Soaking in a warm tub full of aromatic herbs, natural salts, butters, and oils is not only good for your body but your mind as well. “Balneology” is the science and study of using mineral baths to support body and mind health. The Latin word for bath is balneum, hence the term balneology.  

Bathing was one of our earliest treatments for health and wellness and dates back to ancient times. Scientists today continue to study the use of bathing and bath soaks for blood pressure, stress, metabolism, and more. When you are submerged in water you lose ninety percent of your body weight so you feel light and lifted. This is beneficial for relieving both physical and mental weight. Baths soothe your muscles, relax the body, and stimulate circulation.

When looking to enhance the experience, I like to add softening body butters and herbs. A simple, and luxurious way to do this is to drop in a bath truffle or two.

What Are Bath Truffles?

Bath truffles are a variation on the common bath bomb. They are generally smaller in size and contain rich natural butters such as cocoa butter, shea butter, or mango butter for added hydration. They can be used in the bath and also in foot soaks and hand soaks to treat extremely rough, dry skin.

Here is one of my basic bath truffle recipe from my new book, Beautiful Flowers (Ogden Publications 2021).

Homemade Bath Truffle Recipe

Makes about (12) 2- inch truffles.

Ingredients

• 4 cups baking soda
• 1 cup non-GMO citric acid powder
• 1 Tbsp. organic dried herbs or flowers of choice
• 1 /4 cup cocoa butter, organic shea butter, or organic mango butter
• 1 /4 cup organic refined coconut oil
• 1 /2 cup organic liquid castile soap
• 1 Tbsp. organic vegetable glycerin 

Directions

1. Mix together the dry ingredients.
2. In a double boiler, gently melt the butter of choice with the coconut oil.
3. When fully melted, remove from heat and stir in the castile soap and glycerin.
4. While stirring your dried ingredients, slowly add the oil mixture.
5. Once you have the consistency of slightly wet sand and are able to clump the mixture together, you will stop adding liquid. Please note that you may not use the entire amount of the liquid ingredients, but it's better to have a little extra than need more. 
6. It will foam up and double in size; just keep stirring for several minutes.
7. Using a small scoop or spoon, place small balls (about 2 inches in diameter) of dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, or press the dough into small silicone molds such as ice cube trays.
8. Let the bath truffles harden for a day or two.

To Use: Add one or two bath truffles to your bath. Use one bath truffle for foot and hand soaks.

Pro tip: If you are looking for the ice cream-like appearance of the truffles, you will want to use a cookie dough scooper. The mechanical arms helps to achieve that rough edge. 

Interested in more Fun Floral recipes from Janice Cox?

Snag a Copy of Her Book, Beautiful Flowers!

You may also enjoy:

• Bath Bomb Recipe with Flowers
• DIY Bath Fizz Powder with Lavender
• Grounding Bath Bomb Recipe