SEAWEED BATHS (1990-2018)

Collated/or written by Jeanne Rose

 

Synopsis ~ Seaweed has been in use for thousands of year — in diet, science, bathing and much more. Bathing in the weeds of the sea is healthful and nourishing for the skin and body. Start a seaweed bathing regimen now for better health and well-being.

Enniscrone Seaweed Baths, Ireland

           

INTRODUCTION

 

Early bathtub…Theory of Hydrostatics – Why you should take baths! Health, well-being and water science. Take a Seaweed Bath.

Archimedes lived in Syracuse, Greece, between 287 B.C. and his tragic death in 212 B.C. by murder. History records him as the greatest mathematical mind of pre-modern times, and the list of his discoveries and contributions to math and science is enormous. Young scholars today will most probably know him best from the story of how he sat in the bath, noticed how much water he was displacing, and came up with the theory of hydrostatics, or the time he worked out how to use underwater scales to determine the density of an object. The latter was another bath-time observation – one that got him so excited that he ran down the street naked yelling “Eureka!” at the top of his lungs.

Amber at the beach collecting Seaweed & Archimedes understanding displacement   

          Remember how good you feel after walking on the beach? You can see and smell that great odor in the air that is a mixture of salt, water and Seaweed? You swim or dive and see the waving fronds and the big bubbles of oxygen that bubble up from below. Seaweeds balance and purify the ocean through their growth and chemistry — they can do the same for your body. A hot seaweed bath is like a wet-steam sauna, only better, because the greens from the sea balance body chemistry instead of dehydrating it. The electromagnetic action of the seaweed acts as a diuretic/diaphoretic to release excess body fluids from congested cells; it can dissolve fatty wastes through the skin, and replacing them with minerals, especially potassium and iodine. Iodine boosts thyroid activity, so food fuels are used before they can turn into fatty deposits. Vitamin K in seaweeds boosts adrenal activity, meaning that a seaweed bath can help maintain hormone balance for a more youthful body.

         

Make Your Own Seaweed Spa Bath – nourishing and anti-aging … A Body Care Solution

Soak in your bathtub with a strand of Seaweed or make an infusion of mineral-rich Seaweed. This is very balancing, nourishing, and purifies and cleans the skin. It can equal a soak in Dead Sea salts or a day at the baths of a mineral springs. Seaweed baths are one of the most healthful experiences you can give yourself at home. Start your bathing regimen now and continue for the rest of your life. These are relaxing, deeply beneficial baths. You’ll feel refreshed, your skin will thank you, and you’ll be able to face the season feeling more nourished, grounded, and recharged. It is easy ~

Seaweed salad on the shore

Taking a Hot Seaweed Bath once a week stimulates lymphatic drainage and fat burning so you can keep off excess weight, reduce cellulite and rid your body of toxins. Seaweed baths are balancing, nourishing to the skin and detoxifying to the entire body.

There Are Several Ways to Use Seaweed in The Bath

1. Draw very hot water in a tub to ½ full. Put the seaweed into the tub and steep until it softens, and the water is cool enough to enter

OR

1. Make a strong infusion in a large pot on the stove, simmering the seaweed for 10 – 15 minutes before straining and adding to hot bathwater.

OR put the seaweed into a muslin or silk bag.

[SILK CLOTH used for strainers or for straining herbs is made from the cocoon of the silk worm (Bombyx mori) – thus it is a protein. Since our bodies are also animal protein, the silk cloth can be used as a rub to dry the hair giving it resilience and beautiful shine. It can be used to hold herbs or Seaweed when taking a bath thus obviating the need for cooking, infusing and straining herbs or Seaweed before the bath. [Just fill the silk bag with what you want and pop into the tub.]

Infusion bag

 

1. Soak in the deep bath, covering the body as much as possible for a minimum of 22 minutes but 45 minutes to 1 hour is wonderful. Let hot water constantly trickle into the tub to maintain the temperature and to keep the water moving and oxygenating. Soak as long as possible to give the body time to absorb the mineral properties. (Rub the body with the seaweed solids during the bath for best results.) If you become overheated or uncomfortable, sit on the edge of the tub for 1 – 2 minutes. If a soft gel coating occurs on the skin during the Hot Seaweed Bath, this indicates that the seaweed’s gel mantle is interacting with the skin. This is perfectly normal and does not harm the therapeutic value of the bath. Gel consistency may vary.

✓ Alaria (Alaria esculenta): brown sea algae found in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. It is a good source of beta-carotene, iron, B vitamins and fiber.

 ✓Bull Kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) This is the Seaweed most often recognized when foraging on the coast. These classic brown Seaweeds form the massive ‘forest and canopy’ located just offshore – we see it along the coast in Monterey.

 ✓ Bladderwrack (Fucus vesiculosus): packed with vitamin K—an excellent adrenal stimulant; still used today by native Americans in steam baths for arthritis, gout and illness recovery.

 ✓ Dulse (Palmaria palmata): a red sea plant rich in iron, protein, and vitamin A; tests on dulse show activity against viruses; purifying and tonic effects on the body, a supremely balanced nutrient. It is a very good source of vegetable protein, B₁₂, and vitamins C and E.

 ✓Feather Boa (Egregia menziesii) The “Feather Boa” Kelp This attractive olive brown seaweed kelp is fringed with rich chocolate brown blades. It can reach five meters in length and be found on moderate shores in the lower to mid-tidal zones.

 Hijiki (Sargassum fusiforme, syn. Hizikia fusiformis) is a brown sea Vegetable growing wild on rocky coastlines around Japan, Korea, and China. The written kanji forms of its two names, which are examples of ateji, literally mean deer-tail grass and sheep-nest grass, respectively. Hijiki is a traditional food and has been a part of a balanced diet in Japan for centuries. Hijiki is known to be rich in dietary fiber and essential minerals such as calcium, iron, and magnesium. According to Japanese folklore, Hijiki aids health and beauty, and thick, black, lustrous hair is connected to regular consumption of small amounts of Hijiki. Hijiki has been sold in United Kingdom natural products stores for 30 years and Hijiki’s culinary uses have been adopted in North America.

Recent studies have shown that Hijiki contains potentially toxic quantities of inorganic arsenic, and the food safety agencies of several countries (excluding Japan), including Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, have advised against its consumption. Known also as Sargassum.

 ✓Kelp, Horsetail (Laminaria digitata, Oarweed): a mineral rich, brown marine plant containing vitamins A, B, E, D and K; a significant source of vitamin C; works as a blood purifier, relieves stiffness, and promotes adrenal, pituitary and thyroid health; Kelp contains sodium alginate (algin), an element that helps remove radioactive particles and heavy metals from the body; algin, carrageenan and agar are kelp gels that rejuvenate gastrointestinal health and aid digestion; Kelp’s natural iodine can normalize thyroid-related problems like overweight and lymph system congestion.

Soup Mix from “Maine Seaweed” — Digitata is highest in iodine, Alaria is highest in calcium. “I’ve settled on this blend because it is a balanced representation of the brown seaweeds that are rich in minerals and iodine, it delivers the nutrients dissolved in water so that our digestion can absorb them, and everyone who uses soup mix on a regular basis reports better health, sense of deep nourishment and well-being. When a customer asks, “How much should I eat?” I reply, “3-5 grams per day, or about three pounds per year, dry weight. This will give you enough dietary iodine to protect your thyroid from radioactive iodine, and your bones will thank you for the minerals that help maintain a healthy alkaline bloodstream that nourishes them.”

✓Kombu (Laminaria longicruris) or Laminaria saccharina: decongestant for excess mucous; has abundant iodine, carotenes, B, C, D and E vitamins, minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium, silica, iron and zinc; also contains the powerful skin healing nutrient germanium.

 Laver or Nori (Porphyra laciniata): Nori is a red algae and is purple-black in color – a seaweed common to the North Atlantic Ocean. This is a very good source of vegetable protein, B₁₂, and vitamins C and E.

 ✓Sea Palm (Postelsia palmaeformis): American arame grows only on the Pacific Coast of North America; good source of detoxifying algin. Grows on the rocky shore and where there is constant wave action; it is a good source of detoxifying algin, to eat, to use in skin care and use in baths. It is an annual, goes through an alternation of generations, it is delicious, but harvesting is discouraged and restricted and even illegal in certain Western states where it has been over-harvested.

 ✓Turkish Towel … Chondracanthus spp. Also called Turkish Washcloth or Tarspot Mastocarpus sp. (whip body). This low intertidal and sub tidal red seaweed looks like a piece of bath towel and actually has been used by native peoples for bathing. These species have accumulated a pile of names over the years including three complete scientific names. Dedicated Seaweed experts (phycologists) realized two forms that look nothing alike were just stages of the same species It’s a common group, so you’ve likely seen both forms; the encrusting stage gets old (90 plus years) and looks remarkably like a spot of tar on the rocks. The blade stage is covered in little bumps and along with its relative (Turkish towel or Chondracanthus) is popular among the growing fringe of sensual seaweed bathers.

 

THE VARIOUS SEAWEED BATHS – all taken by Jeanne Rose

 p.6. Seaweed Bath – Alaria Alaria esculenta is an edible seaweed, also known as dabberlocks or badderlocks, or winged kelp. This is a brown sea algae found in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. It is a good source of beta-carotene, iron, B vitamins and fiber. It is a traditional food along the coasts of the far North Atlantic Ocean. It may be eaten fresh or cooked as is done in Greenland, Iceland, Scotland, and Ireland. It is the only one of twelve species of Alaria to occur in the British Isles. Harvested in Maine, Alaria is a great substitute for Wakame as it is so similar to traditional Japanese Wakame. Alaria is the most delicate of the brown seaweeds. It can be used to create a soup with a wild, yet delicate flavor. Alaria, as with many sea vegetables, contains many of the vitamins and minerals needed to live a healthy life.

In the bath Alaria opens up quite nicely, I wrap it in a mesh sock and use it to scrub my skin. The combination of hot water and seaweed makes hot seaweed bath. Use the mesh bag to scrub your skin and release the algin on the skin and in the bath. Very nice!

Alaria Fresh in the ocean……………………….

p.7. Seaweed Bath -Bull Kelp – (Nereocystis luetkeana) This is the Seaweed most often recognized when foraging on the coast. These classic brown Seaweeds form the massive ‘forest and canopy’ located just offshore.   Bull kelp is whip-like with long thin hollow stalk leading to a floating bulb, with several long thin blades arising from the bulb. Bull kelp is annual seaweed—meaning it grows from a spore to maturity within a single year.  It can grow an impressive 20 meters in only one season.

Uses: High in vitamins & minerals, particularly potassium, protein & free amino acids. Fun bath herb. You can cut the hollow ‘stems’ into slices and dry them for baths later on. They contain lots of salt and you will not need to add salts to your bath.

Bull Kelp

8. Seaweed Bath – Dulse (Palmaria palmata) It is also known as red dulse, sea lettuce flakes or creathnach, is a red alga (Rhodophyta) previously referred to as Rhodymenia palmata (Linnaeus) Greville. It grows on the northern coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. a red sea plant with somewhat leathery straps, rich in iron, protein, and vitamin A. Dulse is commonly used in Ireland, Iceland, Atlantic Canada and the Northeast United States as food and medicine. In Iceland, where it is known as söl, it has been an important source of fiber throughout the centuries. It can be found in many health food stores or fish markets and can be ordered directly from local distributors.

          In Iceland the tradition is to eat it with butter. It can be pan fried quickly into chips, baked in the oven covered with cheese, with salsa, or simply microwave briefly. It can be used in soups, chowders, sandwiches and salads, or added to bread/pizza dough. Finely diced, it can be used as a flavor enhancer in meat dishes, such as chili, in place of monosodium glutamate. Fresh Dulse can be eaten directly off the rocks before sun drying. Sun-dried Dulse is eaten as is or is ground to flakes or a powder.
Tests on Dulse show activity against viruses; purifying and tonic effects on the body, and as a supremely balanced nutrient. It is a very good source of vegetable protein, B₁₂, and vitamins C and E. It is a well-known snack food. Dulse contains iodine, which prevents goiter.

I like to use it in baths and prefer to put it into a mesh bag so that pieces do not break up and do not run down the drain and possibly plug it up. Dulse feels great on the skin and when dried and powdered is used in facial masks.

p.9. Seaweed Bath – Feather Boa Kelp (Egregia menziesii) This attractive olive brown seaweed kelp is fringed with rich chocolate brown blades. It can reach five meters in length and be found on moderate shores in the lower to mid-tidal zones. It is native to the coastline of western North America from Alaska to Baja California, where it is common kelp of the intertidal zone. It is dark brown in color, shiny and bumpy in texture, and may reach over five meters long. It grows a branching stipe from a thick holdfast. It bears long, flat, strap like fronds lined with small blades each a few centimeters long. There are pneumatocysts (a floating structure that contains gas) at intervals along the fronds that provide buoyancy. The alga varies in morphology; the rachis, or central strip, of the frond may be smooth or corrugated, and the blades along the edge of the rachis may be a variety of shapes.

This is another wonderful bath herb. This seaweed has a lot of algin and after the bath the feather boas can be dried and then reused for up to 3 more times in baths or skin compress. Use a panty hose leg or a mesh bag of some sort in which to put the seaweed.

            Caution: Feather boa ‘feathers’ and little pieces of kelp will get loose in the water. This has the ability to plug up your drain all the way to the city sewer outlet. So, remember to bag it up before using in the bath.

–Hijiki – Do not use as it may contain arsenic.

10. Seaweed Bath – Fucus – Bladderwrack (Fucus vesiculosus). Fucus is a versatile medicinal herb of the ocean. Fucus also called Rockweed was used mainly for healing people, as a dressing to treat sores and swollen feet, or fresh, rubbed on legs and feet to treat aches, pains and locomotor ataxia (paralysis of the legs). It is packed with vitamin K—an excellent adrenal stimulant; and is still used today by native Americans in steam baths for arthritis, gout and illness recovery. Rockweed, was mixed with yellow cedar boughs (Cupressus nootkatensis) in steam baths to treat rheumatism. This seaweed is available in Maine and is a very nice in a bath for the mucilage and algin. Another of my favorite baths.

Eat this healthy weed for good health as it was the original source of iodine. This was learned in 1811, and was used extensively to treat goiter, a swelling of the thyroid gland related to iodine deficiency (some people may suffer an allergic reaction to the iodine).  It is sometimes used for steaming littleneck clams with butter in a steam pit. (A steam pit is a big hole in the ground with hot coals and rocks in it).

Rockweed was also used with eelgrass for steaming wood to make it soft and flexible. Some of the things made from steamed wood are boxes and halibut hooks.

 

11. Seaweed Bath – ✓Kombu (Laminaria longicruris) or Laminaria saccharina is a decongestant for excess mucus; has abundant iodine, carotenes, B, C, D and E vitamins, minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium, silica, iron and zinc; and it also contains the powerful skin healing nutrient germanium. Kombu, particularly L. longicruris, is my go-to bath. It is easy to use, comes in nice 6-inch pieces that expand to about 8-inches. It provides a nice amount of algin to soothe your skin.
L. saccharina, or Sugar Kelp is used in the bath but is better as a facial. Soak a piece in warm water, wait for a bit, squeeze out the gooey stuff, mix with clay or a skin-mask, apply to your face, let it dry while you bathe and then rinse off with warm water followed by a splash of hydrosol. Fantastic! Seaweed baths are balancing, nourishing, and purifying.

In the ocean, Kombu dried and on the table, and then in the bath.

Ryan Drum collects and dries the most beautiful seaweeds and he is a proponent of his craft. He uses what he collects for health and well-being.

12. Seaweed Bath – Laver (Porphyra laciniata) Laver is also known as Nori belonging to the Red algae or Rhodophyta. It is purple-black seaweed common to the North Atlantic Ocean. This is a very good source of vegetable protein, B₁₂, and vitamins C and E. Porphyra is a coldwater seaweed that grows in cold, shallow seawater. More specifically, it is a foliose red algal genus of laver, comprising approximately 70 species. It grows in the intertidal zone, typically between the upper intertidal zone and the splash zone in cold waters of temperate oceans.

I would rather eat this one than bathe in it.

13. Seaweed Bath – Sea Palm (Postelsia palmaeformis): American arame, a brown algae, grows only on the Pacific Coast of North America on the rocky shore and where there is constant wave action; it is a good source of detoxifying algin, to eat, to use in skin care and use in baths. It is an annual, goes through an alternation of generations, it is delicious, but harvesting is discouraged and restricted and even illegal in certain Western states where it has been over-harvested.

Sea Palm has special protections and NO Collection is allowed anywhere on the Oregon coast. Native Americans have some access to Sea Palm and if once you can get one – try it in the bath and try some to eat.

14. Seaweed Bath -Turkish Towel … Chondracanthus spp. This low intertidal and sub tidal red seaweed looks like a piece of bath towel and actually has been used by native peoples for bathing. Main blades are up to 80 cm (32 in.) and half as wide. They are un-branched and covered with bumps called papillae that may be associated with reproductive structures or may be vegetative features. The base of the blade tapers to a short stipe and discoid holdfast. There may also be several smaller blades arising from the stipe. Blade color is reddish purple to yellow. This genus used to be called Gigartina.

Bathing ~ Lucky you if you are able to get some and sit in a warm Rosemary/Seaweed bath. The Turkish towel is soothing and healing to the skin. This is one of my favorite baths as the Seaweed is bumpy, and if rubbed on the skin exfoliates as it releases the algin, I use it along with Rosemary as a skin rejuvenator. You can also add a halved Orange or Lemon to the bath added skin care.

p.15. Seaweed as medicine is an ingredient used in various lotions, salves, applications to cure at least five major diseases. It has been in medicines used to treat tuberculosis, arthritis, colds, and influenza and worm infections. Agar, a substance extracted from seaweed, is used in the culture of bacteria and other microorganisms. Petri plates that medical technicians use is lined with agar gels and incubated, and hospital laboratories use agar plates too to identify various types of infectious bacteria. Agarose is another substance extracted from seaweeds and commonly used in the area of medicine, specifically in chromatography to purify proteins, DNA and other substances.

  

Malto-dextrin is used in bath salt formulas so that the salts do not harden or clump. Use 1 oz/lb. salt.

Essential oils can be added to Seaweed baths ~ use only a 1-2 drops per bath. Oils that are floral do not work well with Seaweed, use the Mediterranean herbs and oils like Rosemary, Lemon scented ones, or citrus such as Orange peels and EO or Lemon peel and EO. I prefer to use Eden Botanicals oils as they are correctly sourced, from the correct part of the plant and have superb odor.

 Very large tea infuser ball

 

 

SEA AND BATH FORMULAS

 

Bath Salts Formula for Ageless Skin and Relaxing Moments© Jeanne Rose from July 13, 2004

Directions: For 9 baths of 4-ounces each, mix as follows:
Ingredients:
14 oz XXL salt crystals (Brazil salts* are good) is Sodium chloride 95%
14 oz Epsom Salts * Magnesium sulfate
7 oz Dead Sea Salts* (Magnesium chloride 35%, Potassium chloride 24%, 40% other salt)
2 drops blue color
2 drops green color
50 drops essential oil. Use equal parts of Bulgarian Lavender, Bergamot, and Rosemary verbenone

            How To: Mix all together, let it rest for 24-36 hours, divide up into 9 muslin bags. Label. (It will be about 5-6 drops/bath). With every bath you take, add one of the muslin bags and one frond of Seaweed. Some seaweed will grow from a 8-inch size piece to two-feet long. Remember to bag those seaweeds that have a tendency to break apart. And also some of them can be dried and reused several times.

*I get all my salts from Saltworks™, Inc.

Citrus Solstice Seaweed Bath – Whole yuzu fruits (or Orange) are floated in the hot water of the Seaweed bath, sometimes enclosed in a cloth bag, releasing their aroma. The fruit may also be cut in half, allowing the citrus juice to mingle with the bathwater. The yuzu bath, known commonly as yuzuyu, but also as yuzuburo, is said to guard against colds, treat the roughness of skin, warm the body, and relax the mind.

 

 

Resources:
Fabulous seaweed can be obtained from the east coast – Larch Hanson at http://theseaweedman.com/
Or from the west coast – Ryan Drum at http://www.ryandrum.com
Essential oils are best from http://www.edenbotanicals.com
Salts from Saltworks™, Inc.
Seaweeds from Mendocino Sea Vegetable Company, or from above sources.

Bibliography:
Rose, Jeanne. SPA Booklet. 2012. /books.html
Various articles about Seaweed.
Drum, Ryan www.ryandrum.com/
http://www.aromaticplantproject.com/articles_archive/bath_salt.html
https://jeanne-blog.com/bath-water-and-bathing-stuff/  for more information on bathing and bathing tools.

BATHS – See individual listings in the SPA Book for different baths and therapies.

Showers are to clean the body while baths are to heal the mind and body and used ritually to cleanse the spirit.

 

Hydrotherapy is a system of therapeutic bathing rituals or various therapeutic baths to aid in the healing of various systems of the body. It has been prescribed since before the Roman baths were born with their distinct and separate rooms of various temperature baths.

However, full body immersion is the key to cleansing the body of illness and with modern baths where only the lower part of the body is fully immersed – this does not lend itself to a healing experience.  In a modern bath, one must lay down flat on your back in the tub with the legs up and out in order to get the proper healing effects. Worried about your hair? Wear a shower cap.

In a bath/hydrotherapy treatment, it is important to use three baths per week of 20-30 minutes each. The temperature of the water is not important. Start with warm baths, add Seaweeds, Moor mud, various types of salts, herbs and/or hydrosols.

A simple bath is the infused herbs of any fresh plants that you have available with 2-5 drops of a complimentary essential oils.  i.e. Citrus peels infusion plus citrus and Patchouli [1-3 drops of previously mixed Grapefruit, Lemon, Orange, + 3 drops Patchouli].

For example, for hypertension, shower and clean first, then fill the tub and use body temperature water (98°F), add 1 cup of Melissa hydrosol, add the appropriate 2-3 drops essential oils, soak for 20 minutes, wrap in a large towel, drink a cup of your Hypertension Tea Blend and go to bed.  Melissa is the most useful, but Lavender or Rose Geranium hydrosols can also be used.  Don’t have hydrosols? Use herbal infusions of the herbs mentioned.

Balneotherapy is the treatment of disease by bathing, especially in mineral springs. (The use of the minerals in hot springs for therapeutic bathing). Balneotherapy (spa therapy) is the act of bathing in thermal or mineral waters at temperatures of about 36 C. The hydrostatic force of the water is thought to bring about pain relief, which may result from taking stress off the affected joint, relaxation or other factors. It is most commonly recommended for patients with psoriasis or rheumatoid arthritis.

The hot springs gradually increases the temperature of the body, which helps to kill harmful germs and viruses.  Bathing in mineral springs increases static water pressure on the body, which increases blood circulation and oxygenation of the cell. This increase in blood flow also helps to dissolve and eliminate ‘toxins’ from the body.  Mineral and Hot springs bathing increases the flow of oxygen-rich blood throughout the body, improving hydration and nourishment to vital organs and tissues.

Bathing in thermal water increases body metabolism, including stimulating the secretions of the intestinal tract and the liver, aiding digestion. Repeated hot springs bathing (especially over 3- to 4- week period) can help normalize the functions of the endocrine glands as well as the functioning of the body’s autonomic nervous system. Trace amounts of minerals such as carbon dioxide, sulfur, calcium, magnesium, and lithium are absorbed by the body and provide healing effects to various body organs and system. These healing effects can include stimulation of the immune system, leading to enhanced immunity; physical and mental relaxation; the production of endorphins; and normalized gland function.

Mineral springs contain high amounts of negative ions, which can help promote feelings of physical and psychological well-being.

The direct application of mineralized thermal waters (especially those containing sulfur) can have a therapeutic effect on diseases of the skin, including psoriasis, dermatitis, and fungal infections. Some mineral waters are also used to help the healing of wounds and other skin injuries.

Indications for Balneotherapy are the chronic diseases such as:  Chronic rheumatic diseases, Metabolic diseases, especially diabetes, obesity, and gout, chronic gastrointestinal or respiratory diseases, circulatory diseases, especially moderate or mild hypertension, chronic skin diseases, psychosomatic and stress-related diseases, autonomic nervous system dysfunction, vibration disorder (a middle ear disorder affecting balance), chronic gynecological diseases and other ailments.

See for many formulas and enroll in our Aromatherapy Course-Home & Family.

Fangotherapy (fango = mud from Italy thermal springs) or pelotherapy is volcanic ash or mud used with thermal springs in curative treatment at SPAs. It can also mean any clay or mud used in therapy. In California there is only one hot springs using the true Fangotherapy — Indian Springs in Calistoga, CA.

Hydrotherapy is the use of water for the treatment of disorders, especially externally by immersion or use of water in any way as a treatment. Water used in therapy, especially as compress, packs, masks, wraps, hot water, cold water, sprays, immersion, cold water, hot water, etc. You can also use the leftover water in the still as part of a hydrotherapy treatment.

Hydrosol therapy is the use of hydrosols with any other hydrotherapy to affect change in the body. A hydrosol is the non-alcoholic water solution obtained from plant distillation. It is the solution in which the liquid constituent is water that contains the micro-drops of essential oils and the infused properties of the plants that were distilled.

Pelotherapy (pelo from the Greek word for clay or mud) is the therapeutic application of mud to the body. It is used in conjunction with other forms of therapy especially hydrotherapy, balneotherapy or thalassotherapy.

Thalassotherapy is the use of seawater or seaweeds as a therapeutic treatment.  Thalasso comes from the ancient Greek meaning ‘ocean’. Thalasso-therapy uses the nutrients in seawater, Seaweed. The different nutrients found in the sea help to nourish and cleanse the body. The theory is seawater has practically the same chemical make-up as human plasma, so the body easily absorbs the water that is rich with nutrients from indigenous plants or plant matter. See the salt bath article at SPA Book.

A Series of Baths.

For a good series of baths for the health of your body, think of taking the following in a series; one every day or a different one every other day. You can add mineral water to any of the salt baths.
|
Dead Sea Salt Bath
Oat meal bath
Epsom Salt Bath
Herbal Bath of Rosemary and Comfrey with Hydrosol
Seaweed Bath
Salt Bath
Moor mud Bath or Mud Bath

A Short History of Bathing before 1601

“One of the most stupid calumnies on the manners of the Catholic Middle Ages was that bathing was forbidden,
that it was seldom practiced, and the like.”
— Thomas J. Shanan, The Middle Ages: Sketches and Fragments

 

Seaweed on the beach at Garrapata State Park – 2014

Bath Herb Limerick
Baths relax and cool the emotions
They remind you of the deep blue ocean
Showers are nice
They remove all the lice
But baths clean the soul of commotion…. JeanneRose 2012

How to Take a Soaking Bath by Jeanne Rose

1. Take a quick shower with soap- to clean your skin
   2.Open the taps in the tub and to the tub add the herbs-salts-goodies-essential oils
   3.Run the water hot but not boiling.
   4.Use 4-6 ounces of your bath salts per bath and soak at least 22 minutes. This is the time it takes for the toxics to get moving and to be released into the tub and out of the body.
   5.Get in. If the tub is small and your shoulders ache, lie flat on the bottom to soak your shoulders; if the tub is small and your legs ache, sit upright and thinking relaxing thoughts; if everything aches take turns soaking one part and then the other OR get a big Victorian tub.
   6.Get out of tub and wrap in a blanket or towel, do not rub dry. Go to bed to get the full effects of the bath.
   7.Think of your happy place, smell your favorite essential oil and sleep and dream the dreams.

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