I can't think of any better way to end the day then by taking a steamy, aromatherapy bath. Its relaxing, it helps both your body and your mind and it gives you a moment to yourself.

I was in the habit of ending every night with an epsom salt bath for a few months. It was amazing! I would read a book, plan what I was going to do the next day and then just relax. Often my bath was only 20 to 30 minutes but I felt so much better! I was able to get to sleep so much easier, my days were so much more organized and I was so much calmer. I have no idea what happened to my nightly ritual, but it is one that I mean to get back into ASAP.

As you can guess, I made a new recipe for  each time I had something that I wanted to address: be it PMS cramping, sore, tired muscles or feeling "wired and tired", I customized my essential oil blends to match what I needed that night. As I perfected a few recipes, these 5 became the ones that I came back to over and over again.

Benefits of Aromatherapy Baths

Epsom Salts - Epsom salts are a great way to increase your magnesium levels. Fun fact - your body can absorb more magnesium through your skin than through your diet. Magnesium is know to help with sleep, blood sugar levels, blood pressure and muscle cramping.

Coconut Oil - Moisturizes the skin and also acts as a carrier oil for the essential oils (to prevent skin sensitivities or skin irritations - especially where you don't want a skin irritation)

Essential oils - The health benefits of essential oils are numerous, but one of my favorite things about them is that you can customize a blend to help support your goal!

Overall benefits:

-decrease blood pressure

-decrease stress

-decrease muscle tension

-increase blood flow

-can help support sleep

How to increase the benefits of the essential oils in your bath

Essential Oils are extremely volatile natural compounds that are extracted from plants. In layman terms: they evaporate really quickly. We want some of those essential oils to evaporate, because we get both the benefits of having the oils on our skin but also inhaling the oils aromatically - and lets face it - they smell AMAZING! But we don't want all the oils to evaporate before we even get a chance to get into the tub.

By mixing the essential oils with a carrier - my favorite being fractionated coconut oil - A few benefits are enjoyed:

-The essential oils do not evaporate as quickly and you get to enjoy them both in the steam aromatically and on your skin topically.

-Oil and water don't mix - essential oils are not an exception to this rule. By combining them with a carrier oil, the essential oils are dispersed more evenly on top of your bath water and there is less risk of getting pure essential oil on your skin and causing a skin sensitivity or irritation - especially down there.

-You keep more of the essential oils on your skin when you get out of the bath - extending their benefits.

A word of Caution to the wise:

-Always read and follow the directions on the labels. Not all essential oils are meant to go on your skin, and some that can go on your skin should be use is very small diluted amounts.

-Not all essential oils are pure. There are a lot of essential oils on the market that are designed specifically for aromatic diffusers and contain chemicals, such as rubbing alcohol, to make them disperse more easily and stay longer in the air. They may also contain other chemicals that the manufacturer may not know or have disclosed on the label. Always choose a pure, therapeutic grade essential oil to use.

-Avoid sensitive areas and mucous membranes when at all possible. It stings so bad. If you do get essential oils where they don't belong or your blend is too strong and you are experiencing an irritation - use pure oil - olive, vegetable, coconut - whatever you have on hand - to dilute the oil on your skin first then rinse with luke warm water and lots of soap. repeat until irritation settles down.

-Oils will make your tub slippery. Take caution when getting in and out of your tub, and you may want to wipe down your tub to ensure that it is not unsafe for your next use.