The Benefits of Hot Baths and Saunas
Mary Futher, a product developer with 20 years of experience working in global beauty companies shares her knowledge as a pioneer in the “clean ingredients” movement. She writes a weekly column on annoying body issues and gives quick home remedies or clean product suggestions.
Did you know Japanese people have the longest life expectancy in the world? The reasons are all related to their healthy lifestyle and diet. One lifestyle choice they make, as well as the Finnish people, is detoxing the largest organ in their body, the skin, with heat.
THE JAPANESE DETOX– HOT BATH
Japan is in a volcanic zone of geothermal activity and there are over 25,000 naturally occurring mineral hot springs across every region of the country. Detoxification through excessive sweating is especially important to the Japanese as they believe detoxification should be done through your skin, as it is your body’s largest organ, using heat.
ONSEN & SENTO
Onsen uses natural hot spring water heated beneath the ground and must be at least 25C, although some onsens get as hot as 100C. Balneotherapy – medical treatments through the use of bathing are widely practiced in Japan. They believe the mineral-rich water (magnesium and sulphur) from an onsen helps to promote skin health, whereas the heat from the water helps to reduce inflammation, muscle pain, and boost your immune system.
Onsens are often looked upon as a treat due to its cost, whereas sentos are everyday bathhouses that are more affordable. Sentos are communal indoor public bathhouses that simply use regular hot water just like you would if you ran a hot bath at home.
THE FINNISH DETOX – SAUNA
Sauna is one of the main practices that Finnish people practice. For instance, in Finland, 99% of people will head into a sauna at least once a week (if they don’t have one in their home), they use a public sauna. With 5.5 million people living in Finland, and over 3 million saunas nationwide, it shows just how serious they are about sweating it out. A sauna session is known to help detox by working the body into excessive sweating using dry heat, which helps release toxins and impurities through skin.
WHY NORTH AMERICANS HAVE IT WRONG
In North America, taking a bath is used to relax while cleansing your body and is somewhat time consuming. When we do choose to bathe, the water is often filled with synthetic colours, fragrances bath products like bubble bath or bath bombs, instead of natural salts and healing essential oils.
DETOXIFICATION THROUGH DIET IS NOT ENOUGH
Although doing a juice cleanse or incorporating detoxifying superfoods into your diet can help flush out toxins, your overall health and wellness cannot be maintained without the regular incorporation of excessive sweating.
Wellness practices such as clean eating should also include going to the sauna, taking a hot bath or hot yoga on a weekly basis to enhance your body’s overall detoxification through sweat.
BEST PRACTICES FOR A DETOX HOT BATH AT HOME
Simply fill your bathtub with the hottest water you can tolerate and soak your body for 15-30 minutes. The heat from the bath opens your pores and works your body into a sweat, expelling toxins from head to toe.
TIP: Remember to hydrate, before and after taking a hot bath to replenish your electrolytes.
THE POWER OF EPSOM SALT
Magnesium and sulphur are critical nutrients our body needs. Unfortunately, they are poorly absorbed through our food. Soaking in a hot bath with Epsom salts helps significantly as these minerals can easily absorb through the skin.
An Epsom salt bath helps to boost circulation throughout the body, lower blood pressure, relieve muscle pain, and pull toxins from your pores. An Epsom salts bath has also proven to help flush out drugs remaining in the body after surgery.
ENHANCE YOUR DETOX WITH THE DETOX HOT BATHS
Inspired by Japanese culture, we developed our detox hot baths so that everyone could experience the same detoxifying benefits of an onsen at home. The sleep detox hot bath was formulated with 100% natural ingredients to heighten your detox experience, using Epsom salts and healing active ingredients. Our custom essential oil blend, featuring wintergreen and spearmint, was specifically designed to completely relax your mind and body. The sleep detox was designed to escape the day and drift off into dreamland. Spearmint and wintergreen are also known to help with lymphatic drainage and increasing circulation.