Nothing is more relaxing than a warm bath… except perhaps a relaxing warm detox bath that also helps cleanse the body in other ways.
If you struggle with toxins or skin issues these natural recipes are a simple, easy, and inexpensive way to boost health. I’m always up for a warm bath, and these natural add-ons help improve health while you relax.
A good detox bath will also tend to make you tired so I suggest doing them as part of your bedtime routine.
Natural Detox Bath Recipes
You may have heard of an Epsom bath (and that is our base recipe here), but what about a clay bath, vinegar bath, or even a mustard bath?!
These are all natural ingredients, available in most of our kitchens or pantries, that can boost the circulatory and olfactory senses, stimulating relaxation and building up magnesium stores.
You only need a few simple ingredients to make some or all of these detox bath recipes:
- Epsom salt
- apple cider vinegar
- baking soda
- bentonite clay (one more specialized ingredient that has lots of other purposes, so consider stocking up!)
- mustard powder or ginger powder
- essential oils (mix with powder or salt rather than directly to the bath)
These recipes are also safe and soothing for kids too! (But choose your essential oils wisely.)
Basic Epsom Salt Detox Bath Recipe
Here’s my basic detox bath recipe. Find the other variations below. Mix and match, or find your favorite!
Salt Detox Bath Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- ¼ cup sea salt (or Himalayan salt)
- ¼ cup Epsom salt
- ¼ cup baking soda
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- 10 drops essential oils (optional, I use peppermint or lavender)
Instructions
- In a small pan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil.
- Pour the water into a quart-size mason jar.
- Stir in the sea salt, Epsom salt, and baking soda.
- Fill the bathtub with warm/hot water.
- Add the apple cider vinegar.
- Pour the salt mixture in and add essential oils if using.
- Soak in the bath for 30 minutes or as long as desired.
Notes
Clay Detox Bath Recipe
- ½ cup bentonite clay
- ½ cup Epsom salts
- essential oils if desired
Clay Detox Bath Instructions
Dissolve the Epsom salts in a warm/hot bath and add essential oils if desired. For the clay there are two options:
- Vigorously mix the clay into a small amount of water until the clumps are mostly dissolved. Do not use metal for this! I mix with a plastic spoon in a glass jar. Add the clay mix to the bath and soak for at least 20 minutes.
- Mix that clay with a small amount of water to make a paste. Stand in the tub full of water and rub the clay mix all over your body to create a skin mask and let dry for 5 minutes before sitting down. This provides direct contact with the skin and effectively pulls toxins from the skin. Soak in bath at least 20 minutes or as long as desired. While soaking, use a wash cloth to scrub any remaining clay off the skin.
This bath is great for removing a lot of toxins as the clay binds to heavy metals and the Epsom salts help pull a variety of toxins from the body while replenishing magnesium levels.
Oxygen Detox Bath Recipe
This bath is especially helpful during illness as the ginger helps clear congestion or alleviate body aches. It can also be helpful for allergies or skin irritation.
- 2 cups (or more) hydrogen peroxide
- 1 TBSP dried ground ginger
Oxygen Detox Bath Instructions
- Fill the tub with warm/hot water and add the hydrogen peroxide and dried ginger.
- Soak in tub for 30 minutes or as long as desired.
Vinegar Detox Bath Recipe
This is an excellent bath for soothing skin problems since vinegar balances the skin’s pH. While I don’t love the smell of vinegar, if anyone in the family has sunburn, eczema, dandruff, or dry itchy skin we take a vinegar bath.
Apple cider vinegar has a whole host of benefits, and I find it helps not only my skin but leaves me with soft skin and shiny hair as well.
Vinegar Bath Instructions
- Once or twice a week, I fill a tub with warm to hot water and add 1-2 cups of apple cider vinegar.
- I soak for 20-30 minutes, using a washcloth to clean my face and making sure to get my hair wet as well.
After bathing, I rinse off in a cool shower, though some sources recommend letting the vinegar water dry on the skin.
Mustard Detox Bath Recipe
I know, I’ve lost my mind right? If it helps, I’m talking about organic mustard powder, not the yellow stuff in a bottle! Ancient cultures often used this spice in preparations to soothe colds, flus, and sore muscles, thanks to its circulation-stimulating properties.
Magnesium and essential oils make this bath both detoxifying and aromatic.
Mustard Bath Instructions
I use this recipe which uses organic mustard powder, Epsom salts, and a mix of essential oils.
Additional Detox Bath Notes
- The warmer the water, the more powerful the detox effect will be.
- If you have chlorine and fluoride in your water, I recommend adding a few tablespoons of bentonite clay to any of these baths to help absorb the chemicals so they aren’t absorbed into the skin. Here are some other ways to reduce chemicals in bath water as well.
- Any of these natural ingredients can be used alone or in combination for a cleansing effect.
- All recipes can be doubled or tripled but this will increase the detox effect.
More Bath Recipes for Natural Detoxification
I recommend starting slowly with these bath detox recipes or any health change. To help, I’ve compiled all of my ideas for detoxing your body and your home in my book The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.
Important: I am not a doctor or medical professional and the advice in this post is for informational purposes only. If you are pregnant or have a health condition, consult a doctor before adding anything to your health routine.
This article was medically reviewed by Madiha Saeed, MD, a board certified family physician. As always, this is not personal medical advice and we recommend that you talk with your doctor.
Ever taken a detox bath? Got a different recipe you use? Share below!
Will this help,when givein birth,later u feel coldness on the back , cold in my legges,back pain when bending for a while,,body hurts wen were outside with no sweater?????
Ok so! LOL There isn’t any negative reactions to these right? The epsom salt I’ve heard of all the time, but the clay one, I haven’t. I was just wondering how often can you do this?
What would you recommend for detoxing if you don’t have a bath. Unfortunately my Uni accomodation only has a shower
You can do a foot and hand soak at the same time. Helps draw out the toxins that way.
I actually went ahead and made this into a foot bath…not thinking that the higher concentration may have a side effect. Is your salt detox bath recipe ok to use as a foot bath, or would you dilute it?
I also needed a tub to soak in… so I went to KMart and bought a 46 gallon plastic storage bin. It fits into my shower and I can soak up to my chin. I only need to fill it not quite half way because it will come to the top once I get in. I am 5’4″ and weigh 155 pounds. I can’t stretch my legs out flat, but they aren’t all scrunched up either. I just use a bucket to empty it out which isn’t a problem for me since I like to recycle the water anyway.
I would reconsider using plastic since its toxic to the body. I wouldn’t want to risk my body soaking up plastic.
Yeah, a plastic Bin was my thing too till I read about the clay pulling the toxins out of plastics. I don’t like the sound of that, but what is a better alternative? My tub is synthetic materials as well, so is there a “natural” tub out there?
Hi Katie ,
WOW! You are amazing with all the research you do and for such an awesome website! Your on top of pretty much every health topic I’ve been looking into, you’ve been an invaluable resource! Keep up the good work!
Kar Mala, great suggestion using a large plastic tub to soak in. The benefits from these baths far outweigh any potential issues from plastic tubs. I think we are too concerned about plastics because a few are not safe.
Thanks for posting these! I did the first one tonight & feel great! However, the boiling salt/baking soda mixture foamed up & boiled over onto the stove when I added the Epsom salt. Don’t know what I did wrong…? 🙁
Hon, you do not need to cook anything, just use the plain dry ingredients and dump them into the bath like the old bath salts…then dump in the vinegar. It may foam a little if it hits the baking soda if it does just swirl the water in the tub.
Doesn’t the ACV just react with the baking soda to make water?
I had this happen too. The recipe says to add the dry ingredients to boiling water. It made a mess when it boiled over. Perhaps the recipe instructions need to change?
I think the problem your having is in reading the recipe incorrectly…I believe you are supposed to pour boiling water into a quart size mason jar that has the ingredients in it ready & waiting. I don’t think you are supposed to have a pot boiling and add the ingredients that way. Is that what happened? 🙂
It happened to me too and I did put the water in the quart jar. I did not have the ACV in it. It erupted more forceful than baking soda and vinegar.
Hey there, I am allergic sensitive skin to most things so do you think the salt one would be okay? 🙂
I have a question about hair during these detox baths…what do you do with it? Do you soak it as well or put it up & keep it out? I have really long hair but have scalp issues that could benefit from the detoxing. Any suggestions?
I usually let me hair get wet too, especially since my hair is blonde and it seems to help clarify it… Then, i just rinse my hair well after….
Thanks! Isn’t the clay hard to remove from hair? I did the one with the B. Clay last night in my large garden tub. I pulled my hair up & tried not to get it wet. However, the clay made the tub slippery & I slid into the tub too far & got it wet anyway. As I was sliding across the tub I kept thinking…not the hair, not the hair! Oh well, I tried to be careful. 😉 lol I just took a cool shower, per Brie’s suggestions above, & washed my hair after the bath. But I may leave it down next time & see what happens. 🙂 Thanks again.
This gives me an excuse to make time in my busy mommy schedule for my own bath!
I am so excited to try this but thinking I might substitute the Apple Cider with Coconut Vinegar. I spent nearly three years physically incapacitated from ulcers & digestion issues until I found the magical coconut. So excited to see more of your ideas!
Are all of these safe to use with children using the same amount of ingredients? Also, if so, my kids (ages 5 and 3) like to bathe together..Do you know if it would be OK to allow them to still take a bath together while doing this or should they be separated? Thanks soo much!!
I add about half strength of these to my kids baths even if they are bathing together…
One thing that should be added is that Hydrogen Peroxide baths (or H202 baths) are highly detoxifying. When you soak in the hot bath, the H202 draws the toxins out of your body and pushes them to the lymphatic system. You need to shock your body with 1 minute of the coldest water you can stand, immediately following the hot H202 soak so the toxins don’t sit in your lymph nodes. This is extremely important.
So are you saying to take the hydrogen peroxide bath, then jump in the col water for a minute, then back to the peroxide bath?
I think she means just after the bath. It pulls them all to the front so you use the cold water to get them out.
Is it necessary to do a cold shower after an epsom salt soak as well or is this true for hydrogen perioxide soaks, only?
What is the cold water supposed to do? The lymphatic system is you bodies natural immune system. Staying hydrated and movement (lymphatic is a low pressure system and needs muscular contractions to push lymph along) is the only thing that will clear lymph nodes out.
If I have fresh ginger root, can I just grind it down as much as possible and use that, or would I really have to dry it, too?
You can use fresh… it smells great 🙂