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The history of a relaxing aromatherapy bath - The ancient Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians could teach us one or two things about a relaxing bath. They knew it was more than just cleanliness, it was about socializing, it was about relaxing, it was about pampering. All in all it was just about enjoying the whole ritual of stepping into the warm floral waters.

There is nothing new about enjoying a relaxing aromatherapy bath. The use of fragrant oils has always been linked to bathing. There are many essential oils which were used in biblical times, such as frankincense, cedar, cinnamon and saffron. These oils would be as precious as gold to the people of the middle east at that time.

Egyptian priests to purify their souls, would have had to bathe four times a day in cold water before being anointed with oils. There wasn’t much time left in the day after all this cleaning, but enough time to burn incense from plants, which had hallucinogenic properties such as marijuana! Which no doubt helped them get over all that cold water!

An Egyptian lady of high rank would believe a relaxing aromatherapy bath to be sensuous, calming and even a religious experience. She would need four servants to help her with her daily adornment. Essential oils would be poured over her entire body by two of the servants, another would massage her, while the fourth would hold a mirror in front of her. (“This sounds like total bliss to me“!)

Cleopatra loved fragrances so much so, that it was a challenge to Antony to get into her bed as it was surrounded knee deep in rose petals.! I have this image of him sitting night after night thinking up new routes to take amongst the roses, by the time he arrived in bed he was so tired he was snoring within minutes!

Public bathing amongst the nobility went on until the thirteenth century. The church became more and more concerned about encouraging what they believed to be lewd and immoral behaviour and by the fifteenth century the medical profession stepped in with concerns that water carried diseases and in particular “the plague”.

It was thought bathing and a relaxing aromatherapy bath to be a sinful and unhygienic activity and public bathing was banned.

People actually began to smell! Louis XIV took a bath twice in his life and became ill on both occasions. He would use fragrances on his body and in his rooms to mask his own smell, and probably others. It was said Henry IV of England “stank like carrion”. In this age they seem to enjoy body odours so much that a lady in love would put a piece of peeled apple under her armpits to soak up the odour before giving the peel to her lover who would then be reminded of her where ever he went. (“Best not to think about this too much“!)

It wasn’t until Napoleon convinced the French with scientific knowledge, that being clean was healthy, that bathing became popular again. Although when Queen Victoria ascended to the throne in 1837 there wasn’t a single bathroom in Buckingham Palace! Later they were installed and looked like wardrobes. The Queen would opened the wardrobe door and there in front of her was a bath tub and shower.

Nowadays people like to shower mostly because its so quick and some say a cleaner way to wash. Lets hope this modern trend doesn’t mean the good old bath is made redundant. I couldn’t think of anything worse than not being able to soak in a warm aroma bath.

Bathroom II Buy From Art.com

Lavender Flower Water Think of lavender and you think of country gardens and fields

Savon de Marseille I was truly drawn to the romantic description of this lovely soap but I totally fell in love when I used it. Maybe it doesn’t lather as much as a gentle glycerine soap would but its moisturising qualities far outweigh this.

Do you want to discover what oils are best for your skin type in an relaxing aromatherapy bath?

Homemade Bath Recipes are a brilliant way to relax.

Homembade Bubble Bath Recipes are easy to make and a real luxury when made with essential oils.

Bath Bomb Recipes are great fun to make.

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Make your own perfume choose your blend using a chakra oil which suits your mood and lifestyle.

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orange blossom oil The benefits to the skin are healing threaded scarred skin, nourishing mature or dry skin