Haute Baths
4When the temperature drops and the sun starts setting in the afternoon, it’s time to get soaked. “Baths help calm the mind and body, lift mood, ease tension, help relieve pain, and prepare the body for sleep,” says Victoria Corrales, head of product at Flamingo Estate in Highland Park. “A hot bath is also one of life’s greatest pleasures. They’re an ancient therapeutic practice—they help increase blood flow while benefiting the cardiovascular system.”
To soak in the maximum healing benefits, carefully curated minerals with muscle-relaxing and mood-lifting properties are a must. Flamingo Estate’s new Skin Strength Muscle Soak from its Ski Chalet collection is a mix of magnesium and Big Sur sea salt that both hydrates skin and eases muscle soreness. “Electrolytes and minerals in seawater are important for maintaining water balance in the skin,” explains Corrales, who chose the Northern Californian salt because of its high mineral content and purity. “When we immerse in a saltwater bath, we are helping to reduce fluid retention by pulling water out of the body where it’s not needed and then delivering it to areas that need hydration. Electrolytes are also essential for skin functions like collagen production, detoxification, and barrier protection.”
Local brands Alo (best known for activewear) and Avocado (the mattress makers) have also branched out into bath salts, all made in California. The new Alo Mindful Magnesium Soak mixes arnica and magnesium with nourishing coconut, avocado, and sesame oils to soothe away soreness and speed up muscle recovery ($48). Avocado’s Reed + Gwen Snoozy Bath Soak with Magnesium Flakes is designed to combat stress with Himalayan sea salts, coconut, meadowfoam, and lavender oils ($38). Bay Area–based Codex Beauty Labs’ Soothing, Softening, and Clarifying Sea Salt Soaks sold out after launching in June ($18 each). Its Bia Seaweed Soak ($18) works like a giant teabag—wild-harvested Irish seaweed is wrapped in a cotton pouch that you dunk in water to release its hydrating fatty acids and antioxidants.
Los Angeles-based Shikohin sources the inflammation-fighting minerals sulfur, clay, and magnesium for its Relaxing Onsen Hot Spring Bath Tablets ($24 for 3) from the Kinugawa Onsen hot springs in Japan; a boost of CBD ensures extra relaxation at tub time. LeVerden sources ingredients (in this case, the Korean beauty staple bamboo salt) for its Amethyst Ki Bath Soak from the South Korean countryside, where a doctor-turned-monk creates the mineral-rich salt over the course of three years to maximize its natural exfoliating and detoxifying properties ($70).
Breathe deep while you bathe in Kneipp Joint & Muscle Arnica Mineral Bath Salt ($20). Rosemary and eucalyptus blended with Kneipp’s exclusive thermal spring salts help clear up stuffy sinuses. Rich in minerals and trace elements, the precious salts are sourced from a 250-million-year-old ocean tucked 1,500 feet below ground to ensure microplastic-free purity. Now that’s clean.
