3 Easy Home Detox Baths
Spring is quickly approaching, and now is a great time to try a home detoxification regimen that will prime your immunity and cleanse your system. At the end of a long day, a calming bath soaks away tension. You can take your bath to the next level by simply incorporating a few household ingredients to create a powerful detoxification therapy that will refresh and rejuvenate you.
Salons and spas will charge a high price to restore your inner peace with extravagant baths. I am a huge fan of water therapies and want to share a few of my home favorites that will not break your bank. The purpose of detoxification baths is based on the idea of drawing toxins out of your body through the skin.
The first tub treatment incorporates a few common ingredients you probably already have, such as: Epsom salts, baking soda, sea salt, and ground ginger. The second and third treatments include the use of a more specialized and powerful agent, Bentonite Clay, and I suggest either a bath or hand and foot therapy treatment.
Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, provides a naturally alkaline substance with a reputation for helping to remove toxins.
Sea salt has been used in healing bath waters for millennia. The soothing, rejuvenating properties imparted by minerals in the salts can reduce arthritis pain, deep muscle fatigue, and irritation from eczema and psoriasis.
Epsom salt, named for a bitter saline spring at Epsom in Surrey, England, is not a salt but rather a naturally occurring pure mineral compound of magnesium and sulfate. Long known as a natural remedy for many ailments, its benefits expanded to beauty, household, and gardening-related uses as well.
Studies show that magnesium and sulfate are readily absorbed through the skin, making Epsom salt a great ingredient for the detoxification and rejuvenation bath. Magnesium plays a number of roles in the body, including regulating the activity of over 325 enzymes, reducing inflammation, enhancing muscle and nerve function, and assisting in the prevention of hardening of the arteries.
The natural sulfates help improve the absorption of nutrients, flush toxins, and ease migraine headaches.
Ginger is a pungent herb that has an anti-inflammatory effect on rheumatoid arthritis Externally, it is the base of treatments for muscle sprains and fibrositis. It is also an excellent stimulator for peripheral circulation, which may cause flushing of the skin in this detox bath.
Lavender Oil is an essential oil used in small amounts as an anti-inflammatory for the treatment of rheumatic complaints, and is a relaxing nervine, antidepressant, and promotes natural sleep.
Lemon Oil is an essential oil used to reduce anxiety and depression and increase concentration and memory power. It assists in a “winding down” of the nerves to ease into sleep.
Rosemary Oil, applied externally, helps ease muscle pain, sciatica, and neuralgia. It acts as a follicle stimulant and improves scalp circulation. It is an antidepressant, antimicrobial, rubefacient, and may lessen migraine pain. Just use several drops in the tub!
THERAPY #1: Easy Detox Bath (Allow 45 minutes for full benefits)
Base Ingredients:
2 cups Epsom Salt (additional 1 cup for every 50 lbs you are over 100)
1 cup Sea Salt
2 cups Baking Soda
1/3 cup Ground Ginger
Three drops of an essential oil of choice.
Simply run a hot bath, add ingredients, and circulate until fully dissolved. Soak for 45 minutes in water as warm as possible. You will notice your skin turning color and you will begin to sweat—normal parts of a detox. The more ginger you use, the more heat you will experience. Listen to your calming music or even read a book while soaking. After 45 minutes, pat the skin dry with a cotton towel and relax for 15 additional minutes.
Therapies #2 and #3 incorporate Bentonite Clay. Bentonite Clay is another powerful natural detoxification agent used in expensive spas around the world. This clay is easily found online, and it has amazing results when you want to experience a full-body detoxification. Below are several ways to use Bentonite at home.
THERAPY #2: Tub Therapy with Bentonite Clay
Fill your bathtub with warm/hot water, whatever is comfortable, and add the clay. The hotter the water the better, as it opens the pores of the skin, and stimulates the lymph system, enhancing the detoxification process. Slowly mix in the clay with your hand or a non-metal utensil to keep the clay particles from clumping. Use 1 cup of clay for children and up to 2 cups for adults, soaking in the tub for 10 to 20 minutes.
Warning: Anyone with chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure or heart conditions, should check with your doctor prior to a clay therapy bath, and begin with ½-cup clay, soaking in the tub for just 10 minutes, easing into a full tub therapy session.
When you are finished with your bath, drink a glass of water to re-hydrate and then shower off. It is a good idea to allow the body to rest while it continues to adjust to the detoxification process.
When you are finished, let your tub water run for an extra 2 minutes to allow all the clay to move out from the pipes. If you have old pipes or are concerned about the clay clogging your drain, wait a few hours for the clay to settle to the bottom of the tub, then use paper towels to scoop out the settled clay.
The Bentonite Clay bath will increase mobility, reduce inflammation, and is a powerful natural detoxification agent. This clay is constituted of negatively charged ions that “capture” positively charged ions in your system. The super absorption property literally pulls toxins, chemicals, and heavy metals out of the body, while re-mineralizing your entire system. The clay’s amazing restorative properties are derived from numerous minerals such as calcium, iron, iodine, magnesium, zinc, selenium, copper, manganese, chromium, chloride, sodium, and potassium – all-natural substances each body requires.
THERAPY #3: Hand and Foot Heavy Metal Detox with Bentonite Clay
Place 1/4 cup of Bentonite Clay in a glass container that seals. Add warm, distilled, or filtered water (not water that has been boiled). Using a non-metal utensil, mix to make a paste similar to or a little thinner than butter. Apply the paste once a day to one entire foot or hand and let dry (10 to 20 minutes).
Wash off. The next day, apply to an alternate hand or foot. Toxins effectively leave through the hands and feet, and you should see evidence in the darker dried clay. Complete this cycle 2 times.
Fill a drinking glass with good quality water, turn on some relaxing music, and have a fluffy cotton towel, robe, and slippers handy to melt into!
I hope you try these at-home therapies, and as with all new health care regimens, consult your physician prior to undertaking a new therapy.
Sources:
Upon a Clay Tablet by Jason Eaton
www.saltworks.us
www.livestrong.com
Contact the author: LaurieDonnell@hotmail.com
