Taking a warm, relaxing bath is one of life’s simple pleasures. If you want to make it the perfect bath, though, you’ll have to sacrifice a little simplicity for more pleasure.

"Ambiance is the key between a good bath and a great bath," said Michelle Wilkos, director of Spa Bellagio at MGM Mirage’s Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas. Much thought goes into the lighting, music, scents and candles that are ancillary items to the spa’s 78-jet hydrotherapy bath, Wilkos says.

The tub itself is important: All those jets stimulate muscles all over the body, and it doesn’t hurt that you can soak from toes to neck without contorting your body.

Still, there’s hope for the humble home bathtub. Even Wilkos is known to take a bath at home. "When I’m having a crazy day, the first thing I think about is going into the bathtub. There’s something very tranquil about a bath; it’s also very healing."

The healing part - especially of dry, rough or generally ignored skin - can be enhanced by a variety of bath-and-body products. In fact, a bath, especially a hot bath, can further dry out skin unless you add some sort of moisturizer.

For at-home bathers, Wilkos recommends adding bath oil, bath milk or bath salts.

Nicky Kinnaird, founder of the Space NK apothecaries and Spa NK retreats, said she reaches for different bath concoctions depending on her mood: If she wants to recharge her muscles after strenuous exercise, she would go for salt or seaweed-based products. If she’s looking for revitalization, she uses a bath oil with lemon and bergamot along with soothing rosewood and clary sage.

Scent is one of the key benefits of plant extracts, said Ray Mauro, manager of Origins Global Product Development. The brand’s Peace of Mind collection, its first in the "sensory therapy market," uses basil, peppermint and eucalyptus for its Tension Releasing Vapor Bath.

Botanical and herbal extracts also aren’t as irritating or drying as a soap-based product, said June Jacobs, founder of the June Jacobs Spa Collection. All of her products, distributed at five-star hotels such as The Little Nell in Aspen, Colo., use a blend of pomegranate and various teas as antioxidants. Then it’s grapeseed oil and shea butter to hydrate; cucumber, calendula and chamomile extracts to soothe; lemon peel extract to cleanse; and papaya, mango and pumpkin extracts to exfoliate and promote cell turnover.

If that already sounds like a mixed salad for the tub, Traci Reazer, a holistic aesthetician for Whole Foods Market, has further ideas: cucumbers and lemons - the whole thing, not extracts.

Although they’re particularly good for foot baths because they are cool and refreshing, Reazer said cucumbers help reduce swelling and lemon is good for people with oily skin.

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Advertisement