Herbs have long been known to have restorative powers. So if you love a good herbal tea, you’re going to want to stick around for this one. Because today, we’re going one step beyond a nourishing herbal tea.
Today, we’re talking about herbal baths.
Herbal bath soaks are a simple yet super relaxing way to wind down after a long hard day’s work. Whether you work full time, are a stay at home parent, or just love to relax, this post is for you.
Either way, adding herbs to your bath can help provide comfort and relief from various types of stress. Think overwhelming mental stress, pent-up body & muscle stress, inflammatory skin stress, and so on. (More on the best herbs for stress, here.)
BUT herbal baths are not only beneficial a ton of reasons (which we will discuss later), but they are transformative.
A good herbal bath can not only change & uplift your whole mood, but it can drastically improve the way you mentally and physically feel.
So, we’re sharing a round-up of the best herbs to use for bath soaks. We’ll also deep dive into the benefits of herbal baths & give you a recipe for the prettiest, pinkest, and most relaxing herbal bath soak you’ve ever had.
Let’s go.
10 Best Herbs For Bath Soak
♡ Lavender
Add lavender to your bath via dried lavender herb or essential oil
+ Lifts mood and fills you with a sense of peace and tranquility
+ Soothes the skin and promotes healing of acne
+ Reduces the look of dark spots and scarring
♡ Ashwagandha
Add ashwagandha to your bath via powder.
+ Relieves pent-up stress both mentally and physically
+ Cleanses, moisturizes, and calms the skin (scalp included)
+ Improves blood circulation & boosts the immune system
+ More on Ashwagandha here
♡ Lemon Balm
Add lemon balm to your bath via a tea bag.
+ Lifts mood and promotes relaxation
+ Relieves stress and anxiety
+ Soothes sunburn and other skin conditions
♡ Orange Blossoms
Add orange blossom to your bath via essential oil. OR, add 10-15 slices of fresh cut orange to your bath for similar results.
+ Reduces cortisol levels & lowers blood pressure
+ Cleanses the skin & reduces inflammation
+ Soothes menopausal symptoms
♡ Calendula
Add calendula to your bath via organic dried flowers.
+ Relieves stress and anxiety
+ Soothes sore muscles
+ Helps with skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis
♡ Peppermint
Add peppermint to your bath via essential oil
+ Calms the nervous system and lifts mood
+ Relieves headaches, muscle aches, and joint pain
+ Provides relief from congestion, cold, and flu
♡ Passion Flower
Add passion flowers to your bath via a tea bag.
+ Lifts mood and calms the senses
+ Treats insomnia, anxiety, and depression
+ Relieves stress throughout the body
♡ Chamomile
Add chamomile to your bath via a tea bag.
+ Promotes maximum relaxation and quality sleep
+ Cleanses & fights acne with antibacterial properties
+ Relieves dry skin conditions, and even irritation from bug bites
♡ Eucalyptus
Add eucalyptus to your bath via essential oil.
+ Boosts circulation & reduces inflammation
+ Relieves sore and tired muscles
+ Protects against infections
♡ Dead Sea Salt (Or Epsom Salt)
While dead sea salt isn’t technically an herb, its benefits in the bath are too good not to include it on this list. Add dead sea salt to your via crushed salt.
+ Reduces inflammation and relieves sore & tired muscles
+ Improves skin barrier function & promotes glowy skin hydration
+ Detoxifies & promotes better quality sleep
Quick tip: If you plan on using dried herbs, you don’t want all that organic matter going down (and possibly clogging) your drain. Instead, put your herb mixture in one of these reusable muslin bags and just toss it in your tub when you’re ready. Or use one of these eco-friendly reusable stainless steel tea infusers. Just remember to clean it thoroughly after each use.
Herbal Bath Benefits
Relieves stress, tension, and anxiety.
A nice warm bath in itself is great for relieving stress, tension, and anxiety. By adding herbs that are known to calm the nervous system – lavender, ashwagandha, and chamomile- you can take your stress-relief to the next level.
Soothes sore muscles, aches, and pains.
Again, a nice warm bath is amazing for relieving muscle pain, tension & soreness in the muscles & joints throughout the body. Add in some herbs that do the same, and you have a powerful pain relieving concoction to relax in. Herbs that are THE BEST for this include calendula, peppermint, ashwagandha, and dead sea salt (not technically an herb, but very necessary to achieve ultimate physical relaxation in any bath).
Balances skin pH.
Did you know that your skin has a pH balance? Well, it does. And when this balance is off, it can cause dry skin, oily skin, acne, dark spots, skin conditions, rashes, and more. Bathing in herbs like lemon balm, orange blossom, and eucalyptus can actually help repair skin’s pH and restore skin’s natural protective barrier.
More on what to put in your bathwater for skin pH, here.
Strengthens the immune system & wards off infections.
Many of the herbs on our list today are natural immune boosters. Herbs like ashwagandha, lemon balm, peppermint, and chamomile contain natural antibacterial and antifungal properties that help the body ward off sickness, disease, and infection.
And lastly, it’s a GREAT form of self-care.
Herbal baths are like self-care on steroids. A nice, warm bath is already amazing, but when you amp it up by adding in other self-care ingredients – like ingredients for stress-relief, muscle & joint repair, skin health, hygiene, and more – you are giving yourself that much more in the self-care category. And that’s a win in our book. every. single. time.
NOW – are you guys finally ready to try an herbal bath for yourself? We thought so. Try this Pretty Pink Herbal Bath Soak Recipe below.
Pretty Pink Herbal Bath Soak Recipe
This pretty pink bath soak is all about relaxation, stress-relief, and maintaining that perfect glowy skin, while keeping it so on brand.
So light some candles, hit play on your favorite vibey playlist, and get ready to have the best bath of your life.
What You’ll Need:
+ (7-10 drops) lavender essential oil for aroma & skin rejuvenation
+ (1-2 tablespoons) ashwagandha to calm the nerves and relieve stress
+ (A small handful) rose petals for glowy skin
+ (1 tea bag) chamomile to promote total relaxation & good quality sleep
+ (1-2 cups) pink himalayan dead sea salt to relieve aches, pains & tension
Instructions:
Step 1: Gather ingredients & begin to fill your bathtub with lukewarm water.
As you draw your bath, you’ll want to use lukewarm water. Exposure to super hot water can be damaging, as well as dehydrating, to the skin.
Step 2: As your tub is filling, add the ashwagandha powder + chamomile tea bag + dead sea salt
Since these ingredients will take a sec to dissolve/diffuse, you’ll want to add them first. Toss them in and stir with a large cooking spoon (or your hand, of course) until completely dissolved.
Step 3: Add the lavender essential oil + rose petals
Add the lavender essential oil with a dropper. Rather than dropping all 7-10 drops in one place, try to evenly distribute the drops in the tub. A few drops here, a few drops there. You get the point.
And finally, top off your herbal bath with some pretty pink rose petals. Grab a handful of dried rose petals and sprinkle them right on the top of the water. (P.S: you can totally use fresh rose petals, too!)
Step 4: Relax & enjoy – you deserve it!
Now it’s time to enjoy your pretty pink herbal bath soak. We recommend enjoying your herbal bath soak for anywhere between 15-30 minutes.
Why not longer, you ask? Because prolonged exposure to warm water can actually cause more harm to the skin than good. AKA dreaded dry skin patches.
HOT TIP: enjoy an icy roll with your HOT MESS while you enjoy your steamy bath. Nothing better. Honestly, we can’t think of a better way to top off your self-care session than using your pretty pink ice roller in your pretty pink bath soak.
Why take just a normal bath when you can take a herbal bath?
Yes, warm baths are great. They’re wonderful, fantastic, amazing. But, if you’re already going to take a bath anyway, you MIGHT AS WELL add in some super beneficial herbs as well. For more bath recipes, click here. And if you’re new to baths, self-care and/or a lazy girl, you can buy herbal bath salts to get you going.
It’s SO EASY to add these herbs to your bath, and even easier to just lay there and soak up ALL THAT GOODNESS.
x, The Skinny Confidential team.
+ try this DIY eucalyptus shower.
++ stalk the best bath mat ever.
SOAKY SOAK: