Pamper Sunday: Atlantavive Ocean Oak Bath Soak

I've always loved the idea of treatment baths, be it mud, clay or seaweed, so when Atlantavive got in touch to tell me about their raw, natural seaweed bath, I jumped at the chance to give it a go. Granted, it is quite an odd thing floating in a bath full of seaweed, but boy does it feel therapeutic!

Atlantavive Ocean Oak Bath Soak

Okay, so it isn't much to look at - just tell yourself it turns your bath water into a lovely golden colour rather than an off-putting yellow and try not to get creeped out by the idea of real seaweed floating around you (just me?) and it really is a relaxing experience. The scent has a very subtle hint of the sea, but nothing as strong as I was expecting, and using the handcrafted Sinamay bag to soak the seaweed in your bath like a cup of tea really makes it feel like a real spa treatment bath. This is quite a different experience to a fabulous smelling, bright pink Lush bath bomb, but is rather a natural, raw remedy for tired skin and sore muscles.

Seaweed is used to rehydrate and restore skin, nourishing it with minerals and powerful soothing properties. Atlantavive claim that it can also increase blood flow, which isn't something I can speak to, but I did feel a relaxing sense of calm and wellbeing when immersing myself in the bath, and I did feel that it helped soothe my sore muscles from the gym. The best thing I found about the soak was that my skin felt softer, hydrated and more supple after bathing and that any problem areas had been soothed. The whole thing was nice and restorative, and perfect for a Sunday night pamper sesh - put some music on, apply a mask and you're good to go!

Presented in a beautiful wooden box (that is now being used to store my other bath bombs), the weighty 400g of Irish seaweed can be placed either in the bath directly or in the bag, soaked in the hot water and then dried and re-used 2-3 times. You can also buy refills of seaweed to help maintain your supple skin. Though I won't be giving up on my Lush baths just yet, I did enjoy the therapeutic, natural alternative of this bath soak and would recommend it for lacklustre skin in need of a little TLC.

How did you pamper yourself this Sunday?