How to Make Your Bath a Spa

I've never been to a spa, because I have so many other ways I would rather spend that money and time.  But that doesn't mean I can't have a spa experience.  I just create my own, right at home.

The first thing to do in an at-home spa is soak in a hot bath. To improve the stress-relieving benefits of a hot soak, I always add some epsom salts. You can buy a large container at Sam's Club for around $6.  You can get fancy and add baking soda, essential oils and dried herbs and flowers. Or you can just dump a cup or two into the bath and call it good. I do this most of the time. 

Epsom salts alone will draw out toxins and heavy metals from the body. Studies have shown those who soaked in epsom salts (magnesium sulfates) have higher magnesium levels after their baths. Magnesium is a mineral that women are often deficient in during that "time of the month".

I love bubbles in the bath, but the commercial kind are filled with chemicals so I skip it. Regardless of what you add to your bath, the point is to soak your cares, aches and pains away and rejuvenate. Light a candle, turn the lights off and let your mind wander, listen to soft music, an audio book or watch a happy movie on a small tv or laptop computer.  

Exfoliate

Once you're finished soaking, you can give your skin a little extra attention. You can use a salt or sugar scrub with a bath sponge, washcloth or loofah to gently slough off dead skin cells which will  perfectly prepare your skin for the next step.

Moisturize

 In our every day routines, we're often too hurried to moisturize like we ought to, so after a bath is the perfect time.  Dewy skin is beautiful, touchable and healthful. Hydrating your skin in the bath and then sealing it with a moisturizer (like olive or coconut oil) makes it more elastic and able to withstand the stresses of age and climate.If you want, have a razor handy and shave your legs right before you get out of the tub and moisturize.

Bring Your Face into Focus

While bathing, it's a good time to rub on a facial mask. It can be a store bought product (I use Reclaim and Kirkland Signature products) or something as simple as the white of an egg.  While you wait to rinse off the mask, sit back and relax and use this time to meditate on the goodness of God. Count your many blessings and clear your mind of stress and tension. After half an hour or so, gently scrub your face with a wrung-out wash cloth and follow up with a moisturizer of choice. I use extra-virgin coconut oil. 


Tips to transform bath time into a spa experience:

1. Run the cold water out of the faucet and as soon as it begins to feel warm turn it off. Let that cold water drain off, then fill the bathtub with the hottest water. With a regular water heater, the hot water turns cool near the end, making it very hot - just right for me. 
2. Covering the drain overflow face plate allows for deeper bathwater so you can soak up to the neck. You can use a silicone sealer or a product like this that does the same job. 
3. Add a cup or two of epsom salts to the water, making it a detox bath. 
4. Apply a facial mask if you like. 
5. Listen to an audiobook, soft music, or watch a movie.
6. Placing a slice of cucumber on each eye will reduce puffiness and refresh your eye area, which really makes your eyes look and feel great. 
7. Use an inflatable bath pillow to rest your head on.
8. Keep a dry washcloth handy for drying your face when it's perspiring.  
9. We have a small tv in the bathroom just to watch during a bath. It sits on a small table a very SAFE distance away from the tub. 
10. Turn off the lights! I like to soak with just the light of the tv but sometimes I light a candle as well.  
11. Before I get in, I make sure to have a couple of large glasses of water (or a large water bottle), my eyeglasses, a fresh bath towel for drying off, and have the movie already playing and the volume just right. Once these are all in place, it's time to soak.

So there you have it. That is all there is to turning an ordinary bath into a spa-like experience. My favorite time of day to take a spa bath is at 7:30pm. Dinner is over, my family is winding down for the day and I'm usually out by 8:30pm which leaves me enough of the evening afterward to spend with my husband. 

It's a nice way to begin a romantic evening with your husband, too! :)