What is bathing with epsom salt good for?
You might have heard about epsom salts from time to time and have popped them in your bath before. Having an epsom salt bath provides your body with many benefits and is an easy low cost way to get some really effective self care in!
Epsom salt was discovered around 400 years ago in the town of epsom, a short trip away from London (Hence the name!). It is derived from naturally occurring salt rock formations.
Unfortunately epsom salts baths have not been widely studied yet. However, we do know that regular hot baths provide a wide range of benefits and adding epsom salts really is the icing on the cake! Let’s find out why!
1. Helps with heart function:
Having a hot bath at the end of a long day is really relaxing and nourishing to your mental wellbeing. Bathing can also be a fantastic thing to include in a ‘wind down’ routine.
The heat from the bath helps to improve heart vascular function. Obviously this heat also helps to increase blood flow and circulation throughout the body. The stress reduction that a warm bath provides is also great for your heart as we know that chronic ongoing stress has strong links with heart disease. This study shows that three or more baths a week reduces your risk of heart disease and stroke.
Magnesium supplementation also has strong links with heart health.
2. Cleans and repairs damaged + broken skin:
An epsom salt bath can be a great way to thoroughly clean skin infections, irritations and damaged skin like mild sunburn. It can also be helpful for minor skin conditions like eczema/psoriasis.
Salt baths are incredibly healing for your skin. It does this through increasing blood flow and circulation which can help heal any damage and work to repair skin.
If you have any large open wounds, extreme sunburn, or severe inflammation it is best to avoid having an epsom salt bath.
3. Improves your mood
It is unclear as to whether these results come directly from the epsom salts or the warm bath, again more research needs to be done! Epsom salt baths are said to be beneficial to your brain health and help to promote better moods states. They are also said to help with mild feelings of anxiety and depression.
Taking magnesium has been linked with boosting serotonin, so the small amounts of magnesium in the bath could be beneficial. It could also be that the muscles around the neck, face and skull are relaxed in the bath helping with more positive feelings and mood states. Having sufficient serotonin levels also enables us to sleep much better!
4. Helps balance circadian rhythms + sleep:
Supplementing with magnesium can be a great way to help prepare your body for sleep and also enable you to potentially get more deep sleep. The heat from the hot bath can also help to regulate your body temperature for better sleep and melatonin production. While in the bath our body temperature is raised and then will naturally drop upon exiting the bath.
Magnesium has shown to have strong links with supporting our parasympathetic nervous system or otherwise known as our ability to ‘rest and digest’. When functioning too much from our sympathetic nervous system we can remain ‘wired’ and unable to fall asleep. Bathing in epsom salts is a such a beautiful, nourishing way to honour our parasympathetic nervous system and set ourselves up for the most amazing nights sleep!
5. Thought to provide your body with small amounts of magnesium:
This study shows that small amounts of magnesium may get absorbed into your body via your skin. If you are really interested in supplementing with magnesium before you hit the hay I wouldn’t rely on the epsom salts but instead invest in a really good quality magnesium supplement (take it around half an hour before you go to bed for the maximum benefit (I take the Lifestream one). There are many body wise benefits in favour of supplementing with magnesium.
6. Soothes muscle pain + tension:
An epsom salt bath is simply amazing after a particularly strenuous workout and really helps to remove any tightness or tension. It has also been said to be beneficial for people with arthritis and fibromyalgia working to reduce inflammation in joints.
The fact that we do take in a small amount of magnesium when we bathe in the epsom salt might be why it can be so beneficial and soothing to your muscles. It is unclear whether these benefits are solely down to just the epsom salts or the myriad of benefits that just bathing alone provides. Increased circulation while in the bath also provides our muscles with more oxygen and nutrients.
How much epsom salts should you put in the bath?
Start with roughly around a one cup of epsom salts per full bath. Over time you can increase your bath to two cups of epsom salts per bath.
I usually pop it in underneath the running water while the bath is filling up. Wait for all of the salt crystals to dissolve before you hop in the bath. This usually might take approximately five minutes.
How long should I stay in an epsom salt bath?
For full bathing benefits aim to stay in your epsom salt bath for at least 15mins.
Taking a bath can be a great way to relax and encourage stillness and mindfulness!
Use your bath time to also multitask in a positive, low stress way:
- Go phone free and just meditate
- Practice some breathing exercises
- Listen to a guided visualisation or sleep story
- Listen to a calming playlist (here’s mine!)
- Listen to a relaxing podcast
- Pre-record any affirmations you are working on in a voice note to listen to
- Do a face mask
- Exfoliate your skin before you hop out
- Add some sleep friendly essential oils like lavender, frankincense or chamomile
- Turn off the lights and light some candles to really switch off
How often should you take an epsom salt bath?
Depending on how much time you have once a week is a great place to start. Set up a new self care routine and include a bath in one of your weekend evenings when you might have a bit more time.
In the magnesium study I mentioned above it was determined that bathing in epsom salts 2-3 times a week would also be perfectly safe.
Generally, if your body already has enough magnesium in its system your body will excrete any excess out naturally.
Do I need to rinse off after an epsom salt bath?
No! Absolutely not. After you have carefully patted your skin dry now is the time to slather your skin with a high quality moisturiser to lock in moisture. Look for a moisturiser that contains large percentages of natural oils like shea butter, coconut, olive, jojoba and almond oil.
Can epsom salts cause dehydration?
Because your body can sweat a lot while in a hot bath make sure you get hydrated afterward with a large glass of water.
Also be mindful about not having the water be too hot, which can be dehydrating and drying for the skin. Water that is too hot can also be destructive in removing your skins top protective layer – the acid mantle.
If you have any skin conditions like eczema it is recommended that only have the water lukewarm. Quickly towel dry when you get out and moisturise when your skin is still slightly wet to make sure that you are locking in the most moisture possible!
Can epsom salts help to draw out toxins?
So there is some mention online about the sweat from a hot bath having detoxing benefits (Dr Hyman swears by his ultrabath detox recipe!). There is also a discussion about how epsom salts could be a good cure for hangover. Unfortunately our sweat contains very little toxins from our body if any! Our main detoxification pathways are our liver and kidneys. There is some mention about our electrolyte levels and detoxification which I would need to research in more depth.
However sweat is antibacterial and contains natural antibiotics which makes it incredibly fantastic for our overall skin health. Sweating is also a great way to unblock pores. You may notice that post bath rosy glow! So no there may not be much truth to much body wise detoxification in an epsom bath but it is still incredibly great for our skin.
The small amounts of magnesium absorbed into your body from the epsom salts can also help to boost essential fatty acids and naturally plump up collagen fibres.
After an epsom salt bath is also great time to exfoliate and get rid of any dead skin cells.
Where can I purchase epsom salts?
You can easily purchase epsom salts from your local supermarket or health food store. They are usually very inexpensive and a bag should last several months depending on how often you bathe.
Check the ingredients it should be 100% Magnesium Sulfate. Sometimes for an extra cost you can get blends and extra things added in but I prefer just to buy the pure epsom salts and then add anything extra in to the bath myself.
Magnesium Sulfate is not edible! When consumed it will have a laxative effect. An epsom salt bath is a beneficial way to really take care of your entire body in a beautiful holistic way with results in only about 15 minutes ♡
Links:
Purchase Epsom Bath Salts from Amazon
Absorption of Magnesium Sulfate across the skin study
Transdermal Magnesium study
Magnesium for skin health from Elle
Photo by Cecilia Medina on Unsplash