Getting in the bath won’t fix all your problems, but it does deliver surprising benefits, says Suzie Coen.
There are certain truths in life, and one is either you’re a bath person or you’re not. Personally, I can’t think of a more sybaritic experience than slipping into a cocoon of expensively scented bubbles in a free-standing roll-top bath. Add a lit candle and perhaps a glass of sauvignon, and we’re practically in self-seduction territory.
I do get why some people think baths are unappetising. “You wash off all that dirt, and then you’re floating in it?” one friend says with an audible cringe. I get it. But gross facts like that don’t bother me; it’s my dirt. And, honestly, I don’t get very dirty. The next time I’m in a rugby match, I’ll shower afterwards… and then I’ll run a bath.
I also get that for some, taking baths is a ridiculous indulgence. Never mind multiple baths every day – Tom Ford can take up to five baths a day if he’s really frazzled or overwhelmed, but the standard is three. “That’s meditation for me,” Ford said. “You have to give yourself space to think.” And there are clearly a lot of people who feel the same way. Mariah Carey considers the bath “my place of serenity”. There’s a legend that she only uses French mineral water, but she clarified recently that this was not true. Actually, her preference is cold milk. While Hamilton creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda has something close to a power bath: a timer set for 15 minutes, podcast on, mostly warm water with Epsom salt, but twice a week ice-cold.
The point of the bath is the ritual – letting the water run, adjusting the temperature, babysitting the level and pulling out your largest, softest towel.
To me, a bath is so much more than a way to get clean. It’s a time-out. I am a woman of many moods. Sometimes I’m anxious and need to relax. Sometimes I’m overwhelmed and need some time where I can’t be disturbed. Sometimes I’m sensorily under-stimulated and need exciting smells and textures. There are even times when I’m a hedonistic lush and need to be pampered like the princess that I am. Baths can do all of that and more. Whether it’s tampering with temperature, liberal lashings of lotions or altering the ambience, baths can fulfil a diverse range of emotional needs. And as someone who has a lot of emotional needs, I appreciate that. I think it might depend on your personality, but I feel so free settling into warm water. I feel weightless, physically, mentally and spiritually. My soul is lighter.
Baths, though, are not just about relaxation: there is a strong, millennia-old link between bathing and creativity or problem-solving. There’s actually some science here. Baths are meditative, solitary, the perfect environment for an uninterrupted stream of thought. They are places where your ego and internal critic don’t dominate. Here, thoughts shape themselves differently to those beneath a shower head: slower, gentler, deeper in their navigation. The bath excels as a place for speculation and rumination, for eureka moments and revelation.
Having gained a reputation as a super soaker, I’ve gotten to try more than my fair share of bath salts and oils over the
years and, sadly, I have to report that not every potion is a miracle worker. Muscle aches aren’t always alleviated, hangovers
can linger, and pent-up resentments aren’t likely to magically disappear after I towel myself off. But I have never regretted any bath I’ve taken. Whether you bathe au naturel or turn your water into a bouillabaisse, unplug or don’t, what makes a bath worthwhile are the small efforts that go into it. The point of the bath is the whole ritual – letting the water run, adjusting the temperature, babysitting the level and pulling out your largest, softest towel.
We are constantly bathed in content, steeping in the lives of others. But a person in the tub is someone who has
slowed down long enough to just be with themselves. Your time in the bath is truly your time. And we all need that.
This article originally appeared in the Winter 2024 issue of IMAGE.
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