De-stress with a steamy, scented bath

For many of us, September marks the mental start of a new year. Work, family and social commitments fill the calendar, leaving us worn out and dreaming of those slower-paced bygone summer days by the time October rolls around.
The solution: Take 5. Or make that 20 or 25, as in minutes in a scented tub.
Carve out that time at the end of the day after the bambinos are put to bed, or on a Saturday when you’ve unplugged from a weary week and you’ve got the weekend newspaper and a steamy cup of coffee—or make that a glass of bubbly—in hand, and be rewarded.

Jennie Kay, co-owner of Glow Spa in Toronto, offers this simple recipe for spiking your bath with healing fragrance.
“Add pure essential oils into the bath water to instantly envelop yourself in delicious aromas. Try 1-2 cups of Epsom salts—for tired, achy muscles—and add 5 drops of pure lavender for a calming bath, or 5 drops of eucalyptus to help fight colds and flu.”

Escents Aromatherapy, based in Vancouver, recommends a range of essential oils that can be employed to combat stress and fatigue. If you love florals, look to jasmine, lavender, geranium, clary sage. If you love more oriental scents, try lacing your bath with a few drops of cedarwood or frankincense, patchouli, pine, rosemary, sandalwood, rosewood or ylang-ylang. If you lean to fresher, more aromatics scents, consider bath-time scented with lemon, bergamot, neroli and peppermint.

And to ensure that your stress-busting bath is a total sensory experience, add 2-6 drops of your chosen essential oils to a plug-in diffuser or aromatherapy candle burner and let it scent your DIY-spa space before you draw your bath. Then climb in, and relax.

PHOTO: iSTOCKPHOTO/SERGEY NOVIKOV