My husband and I are currently on my 10-day whole food detox program to make our bodies ready for the colder season. No, not one of those lemon juice programs where you have to starve yourself for 10 days. But a whole food fruit and veggie detox.
Day 3 is always the hardest, your thoughts go to all sorts of food you can’t eat… and coffee… I try to limit coffee as much as possible these days, but it still is my wake-up call in the morning and the thing I miss the most while detoxing.
Therefore today is the time to indulge our bodies and enjoy a relaxing, warm bath with essentials to lift our spirits. And what a better way than to do this with a warm, relaxing detox bath. There are many detox bath recipes, but those 4 worked well for us in the past and are definitely worth a try.
ALSO READ: 5 Healthy Alternatives To Coffee You’ll Love
The Benefits Of Adding…
- Sea salt: draws toxins out of your body and soothes open sores.
- Epsom salt: makes you sweat to eliminate toxins, replenish your body’s magnesium levels, reduces inflammation and can relieve muscle aches.
- Baking soda: alkalizes your body, eliminates chlorine in water and softens your skin.
- Ground ginger: anti-inflammatory, increases circulation, makes you sweat to eliminate toxins faster and opens pores.
- Apple cider vinegar: restores acid-base balance in your body, clears acne and softens your skin.
- Clay: clay has an excellent drawing effect, the clay has the power to literally pull toxicities through the pores of the skin.
- Seaweed: seaweed or other herbal detox herbs (such as nettle, ivy or Melissa) re-mineralize your skin, works calming on your mind, acts as a natural sponge and draws toxins out of your body.
4 Amazing Detox Bath Recipes
1. Salt Detox Bath Recipe
- ⅓ cup Epsom Salt
- ⅓ cup sea salt
- ⅓ cup baking soda or apple cider vinegar (don’t use them both, see notes)
- Optional: Essential oil(s)
I like the ylang-ylang, lavender, and sandalwood essential oil combination for its fragrance and it calms my body and mind. Other great essentials are grapefruit, chamomile, peppermint, cedarwood, and rosemary.
First dissolve the Epsom salt, sea salt and baking soda in boiling water. Fill up your bathtub with hot water. Add the salt mixture and essential oils of your liking. Soak for at least 20-30 minutes. Rinse your body before toweling off to remove the toxins that may cling to your body.
2. Oxygen Detox Bath Recipe
- 3 pints of hydrogen peroxide (3%)
- 2 ounces of ground ginger
- Essential oil(s)
Add both ingredients to your hot bathtub and soak for at least 20-30 minutes. Rinse your body before toweling off to remove the toxins that may cling to your body.
Scroll down for more relaxing and detoxing bath recipes.
3. Clay Detox Bath Recipe
- ½ cup Bentonite clay
- ½ cup Epsom salts
- Essential oil(s)
First, dissolve the Epsom salt in hot water and add them to your bath. For the clay, you have 2 option. Or you mix it into a small amount of water until all clumps are dissolved and then add it to your bath. Or add less water and make a paste to apply on your body as a skin mask. Let dry for 5 minutes before diving into your bathtub. Soak for at least 20 minutes. I prefer the last method as the clay pulls out toxins more effectively when in direct contact with your skin. Rinse your body before toweling off to remove the toxins that may cling to your body.
FYI: to avoid clogged drains, use a drain screen to catch clay clumps or use the first method and blend clay with water for 15 seconds before adding it to the warm water of your bath. This will prevent clay clumps.
4. Seaweed Detox Bath Recipe
There are 2 options for you to try:
- Either you can buy seaweed flakes and boil a large spoonful for 30 minutes. Then strain water from the flakes and add the water to your bath tub. Or boil the flakes in an old nylon stocking and thrown both the water and stocking with the flakes in your tub.
- Another option is to use fresh seaweed if you live near an ocean. Only use seaweed from the ocean not what is washed up on shore. Add to your bath tub and remove before draining.
Soak for at least 20 to 25 minutes in hot/warm water. It stimulates your body to eliminate toxins and other waste products. Rinse your body before toweling off to remove the toxins that may cling to your body.
Notes
- Always fill your tub with hot water, as hot as you can stand. Hot water makes you sweat and opens your pores to eliminate more toxins.
- Be careful when stepping out of your tub, you may feel a bit dizzy or lightheaded.
- Don’t forget to drink plenty of water after your bath to restore your water balance.
- You can use all ingredients on itself or create your own recipe. But if you’re in an experimental mood, keep in mind that if you use baking soda, don’t combine it with apple cider vinegar in the same bath. They react with each other (remember the volcano’s you made as a kid) instead of adding their benefits to your tub. It won’t harm you but it makes no sense to use them both in the same recipe.
- You can add clay to all your recipes if your water contains a lot of chlorine and fluoride. The clay will absorb them for you.
Enjoy! I’m going for the salt detox bath today with my favorite blend of ylang-ylang, sandalwood, and lavender.
Have you ever tried a similar detox bath recipes? Please share them with us in the comment box.
Thanks for reading. I hope this information was helpful. Until next time!
Amy Goodrich
Crazy cat lady, life and food lover, certified biologist, and holistic health coach.
As a potter, I love using clay in any form, but am concerned at the possibility of clogging tub drains as clay is rinsed off. Have you had any problems with the cumulative effect in the bathroom drainage system? In the pottery studio we empty into a bucket where the clay settles to the bottom, water is poured off and the sediment recycled, as poured down the sink results in serious blockage! Thanks~
Hi Ivana,
Great question indeed, should have mentioned that in the article. I will make an update of the article.
But to answer the question… It can indeed clog your drains if the clay clumps together. Although the amount you are using for a bath has never given me any problems. But you could use a drain screen or even a cheesecloth to catch the bigger lumps. There will always be small particles that make it to your drains but they will not form any problem.
Another way is blending the clay first before adding it to your bath. This swill avoid the formation of clumps. Blend 1/2 cup clay with water in a blender for 15 seconds, pour into hot tub of water, soak for 30 min, rinse down the drain. No other clean-up is required.
Enjoy 😉