Blog Archive

Can't Find What You're Looking For?

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Bath and Body

The words bath and body conjure up a relaxing, luxurious experience we can all relate to. What better way to end your day than sinking in to an aromatic bath to sooth your tired, worn-out body.

Bathing your body must be one of the most therapeutic rituals we can experience. It helps us on a physical, mental, and spiritual level. In the bath, the therapeutic action of the aromatherapy oils is two-fold. They are absorbed into the skin and enter thecirculatory system. At the same time their aromas are inhaled from the steam, stimulating your brain and increasing your sense of well-being.

Soaking in an aromatic bath can play an important part in relaxing muscles, helping with joint stiffness, increasing suppleness and reducing aches and pains. A bath can tone and condition your skin, detoxify your body, and relieve anxiety and tension.

The healing power of water has been known for thousands of years. Early civilizations created the art of bathing and enjoyed the stimulating, relaxing, purifying and healing effects of water. The famous bathing routine of Cleopatra was a most important part of her daily health and beauty regimen. Regular bathing was also practiced by the ancient Greeks and Romans.

A bath can be relaxing or stimulating, depending on the temperature of the water and your chosen essential oil blend. Do not have your bath water too hot as this may damage the delicate blood vessels and sebaceous glands. Below is a guide to the effects of different bath temperatures:

Hot bath

Temperature: 100-104 ° F / 38-40 ° C
A hot bath can be useful for treating fevers and eliminating toxins (use either the Evergreen bath salts recipe or the Detox bath oil recipe for this purpose).

If you find it too difficult to get into a bath this hot, pour the bath to the temperature you are comfortable with then gradually add hot water as you become accustomed to it.

After your hot bath, put on some warm cotton pyjamas or night gown and slip into bed ensuring you have plenty of blankets to promote sweating.

Note: Do not have bath water this temperature if you are pregnant, have varicose veins, haemorrhoids, or high blood pressure.

Warm bath

Temperature: 80-90° F / 27-34° C
A warm bath can be very soothing and calming to the mind. This is due to the equality of the body temperature which gives gentle encouragement to the natural functions of the body.

Cold bath

Temperature: 70-80 ° F / 21-27 ° C
A cold bath can activate and tone the skin. This temperature will help with respiration and increase the tone and elasticity of muscles. It decreases fatigue making it an ideal bath for the morning (the Stimulating bath oil recipe is the perfect blend for a cold bath).

Recipes for bath and body

No comments: