10 Health Benefits of Baking Soda Bath
Baking soda is one of the most important ingredients in baking. It has a cluster of uses other than culinary. Baking soda, sodium bicarbonate, can also be used to treat skin problems when used as a baking soda bath.
Baking soda is commonly used for cleaning utensils, carpets, jewelry, and it also helps get of odors. It is used in beauty treatments because of its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. It helps eliminate the toxins and neutralizes skin acidity.
A baking soda bath can make you feel refreshed and also soften your dry skin. Let us take a look at the health benefits of baking soda bath.
Health Benefits of Baking Soda Bath
Baking soda is a colorless and odorless salt that has a crystalline or fine powdery texture. It is antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and antibacterial. These properties make baking soda bath an effective detox to treat skin problems.
1. Detoxifies Your Skin
Food, water, and medications infuse many harmful toxins in our body. Our body excretes these toxins with the help of kidneys, and even through sweat.
The baking soda detoxifying bath helps you get rid of harmful toxic substances present on the skin. It is natural, safe, and doesn’t dig a hole in your pocket like the other beauty products.
2. Smoothens Rough Skin
Baking soda paste made with water when applied to the rough patches of the skin helps in smoothening it. Apply the baking soda paste to rough areas of the skin. Wash it with warm water after it dries. You will notice a drastic change in the texture of your skin.
3. Soothes the Rashes
Using baking soda bath for rash helps get rid of diaper rashes. It can also be used to treat rashes in adults due to wearing tight and warm clothes for a prolonged period.
To get rid of such skin rashes, just add baking soda in water and apply the mixture to affected area while taking a bath. Wash gently with normal water.
4. Helps Treat Skin Infections
Due to its microbial properties, baking soda bath can help in relieving pain and irritation caused due to skin infections.
You can simply apply baking soda paste to affected area, keep it for a while and wash it with the water. Soaking in a hot water bath added with baking soda can be used to treat yeast infections.
5. Relieves Itching caused by Insect Bites
Baking soda can also help in healing insect bites. It also helps in removing painful and irritating bee stings. Apply a paste of baking soda on the affected area and wash after few minutes.
6. Helps Cure Sunburns
Apply a paste of baking soda on your skin will help cool it down. Due to the cooling property of baking soda, it is used to treat sunburns. Baking soda bath helps in relieving itching due to sunburn and promotes faster healing.
7. Exfoliates the Skin
If the skin pores get clogged, it leads to blackheads and acne. Your soap and water might not be enough to exfoliate your skin. Baking soda is a natural and effective exfoliating agent that helps fight against acne and oily skin.
Clogged skin also looks dark. Baking soda mixed with lemon can help get rid of the dark skin. A paste of baking soda, when applied to dark elbows, underarms, and knees prevents darkening.
8. Relaxes Muscles and Joints
When you are too tired, baking soda bath can relax you. It can also help in relieving tired feet. Wearing tight shoes for a long time may make them itch. Baking soda can be helpful in reducing the itchiness.
9. Cleans the Hair
Apart from the skin, baking soda is good for your hair too. If you are not satisfied by the commercial shampoo or other products to clean your hair, you can use baking soda. It cleans the hair without leaving any odor or stickiness.
10. Removes Chlorine from Hair
Soaking yourself in the swimming pool can make chlorine get deposited on your hair. Chlorine is not good for the hair as it leads to discoloration. You can use baking soda bath to remove the chlorine from your hair.
How to Take Baking Soda Bath?
There are many different ways which you can follow to take baking soda bath.
1. Baking soda and water
A good quality baking soda sprinkled into warm water is enough for a simple yet effective baking soda bath. Such bath can not only make your skin smoother, but it also heals the skin infections such as yeast infections, episiotomies, hemorrhoids and other similar ailments.
2. Baking Soda and Sea Salt
Like baking soda, sea salt is also known for its healing properties. Sea salt when mixed in equal proportions with baking soda in the hot water bath, is a perfectly relaxing bath. Such baking soda bath can relieve you from joint aches if you spend twenty to thirty minutes in the bath tub.
3. Baking Soda and Epsom Salt
Epsom salt is long known for its medicinal properties for many ailments. Baking soda and Epsom salt together act as excellent detoxifying agents. Such bath helps you get rid of toxic chemicals from your body.
4. Baking Soda, Sea Salt, Epsom Salt and Glycerin
Glycerin is known for its moisturizing and softening properties. It makes the skin softer, smoother and helps in removal of stretch marks.
Adding two table spoon of glycerin to baking soda, sea salt, and Epsom salt can do wonders for your muscle and joint pain.
5. Baking Soda, Epsom Salt, Ginger
You can also use ginger in a detoxifying bath. The addition of ginger in a bath makes your skin feel hot, hence do not add too much of ginger.
Start with a tablespoon and then increase as much you can tolerate. Ginger bath leads to too much of sweating of the skin.
Stay well hydrated before such bath. It helps in skin detox. For an excellent detoxifying bath, baking soda, Epsom salt, and ginger are best to use for a hot water bath.
6. Baking Soda and Essential Oils
Essential oils add aroma to your bath and give you a relaxing bath experience. To enjoy aromatherapy, add lavender or any other essential oils to your bath. Oils can make your bath tub slippery, so be careful while climbing in and out of the bathing tub.
Warning and Precautions on Baking Soda Bath
We know many benefits of baking soda bath as it is natural, gentle, inexpensive and effective in many ways. You must be in all your senses before you decide to take a detox bath.
If you are under the influence of alcohol or other drinks or drugs, you should avoid taking any bath. The influence of drug or drink may make you doze off, and you may drown in water.
Before taking hot water bath, you must be sure that the water temperature is tolerable. During the bath, if you feel that the water is too hot and you start feeling dizzy, or you faint, try to add cool water to the bath and come out of the bath tub carefully.
People who suffer from high blood pressure or diabetes should consult a doctor before trying any of the baking soda detox baths.
Sources:
“Detox Bath & Baking Soda,” Livestrong web site; http://www.livestrong.com/article/340134-detox-bath-baking-soda, last accessed August 8, 2017
“10 Health Benefits of Bath with Baking Soda,” Natural Remedy Ideas web site; http://naturalremedyideas.com/bath-with-baking-soda, last accessed August 8, 2017
