Soak your troubles away with this lovely homemade tea bath. This mess-free bathing solution will help you soothe your skin and reduce muscle stiffness, all while providing aromatherapy benefits. Make a batch of bath tea bags for yourself and a few for a friend, too!
One of my favourite bath projects is a tea bath. There is nothing like a warm bath to soothe away all that ails you. Soaking in a herbal bath is luxurious: it softens skin, eases muscle pain, and adds fragrance to the steam. Herbs are wonderful in the bath, but they can leave bits and bobs to clean up after the water has drained.
The solution? Bath tea! Pack herbs, salts, and other bath-time joys into a paper tea filter, and you’ve got yourself a mess-free bath.
This post will cover…
- Why I Love Baths and Why You Should Too
- Bath Tea Benefits
- How to Make a Tea Bath
- Ingredients
- Make it!
- Frequently Asked Questions About Tea Bath
- More Aromatherapy Ideas
Why I Love Baths and Why You Should Too
If you are a *gasp* bath hater, then this might be the project that tempts you to give baths another go.
Baths are SO good for your health, and I make an effort to have a good soak in the tub at least once a week. But when it comes to the winter months, you will find me in the tub almost every day.
Baths actually increase your circulation. The pressure of the water on your body forces your heart to pump just a little bit faster. Think of it as a tiny workout while you lay down and relax.
You’ll also notice a difference in your breathing. The steam from the bath helps to clear your sinuses and reduce mucus. The increase in circulation also means an increase in oxygen, making your lungs work a little bit harder.
Baths are ideal for relieving tired and aching muscles as it helps to reduce pain and inflammation. This is one of my main reasons for enjoying a bath after a long day. I instantly feel my muscles relax, and my body says thank you!
Studies have also shown that bathing helps you to fall asleep. The warm water helps to regulate your body temperature, which signals your body that you are ready for bed.
Personally, I also use this time to decompress from the day. With no tasks to complete or screens around, my mind stops trying to focus, and I destress for the night. The earlier I can turn off that inner monologue in my head before bed, the better!
Bath Tea Benefits
First, to get the right bath experience, you will need to create a great atmosphere. If you find baths boring, this is where you want to focus your energy. Light some candles, play calming music, and incorporate something extra into your bath to add some aromatherapy: tub tea!
Tub tea is great because you don’t have to worry about cleaning after the bath. Bubble bath, bath bombs, and even herbal bath salts often leave a residue to be cleaned after your bath. Since you spent all that time relaxing, cleaning up is usually the last thing you want to do.
With bath tea, you simply enjoy the bath and then remove the bag once you drain the water. Voila!
Depending on the ingredients, you can also add some natural herbal benefits. For instance, Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) help to ease muscle aches and pains. Colloidal oatmeal helps to ease inflammation and irritated skin. Many essential oils have their own healing properties and provide aromatherapy.
How to Make a Tea Bath
Filling paper tea filters with skin-soothing ingredients like herbs, salts, spices, and essential oils is a lovely way to treat yourself. They are easy to make and store, so you can always have one on hand whenever you want a heavenly bath. These bath tea bags also make great gifts if you package them with a pretty tag.
I love to use what I grow in my herb garden in natural beauty products. Mint, lavender, and flower petals make wonderful additions to a homemade tub tea.
However, you don’t have to have a garden to make a tea bath. Many ingredients can be picked up at a grocery store or online. Bath teas are completely customizable so add whatever scents you enjoy and whichever herbs you think you could benefit from.
Ingredients
First, you will need some large paper tea filters. I like using paper tea filters because you can pop the whole thing in the compost bin when the bath is finished. You could also use muslin bags, which can be emptied out and reused.
Here are some of the many ingredients you can use to fill your bath tea bags:
- Dried lavender
- Rose petals
- Pink Himalayan bath salts
- Epsom salts
- Green bath salts
- Ground oatmeal
- Dried monarda (bee balm)
- Dried mint leaves
- Fennel seeds
- Comfrey root powder
- Powdered milk or goat’s milk
Make it!
Mix all the ingredients together and fill each tea bag with a few heaping spoonfuls.
Seal the tea bags by folding the top down 4-5 times and secure them with a single staple.
To give bath tea as a gift, pack tea bags into a mason jar or pretty vase and give it with these instructions:
Tub tea to the rescue! Add one tea bag to a warm bath. Soak in the tea bath for 20 minutes to soothe sore muscles and detoxify.
Frequently Asked Questions About Tea Bath
Bath tea bags are made using paper tea filters. They’re pretty easy to find, and you may even be able to source them at your grocery store. Otherwise, specialty tea shops or Amazon will have plenty of choices. Look for large ones so you can fill them up with enough ingredients for your tea bath.
You certainly can! Most herbal teas are made using herbs that are enjoyed topically too. When adding tea to your bath, look at the ingredients and research their properties to see if they have any benefits, such as added antioxidants, reduced inflammation, antibacterial, and more.
The quality of tea also makes a difference. You want to ensure you’re only soaking in organic materials (you don’t want to add pesticides and other chemicals to your skin!). Loose-leaf teas tend to work better than prepackaged tea bags.
Bath tea enhances the experience of your bath. With ingredients like Epsom salts, rose petals, dried lavender bugs, powdered goat’s milk, lavender buds, and essential oils, you can soak in the beneficial properties of natural ingredients. The aromatherapy itself smells amazing while soaking.
Baths themselves are great at increasing circulation, lowering blood pressure, raising your body’s temperature, reducing stress, and easing you into a night of better sleep. Who doesn’t love a bath?!
Essential oils are the best way to make your tea bath smell good. Usually, I add some Epsom salts to make up the bulk of my bath tea alongside other ingredients. I prepare my Epsom salts by placing them in a bowl and adding drops of essential oils. Shake/stir it well to evenly coat the mixture. For a batch, 10-15 drops of essential oil is usually enough for me but add more or less depending on your preference.
Paper bath tea bags can only be used once. If you want something reusable, use a bag made of thin fabric such as muslin. After each bath, empty the contents and allow the bag to dry fully before adding more tea bath ingredients.
I hope you enjoy your bath and the mess-free aromatherapy of tub tea! Leave any questions in the comments down below, and I’ll do my best to answer!
More Aromatherapy Ideas
- DIY Essential Oil Perfume
- Easy Homemade Lavender Bath Salts
- Herbal Dream Pillows
- Herbal Roll-On Remedies for Headache, Sleep, and Cold & Flu
- Natural DIY Bath Bombs
DIY Tea Bath
Equipment
- 1 Tablespoon
Supplies
Ingredients to Fill Tea Bags With (Pick and Choose Your Favorites!)
Instructions
- Choose from the filler ingredients above, and mix and match your favorites in a bowl. Stir to mix.
- Fill each tea bag with several heaping spoonfuls.
- Seal the tea bag by folding and adding a staple, or by typing tightly with a ribbon.
- To use, run a warm bath and drop the bath tea in. Soak and enjoy!
What’s up, after reading this amazing article i am too delighted to share
my familiarity here with friends.
Do you have any specific recipes including recommended amounts?? Thanks! Love this idea!
Hi Sarah, no, just fill as much of the ingredients as you like. They all add benefits to the bath so there are no specific limits. I usually start with a good cup of Epsom salts and add the other salts in smaller amounts, then some milk powder and oatmeal, and a few spoonfuls of herbs.
I have made a few of these and have used calendula, chamomile, lemon balm, lemon verbena and many of the ingredients listed above. I’ve seen recipes that use oatmeal, hibiscus, thyme, scented geranium, citrus zest and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil per cup of dry ingredients. I grow lots of different types of herbs, so I am also going to try dried lemongrass, licorice mint, cinnamon basil, Vietnamese coriander and a few others. I have several friends that forage and have access to oat straw and wild rose hips too. Ultimately, I would recommend checking out an herb (or essential oils) chart to find like herbs.