The “Bathing in Your Own Filth” Question
If you, perhaps, have been gardening all day in the hot sun and have dirt in many crevices of the body co-mingling with sweat and sunblock, you may want to give the body a good rinse before you jump into the tub. But even that is entirely up to you. We don’t judge anyone’s bathing experience here.
You might even evoke the ancient Greeks and Romans and generously oil the skin before you Body Plane the dirt off your body.
But if it is just a regular day, maybe you showered in the morning or the day before, and the tub is clean, there shouldn't be much “filth” on the skin to bathe in. Assuming you have washed your hands several times since your last shower, and that you have cleansed the intimate areas of the body, how “dirty” can you really be?
Again, all of this is up to your own comfort. If you get tripped up on the idea that a bath is not a clean experience, then go ahead and take a nice shower beforehand and let that experience kick off your bathing ritual.
Make Sure the Tub is Clean
No matter how fancy your bath products are, the tub must be clean in order to enjoy a clean bath ritual. These are some guidelines we like to follow. We are not cleanliness or bacteria experts but these are the clean bath practices that have served us well.
- Look over the tub before you begin filling the bath. Make sure you don’t see any lingering soap scum or mildew in the tub. If you do, give it a good scrub followed by a thorough rinse with clean water.
- Even if the tub is pristine, give it a good rinse
- If you have a shower curtain, make sure it is out of the tub during your bath
- Make sure any tools or products you bring into the bath are also clean
Use Hygienic Bath Products
Part of Esker’s mission is to make non-bath people into bath people. This is something we think a lot about when we offer new products. Dead Sea and Epsom salts are both known to have anti-fungal, antibacterial, and antimicrobial properties, which is why they are important ingredients in our Sparkling Bath Salts. Our Body Wash and Body Oil are specifically made for the body with gentle, organic, plant-based ingredients. Products like these help to make any bath ritual a clean experience.
Relax
So many of the ideas we have around personal hygiene are based on our culture. At one point in time the phrase, You stink to high heaven! was a compliment, as the holiest people did not bathe. Washing anything more than the hands was considered sinful and there was an idea that only people who sinned had to be cleansed. People would go a full year with only one bath, and sometimes longer.
Thankfully, humans have evolved since then and we live in a time where we can create our own ideas of what bathing is. There are no hard and fast rules, only suggestions of tools and products that can help you relax, slow down, and have a little time to yourself.
How to Relax in The Bath
If we've done our job right, then we have convinced you that baths are a clean experience. But we understand that some people may find it difficult to let go and surrender to the relaxation. Here’s some tips to get you through it:- Incorporate the senses with a soothing Eucalyptus Lavender Incense Bundle
- Lay a washcloth on your chest while in the tub, it’s a proven anti-anxiety trick that works like a weighted blanket in the tub
- Breathe. Slow, deep, intentional breaths
- Set a relaxing intention and repeat it to yourself throughout the bath
- Set a timer for 15 minutes and see how you feel at that point. There’s a pretty good chance you will find you want to linger a bit longer
