Beauty

Detox Bath – Rejuvenate Your Body & Mind

By ethnichealth

Posted on October 7, 2013

There is little doubt that in this 21^st century, our bodies are open to more toxins than ever. Toxins seem to be everywhere – in the air we breathe, the food we eat, the medications we take, and in the water we drink.

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Detoxification is our body’s way of removing and metabolizing the dangerous compounds and it boosts our health, strengthens our immune system, and prevents diseases.

Detoxification of your body through bathing is an ancient remedy that anyone can perform in the comfort of their own home. In detoxification circles, your skin is known as the third kidney, and toxins are excreted through sweating. A detox bath is thought to assist your body in eliminating toxins as well as absorbing the minerals and nutrients that are in the water. Most importantly, it will leave you feeling refreshed and awakened.

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Prepare your bath on a day that you have at least 40 minutes available. The first 20 minutes are said to help your body remove the toxins, while the second 20 minutes are for absorbing the minerals in the water.

Fill your tub with comfortably hot water. Use a chlorine filter if possible.
Add Epsom salt (aka magnesium sulfate). Soaking in Epsom salts actually helps replenish the body’s magnesium levels, combating hypertension. The sulfate flushes toxins and helps form proteins in brain tissue and joints. Epsom salt is very inexpensive. It can be purchased in bags or cartons at local stores. For children, add 1/2 – 1 cup to a standard bath. For adults, add 2 cups or more to a standard bath.
Add 1 to 2 cups or more of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). Baking soda is known for its cleansing ability and even has anti-fungal properties. It also leaves skin very soft.
Add ground ginger or fresh ginger tea. While this step is optional, ginger can increase your heat levels, helping to sweat out toxins. However, since it is heating to the body, it may cause your skin to turn slightly red for a few minutes, so be careful with the amount you add. Approximately, 1 tablespoon to 1/3 cup can be added.
Add aromatherapy oils. Again optional, but many people love the fragrance of such oils and for many, the oils have particular therapeutic properties to take advantage of. There are many oils that will make the bath an even more pleasant and relaxing experience (such as lavender and ylang ylang, tea tree oil, or eucalyptus). Around 20 drops is sufficient for a standard bath.
If you prefer, you can use fresh herbs. Add mint leaves (warming), lavender flowers (soothing), chamomile (soothing), or anything else that suits your mood.
Swish all of the ingredients around in the tub, then soak. Again, 40 minutes is recommended (the longer the better), but aim for at least 20. You should start sweating within the first few minutes.
If you feel too hot, start adding cold water into the tub until you cool off. Get out of the tub slowly and carefully. Your body has been working hard and you may get lightheaded or feel weak and drained. On top of that, the salts make your tub slippery, so stand with care.
Drink plenty of water. Any time your body detoxifies (after this type of bath, a massage, or chiropractic work, for example), you need to flush out toxins. If you don’t, you will likely feel sick afterwards.
After the bath, you might like to rub down your body with a loofah or vegetable bristle brush. This can help to stimulate the lymphatic system, which can aid with the release of toxins. Use long, gentle sweeping strokes aimed toward the heart.

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Points to Consider

Do not let your hair in this water; the salt will strip it making it feel like hay.
Turn off the lights. Light candles. Clear your mind, meditate & relax.
Play some soothing and interesting music to keep your mind in a relaxed state.
Dry brush your entire body before the bath as it gets rid of dead skin cells. It is also beneficial because it helps with circulation of blood.
Make sure you don’t put water that is too hot, you can pass out.
Sea salts can be added for several health and skin benefits.
Eucalyptus essential oil in a warm bath helps open breathing passages.
Use a deep conditioning treatment on your hair and wrap it up under a cap or towel while you are in the bath.

Types of Detox Baths

Sea Salt Detox Bath – A salt bath is one of the oldest baths out there, and has been used for decades to help people relax. This recipe uses sea salt, so you are getting all natural salt and not the kind that is iodised and sold in bulk in cylindrical containers. Some of the benefits reported from taking this bath are having more energy at the start of the day, not needing a caffeine jolt, and feeling better throughout the day.

Essential Oils Detox Bath – You can turn a bath into a sensory sensation just by adding some essential oils to it. Let’s say you’re having a long day and you feel totally fatigued. There is an essential oil for that and you would want to choose peppermint for that bath. They have it all mapped out for you and have you covered whether you are feeling stressed, depressed, worn out, or if you are having a headache. It’s customized detoxing in a tub!

Hydrogen Peroxide Detox Bath – Also referred to as an oxygen detox bath, the use of hydrogen peroxide gives it plenty of healing properties. For starters it helps your body get rid of toxins, providing that detoxifying effect you are going for. It is also antibacterial and antiviral, which makes it a great bath to take if you have been around a large group of people, have traveled by bus, train, or plane that day.

Ginger Detox Bath – Ginger is a root that has plenty of healthy properties when you eat it, but it can also be used in other ways to help the body, like making a ginger bath. You can use different forms of it, either grating fresh ginger into the bath or sprinkling in some ginger powder. It led to feelings of increased energy, feeling cleaner, and kicking the symptoms of an oncoming cold.

Baking Soda Detox – It has been said that this bath can help you de-stress. It is important to look at stress as a toxic condition, and to look at ways of relaxing as a way to detox the body. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, and it is great for neutralizing the chlorine that has been added to most city water sources. It is hard to detox in a bath that is full of a toxic chemical, so it is good that this makes it naturally cleaner.

Bentonite Clay Detox Bath – Bentonite clay is presented as a way of taking a heavy metal detox bath since it is said that it draws these metals out through its magnetism. Heavy metals can enter the body through any number of ways. The most common way is just by drinking water than has not been properly filtered. Other ways are through dental work, eating foods that have been treated with certain chemicals, and much more. So it becomes important to do a regular detox for these heavy metals.

Seaweed Detox Bath – This uses a special mix of clay, bladderwrack, and kelp to create a bath like you probably haven’t had before. It helps to increase the flow of blood as well as lymph fluids in the body by creating an electromagnetism that is not achieved with other detox bath methods.

Apple Cider Vinegar Detox Bath – Apple cider vinegar is used in a detox bath to help with conditions like arthritis and gout, as well as anything else caused by inflammation. This is a good bath to take if you feel you need to sweat the toxins out, and also if you want to make sure that you get to sleep without lying awake with a wandering mind.

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