Bathing And Baths

Bathing And Baths

Bathing is a very ancient form of recreation, as well as a means of cleansing. The Romans perfected the art of social bathing, a tradition which continues today in countries as varied as Japan and Tunisia.

In recent centuries bathing has generally become a private occupation affording the opportunity to relax, with the bathroom being one of the focal points in the home.

The word 'bathing' has a whole range of connotations. Since it can mean not only cleansing, but also soothing burnt skin, relaxing, pure enjoyment or exercising, there are numerous types of bath ranging from the footbath to the plunge-bath, and numerous ways of bathing:

Warm baths

Warm baths cleanse the skin, and moisturize it too: pores open in the hat and take in water. Apply bidy moisturizer after the bath to leave a film of oil on the skin and prevent moisture loss.
Warmth helps relieve aches and pains and prevent stiffness after exercising: it relaxes muscles, dissipates tension around the neck and back, eases arthritic joints and alleviates tension headaches.
Warm, not hot is best. Over-hot baths (over 38 in Celcius) put unnecessary strain on the heart as it works to dilate blood vessels in order to cool the body. If you have low blood pressure you may find that over-hot baths make you black out for a second when you get out. Hot baths are weakening, too, and can dry the skin out by washing away too much of the natural sebum which helps hold in moisture.
A warm bath relaxes you both mentally and physically ready for sleep, and provides the opportunity for time alone which everyone needs each day.
Warm baths are the most generally popular and the basis of most special-treatment baths.

Cool baths (37 in Celcious or below)

Cool baths gently wake both you and your muscles up ready for the day.
Cool baths revitalize the body after work in preparation for the evening, especially when infused with herbs.
Cold baths are only advisable for people in good health: like very hot baths, they can strain the heart.
Cold water provides a sudden shock to the whole system. This type of bath is most successful when used as a cold plunge after a warm shower.
Cold baths cool down sunburn, preventing it from penetration still deeper layers of the skin.
Cold baths temporarily alleviate skin irritation caused, for example, buy insect bites, nettle rash and minor allergies.

Special Baths

There are innumerable ancient and modern recipes for baths, some of which are:

Herbal baths These fulfil a variety of functions from stimulation to relaxation. Choose your bath herb or mixture of herbs according to their properties. You can either steep 2 oz in 600 ml (1 pint) of boiling water for 20 to 30 minutes, then strain the liquid into your bath, or alternatively tie them into a piece of muslin and hang this from the hot tap. You can re-use the bag 3 or 4 times. Cover it with fine silk or cotton print if you want to make it look more attractive.

Aromotherapy baths The addition of 3 to 7 drops of an essential oil to the bath can be healing, relaxing or stimulating and will not make your bath oily.

Scented oil baths Few of these oils will disperse into the water, but will float on the surface and cling to your skin as you emerge. A more practical solution is to have a non-oily aromatic bath, followed by an application of body oil or other moisturizer. If you do put oil in your bath be very careful not to slip as you hop out of the tub.

Cider or wine vinegar bath Add a cup of one of these to the bath to relieve dry, itchy skin.

Salt bath Like seawater, salt baths invigorate. In addition, salt baths help alleviate thrush and other vaginal yeast infections.

Milk bath A cup of powdered skimmed milk in the bath helps nourish and smooth the skin. Cleopatra used ass's milk.

Sitz bath Wrap your upper half in a towel or bathrobe, run enough warm or cool water into the bath to reach your navel and sit in the bath for 10 minutes. Alternatively, have a large bowl of cold water and sit in this and the warm bath alternately, starting with the warm bath. Sitz baths stimulate the circulation, and work equally well to aid sleep at night, taking blood away from the brain, and for waking up in the morning, by stimulating the let muscles ready for action.

A body rub before a bath or shower is invigorating and also helps to exfoliate the body skin. Rub sea salt or commercial exfoliating cream into the skin, using circular movements, excluding the face and neck. Rinse off well with cold water for maximum stimulation.

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