Do you enjoy taking baths? Soaking your body in warm water relaxes your body, making bathing a wonderful self care session. Baths are wonderful to take after a stressful day. Before your next soak, learn how to make a relaxing bath with household items!
If you are an avid bather, you might have spent plenty of cash on bath bombs and bath products. While they are beautiful and smell great, these products can easily add up in your bank account.
What if I told you you could use items from your home? I can guarantee you probably already have six to seven of these items. You don’t need to spend a lot money to enjoy a great bath.
These household items contain natural ingredients which will make your skin feel smooth and supple. They contain no chemical, making them more gentle for your skin than standard bath products.
Before throwing these items into your bath, make sure that you don’t have an allergic reaction them. Also, you shouldn’t take a bath if you have an open wound.
If you are pregnant or concerned, check with your doctor before adding these items. If you are looking for ways to treat a skin condition, I would consult a doctor. You should also moisturize your body after you finish your bath to avoid dry skin.
Let’s get started! Here’s how to make a relaxing bath with household items!
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How To Make A Relaxing Bath With Household Items
- Salt
- Oatmeal
- Tea
- Cinnamon
- Baking Soda
- Honey
- Essential Oils
- Milk
- Olive Oil
- Apple Cider Vinegar
1. Salt
Looking for household items to put in bath? Try salt. Before pouring table salt into your bath and jumping in, know that not every type of salt has the same benefits or effects.
Regular table salt should not be used as bath salts. This is because table salt normally contains iodine which can irritate the skin.
To get started, I recommend using sea salts such as Himalayan salt and Epsom salt. You might already have Himalayan salt at home! Not only is it used to season food, but also in baths! Unlike table salt, Himalayan salt is more natural.
Epsom Salt can be found in most grocery stores. It is mostly used for bath soaks to relieve muscle pain. Epsom Salt doesn’t contain sodium unlike Himalayan salt. It contains magnesium and sulfates which absorb into your skin as you soak, providing you additional health benefits.
You can get an 8 pound bag of Epsom Salt for an affordable price! Your baths for the next year are set!
Sea salt baths are stress reducing, prevent low blood pressure, promote better sleep, improve skin condition and help reduce aching muscles.
There is no indicator that one salt is better than the other so I would choose one that is more convenient and cost-effective for you. Both salts recommended work well for individuals with dry skin.
2. Oatmeal
Looking for ideas on how to make a relaxing bath with household items? Try using oatmeal from home. Many skincare products contain oatmeal because of its many added health benefits!
Plain oatmeal from your pantry contains less chemicals than oatmeal skincare products. Oatmeal cleanses the skin, helps it stay at a normal pH, and has soothing properties. That is why many products use it to treat problem skin.
I personally use oatmeal to wash my face at night! Afterwards, I slap on a small amount of argan oil onto my face. I’ve notice a significant improvement on my skin. I rarely get pimples and my face feels softer. You probably already have oatmeal at home! The next time you have a bath, try using oatmeal.
Since oatmeal is large, you’ll need to take preventive steps to avoid it clogging your drain. Unless your tub has something to catch the oatmeal, you can try grinding it into a fine powder using a blender. You’ll know it’s small enough when it is able to dissolve into water.
3. Green Tea
Green teas are anti-inflammatory, detoxify your skin, help with anti-aging, reduce stress, and improve your immune system. I would try adding a few green tea bags into your bath. Allow the green tea leaves to soak in your tub for about 15 minutes before jumping in.
Looking for more household items to add to bath? Another tea to try is chamomile tea. If you’ve ever drank it, you’ll know that it is wonderful at relaxing your body and helping you fall asleep. In the tub, chamomile tea soothes irritated skins and reduces redness. It can also help with reducing scars on your body!
If you are a tea lover, I personally think that teas are a great household item to try! If your teas come in the form of tea bags, they make a quick clean up. However, I’ve also noticed some tea bags can tear apart easily, causing leaves to fall into the tub. This only happens when I try to move the bags around too often. I would avoid touching the tea bags until they are ready to leave the tub.
If your teas are loose leaves, you could try to wrap them in a thin cloth like a cheese cloth or a panty hose and then soaking them in the tub.
Make yourself a cup of tea to drink during your bath for the ultimate relaxation!
4. Cinnamon
Looking for household items to put in bath? Cinnamon is delicious and also beneficial to your health! You likely already have this popular spice in your kitchen. If you do, you can try using it in your next bath.
Cinnamon smells wonderful, is loaded with antioxidants, has anti-bacterial properties, reduces blood pressure, and lowers blood sugar. The fresher the cinnamon, the more health benefits. In the tub, it can eliminate toxins and warm up your body.
When using it in your bath, you could use either cinnamon sticks or cinnamon powder. If you have cinnamon sticks, you can simply add a few into your tub. If you use the powder form, I would wrap it with a thin cloth like a cheese cloth to soak in the tub.
5. Baking Soda
Looking for more ideas on how to make a relaxing bath with household items? Baking soda is a kitchen staple for baking. It is low cost and also effective at treating skin conditions! If you enjoying DIY-ing skincare products, you might know that you could use baking soda to create a mouthwash, teeth whitener, or deodorant.
Baking soda also works wonderfully in a bath! Adding baking soda to your bathwater can provide additional skin-related benefits. A baking soda bath can treat yeast infections, dry skin, and poison oak.
To use baking soda in your bath, add a cup of baking soda into warm bathwater and stir. Before soaking, test baking soda mixed with a little bit of water onto a small patch of your skin. If your skin becomes irritated, avoid taking a bath with baking soda.
6. Honey
Not only is honey sweet and delicious, it also has some sweet benefits when applied onto the skin. Honey has skin-smoothing benefits, moisturizes the skin, and can treat minor wounds. It is one of the best household items to put in bath!
In my personal experience, honey has greatly reduced redness on my face. When I was in college, I would use honey as a face mask and face cleanser. It is cheaper than other beauty products, has less chemicals, and is as effective. Honey is sticky but easily washes off your skin with water.
To get the most benefits out of honey, make sure to pick one that is raw and unfiltered without any added ingredients like the one above. This is the brand I used in college!
7. Essential Oils
Adding essential oils into your bath can make your bath an even more relaxing experience. I personally have used vanilla essential oil my baths. It makes the whole bathroom and my body smell amazing!
I recommend trying lavender and chamomile essential oils in your next soak. Lavender essential oil calms your body and relieves muscles. Chamomile essential oil, on the other hand, can relieve anxiety and promote sleep.
Here’s how to make a relaxing bath with household items like essential oils. Note that essential oils are not water soluble, so you must dilute them before putting them in your bath! You can add a few drops of an essential oil into a spoonful of a carrier oil like coconut oil. Be careful when you leave the bath as oils can make tub slippery.
Essential oils are highly concentrated so they might cause skin irritation. I would test them out on a small patch of your skin before trying them in your bath. Essential oils can be dangerous for certain individuals like for people who are pregnant or even pets. To be safe, I would research each oil carefully before soaking.
8. Milk
Milk is a wonderful addition to your next bath! You likely have milk already in your fridge. Milk is wonderful for dry skin and treating sun burn. It can make your skin feel softer and silkier. Milk contains lactic acid which is often found in anti-aging cleaners. Lactic acid is a common ingredient in treatments that treat dark spots.
You could try using milk straight from your fridge or experiment with other types of milk to see what you prefer. Add in honey to make a milk and honey soak which is great for anti-aging!
If you have sensitive skin, I would avoid milk because the lactic acid in milk may irritate it. If you have acne, avoid raw milk which can contain additional bacteria. If you have a milk allergy, it is not a good idea to try bathing in milk. Otherwise, this is one of the best household items to put in bath.
9. Olive Oil
In your kitchen, you might already use olive oil as a healthy alternative to vegetable oil. Olive oil is linked to improved heart health!
When you purchase an olive oil, pick one that is extra virgin. Extra virgin means that the olive oil is not refined or highly processed.
In a soak, olive oil hydrates your skin, making it feel smooth to the touch. It can also be used as a makeup remover and body lotion! Olive oil does wonders for your skin, nails, and hair! It is one of the best household items to add to bath!
All you need to do is add a few spoonfuls of extra virgin olive oil in your bathwater. When you leave the tub, be extra careful as oils can make surfaces slippery.
10. Apple Cider Vinegar
You’ve probably heard of apple cider vinegar. You might even have a bottle in your kitchen at home. Apple cider vinegar contains a variety of health benefits. That is why there is such a huge apple cider vinegar hype! It can help with weight loss, improve heart health, reduce symptoms of diabetes, and kill harmful bacteria.
Apple cider vinegar is also known to help with dry skin which is why many people use it as a toner. Before using it on your skin or even drinking, dilute it with water. Undiluted apple cider vinegar can cause burns and damages to the surfaces of your skin. You should aim to purchase organic and unfiltered apple cider vinegar as it contains more health benefits.
When used in a bath, apple cider vinegar may heal wounds, prevent infections, and reduce dry skin. To add it into your next bath, add a cup of apple cider vinegar into warm bathwater.
I recommend selecting a raw and unfiltered apple cider vinegar like the one above.
Conclusion: How To Make A Relaxing Bath With Household Items
You don’t need to buy expensive bath bombs to enjoy a bath. Make use of common household items to improve the quality of your skin and to destress. Your wallet and skin will thank you! I hope this post gave you some helpful tips on how to make a relaxing bath with household items.
Unlike bath bombs, common household ingredients aren’t as aesthetically pleasing in the bath. However, they still contain multiple skin and health benefits, and are more affordable.
If you have a rose bush, you could try to add rose petals into your bath for a more instagram aesthetic feel. Use essential oils to create a calming scent of your choice. If you have candles, light them up to change up the mood of your bathroom. Consider reading a book or watching Netflix on your phone.
Try combining multiple ingredients to add additional health and skin benefits. Have fun and create your own bath recipe using the household items listed. As always, if you are pregnant, consult a doctor before adding an item into your tub.
I hope this post gave you some helpful ideas of household items to put in bath. What household items have you already tried in your bath and how did it go?