular drinks for when you’re under the weather with a cold, as it helps the body to eliminate toxins and also leaves you feeling warm on the inside. These refreshing properties also apply for bathing, so sprinkle some ginger into your bath water if you want to relieve congestion and sweat out an unpleasant cold.

4. Epsom salt

For those suffering from stress and high blood pressure, bathing with Epsom salt relaxes the blood vessels and helps to bring down blood pressure. Epsom salt is also great at alleviating nasty aches and pains, so if you’ve been performing vigorous physical exercise, pour a cup of Epsom salt into your bath and let your stress and pain melt away.

5. Milk

Although it sounds a bit peculiar to put milk in your bath, evidence suggests that a milk bath does wonders for dry and irritated skin. Milk baths were actually very popular in the ancient world, and the famous Cleopatra of Egypt was known to partake in them regularly!

Blogger Jillee states:

“It turns out the natural lactic acid found in milk is a form of alpha-hydroxy-acid (an ingredient which can be found in some of the most expensive exfoliating products). This type of acid gently dissolves proteins to exfoliate dead skin cells, which reveal fresh, younger looking skin underneath.”

6. Honey

Again, honey doesn’t sound like something you would want floating around in your bath water, but it can be highly beneficial for moisturising dry skin. In fact, milk and honey can be used in conjunction with one another to provide you with the ultimate skin-friendly bathing experience. You’re sure to come out smelling wonderful too!

7. Cinnamon

As with ginger, cinnamon is an excellent ingredient to add to your bath if you want to get over a cold and feel reinvigorated. The spicy aroma is sure to keep you feeling wide awake and refreshed. Simply add a couple of teaspoons of cinnamon powder to the bath, or drop a couple of cinnamon sticks in the water for an extremely revitalised bathe. For when it’s cold outside, nothing warms you up quite like a cinnamon bath!