The Bath House, Winter Edition

Herbal Foot Soak

Keeping your feet warm in the winter is an essential element of tending to your inner Water Element as well as nourishing Kidney qi. While wool socks are wonderful, I also find that creating a ritual around caring for my feet can be a profound practice. It also provides a time to connect with your roots, massage tension from your feet, and check in with these often forgotten body parts that do so much for us.

In TCM, your feet are directly connected to your womb and keeping your feet warm is an essential part of keeping your womb warm and clear. If you have a tendency toward menstrual cramps or painful periods, I highly suggest using this foot soak during your luteal and menstrual phases of your cycle.

Below is a recipe for my favorite foot soak. Feel free to swap out different herbs that may resonate with you or that you have access to right now in the midst of winter. You’ll see I’ve specified the intention behind each plant, so you can reach for another that may fit that intention for you. Don’t be afraid of making this ritual yours.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. Burdock Root | Release stagnation and remember your roots.

• 2 Tbsp. Ginger Root, dried or fresh | Stimulates circulation and warms extremeties.

• 1 Tbsp. Mugwort | Awaken intuition, clear stagnant energy, warm cold feet and womb.

• 1 Tbsp. Fir, Cedar, or Rosemary | Invigorating and antimicrobial, these plants stimulate circulation, bring clarity to mind and body, and align with winter’s resilience.

Ritual:

Combine the herbs in a bowl. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and pour over the herbs. Cover and steep for 20-30 minutes. Strain the herbs into a basin of warm water or just pour the whole infusion, herbs and all, into the warm water basin. Soak your feet for 15-20 minutes, taking this time to reflect on what you’re ready to release and and visualizing the Water Element’s restorative energetics.

When you’re finished, give thanks to the plants and the water for nourishing, hydrating, and grounding you. Consider using this water for watering indoor plants or another suitable use.

Hydrating & Detoxifying Clay Mask

Cold air holds less water, so in the winter your skin needs more hydration and moisture. This is a mask to use once a week to hydrate your skin as well as support its function as an organ of elimination.

This detoxification piece is important. Your kidneys are also an organ of elimination, so keeping your skin functioning well supports your kidneys and other organs of elimination such as your lungs, liver, and digestive system.

The clays I’ve included in this recipe are very gentle and mineral-rich. They shouldn’t be overly drying or astringent, perfect for winter. However, it’s a good idea to keep the mask damp while it’s on your skin so that it doesn’t dry out completely. Mist it with a hydrosol or gently pat it with a wet cloth to keep it hydrated.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp. Rhassoul Clay or White Kaolin Clay

• 1 tsp. Burdock Root, powder

• 1 tsp. Marshmallow Root, powder

• 1 tsp. Oat, powder

• 1 tsp. Plantain leaf, powder

Method:

1. In a glass bowl, mix the herbs together first.

2. Once they’re fully incorporated, mix in the clay.

3. If possible, use a wooden, glass, ceramic, or plastic utensil to mix the ingredients as it isn’t great for clay to come into contact with metal.

4. Store in an airtight jar.

Ritual:

Once a week, mix 1-2 tsp. of mask with warm water. Let it steep for 10 minutes or so to “open up” the herbs. Apply it to your face and neck, allowing it to sit for 10 minute or so, keeping it damp. Rinse with warm water and follow up with a hydrosol and serum or balm.

Winter Forest Whipped Body Butter

For the first time ever, I’m sharing my original body butter recipe. This blend of butters and oils is deeply moisturizing, softening, and soothing for dry winter skin. I recommend playing whatever music enlivens and nourishes your spirit while you make it as I believe the energy you put into your creations impacts the way it works on your system.

This recipe should give you about 8oz of body butter. Note the ingredients are in weights so you’ll need a kitchen scale. The essential oils are in very small weights, so in our shop we use a jewelry scale, which I recommend. If you don’t have one, just use a few drops of each essential oil.

If you don’t want to use essential oils, that’s absolutely ok. You can also substitute different ones for the oils I’ve included. Just make sure your essential oils don’t go over 1% or 2g total in this formula.

Ingredients:

• Sunflower Oil - 69g

• Shea Butter - 67g

• Coconut Oil - 34.5g

• Cocoa Butter - 28.5g

• Vitamin E - 2g

• Balsam Fir Essential Oil - 1g

• Douglas Fir Essential Oil - 0.5g

• Black Spruce Essential Oil - 0.4g

• Western Red Cedar Essential Oil - 0.1g

Method:

1. Melt the shea butter, cocoa butter, and coconut oil together in a double boiler or a bowl set in a saucepan of warm water.

2. Once they’ve melted, add the sunflower oil, mix everything well, and put it in the freezer until mostly solid.

3. While the mixture is cooling, weigh out your Vitamin E and essential oils, if using.

4. Remove from the freezer. The mixture should have the consistency of room temperature butter.

5. Add the essential oils and vitamin E, then with mix it with your kitchen mixer until it has the consistency of buttercream frosting.

6. Scoop it into a jar and use throughout the winter!