Let's Talk Detox Baths

Every Tuesday and Thursday I take a weight lifting class. Specifically, I take a Les Mills Body Pump class and it's something I look forward to. I like to challenge my body and today I decided to up my weight for every track. Who knew that 5 extra pounds could hurt so much?! And I don't just mean in class. I huffed and I puffed and I made it through the work for each set of muscles. But now, 10 hours later my body is screaming at me. I've experienced this before, and I know that tomorrow even the thought of having to hike up and down the stairs of my 2 story house is going to make me want to curl up in a ball and admit defeat. (You're not allowed to laugh at my dramatics unless you have also done squats for 5 minutes straight with 40 lbs - or 1/3 of your body weight - on your back.) So, what's a girl to do? A detox bath, of course! Detox baths aren't just relaxing, they are also great for gently removing toxins from the body, alleviating muscle soreness and improving tissue health.


Simple Detox Bath:

1c Epsom Salt

1/4c Baking Soda
5-10 drops Essential Oil

*1/2c Sea Salt (optional)

This is important: Do not just dump everything in the bath and hop in. If you dump everything in at once the oils will sit at the top, potentially causing skin irritation and discomfort. Instead, measure out your Epsom salt into a glass bowl, drop the essential oils into the Epsom salt and let them sit for several minutes. Add the baking soda and stir. Now dump the mixture into the bath.

In the picture above, you might have noticed my super classy wine bottle with screw top. (I obviously have great taste in wine.) I like to mix up a big batch of the detox bath mix and store it in wine bottles for easy use. My current bottle has Young Living Rosemary and Lavender essential oils in it. Rosemary is good for muscle aches and Lavender is a relaxant. Using essential oils to mix and match, the possibilities are endless. Aside from my current mixture, I have also used:

Panaway (for aches and pains)
Stress Away (This is one of my favorite smells - it has lime, lavender and vanilla. Yum!)
Peace & Calming
Lavender (alone or with Peppermint)
Eucalyptus Blue (goes well with Rosemary and Lavender for muscle aches)

Personally, I think the best part of a detox bath is that when you break down the cost of ingredients per bath, it is really a cost effective luxury. So cost effective, in fact, that I can afford a nice detox bath and my $6 screw on top bottle of wine - both of which are calling my name. :)