Bathing Beauty

As of late, I have been trying to take good care of myself, physically and mentally. To this end, I have been taking 1 bath per week. Into the hot bath I put about 2 oz. eucalyptus spearmint foam bath, 1 Tbls. lavender body oil, and 5 drops lavender home fragrance oil. I soak in the bath for about 20 minutes, until I have worked up a good sweat, breathing deeply. The humidified, perfumed air clears my sinuses and my mind. The hot water loosens my muscles, usually I massage my legs and shoulders, squeezing them out like sponges. Then I rinse off in a cold shower until I feel all the sweat is gone, letting the water hit my neck and spine. Then I turn the shower back to hot water. I hear this increases circulation and detoxifies the nervous system.

Because I am in the middle of writing up my Ph.D. dissertation, I am always thinking about science. I was soaking last week and it occurred to me that I would probably benefit from having some bath salts also and it got me thinking about writing a blog about bathing chemistry. How do all these components aid the body and what else could be added to enhance the quality of the bath?

I found a long article about epsom salts that was pretty informative. Also found some good recipes on a site about lavender baths. I think there are many reasons why this kind of bath would be therapeutic. Contrary to popular belief, it is not lactic acid in the muscle that causes muscle soreness after exercise, but small tears in muscle tissue. I would argue that soaking in hot bath water would increase circulation, and hence delivery of nutrients and bloodflow to repair damaged areas.

My chemist's intuition tells me that adding salts in the bath would increase osmosis (movement of water) from inside the body to the bathwater, assuming the salt concentration in the bathwater is higher than inside the body, although this may only occur in the outermost layers of skin and may not affect deep muscle tissue. If water is being transported from inside the body to outside of it, it could carry (water-soluble) toxins with it. Maybe a more likely route for detoxification is via sweat.

The other point is the salts themselves. Muscle action cannot take place without movement of sodium, calcium, and potassium ions. These ions are not found in epsom salts (which instead contain only magnesium and sulfate) so that would suggest that a bath of sea salt would be better. Comparing sea salt composition to salts found in the human body, we find that sea salt provides an abundance of chloride and sodium, with sulfate and magnesium in lesser amounts, whereas the human body contains more calcium with potassium, sodium, chloride, and magnesium in lesser amounts. Sulfate is present in the human body but in trace quantity (less than 1%). There has been evidence that soaking in saltwater can increase corresponding salt concentration in the body, although the precise mechanism is unknown, so perhaps soaking in a salty bath could help the body regulate and reset its contractile and message-conducting salt composition.

Besides salt, taking a bath in oil is a tradition thousands of years old. Seems like coconut oil is most recommended, but olive, sesame, or other nut oil is also recommended in addition to pure vitamin E (molecular structure shown here). Oils contain this and other antioxidants, which may act directly on the skin or diffuse into the body. I also wonder if adding activated carbon would help adsorb organic toxins and wonder if it would work even in the presence of bath oils. All I know for sure about the oil bath is that my husband appreciates the softness of my skin. It's like it enhances the contrast between man and woman, making me seem more attractive to him.

I found a lot of hype related to therapeutic baths on the internet, it seems like there are some interesting areas left to explore in this informational landscape. Or better yet, go take a bath and see for yourself! Wellness is as wellness does.