When we’re kids, we take baths for obvious reasons: The whole “learning to bathe yourself” thing, for starters. Mom & Dad can control the temperature (and don't have to get wet themselves). Nothing is out of reach for those short arms. Rubber duckie time.
However, as soon as we graduate to the shower, baths are forever in the past—at least for most of us. Why would you soak in your own filth after waiting 10 minutes for the tub to fill, when you could be showered and done by the time it’s finished?
Well, that bathtub in your house could play host to your new favorite pastime. There’s a lot of untapped leisurely potential in that tub, and we would like to convince you to reconsider it. Maybe once a week—even just once a month!—but you also need to approach it with that leisure in mind.
Baths are kind of gross. Like, you’re soaking in the water with your sweaty feet and dirty backside. So, we say start with a quick shower to do the actual washing, shampooing, and so forth. Get yourself clean before you hop in the tub. That’s when the leisure begins—it’s not about bathing to get clean, but bathing to feel incredible, both superficially and spiritually.
Below are the products we recommend picking up to enhance the experience, and to turn your bathroom into a veritable spa. No, we don’t expect you to stock up on hundreds of dollars of products just to take a bath. But if you're in the market, picking up one or two will absolutely elevate your luxuriating.
Bath OilOn its own, warm water can dehydrate your skin by extracting the natural oils in your skin. A splash of bath oil will yield opposite results: Those nourishing oils, which often include jojoba, moringa, and rosehip, instead leave skin soft, supple, and radiant. (I find it helps to wipe the tub down with a paper towel after the bath, when using oils—it’s a super easy cleanup.)
The Best Bath Oil
Mr. Porter
Rosehip, moringa, and carrot oil make for a luxurious soak. This product can be pumped into the bath (and produces a light foam), and can also be used as a body oil, massaged directly into the skin.Bath SaltsMineral-rich bath salts can soothe and nurture the skin—it’s like a full-body version of a relieving foot soak. There’s a reason that salt-rich bodies of water like the Dead Sea are sought out for their remedial powers, too; while you won’t reach 34% salt content or anything, you can get the same soothing benefits with a sprinkling of bath salts. Watch your agonies float to the surface as you soak in satisfaction.
The Best Bath Salt
Bathing Culture
A blend that combines mineral sea salt with purifying green clay, and skin-nourishing jojoba oil.Bath BombBath bombs are typically a fragrant, mind-clearing mixture of bath salts, essential oils, carrier oils, and natural extracts that help calm and hydrate the skin. Drop them into the drink, and they’ll dissolve and do their thing.
The Best Bath Bomb
Sephora
Come for the skin-calming CBD, stay for the relaxing epsom salt and nourishing meadowfoam oil.Terry Cloth Towel and RobeEvery guy needs a really great bath robe (which inevitably turns into a house robe, for any and all occasions). The same goes for a set of bath towels, and not just because you want your guests to know that you take good care of yourself—but because you actually do take good care of yourself. In both cases, terry cloth checks all the boxes: It’s oh-so-soft, dries quickly, is easy to care for, and it looks far more expensive than it is. (A minor investment for major longevity and quality.)
The Best Bath Towels
Mr. Porter
Whether you're a bachelor or betrothed, businessman or bonvivant, these towels say two things: You've got an eye for detail, and your taste is unparalleled. (Cleverly also makes some seriously cozy robes.)The Best Bathrobe
Mr. Porter
The shawl collar, sharp pinstripes, and front pockets are all fabulous design details, but it's the supreme softness of this robe that has us wearing it everywhere around the house.Bath BubblesPour one out for your inner child. Just make sure it’s got soothing, skin-supportive ingredients (namely, that it lacks any sulfates, even if that is the easiest way to build up the suds). The cheap stuff is basically detergent that depletes your moisture levels.
The Best Bath Bubbles
Target
This is a low price to pay for such high-quality suds. Free of sulfates, Alaffia's bubble bath doubles as a skin and soul soother, with lavender oil, shea butter, and yam leaf extract.Soothing CandleEver heard of aromatherapy? How about mood lighting? (It's nice to be able to turn off the overhead light.)
The Best Candle for Baths
Amazon
Malin+Goetz's candle provides some delicious rum-soaked ambiance. A 60-hour burn means you've got plenty of soothing baths in your future.Body BrushThis is technically a pre-bath device, for when you’re showering. Give your body a thorough rub down to magnify all of the soothing, nourishing benefits of those oils and salts. Give the feet a major scrub down, especially.
The Best Body Brush
Amayori
Amayori brings the Japanese onsen bath into the home, with all sorts of incredible salts, oils, body washes, towels, brushes, and more. This walnut-wood body brush should stand like a trophy on your shower or bath ledge, especially for all of the dead-cell foes it buffs away.Face MaskWhen you’re soaking in the bath (with your freshly cleansed skin from the shower), apply a face mask of some kind—ideally a deep cleansing or firming + lifting one. Typically you wear them for about 10-25 minutes, depending on the brand. This is often as long as your warm bathwater lasts. At the very least you can apply it on the backend of your bath, so that you wash it away when you're stepping out.
The Best Bathtime Face Mask
Amazon
Only with this product is the effect—radiant, taut, and lifted skin—secondary to the process. It's a gold mask, people! How much fancier can you get?Hair MaskThis is also the perfect time to do a replenishing hair mask, since your hair is wet and freshly cleansed from the shower. The timing is much the same as most face masks, anywhere from 10-30 minutes. Rinse it out at the end of your bath for luxuriously soft, fortified hair.
The Best Bathtime Hair Mask
Sephora
If you want good hair, then go to the world's most famous grooming guru. JVN themself has the best hair, and it's no surprise that they also make one of the most restorative masks, for hair of any texture, density, and length.Bath TrayFor your tea, your wine, your book, your candle, whatever it is you bring into the tub to round out the relaxation.
The Best Bath Tray
Anthropologie
Sleek slate only adds to the spa-like experience, plus it's easy to clean and doesn't wear itself out like so many of the cheaper bamboo options.Body Lotion or OilAfter a scrub down and a soak, you want to seal up your skin with a layer of moisture. If you feel like the skin is already soft from the bath oil, then you may be fine (or can apply a layer of body oil over top to further trap moisture and nourish skin). Alternatively, a full-body lotion-ing will keep skin supple and tingly as you tuck in for the night—and have you feeling positively soft and satisfied come morning.
The Best Body Lotion
Amazon
Anti-aging should be all reaching, and this all-over body cream mimics the benefits of cryotherapy on the skin. It firms, it tightens, it softens and soothes.The Best Body Oil
Strangelove
Jojoba, sunflower, almond, and argan oils deliver some serious nourishment, while strangelove's beloved "deadofnight" scent gives skin a subtle scent of amber, oud, sandalwood, and vanilla balsam.Read MoreThe Best Body Wash for Your Particular Skin16 top-shelf picks to upgrade your shower caddy.
By Adam Hurly and Michael Stefanov
