You can make the essential elements of the Japanese bathing ritual a part of your daily routine, even if you do not have a Japanese-style bath at home. All you need is a place to wash your body and a warm, clear tub of water.
Traditional Japanese bathing is a tranquil ritual perfected through centuries, typically taken in the evening. For the Japanese, bathtubs are for soaking and relaxing only and are always kept clean. Washing and scrubbing belong outside the tub, before you take a bath.
Cleansing Before the Bath
The concept of purity is deeply embedded in Japanese culture, and cleansing your body before you enter the bath is a crucial part of the process. While bathing relaxes your mind, body scrubbing purifies your body, leaving your skin feeling revitalized and refreshed.
To experience the essence of Japanese bathing practices, start with traditional products crafted for washing and cleansing your body:
❤ Gentle exfoliation: Traditional Japanese Washcloth is made from unbleached and undyed cotton with an uneven weave that gently exfoliates the skin and helps remove dirt and dead skin cells using little or no soap.
❤ Silk cleansing: Lady Aoi Kimono Silk Body and Face Sponge is made from genuine kimono silk. It gently cleans and buffs the skin throughout the body and is especially useful on rougher areas such as elbows, knees, and heels.
❤ Moisturizing cleanse: Okinawan Summer Soap is infused with evening primrose oil and extract of gettô, or pink porcelain lily, leaves. Its creamy lather cleanses gently and leaves the skin feeling soft and moisturized.
❤ Herbal skincare: Artemisia Princeps Beautifying Yomogi Soap is rich in vitamin E and antioxidants and is traditionally valued for conditioning dry or irritated skin.
❤ Deep cleansing: Fine Charcoal Clarifying Soap contains activated charcoal to help remove surface impurities and excess oils from the skin.
❤ Hinoki aroma: Hinoki Cypress Soap cleanses the skin while leaving behind the fresh, subtle scent traditionally associated with Japanese hinoki cypress.
❤ Rice bran care: Rice Bran Soap contains rice bran-derived antioxidants and fatty acids and gently cleanses while helping the skin feel soft and supple.
❤ Proper soap storage: Hinoki Cypress Soap Dish drains excess water so soap can dry between uses, helping it last longer.
Once thoroughly cleansed and rinsed, you can proceed to the warm bath, ready to enjoy the relaxation and tranquility that follows.
How to Take a Bath
- Prepare the bath: Fill your bathtub to about 2/3 full ahead of time so you can step right into it after washing and scrubbing. Most people prefer a comfortable temperature not exceeding 40 °C (104 °F). Water that is too hot can dry the skin and make prolonged soaking uncomfortable.
- Add herbs if desired: You can add a soothing herbal infusion, such as green tea or other herbs, to your bath.
- Wash before soaking: Rinse or wash your body thoroughly outside the tub.
- Enter slowly: Step carefully into the bath and allow your body to adjust to the warm water. Splash a little water over your neck and shoulders as you settle in.
- Relax and breathe: Let your body relax. If you are taking an herbal bath, breathe in the aroma slowly and deeply and enjoy the quiet moment.
- Keep the soak brief: You do not need to spend a long time in the bathtub. Even five minutes can be enough.
- Dry and rehydrate: Step out carefully, pat yourself dry with a soft towel, and drink a cup of water.
- Moisturize afterward: Moisturizing after bathing helps keep your skin replenished and supple.
After Bathing
The Japanese bathing ritual does not end after you dry yourself. You can, and indeed should, continue to deepen your relaxation after bathing. The Japanese call this yu-agari (湯上がり, after bathing).
Put on some comfortable clothes and relax in any way you please. Have something to eat, browse, curl up with a book, listen to music, sip tea, take a nap, or do nothing.
It's your serenity time. Treasure it. The world can wait.
Traditional Japanese Bath & Soaps
