All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
My baths are few and far between, like most people's. Usually, the focus is on taking the hottest, longest soak possible. Maybe I put a movie on the iPad and pour a glass of wine, waiting for my skin to prune and for my stresses to melt away. That’s what we’ve been taught is the function of the adult bath: de-stressing mind and muscles. But while I am a champion of the luxe soak, there is also a way to make your bath slightly more effective in terms of a spa-like skincare treatment. I don’t mean to say your bath shouldn’t be an hour long and involve you constantly topping-up on both hot water and champagne, but there is another way to take a soak.
The below advice should help you incorporate baths into your personal-care regimen more regularly, and to get all of the replenishing, relaxing benefits without any of the consequences of excess soaking. Of course, you should always chase a bath with a generous application of body lotion or body oil, too. And while I’ve got you, take a peek at our similar guide to optimized showering.
8 Tips for Better Baths
You do not want to soak in your own filth. While it may feel like extra work, you should really do all of your hygienic cleansing in the shower prior to filling up the tub. Otherwise, you’ll be in a pool of your own sweat and germs. So, wash your body head to toe, and shampoo your hair, too, if you plan to do any hair treatments in the tub.
If you plan to do things like body scrubs, face masks, and hair masks in the bath—and you should—then plan them out ahead of time and be efficient about when you apply each one. For example, many body scrubs incorporate salts that also make for a nice muscle soak, so you can do those at the beginning. However, if you plan to do a hair mask or face mask, then you might want to save them for the end, so that you can rinse them off without having to soak in the product residue.
Your bath doesn’t need to be 5 minutes—after all, what a waste of time and water. But, on the other end of the spectrum, your bath probably shouldn’t be an hour, either. Even if you add nourishing elements to the water, that extensive soak will pull moisture from your skin and leave you feeling dehydrated all over.
The best way to turn a bath into a spa-like treatment is to add nourishing elements to the water, which in turn decreases the chances that you finish the bath feeling dehydrated. So along with cooler and shorter baths, you should make sure to add replenishing oil-based bath products. It’s kind of like the difference between washing your hands with a really dehydrating liquid soap, or using one that is pumped full of moisturizing ingredients. So, make sure your bath actively moisturizes by adding in some oils. Many are fragrant too, and can add aromatic elements to the experience. That being said, if you have sensitive skin, then avoid any essential oils like lavender, and instead prioritize hydrating and nourishing carrier oils like argan and jojoba.
We think of bubble baths as the ultimate luxury; here is something we can further fall into, blocking out the world and summoning our inner child. They make the bath fun, even by that simple association with our youth. However, most bubble baths are extremely high in skin-drying sulfates, and can be compromising to skin moisture. So, I say forego the bubbles.
As the warm water runs into the tub, sprinkle in some bath salts to enjoy the muscle- and skin-soothing abilities of the salts. Look for sea salts with magnesium sulfate (epsom) or magnesium chloride to provide the best combination of soothing and nourishing benefits, without the excessive dehydration of your skin.
Efficient and effective baths can still offer you sensory benefits. You can lower the lights and strike up a candle, use a diffuser with soul-soothing oils like lavender, or drop in some bath oils that also cast a calming radius. Put on some chill music, or let Ira Glass relax your mind with his lullaby voice.
Anyone who has poured bath oils into their tub knows that the oils tend to line the walls of the tub after the water’s been drained. This is not only a little grimy, but it is also hazardous for the next time you step in for a shower. So, once the water has been drained, I like to take a clean but low-quality towel or rag and thoroughly wipe down the sides while there is still some water moisture mixed in. Then, after an hour or the next morning, I make sure to wipe it a second time (with a second clean rag) to absorb any remaining oils. This sounds much more tedious than it actually is.
