Bath Time!

Not everyone likes a bath.  Some people prefer showers and some a ewer and basin, but the ritual of cleansing away a day that went wrong or crystalising one that went right is one that we all enjoy.  I hope.

I like hot baths with mountains of bubbles and so deep that if I tip my head back I might just float!
I like to wash my hair and rinse it in the bath water, I'm not that posh.
I definitely like to read my magazines and books in the bath and have mastered the art of reading in the tub without getting the material wet!

I'm not a fan of music while I soak, not all the time anyway.  If I listen to an album all the way through I am far too aware of how long I have been sat there and when the CD finishes I feel I ought to get out.
However, if there is no music, one has time to relax for as long as one likes before cleansing properly and time at the end too. All that cleansing is shattering work! If one does does it right, one deserves that second, relaxing lie down.

 (Does one sound posh again yet?)

Most of all I love the smells at bath time.  Vanilla bath bubbles or a scented oil gets stronger as the bathroom fills up with steam and as soon as I breathe it in my shoulders drop down an inch or two from their previous home directly beneath my ears! Salt or sugar scrub with almond and citrus oils wake me up so I can really enjoy the whole ritual.  Lavender and chamomile shampoo and a pantene conditioner that both remind me of being at the hairdresser, an activity I love and would be there a lot more if I could.
Dead sea mineral soap to wash my face with.  The smell of this soap is slightly better than a bar of Chanel no5 soap!!!
And afterwards, moisturising cream that smells a lot like Rive Gauche.

I have amassed some bathing ritual tips from people over the years from various friends and magazines that I will share with you now.  If you try one, you won't be sorry!  Obviously don't use a tip that has ingredients you're allergic to! :(

Try putting a couple of herbal tea bags under the flow of water from your tap (I find a muslin cloth tied to the end of the tap works best) for a lovely aromatherapy bath. Chamomile, lavender, peppermint, ginger, jasmine and white tea are all lovely! Beware the sensitive parts in a ginger or peppermint tea bath when you get out your bits may be on fire or ice cold respectively!
Red wine!  Did you open a bottle of red wine and now don't want to finish it?  Or perhaps you left it too long and it tastes like vinegar?  Well if you don't want to pour it in your next stew, pour it in your bath.  All the lovely enzymes will exfoliate your skin gently and you'll come out smoother than a baby's bum! Tip: don't sit in it for too long or you run the risk of dying yourself and odd burgundy colour. Rinse the bath and yourself with lukewarm water after bathing so you don't smell like an alcoholic!
Bathe the Japanese way! Run a bath with fragrant oils. Take a shower first in coolish water (as cool as you can stand) to get all your washing and cleansing out the way. Sit in bath and relax. Take a slightly warmer shower than the first (but not warmer than the temperature of your bath) to rinse off.
Make like Cleopatra and bathe in milk! Mix up about 2 pints using powdered milk and pour in bath.  Let it do its work. For extra Cleo factor add petals!


Enjoy!